Oklahoma State University Athletics
Homegrown Cowgirl
November 08, 2018 | Cowgirl Basketball
By Ryan Cameron/Courtney Bay
The phone rang and Jaden Hobbs was ready.
Soon after a sophomore campaign in which she lead Alva High School to the first of three consecutive state championships, the call came and with it another dream was realized. The moment OSU head coach Jim Littell presented the opportunity to become a Cowgirl is permanently etched into her memory.
"When Coach Littell called to offer me I remember exactly where I was, exactly what I was doing. I remember it like it was yesterday," Hobbs recalled.
For Littell, it did not take long to determine Hobbs and the Cowgirl program were a perfect match.
"I think Jaden was a winner all along. As a freshman, she got second in the state. She won state championships as a sophomore, junior and senior as well. We saw that she was very skilled and knew how to win, coming from a great program where she was very well coached," Littell said.
"We just knew she was a fit for our program."
The standout from a town with a population less than half the capacity of Gallagher-Iba Arena was going to play collegiately on the historic floor where she not only attended summer camps, but served as a ballgirl. Hobbs witnessed first hand as then-head coach Kurt Budke and All-American Andrea Riley rapidly elevated the program to national prominence.
"It means a lot to me knowing I have been an OSU fan my entire life and my parents have been OSU fans. To get the opportunity to play here and play for Coach Littell meant a lot to me," Hobbs said.
Before arriving in Stillwater, Hobbs had already constructed a highly decorated hoops resumé. In addition to claiming three gold balls and one silver ball, the two-time Oklahoman Super 5 first-team selection earned player of the year honors as a senior. She set state tournament scoring records for career points (299), points in a single tournament (107) and points in a single game (45) as well.
Nevertheless, putting on the Cowgirl uniform for the first time provided a pinch-me moment for Hobbs.
"The first time, it was kind of surreal. I remember putting it on for picture day my freshman year and looking in the mirror and was like, 'This is really happening.'," Hobbs recalled.
"I think that was the first time it hit me that I was really doing this."
The dream transformed into reality on October 30, 2016 when Hobbs set foot on the arena's historic white maple floor for the first time as a player. However, her euphoria came to an abrupt halt in the waning moments of OSU's exhibition opener when she suffered a season-ending injury.
Undeterred, the setback instead primed the stage for a successful comeback.
Propelled by the unofficial Jaden Hobbs Fan Club that swelled in numbers during her championship days in Alva, she benefitted from a strong support system as she began her months-long climb toward regaining her form.
"Having all of those people who come to my games or just follow me on social media or whatever is probably one of my most treasured things. I think with them always having my back in any situation or just supporting me in anything I do, means the most to me because it tells me I have people who have my back throughout this process," Hobbs said.
Sporting a protective, but cumbersome brace, she made her much-anticipated return to the floor last season, playing in 32 games and making 10 starts.
Despite dealing with the lingering effects of an injury of such severity, Hobbs displayed the marksmanship responsible for etching her name prominently into Oklahoma high school state tournament lore. She finished her redshirt freshman season with 41 made 3-pointers, connecting on 44 percent of her attempts from beyond the arc.
While helping the Cowgirls secure another 20-win season and a berth in the NCAA Tournament, Hobbs once again used the postseason to conjure memories of playoff games past, exploding for a career-high 27 points in OSU's first-round win over Syracuse.
Her offensive outburst included eight 3-pointers on just nine attempts, breaking the previous OSU single-game standard and finishing one trey shy of matching the NCAA Tournament single-game record.
"I have had a couple of games that were similar, not quite the same, but I have never had a game like that on that stage or against the competition that I was up against that night," Hobbs said.
Not long after setting the nets ablaze against the Orange, many of those who have supported her throughout her journey once again reached out to Hobbs to celebrate her historic day.
"I remember we had just gotten done with the speech Coach Littell had given and we got on our phones and I think I had 116 messages after that game. I could not tell you how many tweets or Instagram things I had," Hobbs said.
"Everything blew up all at once, so I was kind of shocked and didn't really know how to react. It just basically caught me off guard."
Who could blame a lifelong Cowgirl if she took time to bask in the glory of adding her own piece of history to the program near and dear to her heart. However, a different satisfaction is what Hobbs takes from that special day.
"I don't look at it as my name going into the record book. Yes, it is something that I did, but it was more important to me to get the win against Syracuse," Hobbs said. "I think it was very special for me to help contribute to that so the seniors could go out with an NCAA win. They had worked hard for four years to do that, so that meant more to me than putting my name in the book."
Now in her third season as a Cowgirl, Hobbs looks forward to being free of the restrictive brace and returning to the form that caught Littell's eye as a high school star.
"When I met with my doctor in May after the season he told me I could take it off, so hearing him say those words was a relief. I can finally take it off and I felt so much better through the summer workouts and now entering the fall and the season," Hobbs said.
"Those reps I got in the summer, I was trying to used to getting back to playing how I normally was and playing without the brace. I feel like when preseason hit, I transitioned into being back to how I used to be."
With an array of experiences at her disposal, Hobbs has moved into the role of seasoned veteran for a youthful Cowgirl squad and will be looked upon to become more assertive offensively during her sophomore campaign.
"With the people we lost, she needs to become more of a scorer. She is so gifted shooting the basketball, has good arch and good rotation on it, that we can't have her turn shots down," Littell said. "The main thing we need her to do is be more aggressive offensively and look for her shot a little bit more."
Having seen the lows of a devastating, season-ending injury, the process of regaining her form and the high of producing a record-setting performance on a national stage, Hobbs has relished the opportunity to live out her dream and continue making her mark.
"It has kind of been a roller coaster. I started going up as I was coming in and then I had the ACL, so I went down and then I have been back up," Hobbs said.
