It is an issue facing parents the world over: How do I get my teenager to listen to my advice, not ignore it? Whenever Westfield junior Maurice “Mo” Hubbard decides he knows more than his father, Phil, on basketball-related matters there is a pretty airtight way to bring him around.
Call Gilbert Arenas.
Phil Hubbard played in the NBA for 10 years and is now a Washington Wizards assistant coach. That position gives his son plenty of chances to interact with some of the game’s biggest stars, including Arenas. It’s a pretty good card to play when trying to reach a talented, if occasionally stubborn, young man.
“I’m not always going to see eye-to-eye with my dad all the time,” said Mo Hubbard, a 6-foot-6 forward who has established himself as one of the top frontcourt players in the Washington, D.C. area. “But when Gil and Caron Butler and those guys tell me to listen to what he has to say you pretty much have to do it.”
Those interactions are nothing new for Mo Hubbard. He has grown up around the professional game as his father held assistant coaching positions with Atlanta and Golden State, even meeting Arenas when he was just a lowly Warriors rookie fighting for minutes.
Mo Hubbard counts former NBA players forward Tyrone Corbin and guard Steve Smith as his favorite players from his days in Atlanta, an appropriate inside-out choice considering that’s the way his game is developing. A forward with excellent rebounding instincts, Mo Hubbard (18.8 points per game, 11.4 rebounds per game) can consistently pull taller players away from the basket and is slowly improving the range on his jumper.
His play has helped steady a Westfield team that is 8-2 despite integrating four new starters and a group of role players into the lineup. Last week it hosted and won the first Bulldog Bash Holiday Tournament. Hubbard averaged 24 points and 12 rebounds per game at the event en route to most valuable player honors.
“Mo has given us exactly what we needed,” said Westfield coach Doug Ewell, whose team features just two seniors. “It was test early. But with his points and rebounds always there it allowed everyone to adjust to their new roles.”
Hubbard’s cupboard
» Mo Hubbard’s father, Phil, played at Michigan, was drafted by the Detroit Pistons in 1979 and spent eight years with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He averaged 10.9 points per game during his career.
» Mo Hubbard has drawn recruiting interest from a wide variety of schools, including DePaul, Virginia, St. Joseph’s, Ball State, George Mason and Richmond. He spent last summer with the prestigious Norfolk, Va.-based Boo Williams AAU team.
» Seven different players have started games this season for Westfield, which plays Concorde District rival Robinson at home tonight at 7:30.
