Destinee Hooker is a professional volleyball player from the United States of America. She stands 6'4 and plays OH. She has an amazing vertical leap of 43 inches! She graduated from University of Texas. She already played for Korean and Puerto Rican professional teams. Both of which she played in the finals.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoIZVyLqGaI
(Her team UT went up against Penn State in the recent NCAA championships)
I hope Destinee would perform well in the NT this year.
She made 39 points in second game of the final.....the girl is on fire....
She made 39 points in second game of the final.....the girl is on fire....
This is good for Ranking - Final between...? When..?
This is good for Ranking - Final between...? When..?
The final was between Pinkin de Corozal - Llaneras de Toa Baja,and Corozal won the championship yesterday, Hooker made 30 points again.
Toa Baja have Cassie Busse (USA NT OPP), Jennifer Joines-Tamas (USA NT MB) and Stacey Gordon (ex-CAN NT OH).
I'm sure that we are all excited to see an up and coming talent such as Destinee Hooker with a huge potential to be a great player in the International/NT scene. But we should be cautious in concluding that she is the best (even if it is categorically stated as 'the best the US has for years') at this point since she has yet to prove herself in significant events such as WG, WC, OG or in Big European Leagues.
A lot of players have been hyped as the next this or that after which we see them not achieving what is expected from them. Let's cross our fingers for Destinee's success and pray that she maximizes her amazing athletic talent. 
I think what jist means is Hooker might be the best USA Opposite has for years.
of course it's going to take some time before we know if she will be one of the 6 starters who give the USA the best chance at an Olympics.
I think what jist means is Hooker might be the best USA Opposite has for years.
of course it's going to take some time before we know if she will be one of the 6 starters who give the USA the best chance at an Olympics.
Right. Your knee-jerk reaction seems to be working almost all of the time. LOL 
Kidding
Seriously though, Hooker's passing is a bit of question right now that is why if she indeed is going to be USA's next opposite, I have the feeling that she will do great there. Remember that the Right Side/Oppo is one area that USA has been so strong the past few years... Kerri Walsh, Tayyiba Haneef-Park, Nancy Metcalf. These players have always been the the go-to-player in scoring in most tournaments USA has participated in. Given how young she is and how undeniable her athleticism is, Hooker may become one of the best Opps to ever don the US. Ofcourse, we will wait for this one, I hope Hooker will prove me right... i'll give her 5-10 years.
Sheila didn't peaked up until playing for Brazil probably in her 3rd-5th year. So given how limited Hooker has for the International game, she will adjust,but everything that she will gain will be great for her. I hope she begins it by playing in Italy, Turkey or Russia. 
I think that she will never reach her potential, she has great athletic abilities but technic she still need to learn and she is already earning nice money, most teams who are paying huge money look for players that are complete not for players who still need to learn. Thats why she will never reach her potential, there will not be coach who will invest time in her.
I think that she will never reach her potential, she has great athletic abilities but technic she still need to learn and she is already earning nice money, most teams who are paying huge money look for players that are complete not for players who still need to learn. Thats why she will never reach her potential, there will not be coach who will invest time in her.
Isn't this policy irrational?
It's one thing to be cautious in saying that a player will be the best in years, but it is completely another thing when you close the door on a player without letting her prove herself. She hasn't even started yet so we should not say she will never reach her potential.
I do not know if this statement 'there will not be coach who will invest time in her' is valid but I think that it is too early to tell. And I agree with raylight that it is a bit irrational. I do not know if this is what Big European Club Coaches do but I really hope that Hugh and Kiraly would take time to develop Destinee's volleyball IQ and technique. The bottomline is, let her prove herself to us. I think time will tell if she will be the player we hope she would become.
