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VIDEO: Max Hooper hugs ailing father in stands after Oakland’s win on senior night

Oakland redshirt senior guard Max Hooper has gained some notoriety this season for being the perimeter specialist that plays alongside point guard Kay Felder. Hooper also only attempts 3-pointers, which has made him even more famous during his final season of college basketball.

Hooper has put up 229 field-goal attempts this season and all of them have been 3-pointers. The 6-foot-6 wing has been a valuable floor spacer for Felder’s game and is averaging 10.5 points per game.

Friday night was senior night at Oakland as the Golden Grizzlies clinched the No. 2 seed for the Horizon League conference tournament. The night was also used to celebrate seniors like Hooper and Percy Gibson.

After the Oakland win over Detroit on Friday night, Hooper bolted into the stands and hugged his ailing father, Chip Hooper, who attended the game in a hospital bed. Over the past four years, Chip has been fighting neuroendocrine cancer in California and he suffered a stroke in late October. Chip had never seen Max play a college basketball game before, so getting to see Max play his final home game on senior night was clearly a big deal and a cool moment for the family.

“It’s something we both embody, that will, that we won’t be denied,” Max said to Mark Snyder of the Detroit Free Press. “Him being here tonight is such a moment. You can’t replicate this moment. It comes around once in a lifetime. He didn’t promise me but said I’m going to be at a game. I believed he would.”

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(H/t: Chris Vannini)