Following a national search, the Sterling College Athletic Department has named Adam Hooker as the next head men’s basketball coach.
“We are excited to announce Adam as our new head men’s basketball coach and welcome him and his family to Sterling College,” said Director of Athletics Justin Morris. “Adam is an outstanding leader and coach. He also brings lots of energy and excitement to this position. We are very excited that he has a desire to use coaching as a form of ministry. We look forward to having him build a great tradition here at SC.”
Hooker is a native Kansan, having grown up in Olathe where he attended Olathe North High School. He stayed in northeast Kansas to play his college basketball at NAIA powerhouse, MidAmerica Nazarene University. Following his playing career, Hooker joined the MidAmerica Nazarene staff as an assistant coach. Serving under his Hall-of-Fame mentor, Coach Rocky Lamar, Hooker was a part of three Fab Fours and the 2007 NAIA DII National Championship.
“I would like to start by extending a huge thank you to Director of Athletics Justin Morris, Vice President for Athletics Scott Downing, and the rest of the search committee for having the confidence in me to lead this great program,” said Hooker. He continued, “I would like to also thank Coach Jaderston for all he’s done for the Warriors men’s basketball program over the past 13 seasons. My family and I are beyond ecstatic to be joining the Sterling family. I have long felt called to the collegiate sidelines and this truly represents a dream job, to me. I am passionate about NAIA basketball and have significant knowledge and respect for the KCAC. We believe in the Christ-led mission of this campus community and hope to build a program that not only reflects those values but, serves as leaders in its mission.”
Following his impressive tenure at MidAmerica Nazarene, Hooker chose to go the high school head-coaching route. In those ranks, he has proven to be an excellent program builder. With stops at four different classes, his teams have all found sustained success with consistent state tournament performers.
In his most recent coaching position, he served as head coach at Denver’s John F. Kennedy High School. Inheriting a broken program, he built another winner – including the 2018 4A DPL league title and back-to-back state tournament showings. His teams also displayed significant improvements in academic success.
“There’s always a little trepidation from some, when a guy re-emerges from the high school ranks, back into college ball,” Hooker acknowledged. He countered, “I adamantly refute this mindset. I could have spent more years as a collegiate assistant. But, instead, I’ve learned how to lead a program, from the top. For years, I’ve been head-coaching, shaping the vision, building the system, calling the timeouts and I feel completely prepared to bring those leadership qualities to the Warriors program. I believe we are going to do great things here, in the coming years, and I cannot wait to get started.”
Hooker is married to his wife Chrystal, a former MidAmerica Nazarene college basketball player, herself. Together they have four children, Sara Grace, Luke, Katie and Euella.
