Sharing Is Caring For Hubb

Mike Brey made clear he tried to share as many tickets as possible with Prentiss Hubb for Notre Dame’s battle Wednesday night at third-ranked Maryland.

Hubb, after all, is a native of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, barely 30 minutes from the Terps’ College Park campus.

Naturally, the point guard for the Fighting Irish (6-1), winners of six-straight as they enter this ACC/Big Ten Challenge affair, felt obliged to

“It’s going to be a good amount [of friends and family on hand]. I tried to leave some for (Brey), he’s a D.C. guy,” said the sophomore Hubb. “He’ll probably have a couple people there, too.”

It is fitting that Hubb is willing to share in the only presently scheduled homecoming game with the Irish; the point guard leads Notre Dame with 31 assists --- a year after doling out 125 dimes as a true freshman.

“I think Prentiss is just playing very confidently right now,” said senior preseason All-ACC forward John Mooney. “Look at it, he’s one of the best guards in the conference. He’s playing at a high level, he’s scoring, he’s assisting and I think that kind of the big step he’s taken is just his leadership.

“He’s our point guard, he’s our commander and he’s kind of accepted that role and embraced it.”

No more than Hubb can first take an open shot, he likewise doesn’t take credit for his own progression as a floor general.

“Just learning from my older teammates, Rex (Pflueger) and T.J. (Gibbs). They’re like the two guards who are really vocal leaders on the team,” he said, “and just learning from them that sometimes Coach Brey isn’t going to be able to say everything on the court.

“Somebody has to take that lead and just help bring everybody together.”

Equal to Hubb’s individual play is his central role in the Irish’s return to what Brey terms as their home as the NCAA’s leader in assist to turnover ratio at 120:66, 1.82 clip.

“We’re moving the ball great, we’re leading the country in assist to turnover; our rightful spot,” Brey said Tuesday before the team’s flight to Maryland. “And we’re getting good looks. Last game, you kind of felt like here we go, we’re knocking some of those down.

“It’s something we really talk about, sharing the ball under the title of playing the right way. I’ve used a couple clips throughout the preseason where we’ve moved the ball and shared it and made the extra pass and it’s under the phrase, ‘We play the right way.’ We use it in recruiting. We recruit to that. I like that our big guys are good with the ball.”

Hubb does more than ingest Brey’s mantra; he wears a rubber bracelet on his left wrist that reads, “By Any Means. Value Basketball.”

“Just discipline, being able to make the right plays at the right time and being poised with the ball,” Hubb, who owns a 10-points-per-game and 2.4 assist to turnover ratio through seven games, said. “That comes with having one year under my belt, being able to know the ins and outs of college basketball.

“Being more disciplined with the ball and not making silly turnovers.”

Quite simply, Hubb knows exactly when to share.