Guilford Technical Community College head women’s basketball coach Bobby Allison made the drive Wednesday from Greensboro to Polk County for the signing ceremony of Wolverine standout Hayley Kropp.
Allison brought along assistant coach Dejuane Bowe for the drive of almost three hours.
All of which should tell you quite a lot about how excited the Titans are to have Kropp heading their way next season.
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Polk County’s all-time leading scorer signed a letter-of-intent to play basketball at GTCC, celebrating the decision at that ceremony in the school library. Allison, Bowe, Kropp’s family, Polk County teammates and coaches were all there as well.
Except perhaps Allison, no one was happier to see signing day arrive than Kropp.
“It’s a relief finally knowing where I’m going,” she said. “I like Guilford. Nice people there.
“I love the campus. Greensboro is an amazing city. I love the family feel they have in the program. They’re just nice people.”
One year removed from an Elite Eight run in the National Junior College Athletic Association national tournament, GTCC finished 19-10 last season. The Titans graduated their starting backcourt, and Allison expects Kropp to help greatly to fill that void.
“We’re very excited to have her,” Allison said. “She’s got a very good opportunity to play a lot of minutes from the get-go.
“She’ll be a wing for us, but she’s got point guard skills, so she’s going to handle the ball. I love how competitive she is. She’s a kid that loves to compete. I love how she scores the ball. We put it on ourselves to teach people to play defense and to pass. But it’s hard to teach people how to score. She already knows how to do that.”
Kropp scored more points than any player to ever don a Polk County jersey, finishing her career with 1,637 points. The 5-7 senior averaged 26.3 points and 12.2 rebounds last season and set numerous game, season and career school records during her four-year career. She was named the Western Highlands Conference player of the year.
During Wednesday’s ceremony, Kropp made certain to have her photo taken with Polk County head coach Brandy Alm and assistant coach Billy Alm – for good reason.
“If it wasn’t for (Brandy Alm), I wouldn’t be playing college basketball,” Kropp said. “I probably wouldn’t be playing at all. She’s like my second mom.”
Kropp won’t head to Greensboro by herself – her twin sister, Ashley, plans to enroll at GTCC, and the two will live together. In addition to that familiar feel, Kropp hopes to take another bit of Polk County with her.
“I’m going to work hard this summer and, hopefully, I can play like I did this year, but against better competition,” she said. “Hopefully, I can do it. I think I can.”
