Ed Huckaby created the monster.
“There are a lot of expectations, but I’d rather have expectations than no expectations. I’m really happy with the progress we’ve made, even though we’ve got a long way to go,” said Huckaby, the former Division I assistant who built a top-10 national power at Fishburne Military School in 2009-2010 in the FMS postgraduate basketball program’s first season of existence.
And now comes the part where Huckaby and crew can get to work to raising the level of expectation even higher.
Fishburne went 20-6 in year one and was ranked #8 in the final national rankings for postgraduate basketball teams, which feature student-athletes who decide on an extra year of high school to work on academics, their games or both.
Student-athletes in the Fishburne postgrad program will leave Waynesboro with 12 college credits and preparation for the college game. In addition to the heightened intensity that comes with the heightened competiton with the other postgrad schools on the schedule, Huckaby and his staff prepare detailed scouting reports on opponents and expect players to be well-versed on what is expected of them before they step on the court.
The talent that he will have to work with was obvious at a recent Media Day event at the school that featured a fair amount of hoopla – with WKAV radio host Mac McDonald bringing his afternoon talk show live to the gym, former UVa. star and NBA veteran Cory Alexander sharing some words of wisdom, and then the guys getting to show off a little of what they can do in three-point and dunk contests.
Eleven of the 16 players on the roster have already made commitments to D1 programs.
The key for Huckaby will be to harness all that talent into a working unit.
“I’ve been in NCAA tournaments. I’m used to that level of play. So they’ve got to come along with me, to trust in me that I know what it takes to not only participate at that level, but to excel at that level,” Huckaby said.
On the web
Link to Fishburne Military School postgrad basketball homepage.
Story by Chris Graham. Chris can be reached at [email protected].
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