Where?
Sacred Heart Catholic High School Indoor Court in Bernow, KS
When?
Tuesday, February 5th, 2021 at 5:30 in the evening
What?
Sunflower High vs. Sacred Heart varsity men’s basketball game
Who?
Two teams from the Golden Plains Conference (GPC)
The only fans allowed in the arena: 2 family members from each player, the varsity cheer squad from each team, and the band from Sacred Heart.
Quotes
From Rob Hibbert, Sunflower High junior point guard
- “It’s really disappointing to have to stop a winning game. This is the best we’ve played all season. I really think we could have broken their perfect record.”
- On playing against SHCHS’s Ian Atteberry: “It’s tough going up against some guy who’s playing at Duke next year. It’s both physically and mentally challenging. You can’t let it get to your head or you won’t play your best. No doubt he’s a great player and playing with a guy at that level helps you learn a lot.”
- “Yeah, we took tests a few days ago because we were traveling to come here for the game. None of us felt sick. I’m still shocked and have no idea where we got it from. The guys on the team have been pretty responsible about it.”
- “We’re a younger team. There are only 4 juniors and the rest are sophomores and a few freshmen. It’s hard not having any seniors to look up to.”
- Rob has only missed 2 of his collective 18 free throws this season.
- Rob is the first junior to serve as the team’s point guard since 2015 when RJ Albers came into the position as a junior.
From Sophia Hybl, Sunflower High’s school nurse
- “I tried calling Coach Hamilton five times and none of my calls went through. I got sent to voicemail every time! I’m still not sure if he was ignoring my calls or if it was the bad cell service.”
- “When I was on my lunch break today, I heard some of the basketball boys laughing at how bad the meal tasted. I thought to myself, ‘phew, at least they can taste!’ but I must have been mistaken.”
- “I absolutely love being the school nurse. I would even say it’s my life calling. Although, when situations like this arise I begin to question it.”
- “Imagine being a nurse during COVID. Every kid who comes into your office is either trying to skip class or is the incubus of viral plague. There’s no in between.”
From Head coach Don Hamilton
- “This was the best I’ve seen our team play. What we had been practicing since October just clicked in this game and they really went out there and competed. I think the best part for me was seeing the smiles on their faces when we were up by 7 at the half. “
- “It was against protocol to go without having the test results back, but with the snow storm coming in we decided to leave early to ensure our students safety on the road. When I didn’t receive a call from Nurse Hybl before the game I assumed everything was good to go. I had no clue the cell service at the court was so bad.”
- “None of the kids seemed sick to me. I think the team has a strong enough relationship to know when one of us is down.”
- “It’s hard to describe the feeling when Mrs. Hibbert, Rob’s mom, ran down to the court and the game stopped. It was a mixture of confusion and excitement quickly followed by disappointment and embarrassment.”
- “Rob will be a great team leader next year if he keeps up the good work.”
From Angela Hibbert, mother of Rob Hibbert
- “Well, I went to the bathroom right at the beginning at the second half– you know, to wait out those half time lines– and I looked at my phone and all these messages started popping up, one of them being a voicemail from Sophia Hybl, the school nurse. So I listened to the voicemail and she told me Robbie was positive for COVID and some of his teammates were too and that I needed to tell Coach Don. I was so shocked! My Robbie has been so good about being safe. He told me if he wants to be team captain next year he can’t miss a game this season.”
- “I tried to get Coach Don’s attention from the stand but that didn’t work so I ran onto the court to stop the game.”
From a source who chose to remain anonymous:
- “Rumor has it that Rob Hibbert said he couldn’t taste or smell anything this morning, but that he wasn’t going to tell anyone because he wanted to get that guy sick who’s supposed to play at Duke.”
- “Someone told me that Rob’s girlfriend, who goes to a different school, was out with COVID last week. I think they were seeing each other when she was supposed to be quarantined.”