"It has had its ups and downs, but overall it has probably been the best experience I have ever had."
The phone rang and Jaden Hobbs was ready.
Soon after a sophomore campaign in which she lead Alva High School to the first of three consecutive state championships, the call came and with it another dream was realized. The moment OSU head coach Jim Littell presented the opportunity to become a Cowgirl is permanently etched into her memory.
"When Coach Littell called to offer me I remember exactly where I was, exactly what I was doing. I remember it like it was yesterday," Hobbs recalled.
For Littell, it did not take long to determine Hobbs and the Cowgirl program were a perfect match.
"I think Jaden was a winner all along. As a freshman, she got second in the state. She won state championships as a sophomore, junior and senior as well. We saw that she was very skilled and knew how to win, coming from a great program where she was very well coached," Littell said.
"We just knew she was a fit for our program."
The standout from a town with a population less than half the capacity of Gallagher-Iba Arena was going to play collegiately on the historic floor where she not only attended summer camps, but served as a ballgirl. Hobbs witnessed first hand as then-head coach Kurt Budke and All-American Andrea Riley rapidly elevated the program to national prominence.
"It means a lot to me knowing I have been an OSU fan my entire life and my parents have been OSU fans. To get the opportunity to play here and play for Coach Littell meant a lot to me," Hobbs said.
Before arriving in Stillwater, Hobbs had already constructed a highly decorated hoops resumé. In addition to claiming three gold balls and one silver ball, the two-time Oklahoman Super 5 first-team selection earned player of the year honors as a senior. She set state tournament scoring records for career points (299), points in a single tournament (107) and points in a single game (45) as well.
Nevertheless, putting on the Cowgirl uniform for the first time provided a pinch-me moment for Hobbs.
"The first time, it was kind of surreal. I remember putting it on for picture day my freshman year and looking in the mirror and was like, 'This is really happening.'," Hobbs recalled.
"I think that was the first time it hit me that I was really doing this."
The dream transformed into reality on October 30, 2016 when Hobbs set foot on the arena's historic white maple floor for the first time as a player. However, her euphoria came to an abrupt halt in the waning moments of OSU's exhibition opener when she suffered a season-ending injury.
Undeterred, the setback instead primed the stage for a successful comeback.
Propelled by the unofficial Jaden Hobbs Fan Club that swelled in numbers during her championship days in Alva, she benefitted from a strong support system as she began her months-long climb toward regaining her form.
"Having all of those people who come to my games or just follow me on social media or whatever is probably one of my most treasured things. I think with them always having my back in any situation or just supporting me in anything I do, means the most to me because it tells me I have people who have my back throughout this process," Hobbs said.
Sporting a protective, but cumbersome brace, she made her much-anticipated return to the floor last season, playing in 32 games and making 10 starts.
Despite dealing with the lingering effects of an injury of such severity, Hobbs displayed the marksmanship responsible for etching her name prominently into Oklahoma high school state tournament lore. She finished her redshirt freshman season with 41 made 3-pointers, connecting on 44 percent of her attempts from beyond the arc.
While helping the Cowgirls secure another 20-win season and a berth in the NCAA Tournament, Hobbs once again used the postseason to conjure memories of playoff games past, exploding for a career-high 27 points in OSU's first-round win over Syracuse.
Her offensive outburst included eight 3-pointers on just nine attempts, breaking the previous OSU single-game standard and finishing one trey shy of matching the NCAA Tournament single-game record.
"I have had a couple of games that were similar, not quite the same, but I have never had a game like that on that stage or against the competition that I was up against that night," Hobbs said.
Not long after setting the nets ablaze against the Orange, many of those who have supported her throughout her journey once again reached out to Hobbs to celebrate her historic day.
"I remember we had just gotten done with the speech Coach Littell had given and we got on our phones and I think I had 116 messages after that game. I could not tell you how many tweets or Instagram things I had," Hobbs said.
"Everything blew up all at once, so I was kind of shocked and didn't really know how to react. It just basically caught me off guard."
Who could blame a lifelong Cowgirl if she took time to bask in the glory of adding her own piece of history to the program near and dear to her heart. However, a different satisfaction is what Hobbs takes from that special day.
"I don't look at it as my name going into the record book. Yes, it is something that I did, but it was more important to me to get the win against Syracuse," Hobbs said. "I think it was very special for me to help contribute to that so the seniors could go out with an NCAA win. They had worked hard for four years to do that, so that meant more to me than putting my name in the book."
Now in her third season as a Cowgirl, Hobbs looks forward to being free of the restrictive brace and returning to the form that caught Littell's eye as a high school star.
"When I met with my doctor in May after the season he told me I could take it off, so hearing him say those words was a relief. I can finally take it off and I felt so much better through the summer workouts and now entering the fall and the season," Hobbs said.
"Those reps I got in the summer, I was trying to used to getting back to playing how I normally was and playing without the brace. I feel like when preseason hit, I transitioned into being back to how I used to be."
With an array of experiences at her disposal, Hobbs has moved into the role of seasoned veteran for a youthful Cowgirl squad and will be looked upon to become more assertive offensively during her sophomore campaign.
"With the people we lost, she needs to become more of a scorer. She is so gifted shooting the basketball, has good arch and good rotation on it, that we can't have her turn shots down," Littell said. "The main thing we need her to do is be more aggressive offensively and look for her shot a little bit more."
Having seen the lows of a devastating, season-ending injury, the process of regaining her form and the high of producing a record-setting performance on a national stage, Hobbs has relished the opportunity to live out her dream and continue making her mark.
"It has kind of been a roller coaster. I started going up as I was coming in and then I had the ACL, so I went down and then I have been back up," Hobbs said.
"It has had its ups and downs, but overall it has probably been the best experience I have ever had."
Players Mentioned
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