Madison-Ridgeland Academy's Josh Hubbard breaks Mississippi High School scoring record
HATTIESBURG — Kermit Davis couldn’t help but smile while talking to Josh Hubbard. The Ole Miss coach embraced Hubbard following his 28-point performance in Madison-Ridgeland Academy’s 55-54 victory over Presbyterian Christian in the MAIS Class 6A semifinals. Davis, the Ole Miss coach, needed to see Hubbard – Mississippi’s No. 1 recruit – make history in person.
“All right, bud – good luck tomorrow,” Davis said to Hubbard. “I wasn’t going to miss this one.”
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The Ole Miss signee didn’t disappoint. Hubbard is the new all-time leading scorer for Mississippi high school boys basketball.
The four-star recruit glided past three defenders for a left-handed layup through contact to give the Patriots a 53-51 lead over the Wildcats with 1:25 left in the fourth quarter. The bucket gave Hubbard 4,275 points, and he passed Houlka standout Robert Woodard (1982-86) as the No. 1 scorer in state history.
Hubbard followed it with the game-winning basket on the following possession to secure MRA’s spot against Jackson Prep for the state title Saturday at Presbyterian Christian.
“I just wanted to finish the game,” Hubbard said. “I knew I had a good advantage to score the ball. I did that and we had to come home and finish.
“I was thinking about it the whole game, before the game (and) even three months ago. But I was more focused on the win, and once it got to a close game it didn’t really go through my mind.”
Hubbard had 29 points in MRA's 68-65 loss to Hartfield Academy to end the regular season, leaving him with 26 points to break the record. Hubbard averaged 27 points per game heading into postseason play.
Hubbard’s father, Jason, knew breaking the record was weighing on him in the loss to the Hawks. Jason had a message: Be calm and stay patient. Josh picked his spots early and finished the first half with nine points and two assists. However, he already decided he was breaking the record on Friday.
“I knew I could get it, but I had to use my teammates as well,” Josh said. “PCS had a great defensive game plan to stop me and bring a lot of help. I had to create for my teammates.
“That was pretty much my plan, and take some stress off me and just focus on tomorrow.”
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The 5-foot-10, 180-pound Hubbard is the the No. 15 point guard nationally and No. 89 overall recruit, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. He also received offers from Mississippi State and LSU among others. None of that will matter to Josh once MRA faces off against Jackson Prep. He’s determined to avenge last season’s state final loss to Jackson Prep.
"We gotta win tomorrow night," Jason said. "I'm like Kobe Bryant, we haven't won it all yet, so we aren't going to celebrate too much because we have another game to win."
Josh is the third player in state history to reach 4,000 points, following Woodard and Lanier standout Monta Ellis. It was a surreal experience to pass those state legends, according to Josh.
"I haven't processed it in my mind," Josh said. "To be in the category of Monta Ellis and Robert Woodard, two great players, much respect for them."
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Madison-Ridgeland Academy's Josh Hubbard breaks Mississippi scoring record
