LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Braydon Hobbs began the decade as a national champion, and now he's concluded it as the Bellarmine Player of the Decade for Men's Basketball.

There's a perfect symmetry to that, just as there was a perfect symmetry to Hobbs' game.

It was defined by unselfishness and an uncanny ability to deliver precisely what the team needed at any given moment. Hobbs never sought or cared about individual awards, but they came in droves nonetheless. Add one more to that massive collection from his remarkably successful days with the Knights in the Player of the Decade acknowledgement, which was decided by fan vote.



"We have had some awesome talent and great guys come through the program," Hobbs said, "so I just feel honored to have been voted for the award. I just want to say thanks to everyone who voted for me. I am extremely grateful."

The feeling among Knights fans is mutual.

Statistically, Hobbs' highest-scoring season came as a freshman (12.8 points per game). He averaged 12.3 for his career and was in that vicinity every season. For some players, that might signal stagnation, if not regression. For Hobbs, that underscores his brilliance. His field-goal attempts went down, and his assist totals shot up after his debut season. The point guard controlled games because he had an acute understanding of the flow of each particular contest and how to engage his teammates.

"Braydon has been a dominant player and a winner without ever dominating the ball," Bellarmine Coach Scott Davenport said. "I am very proud of Braydon and he earned this very special honor by playing the game the way the game was intended to be played. He puts his team first and he puts incredible emphasis on what all true superstars do — he makes everyone around him better! His vision and feel for how to play, speed up, slow down is truly a gift only shared by the best of the best."

Bellarmine became the best of the best in Division II during Hobbs' tenure. He emphasized that Davenport and his charges had laid the groundwork before he arrived. That set the stage for a breakout 2008-09 campaign in which the Knights went 26-7 and advanced to the Sweet 16 before being edged 89-86 in overtime by undefeated and eventual national champion Findlay.

"I was a freshman, so I had no idea about what was going to take place," the product of New Albany, Indiana, and New Albany High School said. "I just followed my upperclassmen and they showed me the ropes. I was just showing up and trying to play my best basketball. We were fortunate enough to play with some great leaders that knew what to expect. We started my freshman season 14-0. After that start, I thought we might have something special here. After that loss to Findlay, I think the program felt something and wanted a little more. We were hungry to get back into that same position."

In 2009-10, Bellarmine went 23-9 and captured its first-ever GLVC Tournament title. The Knights repeated in 2010-11 but didn't stop there. They hosted the NCAA Midwest Regional as the No. 1 seed and used a devastating second half to vanquish Ferris State 85-66 in the Sweet 16. The Elite Eight was played at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Massachusetts, and Bellarmine defeated Midwestern State 70-64 in the national quarterfinals and Minnesota-State Mankato 81-74 in the national semifinals. In the finals, Bellarmine led BYU-Hawaii for virtually the entire second half, but it remained tight until the final buzzer as the Knights triumphed 71-68 in hoisting the national championship trophy while finishing the season 33-2.

"My favorite memory was the dogpile we did at halfcourt after we won the championship," said Hobbs, who supplied 10 points, six assists, six rebounds and three steals in the title game. "The night before we won, Justin Benedetti sent out a group text to the entire team. He laid out what was going to happen after we won the championship. It was awesome how it all played out exactly that way." 

In Hobbs' senior year, Bellarmine went 29-4 and returned to the Final Four despite some significant late-season injuries. In his four years, the Knights went 111-22. Hobbs was named national Player of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches and Basketball Times his final season. He was also the GLVC Player of the Year, a fitting bookend with his GLVC Freshman of the Year acknowledgement. For his career, Hobbs was a two-time All-American and four-time All-GLVC.

In February of 2017, Bellarmine retired Hobbs' jersey before a contest against Illinois Springfield. The game proved to be an equal tribute to the pregame ceremony: The Knights drilled a program-record 18 3-pointers and amassed 26 assists on 34 made baskets. Hobbs is the program's all-time leader in assists (725, 5.5 per game) and 3-pointers made (279). He finished with 1,637 points, which ranks ninth on the program's all-time scoring list, but that was an afterthought for him compared to the pride he took in setting up his teammates for quality shots.

"My role on the team was similar all four years at Bellarmine: I was there to make everyone around me better," said Hobbs, who is also Bellarmine's all-time steals leader and ranks third in blocked shots. "My favorite thing to do is pass, so it worked out perfect because I had a lot of great scorers around me. I could keep them happy by passing them the ball in the right place and at the right time. We all knew our roles well, and I think that understanding helped us be so successful."

Hobbs had both roles covered when it came to being the gold standard of a student-athlete. He was a CoSIDA Academic All-American in 2012. That year he was the Midwest Region Scholar-Athlete of the Year, repeated as the GLVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year and was the recipient of the GLVC's Richard F. Scharf Paragon Award, which is awarded annually to one male and one female student-athlete and is based upon academic excellence, athletic ability and achievement, character and leadership.

"He takes tremendous personal pride in everything he attempts on and off the floor," Davenport said. "As a son, husband, father, student, teammate and player, he is an individual who is incredibly unselfish and puts others first. Every level of our society can learn from this outstanding leader — Braydon Hobbs is a champion!"

On the court, Hobbs is still going strong. He left for his first international gig three days after graduating from Bellarmine. He's gone from Mackay, Australia; to Cáceres, Spain; to Gladstone, Australia; to Szekesfehervar, Hungary; back to Mackay, Australia; to Nürnberg, Germany; to Giessen, Germany; to Ulm, Germany; to two years in Munich, Germany; and now to two years in Oldenburg, Germany.

His family has grown along the way. Hobbs and wife Sadie are parents to daughter Haven and sons Cormic and Benson. Hobbs' continued journey on the court is a ride the family has taken together.

"I'm currently playing for EWE Baskets Oldenburg," Hobbs said. "I definitely still enjoy playing and showing my family different places around the world. We are getting to see and travel to places most people never get to see in a lifetime." 

A lifetime of memories is what Hobbs left Bellarmine basketball fans.

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