Chris Hartley can be equal parts outspoken and shy, brash and modest...but when you ask him if he deserved the 1998 HBL MVP Award, it's easy to see which side you get. 'No doubt,' Chris says, 'My team won the Championship. I led the league in scoring. I led the league in rebounding. I led the league in least turnovers and all-around player points. Me.
But when you examine the background of 'Shooter', who says it is 'very important' to establish himself as the best in the HBL, you find a different person than you see on the court on Sundays. You find a family-oriented person with a strong set of beliefs.
He grew up in Bettendorf, Iowa until the age of 10 when he moved, along with his older brother Jon, and mother to a small town called Wheatland, Iowa. About the move, which was difficult for both him and Jon at first, Chris says, 'It's hard to say whether it's really a positive or negative, cause I was fairly young when we moved, so I didn't get to experience the life of the city. But I feel that this has been a good experience for me, and it has taught me a lot.'
It was in Wheatland that Jon Hartley first noticed something special in his brother on the court... 'He was always pretty athletic, but had never especially been good in basketball, then all of a sudden he could start doing things, it just seemed natural to him.' He played in his junior high and early high school years in the same Calamus-Wheatland basketball system that seriously disappointed his brother, and found similar results, unfortunately. Fed up, he open-enrolled in a nearby high school, Bennett High School, where in the early practices he was immediately placed in the first team. He was extremely successful and touted by other players on the team as somewhat of an 'answer' to the team's problems, but for some reason, when the season started, the playing time was once again not there for Chris. It soon became apparent that the head coach held Chris to a much higher standard than the other players, so after a missed shot or routine turnover, he would be yanked to the bench. After a season of that, Chris decided his high school playing days are over, and he now focuses on the HBL and an upcoming college playing career.
When you ask Chris Hartley what's most important to him, the type of person he is becomes very clear--'On a personal level it's my beliefs. That's what makes me me. Also what makes me me is the people that surround me.' A person forged upon close-knit relationships with few people, he has what could be called an 'inner circle' of people very close to him. Possibly none closer than his brother and teammate, Jon.
'Jon was a friend and companion long before a teammate,' Chris says. They always had the bond that brothers do while growing up in Bettendorf, but once they moved to Wheatland, they really became closer, and basically ever since, each has claimed the other as a best friend. And of course, that translates very well to their relationship off the court, and is a big part of their success as the Warriors. 'When you live with someone that long, you know them on and off the court.'
Chris has been a advocate to the opinion that the Warriors do not get the respect they deserve in the HBL. As two-time defending champions, Chris 'wouldn't say it's the Warrior's league, but then again I wouldn't say it's up for grabs, either.' He believes that if it ISN'T their league, someone is going to have to prove it to him that it's not. He mentions that they have an edge as the only team that's been together more than one year (3), and says 'experience is a virtue, especially in the HBL.' Also, he believes the Warriors have a grapple hold on the mental as well as physical aspects of the game. 'Even beyond the physical game, there is a mental game,' Chris explains. Clearly the Warriors have mastered that, as they take advantage of opponents who lose their composure on a regular basis. According to Shooter, if other teams can't learn to control their emotions better on the court, no one will be able to topple the Warriors from their position as the best team in the HBL.
To Chris, it's all about evolving. In each part of his life, on the court and off, he's constantly learning and improving himself. That's the key to his future in the HBL, he says: 'As I continue to get older, every aspect of myself is further developed...physically, mental toughness, decision making skills, just overall-it's a process of evolution.
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