Why Guilford changed the uniform number of all its volleyball players
Video: Hononegah beats Guilford to take NIC-10 boys volleyball lead
Video: Watch Hononegah beat Guilford to take NIC-10 boys volleyball lead
“Hey, 10,” Jaden Webster’s friend yelled out as Guilford’s senior middle blocker walked off the floor Tuesday night, “Are you OK?”
Not really. Guilford (10-3, 5-1) had just lost 25-19, 25-20 at Hononegah (11-4, 7-0) in a showdown for the NIC-10 boys volleyball lead.
He also is no longer No. 10. Guilford’s entire team changed numbers when the Vikings unveiled new uniforms Tuesday.
Which means the entire team tried on new identities. A jersey number is not just a number. They are personal.
“Everybody knows you for that number,” Webster said.
Remember when Michael Jordan tried to be No. 45? That didn’t work. And some of the biggest stars in sports have forked over cash or lavish gifts in exchange for their number. Former Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis paid Mark Barron $50,000 to keep his No. 24 after signing with Tampa Bay. Deion Sanders bought Alundis Brice a BMW to keep his No. 21 after signing with the Cowboys.
“A number can mean a lot,” Guilford outside hitter Adonis Hilton said. “Maybe it’s for somebody you grew up watching. It can be a huge passion to play for someone else. Or yourself. Either way, you are playing for a sentimental value.”
Hilton wore No. 25 for the first time Tuesday. It didn’t feel the same as No. 11.
“Eleven will always be my number,” Hilton said. “This number was just given to me.
“When I was young, I liked a lot of players who wore No. 11. Klay Thompson. Julio Jones. I always thought 11 looked like racing stripes. Eleven was just cool when I was younger. Then it became my number.
“Now I will always remember it as my younger self and what I played for.”
Even when he is no longer No. 11, a part of Adonis Hilton will always be No. 11.
And he’s not alone.
So, if numbers are so personal, why make the entire team change?
Because Guilford coach Trace Noack is a practical man.
Guilford’s 12-man varsity roster is not written in stone. Players on the JV can work their way up to varsity later in the season. If that happens this year, the JV players — numbered 1 through 16 — can keep their current jerseys because the varsity players no longer have the same numbers, instead now being numbered 20 through 40.
“I have always been a 1 through 16 guy for 12 years,” Noack said of his varsity numbers, “but now if we move somebody up from JV, they don’t have to get one of our jerseys. Simple as that.”
The players didn’t know that, though. Not until they began digging through the box of new uniforms looking for their jersey, and none could find their number.
“We opened the box and were all shocked to see the numbers were from 20 to 40,” Webster said.
Noack heard instant complaints from players saying they didn’t want to give up their old number.
“But it was a one-hour thing and then they were all right,” Noack said.
Hilton wound up with 25 because that’s his number in travel volleyball. Webster got first pick because he has the most seniority on the team. Webster wears No. 25 in basketball as a three-year starter for Guilford’s three-time defending NIC-10 champions, but he picked 30 for practical reasons.
“All the 20s didn’t fit me,” the 6-foot-4 Webster said. “No. 30 was the smallest number that fit me.”
Kyle Knuth used to wear 12. “It’s the number I grew up with. I played baseball with that number. My brothers played baseball with that number. It was just through the family.”
Now he is 33. That seems nothing like 12 — but it is. His sister and older brother both played basketball wearing No. 33.
So he picked 33 for the same reason he picked 12. But it’s still an adjustment.
“It was never that much of my identity,” Knuth said of his old number, “but I still feel a little bit like No. 12.”
Matt Trowbridge is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at [email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @MattTrowbridge.
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