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All Business
By his own admission, Adam Hess wasn't thinking about much more than
basketball when deciding on where he wanted to play his college
basketball. But when the time came to transfer, Hess wanted to enroll at
a school where he could pursue a career in the business world.
It's only fitting because the senior at William & Mary is all business
on the basketball court.
His career began at Eastern Michigan, But Hess moved after one season
from the mid-American Conference to the Colonial Athletic Association.
For the academic standout, Ivy League schools were an option, but Hess
wanted to play big-time college basketball and the lure of William &
Mary was much to his liking.
'There is a great bond among all the athletes here at William & Mary,"
says Hess. "We all seem to know one another, and we all pull for each
other. I really like that."
And everyone who follows the Tribe really likes the fact that Hess chose
Williamsburg, VA., as his basketball home. In each of his first two
seasons at W&M, Hess has improved his game by leaps and bounds.
Initially tabbed as a good shooter, Hess has worked hard on all aspects
of his game to the point that he is a more complete player now.
"I heard that he was an excellent shooter and a great scorer," says head
coach Tony Shaver, "but he's impressed me with his all-around play, and
when your best player is your hardest worker, you have something
special."
And the Michigan native is a special player in every way.
Hess has become a poster boy for what college athletics is truly all
about. He has excelled in the classroom as well as the court, last
season earning academic All-American honors.
Hess views it as a simple matter of applying one's self.
"I have never understood why people want to put all their eggs in one
basket," says Hess. "I grew up in the suburbs, where we were told that
we couldn't excel in athletics so we should focus on academics. I never
understood that. I have always believed that if you work hard enough at
both, you can succeed at both."
Hess is a coach's dream. H attacks the books like he attacks the basket
and is humble and hungry to continue to learn.
In his two plus years at W&M, Hess has worked hard to become much more
than just a spot-up shooter. He has developed into a better rebounded
and a better passer and he has improved in virtually every statistical
category.
But the preseason CAA player of they year is more than just a great
player in his own league.
"He is the best mind-major player in American," says Radford head coach
Byron Samuels. "Forget about the statistics. He does so many things
well, and he makes everyone around him better. If you had five Adam
Hesses you would win a lot of basketball games.
There is no question that Hess's game has benefited from the more
up-tempo style employed by Shaver, his first-year coach. As Shaver
points out, "He's a marked man who is harder to find when we are in a
transition game."
Coming into the season, Shaver wanted Hess to improve defensively and,
as you would expect, Hess has worked hard to improve his footwork and
add yet another facet to his game.
Now it's hard to find a true weakness in his game.
If you are looking for a flashy, above the tin-type player, Hess is
probably not going to wow you, but if you really appreciate the game the
way it's supposed to be played, then you will love watching him play.
He's not one to do a lot of hollering or use body language to motivate
his teammates. Instead, he leads by example.
"I always wondered why I would you need to scream at someone to motivate
them," says Hess. "I don't need that to motivate me."
Talk about a coach's dream.
"He really is a great kid," says Shaver. "There is really nothing not to
like about Adam."
There are a lot of really good kids playing college basketball, but you
would be hard-pressed to find one that is better than Adam Hess.
Angela Lento is an editorial representative for
Basketball Times. Lento is BT's Mid-Major columnist.
