HART – After he left the Hart boys basketball team prior to the end of last season, everyone wondered about Parker Hovey’s future.

There was no question he had the talent to be a high school standout, and he comes from a family full of basketball stars. But when he walked away from the sport so abruptly, there was doubt about his desire to play, at least at Hart.

Hovey has put all of those questions to rest this season, however, with an exclamation point. He’s not only back on the team, but he’s really pouring it on, averaging 25.6 points, 9.7 rebounds, 7.8 assists and 2.4 blocks per game while leading the Pirates to an exciting 8-0 start.

He was at his best last Friday, scoring 26 points in a big victory over a very good North Muskegon squad. Last month he had a 27-point, 11 rebound, 10 assist game against Mesick, and the rest of the season is full of great promise for the Pirate senior.

“That was tough,” Hovey said about leaving his team before the 2021-22 season was completed. “Leading up to it, it wasn’t a good situation with the (coaching) staff. I think I made the right decision and did what was best for me and the program.”

Hovey said it was extra difficult to leave his teammates before all the battles had been fought.

“It was really hard,” he said. “You never want to sit out and be away from the team. It really wasn’t easy to sit and watch.”

The silver lining is that his absence rekindled his appetite for the sport and gave him a burst of new enthusiasm to succeed this season.

“I just fell in love with it all over again,” Hovey said. “I didn’t stop working during the summer and stuff.”

A key for Hovey was the arrival of new head coach Nick Bronsema, a former Orchard View head coach who had success with the Cardinals. Hovey said Bronsema has brought a new energy to the program and it’s made a big difference.

“With coach coming in this year, he’s done a great job of bringing in really good energy and setting a standard,” Hovey said. “We’ve responded by really playing hard. We have really positive practices, and he talks to us a lot. It’s really led to success and all credit goes to him.”

Bronsema said Hovey has done a great job of leading his teammates and helping the Pirates get better on a daily basis.

“He has a drive and desire,” the coach said. “I believe it comes from his parents. He wants to be the best, and two types of people exist, I believe. You’re either a faker or a maker. Fakers say they want it, but they don’t. Makers do both, and he’s one of them for sure.”

Hovey has helped the Pirates average an impressive 71.25 points per game this season while only surrendering an average of 25.8.

“It’s been fun to be out there winning games,” said Hovey, who also excels in the classroom with a grade point average of nearly 3.7. “I enjoy playing with my teammates and it means a lot that we have a good chemistry. We’re just trying to always play hard.”

Hovey gravitated naturally toward basketball, because both of his parents played at the college level.

“It’s something I’ve grown up doing,” he said. “My mom coached the varsity girls when I was in middle school, so I was in the gym a lot.”

His sisters have also excelled on the court. Jayd Hovey was a star at Hart and now plays at Indiana Wesleyan University, and Addi Hovey is currently a standout for the Pirates girls varsity team.

“I just love being in the gym with them,” said Hovey about playing with his sisters, including a younger one who’s currently in middle school. “I still go with my dad and sister. I really look up to her (Jayd) and her work ethic to get to the next level.”

If the Pirates continue their successful season – they’ve already surpassed last year’s seven-wins total – Hovey will undoubtedly play a very big role.

But for a guy with such big stats, he really is quite unselfish on the court and doesn’t like to attract attention to himself, according to Bronsema.

“It’s interesting, because as much as he can accomplish, he’ll shy away from attention,” the coach said. “I sent the guys an article that started with his name and he shied away from it. He’s a pretty humble kid.”