MRA superstar, future Ole Miss Rebel edges closer to Mississippi high school scoring record

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - “It’s been a long process, and to hear ‘my final year and senior year’ is definitely an exciting moment for me.”

“Exciting” is a great way to describe senior Josh Hubbard’s basketball journey at Madison Ridgeland Academy. Hubbard is currently averaging just over 20 points a game and making history while he’s at it.

Hubbard is the third player in Mississippi High School basketball history to reach 4,000 points, and now he’s inching closer and closer to breaking the 4,274-point record. But, he wasn’t always a big baller...

“It was definitely a lot of work, but it all started when I was all young. Credit to my dad and Coach Duease, and a lot of coaches, and the passionate love I have for the game, and my big brother’s bullying me in the driveway,” Hubbard said.

Now, the top high school talent in the state has not only grown in size but also in his basketball skills.

MRA head coach Richard Duease says he saw it from the beginning.

“When he was in the fourth grade. He’d come in to watch Jordan, his older brother, play. So, I’d let him shoot,” Coach Duease said. “Back then, he could shoot 3′s without a sweat. I told our guys at the end of the year and I told our coaches, ‘This will be the best player we’ve ever had at MRA.’ When it’s all said and done... it looks like that’s going to come true.”

All of that talent and hard work seemed to pay off after he landed a spot on the Ole Miss Rebels Men’s Basketball roster.

“First and foremost, Kermit Davis is a good coach. In the recruiting process, we built a great relationship and I love Ole Miss basketball. I’ve been following them as a Mississippi kid.”

Hoopers don’t just come from Hubbard’s immediate family. WLBT learned Thursday that he is related to a future NBA Hall of Famer and 3-time NBA champion.

“A few facts that people don’t know about me is I’m cousins with Dwyane Wade,” Hubbard said.

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