Hoop Blessings owner and founder Sa’de Wiley-Gatewood, aka the ‘Smooth Operator’, was born and raised in San Diego, California. Coach Sa’de began playing basketball at the age of eight; honing her skills at the Jackie Robinson YMCA in Southeast San Diego. She moved to Los Angeles when she was ten years old.

Sa’de’s stepfather Jerry Gatewood—who also served as her coach and trainer—did not allow her to play against girls until she was in sixth grade. She attributes this to helping increase her basketball IQ, strength, quickness, toughness and developing the athleticism and skills that became signatures of her incredible play.

While in middle school, Sa’de played for both the boys’ and girls’ basketball teams at Monroe Middle School in Inglewood, CA, as well as the Darby Park Recreation Center in Inglewood, CA. At the same time, she competed in high school practices and tournaments for Hawthorne High School and Dominguez High School as her step dad her coach. Her teammates referred to her as Sesame Street in reference to how young she was. Sa’de’s high school career rewarded the effort she put into maximizing her unprecedented potential, and fulfilled the promise others saw in her game.

Sade’s career at Lynwood High School included too many accolades and awards to list, but she won multiple regional, state and national championships, she was an All-American, California State Player of the Year and, in 2004, named National Player of The Year. As an eighth grader, Sa’de was invited to attend Nike’s prestigious All-American Camp; an annual showcase of the nation’s best basketball talent. She became the first middle-schooler—male or female—ever invited to attend!

Sa’de performed well at the All-American Showcase, playing against America’s elite talent (all of whom were significantly older) and in front of college coaches from across the country. Later that same year, Sa’de attended summer Elite Camp at the University of Tennessee. At the end of the camp, ten standout athletes were selected to compete against the Lady Volunteers. Sa’de was selected, and performed so well legendary coach Pat Summitt offered her a scholarship to play for her perennial powerhouse program. The verbal made Sa’de the first rising freshman recruit in history to commit to a Division-I school.