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He’s made the Francis Award Watch List. His team is ranked No. 1 again, making six weeks at the top and nine in the Top Five in the nation. Now Davidson Hubbard has reached another landmark in this season, reaching and passing the 1,000-point mark last week. 

“I credit my coaches and my teammates the most for this,” Hubbard said. “Coaches put me in the situation where I can reach that level of impact on this team. And my teammates, they trust me with the ball in my hands and helped me get to this point.” 

Hitting the 1,000-point mark is an event on its own, but it’s even more impressive when you consider how Hubbard did it. The Charlotte, North Carolina native’s first season at Hampden-Sydney was during the 2020-21 season, the dramatically shortened COVID year. 

“To see Davidson score 1,000 points is a testament to the work he’s done,” said Hampden-Sydney Head Coach Caleb Kimbrough. “People probably don’t realize his freshman year was a COVID year, so we only played six games. He’s actually done this in about three years, which is spectacular.” 

In three years and a handful of extra games, Hubbard put up 1,000 points. That’s hard to do at any level and you’d struggle to find a game so far this year where the 6’5 forward didn’t score in at least double digits. He says it’s the part of his game that’s the most natural. 

“Now everyone has to play defense if they want to play for our team,” Hubbard said. ‘That’s non-negotiable for us. And I work on rebounding. But scoring, I feel like that comes the most natural to me, like that’s probably one of the bigger pieces I can provide for our team.” 

‘IT KINDA JUST DEVELOPED’ 

Hubbard says when he gets the ball, it’s pretty reactive, rather than attacking with a plan. 

“I just see maybe a mismatch on me, figure the best shot to take, but I’m just playing my role,” Hubbard said. “It kinda just developed over the years. It’s the role I’ve been put in by coaches. I was never a huge scoring guy, but over the years, it’s just added to my game.” 

That’s true looking all the way back to Ardrey Kell High in Charlotte, where he earned All-Conference honors as a senior, averaging 15 points and 7.5 rebounds. He brought those habits to Hampden-Sydney and learned new ones as well. Even as a college freshman, he shot 55% from the field. Like Hubbard said, it’s a role that came naturally. But it’s also the result of a lot of hard work, his coach points out. 

“Davidson is one of a kind,” Kimbrough said. “He came into Hampden-Sydney as a kind of shy young man, but always a force on the basketball court. To see him develop and grow, not just on the court but as a person, the way he introduces himself and carries himself, it’s really special. He’s an absolute joy to be around and we’re proud of him.” 

LOOKING AHEAD

Now Hubbard and the rest of the Tigers stand atop the NCAA Division III rankings, back up at No. 1 after a few weeks in the No. 2 and No. 3 spots. They head into this weekend’s ODAC Conference Tournament as the No. 2 seed. For Hubbard, he feels it’s the perfect time to be going into the postseason. 

“We’re peaking now, we’ve had a lot of great games leading up to this moment,” Hubbard said. “These games count the most, but we’re still going in with the same mindset. Let’s play one game at a time.” 

The games are being played at the Salem Civic Center, about two hours away, but Hubbard said neutral site or not, it won’t matter. 

“We bring our own energy. We can go into a dead gym or a packed gym and we’re still gonna play the same way,” Hubbard said. “If we have our whole team, there’s very little that can stop us.”