Matt Kryger/IndyStar
Malik Hooker was in the eighth grade when he decided he was never playing football again. He was a hooper, a do-it-all wing who could jump out of the gym, so explosive he’d land on SportsCenter for a dunk that got Kobe Bryant’s attention.
The dream? The dream was always the NBA.
Hooker had broken his collarbone playing football when he was 14, and he’d had enough, walking away, vowing to never return. Basketball was life. Football was over with.