By J’nai Knox
Remember the Gonzaga vs. Hayfield game that ended in a buzzer beater? If not you can watch it here. Hayfield’s Andy Ramirez crashed the boards and put it in for the win.
There’s more to Andy’s story, besides being a 6’3” wing for Hayfield. Just 8 months ago Ramirez was in the Dominican Republic. He was born there and now lives in Virginia with his dad and three younger brothers.
On the last day of basketball tryouts, Hayfield’s JV Coach Sirak Tesfaye saw Andy dribbling in the parking lot and got him registered. After playing a couple games for JV, it was a no-brainer for Varsity Head Coach Carlos Pointdexter to move Ramirez up.
“Andy was on JV for about 10 games and he was playing extremely well. He was leading their team in every meaningful statistical category… so we decided to move Andy up,” said Coach Pointdexter. “Andy had some good moments on varsity and eventually became part of our 8 man rotation.”
The past school year, Hayfield went undefeated and won the first state title in program history to cap their perfect season. In summer league, the Hawks advanced to the Semifinals, being the only team from Virginia to do so. Ramirez said he feels well adjusted to the team and the school.
“I feel in my world when I’m playing basketball,” Andy said. “I have a lot of fun when I play it.”
How would his teammates describe him? Teammates David King and DJ Holloway both attested to Andy’s hard work and positive attitude on the court, specifically citing his great defensive skills. Greg Jones added his basketball IQ is what makes him unique. “He’s someone who just loves being out there and competing with us,” said Jones. “… He just loves the game of basketball.”
In the future, the rising senior hopes to play basketball in college citing basketball as his outlet. When asked how he would describe himself, he used one word, “Hope.”
“I describe myself with that word because I feel that many people have a lot of faith in me and with God and my effort I will be their hope.”