1 on 1 with Mississippi State freshman Josh Hubbard

Josh Hubbard was a well-known name in the Magnolia State prep ranks and for good reason. The former Madison-Ridgeland Academy star is the state’s record holder in career scoring and these days, he is making a name for himself at Mississippi State and in the SEC.

In November of 2022, Hubbard officially signed with Ole Miss. But due to coaching changes in the Rebels’ program, the former On3 composite four-star guard was released from his letter of intent and then signed with Mississippi State last spring.

Entering Saturday’s SEC home matchup with Arkansas, Hubbard is averaging 14.8 points a game and that leads all SEC freshmen scoring averages. Hubbard also leads the entire SEC with 66 three-pointers made so far this season and has captured the SEC Freshman of the Week award three times this season.

Recently, Maroon and White Daily caught up with Hubbard to discuss his introduction to college basketball and his route to Starkville:

Q: Did you expect to eventually break into the starting lineup this season?
Hubbard: Not really and it was a shock, to be honest. I was playing my role and coming off the bench. I found out an hour before the (Auburn) game that I was starting. It didn’t change my mindset but it was something that a high school kid works for and works for a very long time. It took me a short time to process it and I was proud of myself and proud of the people that supported me to help me get here.

Q: Your work ethic and demeanor on and off the court has been talked about often. But did you envision having this kind of success so early in your college career?
Hubbard: I had very high expectations for myself and I prayed about it. God answered my prayers and it was all a blessing. I just go back and revisit the prayers I had for myself.

Q: Obviously, your situation changed when you asked out of your Ole Miss signing and then signed with State. Do you often think about how things could be different?
Hubbard: Yeah I have thought about it before but I don’t think about it consistently. But I’ve thought about it before and how things could be different. But I am glad things worked out and they worked out perfectly, in my opinion. I am thankful for those up and down moments because you never know what’s ahead.

Q: You make a lot of things seem easy on the court. But is SEC basketball as tough as you thought it would be as a freshman?
Hubbard: Most definitely. Just the speed and the physicality, and also the importance of every possession. In high school you can get away with some possessions and not score. But in college each possession matters. You just try to critique what you did wrong after each game.

Q: You have an old-school jumpshot where you jump up to shoot it. How much does that help you offset your height disadvantage against the bigger SEC guards?
Hubbard: It helps a lot. It makes it easier for myself and it is a blessing to get off the ground and shoot over those tall defenders. Also, it helps me defensively to go get rebounds when I can.

Q: Is that something you started with your jumpshot at an early age or just something you eventually learned to do?
Hubbard: It was really something I picked up before high school. I started it my 8th grade year and I really started trying it after my 9th grade year. I started working on it and working on it. As time grew I kept working on it and it just became natural.

Q: You are the state’s all-time leading scorer in high school basketball. But how was the transition coming to college to play for a defensive-minded head coach like Chris Jans?
Hubbard: The transition was frustrating at first. But I knew it would take hard work. Like you said, Coach Jans is a defensive coach and I like that. I want to be a complete player because a lot of people didn’t think I could play defense in high school but I really could. I just wanted to show everybody that I want to learn to be a complete player. There is no better coach in the world that help teach me the schemes and things like that like Coach Jans.

Q: This team still has a lot of goals left on the table. What’s got to happen for this team to keep building the NCAA Tournament resume?
Hubbard: We have high expectations for ourselves and the team, collectively. We expect to do big things and make the (NCAA) Tournament. We know it won’t be easy. There will be some ups and downs but as long as we stay together, we can overcome any of those challenges.