By Joseph Staszewski
Simone Hobdy understood she had to be patient when it came to her future.
The Mary Louis girls’ basketball star was still waiting to nail down a college scholarship offer after many of her fellow seniors had already committed and found future places to play. Hobdy was antsy, but knew her time would come with Niagara and St. Francis (Pa.) showing interest in her.
“I was anxious because I did see that other people were committing, so I was like, ‘Why isn’t it happening for me now?’” Hobdy said. “I knew I was going somewhere. It was just a matter of where I would go.”
She now knows the answers. Hobdy is headed to Niagara.
Hobdy verbally committed to play for the Purple Eagles after her official visit two weeks ago. She felt a bond with head Coach Kendra Faustin and her staff and saw a chance to get her master’s degree in criminal justice through a special program at Niagara.
“I felt at home,” Hobdy said. “The staff was very nice to me. I could play basketball, graduate college early and graduate with my master’s and not have to go back to school and pay money.”
She also has an opportunity to fill a need for Niagara, which plays in the MAAC conference. The Purple Eagles are in need of a shooting guard who can break down a defense off the dribble. Hobdy is certainly capable of doing that.
“The style of basketball they want to play is the style that we play, up and down, get to the basket,” Mary Louis Coach JoAnn Arbitello said. “They don’t really have a guard like that, capable of that right now.”
Hobdy, who also plays her travel ball with Arbitello at Positive Direction, is a proven scorer. She led Mary Louis to the school’s first ever CHSAA junior varsity title as a sophomore. This season she tallied a career-high 41 points in a win over Kennedy Catholic. She put up 38 points in a loss to Cardinal Spellman. Her improved jump shot has made her even more difficult to defend.
“I feel like it opened up my game so much more and made me so much more of a threat,” Hobdy said.
The season has also been a learning experience for her as a leader. Hobdy is the Hilltoppers’ most veteran player, a role that was amplified when junior star Kadijah Dickson tore her ACL in December. Mary Louis has struggled through a 6-13 season, but the team has never lost focus. Arbitello believes a lot of their perseverance is because of Hobdy.
“Over the last four months she has matured tremendously,” the coach said. “Words can’t even describe how mature she has become.”
Hobdy described what earning a college scholarship meant to her after years of working toward the goal and a little extra time waiting during her senior year.
“It feels great to know that all of the hard work that I’ve put in is paying off, and all that I wanted to do when I was younger is finally happening for me,” Hobdy said. “It’s such a great feeling.”
