CHESAPEAKE, Va. - A Chesapeake family was surprised when someone brought a gift for their high school graduate -- a new basketball net.
The mystery doesn't end there for them -- they said they do not know who that person is.
"I think I saw him once, but I don't know him by name," Matthew Quimby, the graduate from Western Branch High School and recipient of the net, said. "I probably saw him a couple of times."
Matthew wasn't there on Father's Day when the mysterious MVP came by with the new net.
"It caught me off-guard," Matthew said. "Not really strange, but definitely surprising."
His mother, Cathie Quimby, said she saw the neighbor as he presented the new net to her boyfriend.
"I have no idea who he is," Cathie said. "I saw him out the window and I couldn't even come out here and say, 'Thank you.'"
After her boyfriend accepted the net, he replaced the old net with the new net. The old net was immediately thrown out.
"I came down and said, 'What's going on?' He said, 'The guy said he's watched Matthew play basketball and saw he had a raggedy net and thought he'd bring it,'" Cathie explained. "It's not a brand-new net, I guess it was one of his nets, maybe."
One of the benefits of this new net, Matthew said, is that he can hear the swish sound of the ball going through it -- something he said his old net could not deliver.
"I was going to get one eventually because the other was torn up and everything," Matthew said.
The old net lasted him roughly seven years, he said, and he hopes to get another seven years more, or longer, with the new net.
In addition to shooting hoops at home, Matthew said he played football and ran cross country in high school, but not basketball.
"I don't know, I just really like football a lot more than basketball," he said. "Basketball is fun for me to do in my free time."
He continues to play and practice, but his eyes will not only be on the hoop. He will also keep his eyes out for that mystery neighbor.
"I really appreciate it, thank you for looking out," Matthew said, reflecting his message towards the neighbor. "Thank you for giving me the net and I hope to see you around."
