Navajo basketball player eyes college

GALLUP, N.M. (AP) – If the basketball court at Gallup High School could speak, tales of superstar Alfonzo Hubbard would likely fill the air.



Those within earshot would be hard-pressed to find comparable stories around northwestern New Mexico.



The half-African-American, half-Navajo Hubbard burst on the scene in 2006, and by the time he was done in 2009, he was a household name in New Mexico sports.



"I've got a lot of family in Albuquerque and my dad keeps me up to date on the prep scene in that area," Andy Ward, basketball coach at Northwestern College in Powell, Wyo., said. Hubbard attended Northwestern, a two-year school, for one year after graduating from Gallup High. "He (my dad) told me, 'This Hubbard kid is really good.'"



In some circles, the 6-foot-5-inch, 205-pound Hubbard is considered the best basketball player ever to come out of McKinley County. The versatile Hubbard led the Class 5A Bengals in scoring, rebounds and blocked shots each of his three years at Gallup High, which included a 22-game winning streak and District 1-5A championship and No. 2 ranking in the state during the 2008-09 season and a trip to the state tournament at The Pit in Albuquerque. When it was all said and done, Hubbard, born and raised in Gallup, finished his senior year averaging 28.6 points, 13.3 rebounds and 2.4 blocks. Prior to Hubbard's arrival, Gallup High hadn't been to a state tournament in more than 20 years.



"The bigger the game, the bigger he is. He's a gamer; very versatile. He can play point guard, forward or post people up," Ryan Cordova, Hubbard's coach in 2006, said. Cordova's team reached the quarterfinals of the state district tournament. "He's the complete floor player and the kind of player who can play defense well and score on people at will," Cordova, now coach and athletic director at Northern New Mexico College in Espanola, said.



Newspaper reports were often the official source of information about the buzz surrounding Gallup boys basketball:



"It was one more big performance for former Gallup High School Bengal Alfonzo Hubbard," reads a July 31, 2009, Independent article. "Hubbard had 20 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks in his final high school performance, showcasing his skills in the Class 4A-5A North-South All-Star game."



Hubbard's basketball accomplishments are particularly notable, considering Gallup – 6,500 feet above sea level and with a characteristic hilly terrain – is better known for sports such as rodeo, biking and hiking. A local businessman formed a semi-pro basketball team in 2004, but, after a few years, the venture failed.



"I remember those days," Vanessa Hubbard, "Fonzie's" older sister, said. "He's always been a versatile player who is capable of playing a lot of positions." Vanessa Hubbard, 27, played basketball and volleyball at GHS and was also a member of the school's track and field team. The Lady Bengals won the state basketball championship in 2002 against Hobbs High. "I think he's a very good player," she said. Vanessa attended college on an athletic scholarship, graduating in nursing from the University of Tampa in Florida. She now works as an emergency room nurse at a hospital in Tampa.



Todd Phillips, assistant basketball coach at Salt Lake Community College in Salt Lake City, where Alfonzo played this year, called Hubbard, 20, an exceptional player and said he's on schedule to graduate in general studies in May. Phillips said having Hubbard on the team has been fantastic.



"He's definitely a great all-around player and having him on the team has worked out very well," Phillips said, noting SLCC's 25-8 record the past year. Hubbard, a starter and a 2010-11 National Junior College All-American, led SLCC in nearly every category, Phillips noted, averaging 17.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.6 blocks. Playing mostly guard and forward, Hubbard was second on the team in minutes played, Phillips said, averaging 28.8 minutes a game. Last month, Hubbard led SLCC with 27 points on 12-of-19 shooting in a 94-86 Region 18 Championship loss to the College of Southern Idaho.



"Right now, I'm preparing to take some recruiting visits," Hubbard said recently. He said he's contemplating signing with Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, the University of the Pacific in Stockton, Calif., the University of California-Riverside, Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, the University of Texas-Pan American in Edinburg, Florida International University in Miami, Portland State University in Oregon, Weber State University in Ogden, Utah or Utah Valley University in Orem, among other schools. He said he'll make a decision on which school to attend in the coming months.



Ron Hubbard, Alfonzo's father, said his son also excelled in football and baseball growing up, but chose to focus on just one sport when he started Gallup High in the 10th grade.



"He was a good, all-around athlete as a kid," said the elder Hubbard, 47, a basketball player himself back-in-the-day at Diné College in nearby Tsaile, Ariz.



Hubbard, a military brat and U.S. Army veteran who was born in Springfield, Mass., coincidently the home of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, met Alfonzo's mother, Freida, at Diné College, where she was, in her own right, a highly-respected basketball player on Diné's girls team. Freida grew up in Greasewood, a small community west of Chinle and on the Navajo Nation Indian Reservation.



"One thing in basketball I want people to know is that he had five different coaches in five years (high school and college) and that's tough for anybody. But he has persevered and done well. I'm proud of him," Ron Hubbard said.



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Information from: Gallup Independent, http://www.gallupindependent.com



