Arrive 15 minutes early for a Kishwaukee College basketball practice, and you`ll invariably discover that Troy Hubbard has already broken a sweat.
Just a few months ago, Hubbard did his sweating on the way to the gym, wondering what effect his daily tardiness would have on his playing time.
”When Troy came out in the fall, he expected all things to go his way,” said Kishwaukee coach Gregg Gierke. ”We had to convince him that things here are done our way.”
As punishment for coming late to practice and not spending the mandatory five hours a week in the school`s study-skills center, the Eisenhower High product was left behind when the team traveled to Danville for a one-day jamboree in late September. The preseason get-together is known to be popular among Division I recruiters.
That one spoonful of Gierke`s discipline acted like a miracle cure. Hubbard, a 6-foot-6-inch power forward, immediately straightened out his act. He has since led the Kougars to a 16-1 record by averaging 26.2 points and 11.0 rebounds, both team highs. He`s the only Region IV player to be ranked in the top five in both categories-second in scoring and fifth in rebounding. And now he`s among the first players at practice.
”When we started off, my head wasn`t on right,” Hubbard said. ”Being left at home affected me. It made me work harder and realize I have to bust my butt like everybody else.”
A big man who can run the floor, Hubbard fits in well with Kishwaukee`s fastbreak shoot-first-ask-questions-later offense. Hubbard scored 39 points by drilling an eye-popping 18 of 19 in Tuesday`s 140-116 victory over Black Hawk East. Despite that performance, Hubbard was overshadowed by teammate Juan Martin, who hit 20 of 27 shots in scoring a school-record 45 points.
”I don`t care if I get my average or how many points I score,” Hubbard said. ”If we keep winning, everyone will get the attention.”
Hubbard`s outlook was not nearly as rosy a year ago. He had ventured out to Wyoming to play for Casper Community College. However, a broken foot in the school`s second game ended his adventure in the West.
Having resumed his basketball career at Kishwaukee, in Malta, Ill., just outside of De Kalb, Hubbard has designs on playing Division I ball after next season. He has another year of junior college eligibility left because he was declared a medical redshirt last season.
At 220 pounds, Hubbard reminds Gierke of Mark Aguirre in body stature. The coach says Hubbard looks a little heavy but gets down the court quickly, tips passes away on defense and fills the lane on the break.
”He really has a nose for the ball,” said Gierke, whose team is ranked No. 1 in Region IV`s Division II. ”And other teams don`t expect a big guy to move like that.”
Keeping this former high school linebacker off the boards is difficult at best.
”I like the physical part of basketball,” said Hubbard, a grin creasing his lips. ”I like banging the boards-when the refs just let you play. I try to play like the Mailman (Utah`s Karl Malone) and (Philadelphia`s Charles)
Barkley.”
Don`t expect a sequel to Hubbard`s episode of ”Home Alone.” He learned his lesson the first time. Since September, this 19-year-old freshman has grown up, and in the meantime, he`s developed into Kishwaukee`s leader.
”If things are going bad, Troy will call everybody together to settle them down,” Gierke said. ”That`s the kind of leadership I look for. We knew he`d have to be our leader if we were going to be any good. But Troy had to learn he had to be our leader off the court as well as on, and we were able to do that before the season even started.”
