How Nebraska commit Amiah Hargrove ‘completely changed’ basketball in her hometown

“It was probably 95 degrees,” Hargrove said. “It was miserable.”

Through the sweat and ovenlike conditions, Hargrove maintained a pointed focus uncommon for a 14-year-old. Justin Barrington, a private coach working with her for the first time, didn’t see any change in her demeanor as the afternoon progressed. Hargrove asked questions. She didn’t complain. As much as the heat was affecting her, she didn’t show it.

Three years later, the 6-foot-2 senior forward’s awareness and maturity beyond her years have combined with her natural physical abilities to mold her into a Division I prospect. Her commitment to Nebraska on Wednesday was the sum of it all: her evolving mental game and work ethic that pushed her beyond where her substantial natural skill could take her and the quiet presence of Christopher, the close-knit town that witnessed her growth firsthand.

“There was never like, ‘Oh, my gosh, I love basketball. This is what I want to do,’” she said. “It was kind of just a gradual process, and as I got older I’ve really just fallen in love with it, and it’s my favorite thing.”

One highway runs through Christopher. The shortest path from one end of the city to the other takes around a minute by car, factoring in the delays caused by two stop signs. It’s common to see people driving four-wheelers down the street.

Christopher High School rules the sports scene with little competition. The bleachers at the football field are full on Friday nights in the fall. Boys basketball gets a similar amount of attention in the winter.

Between the town’s culture and Hargrove’s family’s athletic acumen — her father, Anthony, is a former NFL defensive end — playing sports wasn’t a choice as much as an obvious way of life, something everyone did and a way to spend her free time. They weren’t a path to college or anything more than fun. Softball was her first love. It remained part of the picture, along with volleyball and track, even as she started to take basketball more seriously in junior high.

It makes for a busy existence at any time of year. She still trains with Barrington. The 6 a.m. workouts have recently been heavy on shooting: finding the spots on the court where she’s most comfortable, extending the range of a player strongest from 15 to 17 feet to a point better suited for modern basketball heavy on 3-pointers.

Then, it’s time for school — and practice for another sport after that. In the fall, it’s volleyball. There’s more basketball in the winter. Spring means it could be softball or track. If she has practice with her AAU basketball team, Bradley Beal Elite, she drives two hours to St. Louis in the evening.

The result is a lot of late nights and early mornings. Hargrove doesn’t mind.

“When it doesn’t get fun, that’s when you should stop, and for me, I was having the best time,” she said. “And I was busy, but I was seeing my friends all the time and I was doing what I love.”

While taking basketball more seriously, her approach has evolved. As a junior, the laid-back Hargrove’s passivity was spilling onto the court. Playing in Class 1A, the smallest in Illinois, she was usually the tallest and most skilled player on the floor. That she didn’t shoot as often as she could frustrated first-year coach Hayden Carter.

Every day in practice, he challenged Hargrove to be more aggressive. After Christopher lost its first game of the season at a December tournament, Carter was blunt.

“There was a chance in that game for you to go get it, and you didn’t,” he told Hargrove after the overtime defeat. “If we’re gonna end up making a run at state, those are the situations we’re gonna need you in, big time.”

That night, Christopher scored 60 points in a win over Salem. Hargrove had 51 of them. She took 25 shots and made 20.

“She showed me that message was heard loud and clear,” Carter said. “From then on she really stepped up, and I think that was really a turning point for her, too.”

For Hargrove, the process of hunting for her shot wasn’t natural. She tries to stay calm and under control on the court, showing little emotion. Being more aggressive required a shift in mentality. It had to be a conscious effort to score more, to mentally bring herself to a different energy level, a place beyond her comfort zone.

Pregame music helped, and not the traditional stadium anthems. Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley are both on the playlist. “Weirdly enough, it gets me going,” she said.

Taking over games slowly became easier. Each scoring outburst — 51 in December, 39 three weeks later, 36 in the super-sectional game — was a reminder of what Hargrove was capable of and that she could do it again. She finished the season averaging 25 points and nine rebounds per game.

Meanwhile, Christopher kept winning, and the town began to embrace girls basketball in a way that had been previously reserved for football and boys hoops. A stage behind one of the baskets was filled with extra seats for the Bearcats’ sectional final because the bleachers were full. There were still people forced to stand. After Christopher won its super-sectional game on the road four days later, a sea of orange and blue spilled onto the court, 90 minutes from home.

The Bearcats returned home after losing in the state championship game. With a fire truck as an escort, the team bus was greeted by people lining both sides of the street, waving and cheering as it rolled back into Christopher.

“People are giving us so much more respect, and it’s all because of Amiah,” Carter said. “I take great pride in that because it’s completely changed the way people look at girls basketball in this community, and also just the community as a whole.”

In a college, Hargrove looked for qualities similar to what she has in Christopher. She wanted somewhere she would be close with her coaches and teammates, where they’d feel like family like her community in Illinois.

She first connected with Nebraska in 2022 and developed relationships with assistant coaches. Jessica Keller came to one of her games over the winter. Tandem Mays regularly talks to Hargrove on the phone. She committed after taking an official visit.

The coaching staff and her future teammates were enough to convince Hargrove that Nebraska was what she was looking for. The family atmosphere was there.

As, of course, was the basketball. There can never be enough for her.

“I just loved them all,” she said. “They were awesome. So definitely playing with them and just playing for the coaches. I got to watch a workout, and just the way they were so intense, but it was positive and motivating. Heck, I wanted to get out there and get some shots up.”