Don Bosco coach Scroggins is not one to give up

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“I was done with all my credits (and) after I got all my credits, I wasn’t enrolled anymore,” Hooker says. “I guess you’ve got to be enrolled at school to play basketball.”

“Didn’t nobody tell me nothing. They were continuing to let me play. What was I supposed to do? I didn’t know what was going on.”

After the January investigation, school officials ruled Hooker was ineligible, and Noud said the Wolves would rescind the only victory they achieved while playing with Hooker. Definitely a shock to players, but nothing compared with the news awaiting them on that Tuesday morning.

“He couldn’t tell us, he was so emotional, so Donovan (Garrett) told us that Coach got cancer,” junior forward DeShawn Evans remembers. “It was just sad. You really don’t hear too much about cures for cancer. It was just a real emotional day.”

Since that day, players haven’t heard Scroggins talk about his cancer again.

•••

Cancer must wait. After all, there are still district games to play, and Scroggins cares about winning the district tournament.

On the sideline during a recent game against Harmon, there are no watery eyes or uncomfortable body language. Just a scowling coach who loves winning so much that, during the Harmon junior-varsity game, he inserts three varsity starters to spark a comeback in the fourth quarter.

Scroggins stomps his Stacy Adams shoes and claps his jeweled hands for every one of his boys’ fast-break layups. The late substitutions keep the Don Bosco junior-varsity team undefeated. The same can’t be said for his varsity team.

“If you want to win,” Scroggins yells at varsity players during the halftime pep talk. “You’ve got to play smart defense!”

He pauses for dramatic effect, looking around to catch their eyes. The Wolves may be losing now, but Scroggins never loses sight of the big picture.

“The only thing that could stop us is if the bus breaks down heading to state,” Scroggins says, and every player applauds.

By the fourth quarter, Harmon opens and maintains a 20-point lead. Everybody in the gym knows that Don Bosco is done.

Everybody except Scroggins.

“This is not over!” Scroggins says, pacing the sideline and clapping. “You gotta believe!”

Scroggins feels the same way about today’s district tournament game, where the Wolves, 1-11, enter as the fourth seed. And when he openly and briefly acknowledges his cancer, he shares the same optimism.

This is the time of year when high school basketball coaches believe they still have a shot. Scroggins is no different.

“It’s just another part of life. I’ve had bigger obstacles before and beat them,” Scroggins says. “This is no big deal. I’ll live to be 90.”

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To reach Candace Buckner, sports reporter at The Star, call 816-234-4389, or send e-mail to cbuckner@kcstar.com