Lone Returning Starter Leading Hillhouse to Another Title Shot

NEW HAVEN, CT — As he dribbled through the swarming defense of No. 23 nationally ranked Imhotep Charter High School, Hillhouse boys basketball senior guard J’Vaughn Hoover scanned the paint for a cutting teammate. As the No. 2 ranked team in Connecticut, the Academics were facing the top team from Pennsylvania in the 2018 Spalding HoopHall Classic.

Hoover lofted a pass to his left towards the rim. His 6-foot-6 fellow senior had no trouble finishing the play, as Mekhi Warren ran baseline and flew through the air before spiking the alley through the net for the easy two points. With that, Hillhouse cut the opening quarter deficit to 10 and trailed Imhotep 20-10.

The Panthers went on to take the game from the Academics, 66-38. As one of the four seniors, and only returning starter from last year’s team, Warren believed the experience was valuable.

“There’s a lot of competition [at HoopHall],” he said. “But we have work to do. The younger guys are getting used to that kind of competition. As seniors, we know we need to play extra hard.”

Since his first season with the Academics, Warren has been a centerpiece to Hillhouse’s success, and understands what the team asks from him as a leader.

“I just make sure everyone’s playing well,” he explained. “As a senior you have to take care of the team and make sure everyone’s making progress.”

Warren began picking up the basketball around the age of 9 and began taking the sport seriously in the eighth grade, following in the footsteps of his uncles, Tracy and Trayon Rumley.

In his high school days, Tracy was a standout at Maloney High School in Meriden, at 5-feet-11, 185 lbs. Trayon, at 6-feet-2, 175 lbs., is currently a freshman at Westfield State University. Throughout his time with the Spartans, Tracy fueled hundreds of practice shots, with phone wallpaper of a scouting report, doubting his chances as a Division I athlete because he “couldn’t shoot.”

Mekhi Warren carries a much bulkier frame. He started for the Academics his freshman year, and has received letters from several prep schools, as well as Division I Youngstown State University in Ohio. However, much like his uncles, he’s always determined to prove he belongs on the court.

“You have to have a heart,” Warren said. “If you don’t have a heart, you get embarrassed. I can’t go for that, I want to be remembered as a hardworking player, good in and out of school and a leader.”

Story by Vincent Gallo
Photo credits: Sam Leventhal