Slam Magazine – July 2019

C

ASHMERE, WA, is a peaceful town of 3,140 peo-

ple that sits in the valley of the Cascade Mountains.

It’s also the home of Hailey Van Lith, one of the most

electrifying point guards in the nation.

Once as under-the-radar as the idyllic Washing-

ton town she hails from, Van Lith is now an internet

sensation, boasting more followers on Instagram than most

WNBA and college basketball stars.

A fiery point guard with a healthy helping of spice to her

game, the lefty is a walking highlight. She’s been crossing up

defenders almost from the moment she picked up a ball—lit-

erally breaking her older brother’s ankle in their first game of

one-on-one.

At 5-9, she may not stand out off the court, but make no mis-

take: Hailey Van Lith is a killa who intends to bury her opponent

as quickly as possible. And she’ll make it look easy while doing so.

“[My style of play] is a little saucy. I definitely do enjoy the

flair, but I can be fundamental, too, and I really love defense,”

says the 17-year-old junior. “So it’s saucy, but it’s also serious.

It’s business out there for me.”

Before every game, Van Lith goes into the huddle and

screams, “Let’s get this money!” Then she goes to work, un-

leashing an array of buckets. Step-back trey. Cash. Snatch back

hesi through traffic. And one. Pump fake cross. Swish.

Armed with elite quickness and strength, Van Lith is impos-

sible to hold in check. A hawk on defense, she plays the passing

lanes for steals and creates fast breaks.

“Transition is where you can really get saucy,” she says. “You

can throw behind-the-back passes, you might do a wrap-around.

It’s endless.”

Behind all the views and the likes, though, is a player who

has put in the work to get where she is today. When she was in

fourth grade, Van Lith’s dad Corey rented out the elementary

school gym across the street from their home. Each night, they

would run drills for two hours. “Hailey was different when she

was little,” Corey says. “She had goals. She loved watching

basketball. She watched all the greats. Very early, she was like,

I want to do that. That’s what I want to be.”

A former basketball and baseball player in college, Corey

designed a training plan to help Hailey achieve her dreams. By

fifth grade, she was fully committed. Hailey even recalls taking

pictures of Ray Allen’s jump shot with her pink Nintendo DS in

order to break down his mechanics.

As the reps in the gym began to add up, the ball began to find

its way to her hands when the game was on the line. No moment

was too big. Hailey wanted the rock when the game was in the

balance.

“Hailey loves the big game. She loves the atmosphere of

basketball,” Corey explains. “I said, ‘Do you get nervous?’ And

she’s like, ‘No, not really.’ I believe that comes from preparation.

Just the process of preparing.”

Through countless hours in a gym, Hailey and her father

have built a bond that could only be forged by sweat, blood and

tears. She will often point out that her dad is both her biggest

fan and harshest critic, and that’s exactly what she wanted

when she chose this path. She wants to be pushed to her

THE

FUTURE

ISSUE

HAILEYHAILEYHAILEY

SZNSZNSZN

Though she lives in a quiet town in the state of Washington,

Class of 2020 guard Hailey Van Lith’s game is loud as hell.

Listen up. WORDS RYNE NELSON // PORTRAIT JAMES CORBETT

SLAMONLINE.COM 29