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Former Park Center Star Quinton Hooker's Next Step: 'The Highest Level'

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Quinton Hooker was a dominant guard at Park Center High School in basketball, moved on to the University of North Dakota and now wants to move on to another level.

He made his mark taking his Park Center High School team on a ride that landed as a state runner-up. He was the key, and he remembers.

"I was just up there earlier yesterday and just looking at the banners and everything like that, just remembering that time. Honestly it was just an amazing experience, to be able to do that with my best friends, who we're all still friends now," Hooker said.

His game kept getting better at the University of North Dakota, where he again helped lead, this time to the school's first berth in the NCAA Tournament.

"It's unbelievable. Really. It's one of those journeys that you dream about as a kid and it's something you write in your goals and something that you think about and as a team you work towards," he said.

Now he needs to take his game to yet another level. So he spent the summer playing in the DeLaSalle league, with teammates like Tyus Jones. He gets an idea of where he's at; where the league is at.

"It's a lot of fun. You really see how much talent Minnesota has. Especially with the guys who are playing overseas, and a couple NBA guys playing like Tyus and Cole. So it's really great just to see how far Minnesota has come," Hooker said.

Next stop: a contract overseas. Ultimate goal: to come back home state side to the biggest show.

"Next step is to get to the highest level. For me, obviously that end goal, that end place I want to get to is the NBA," Hooker said. "So right now it's starting overseas and starting in Europe and seeing how that goes."

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