Result in Records

Not many can say they hold several records in college basketball that while challenged, continue to stand the test of time. At 6’5″ tall, Vantage Credit Union President/CEO Hubert Hoosman has played the sport all his life, earning an athletic scholarship to the University of Missouri-St. Louis in the mid 1970s. His four-year reign there not only helped the Midwest school scrap with the big dogs – the UMSL Rivermen played against a young Larry Bird from Indiana State University – Hoosman had the distinction of cementing some school record stats from a number of posts. He is his alma mater’s fifth highest scorer of all time with 1,351 points and still maintains the third most field goals scored in UMSL’s history with 579 buckets. The former guard and small forward also has the eighth highest tally for rebounds at 617. Not too shabby for the UMSL alum, whose uncle is Alston Hoosman, long-time sparring partner to Joe `Brown Bomber’ Louis. Hoosman was recruited by a number of schools including North Carolina State and Southern Methodist University, but the East St. Louis native chose to stay close to home to help care for his ailing father. Today, while his busy schedule allows for less time on the court – and his quest to conquer the game of golf slowly replaces the high tops and fade away jumpers-Hoosman competes “from time to time” in a 40-and-over league with ex-college players, some who’ve played professionally overseas. As for his favorite teams, count the Los Angeles Lakers, New Jersey Nets and the University of Illinois Fighting Illini among them. When asked if he ever aspired to compete in the NBA, Hoosman said “every athlete dreams of making it there, my basketball scholarship afforded me the opportunity to earn a great education.” Indeed, Hoosman’s ties to UMSL are still strong. Vantage Credit Union has bought season tickets for the local boys’ clubs and sponsored the school’s basketball and baseball radio broadcasts for years. Hoosman is also chairman emeritus of the African-American Credit Union Coalition. [email protected]