Photographs have the ability to capture important pieces of our past and help us recall people, places, feelings and memories that made an impact on our lives. For many scholar-athletes, pictures secure those special moments and assist in making their collegiate careers last forever.

In a feature called “Fab Five”, Triton scholar-athletes are tasked to pick five of their favorite photos throughout their career to be highlighted on UCSDtritons.com.

As our “Fab Five” series continues, UC San Diego basketball rising senior Gabe Hadley shares his collection and a brief caption describing each moment. 

Hadley hails from Launceston, Australia, majoring in human development at Warren College.

1. No I in "Team"

I love this photo for many reasons. First, no matter who is on the court we can always rely on the bench to create a spark for us and to be rowdy to get us going on the court. It doesn't matter who 's on the bench; we cheer and celebrate for one another because we are such a tight knit group. 

I've been on a lot of teams and I've never quite experienced the brotherhood I have in this one and I think this photo speaks volumes of that. In this team we were all for one and one for all. These types of teams are hard to come by, and when they form they become very difficult to face.

 

2. More Than The Player

This photo means a lot to me as it shows how involved our community and fan-base is with our team, and you guys mean more to us than you know. There have been times in games where we've had tough situations and our crowd was always there in the big moments to lift  the roof off the building and create the energy we needed to get over the line. Without you guys in the stands, we wouldn't have been nearly as successful as we were and I hope your support is continued as we need it! Thank you so much for what you guys do, family, friends, supporters and everybody else. We can't wait to see all your faces again soon (fingers crossed)!

3. Showtime

Of course I had to throw a photo of myself in here. This particular one is special to me as it was in our conference final and my slow old legs managed to get a steal which gave us a little separation from Pomona, and it created some momentum for us which led us to pull away and win the conference championship. After all the hard work you put in through the off-season and during the season, it is so relieving and rewarding to see it all come together for you individually and with the team collectively to win a conference championship. This is one of the moments that captured that for me. Get a fast-break steal could be one of the most nervous times for a basketballer as smoking (missing) the lay-up is one of the most embarrassing things that could happen. Luckily our coaching staff was prepared and put us in these types of positions throughout our practices so we were ready to face the situations when they came. So thank you coaching staff for all you do for us players.

4. Team Camaraderie

I love this photo as one of our toughest players, Christian Oshita, is running the other direction scared of big Chris Hansen getting a rebound and what looks like trying to score the ball. Chris was a leader for our team and did this by his actions more than his words. He contributed more to our mindset and approach to each day than he thinks. Anybody that followed us would know that Chris had a season ending injury but he was determined to get back on the court, finish the season off with us and make a run at the national title. The hard work and dedication that Chris was showing in many ways was contagious for the team, it led us to work harder and be more dedicated towards our goals as we could see him grinding back to full health everyday. I believe this is something that went unspoken but as a member of the team reflecting through all the photos of the year I believe this played a big part in our success. Also I would like to take a moment to thank all our seniors who also led the way from the start of the year til the end. Hopefully next year if we can even be half as good as leaders as you guys I'm sure we'll have a chance at a great season.

5. That Winning Feeling

This is one of the best photos of the year as it purely captures all of our hard work paying off and securing the conference championship. There's no feeling like winning a championship especially when it's with your brothers in arms. Memories like these will never fade and I can remember going up the ladder and cutting my piece of the net like it was yesterday. Moments like these are the ones that inspire you to keep working hard, to keep giving it your best day in and day out in hope that you'll get the chance to compete for another championship down the line and experience the same feelings when that final buzzer sounds. From the coaching staff to the players, everybody has a smile on their face as all the hard work they put in throughout the year has finally paid off…and then all the hard work starts again.

Stay tuned for future editions of “Fab Five” from other UC San Diego scholar-athletes. Below are previous “Fab Five” collections: 

• Zeinab Torabi (women's track and field)
• Isabel Lavrov (softball)
• Cameron Leonard (baseball)
• Neil Tengbumroong (men's tennis)
• Sarah Proctor (women's rowing)
• Konami Masui (women's fencing)
• Natalie Widmer (women's soccer)
• Anu Bhadada (women's tennis)
• Calder Hilde-Jones (men's water polo)
• Jake Selstad (men's cross country/track and field)
• Cindy Tran (women's volleyball)
• Collin Shannon (men's volleyball)
• Grace Murphy (women's swimming & diving)
• Jonathan Sabouri (men's soccer)

About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program begins a new era in 2020 as a member of the Big West Conference in NCAA Division I.  The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in DivisionsIII and II and helped guide more than 1,300 scholar-athletes to All-America honors.  A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 37 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships.  UC San Diego student-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.