Doug Wardlaw: Humble Hooper
Robinson Brown '19 and Spencer Lockhart '18
Doug Wardlaw ’17 has spent his last seven winters roaming the paint and protecting the rim on the basketball court.
“I’ve been playing basketball since the sixth grade,” said Wardlaw. “I played in the rec league in Hamden known as Hamden Fathers.”
Since his arrival at Hopkins in ninth grade, he has been a fixture on the Hopkins Varsity Basketball Team. He started to get Varsity minutes in his freshman year, with one of his favorite basketball memories stemming from his first year on The Hill: “When I was a freshman, we were up by a good amount against our rival, Hamden Hall,” Wardlaw recalls, “so I was put in the game and scored my first varsity basket. The crowd erupted and I received the ‘he’s a freshman’ chant. That was definitely a memorable moment for me.”
Wardlaw has instilled that same fire and passion with which he plays in his teammates. Stephen Mettler ’17 said, “Doug is always putting in extra work to try to lead the team in the best way possible. He embodies what Hopkins Basketball is when it comes to his work ethic, leadership, and perseverance. He’s a leader both on and off the field and the players know they can always approach him and ask him a question.”
After suffering a high ankle sprain in a game against Brunswick, Wardlaw had to sit out a few games, but that didn’t stop him from continuing to motivate his team. “Doug always picks up his teammates when they’re having a tough game. Even when he got hurt, he always stayed positive and found a way to impact the game from the sideline,” said Chris Borter ’19.
Wardlaw’s hoops career at Hopkins was capped off with his final game against Hamden Hall. He scored a career high 16 points, while grabbing 10 rebounds. Head Coach Michael Brown called the performance “The best of Doug’s life.” Although this will be Wardlaw’s last season on the court, he will continue his athletic career in college, taking the football field as a Dutchman next fall when he attends Union College in New York.
Back