From Little Time to the Big Time
This West Valley player went from bench warmer to world champion, after emerging his sophomore season at West Valley
As a sophomore at West Valley, Mustapha Hoff was all-state, conference MVP, and a conference champion who helped the Vikings to a 31-3 record and a state tournament runner-up trophy.
Not bad for a player who saw limited time as a freshman.
He blossomed under Hall of Fame coach Bob Burton as a sophomore, however. That season he averaged 20 points and 9 rebounds. At the state tournament, Hoff put on a clinic, averaging 32.3 points and 10 rebounds. Despite his efforts and that of a West Valley College star-studded squad, the Vikings fell to Cerritos, 89-87, at the 1992 state tournament. All five starters on the West Valley team would go on to play at a Division I institution – Terry Martin (Iona); Jason Tyrus (Washington); Chris Johnson (Saint Mary’s); and Tony Block (Utah). Hoff’s exploits led him to be one of the most recruited players in the country. Ultimately, Hoff, 6-7 forward, decided to transfer to Oregon State where his play mirrored his sophomore season. He quickly became known as one of the “hardest working players in recent times at OSU.”
A team captain, Hoff averaged 9.5 points and 4.5 rebounds his junior season. Sixty of his 122 boards coming at the offensive end. Had a streak of nine consecutive games where he scored in double figures, including back-to-back 17-point efforts (OSU career high) against Washington and Washington State. He finished third in the voting for the Fred Hessler Award, given annually to the top newcomer in the conference. He was the recipient of Oregon State's Lew Beck Memorial Award (outstanding new player) and shared the Howard Merrill Award (desire and determination).
Back surgery to repair a herniated disk led him to redshirt, before returning for his senior season in 1994-95 where he scored 18.8 point per game and grabbed 7.5 rebounds. Hoff's best game for Oregon State was in January of 1995, when a national audience watched him score a career-high 31 points for the Beavers against UCLA, which was led by Tyus Edney and Ed O'Bannon. Oregon State led 41-35 at halftime and stretched the lead to eight points in the opening seconds of the second half, before watching UCLA rally for an 87-78 win. UCLA would go on to win its 11th national title that season.
Hoff concluded his Beaver career with a 14.1 scoring average in 54 games.
Hoff, who played his senior year and half of his junior year at St. Joseph High School in Trumbull, CT, averaged 17 points, 13 rebounds and three blocked shots as a senior and was named to the all-league team. He led his high school team, which was ranked 17th in the nation by USA Today, to a state runner-up finish. He played his freshman, sophomore and half of his junior season at Blackford High School in San Jose where he was all-league and team MVP at Blackford.
He played 11 years professional in Europe and Asia, winning two world championships. Today, he lives in Oregon with his wife, Mary Francis. He has two daughters — Natalie and Maya — both of whom play currenting college basketball, and a son, Alonzo who plays basketball for his high school.