Keeler: Anthony Hubbard’s shot at redemption
If anyone would have a reason to doubt Anthony Hubbard, it’s George Ayoob.
In December 2003, Hubbard and some pals broke into the Woodbridge, Va., home of Ayoob, then 71, robbed him and made off with his cellular phone.
And yet when you ask Ayoob today about Hubbard, one of the newest members of the Iowa men’s basketball program, he says this:
“I think he was very young and he kind of got hooked into it. They just kind of followed the one guy (who) was a real trouble-maker. The other three or four that were with him didn’t do anything. They just kind of stood around and got in the way, really.”
No resentment. No grudge. Now 79, Ayoob hopes Iowans give Hubbard a chance before they condemn him outright.
Anthony Hubbard, 26, will join the Iowa men's basketball team this season. (Dan Scenna/AP Photo/Frederick Community College)
“I hope he’s doing well,” he says. “I’d like to see the young fella turn his life around and get headed in the right direction. If he’s sincere in his motivation to get ahead, the least we should do is give him a helping hand. And just hope he doesn’t bite it.”
Ayoob’s turned the other cheek. So here’s the question: Why can’t Hawkeye fans do the same?
You see the headline —“Felon signs with Iowa basketball team” — and red flags go off everywhere.
The stench of Pierre Pierce still lingers. Iowans desperately want a winner on Elliot Drive, but not in exchange for their souls.
But like a lot of things in life, it’s also not that simple. There is right and wrong, and Anthony Hubbard has done his fair share of both. There are shades of gray here, too, and hard questions about second chances and redemption.
The man who signed the 26-year-old, coach Fran McCaffery, and the man who gave it the green light, athletic director Gary Barta, are on the I-Club circuit this month; the former admits that it hasn’t been the easiest sell.
“It has come up,” McCaffery says of Hubbard, a 6-foot-5 guard and cousin of ex-NBA star David Thompson who averaged 20.7 points per game at Frederick (Md.) Community College over the winter. “(But) some people are going to be open-minded to him and trust that we’ve done our due diligence.”
Barta described the university’s vetting process on Hubbard as “thorough”, adding that the Virginia native’s admission will “comply with University protocol.” He deferred questions on specific protocols to associate athletic director Fred Mims. Mims didn’t return phone calls seeking comment.
For his part, Barta says that he’s “only received a couple notes of concern … the vast majority (of fans) appear to recognize he made a horrible mistake eight years ago.”
At 18, Hubbard was running with some of the wrong people. One of his friends needed money, and decided to rob Ayoob to get it. Hubbard drove the getaway car.
“I suppose they’re lucky they’re still alive,” Ayoob says. “I let it happen the easy way and didn’t go for the gun.”
Hubbard is open about what happened and justifiably embarrassed in the same breath, speaking with the hindsight of a man who’s grown up the hard way, who’s had years to reflect on the wisdom of his sins. After hearing that the police had come by his home in the days following the incident, Anthony turned himself in to authorities.
“If me and you go rob a bank and you’re in the car, and I go inside the bank and I shoot people,” Hubbard says, “you’re just as guilty as I am.”
He was initially charged with robbery, malicious wounding, and illegal use of a firearm. He pleaded guilty to robbery and spent three years and 11 months serving time at St. Brides Correctional Center and Indian Creek Correctional Center. He appeared before a parole board three times and was denied each time before being released in December 2007.
By all accounts, Anthony wasn’t an evil kid. Directionless? Yes. Evil? No. He was expelled from Woodbridge High School in the 10th grade after lagging attendance. His biological father wasn’t married to his mother, who worked to support four brothers and three sisters. His rock, his mentor, was his oldest brother, who died in 2002. In hindsight, Hubbard says, he sort of, well — snapped after that.
Hubbard with girlfriend, Kim Wilson. (Special to the Register)
“I kind of let go,” says Hubbard, who writes ‘Rest In Peace’ on his basketball shoes in his brother’s honor. “On my 17th birthday, he took me out to eat … he basically told me that the ball was in my court. I could either shoot it or pass it. That really stuck with me to this day. I feel the ball is in my court right now, and the only person that can stop me from doing what I want to do right now is me.”
With the help of online courses, Hubbard got his high-school diploma. He worked odd jobs and played basketball on the side. Three friends from Woodbridge recommended him to Frederick coach Dave Miller, but FCC wanted him to enroll in classes for a year before becoming eligible to play.
Hubbard — who’d hooped in AAU but wasn’t part of his high school’s program — instead went to Odessa (Texas) Community College, which turned out to be a mixed blessing. The downside was that he didn’t show up in the shape coach Dennis Helms wanted and only received limited playing time as a result. The upside was that he proved his academic mettle at a college level — he wound up with a 3.4 GPA — and met his current girlfriend, Kim Wilson, a student at the nearby University of Texas-Permian Basin. Hubbard eventually transferred to FCC, where he reportedly has a 3.2 GPA. He was charged with misdemeanor assault in January, but those charges were later dropped.
“I would let him date my daughter,” Miller says, laughing. “If I had a daughter.”
If anyone should have a reason to be wary of Anthony Hubbard, it’s Jeppie Wilson. A minister at Odessa’s Shiloh Baptist Church, Wilson actually does have a daughter — and she’s been dating Hubbard for the last 20 months.
“She’s a pretty good judge of character, so if she’s comfortable around him, then we’re comfortable around him,” Wilson says of Kim, who’s flown out several times to see Anthony, and vice versa, since he moved back east.
“I could see the way he related to her and how she would respond to him. Anyone who would treat my daughter like that, they’re all right in my book.”
Wilson thinks that Hubbard should be all right in your book, too.
“Just give him a chance to be himself,” Jeppie says. “And allow him the chance to prove himself. I think they’ll be pleased.”
You don’t have to forget. But a little forgiveness couldn’t hurt.
Category: Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball
If the guy he robbed forgives him for what he did then we Hawk fans should too! Welcome Anthony to Iowa!
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Was in the same boat as Hubbard was when I was younger, you will be judged by the friends you keep. Some “friends” will find trouble for you, some “friends” will steal your girl right from under your nose and some true friends will teach you to be a better person and along the way you each will learn things from one another. It pays off to find out early who your true friends are and never forget that your families are there for you to!
Thanks to my best friend I’m a better person that I was 18 years ago and I hope Hubbard realizes the oppurtunity he has in front of him. The good people of Iowa and Fran have a lot riding on this young man staying on the right path.
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I have no problem with a second chance, however, I do have a problem with this felon getting a free ride on an athletic scholarship. People convicted of drug crimes are not eligible for any forms of financial aid (even loans). The hypocripsy that allows a convicted (and admitted felon) to attend college for free is beyond ridiculous. He can have his second chance but it should not be on the taxpayer’s dime.
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As a taxpayer, this is less concerning than other ways my tax dollars are spent.
I do agree with you in regards to those convicted of drug crimes being ineligible for certain loans. Although the drug crime has to be very serious in order to fall into this category and if someone gets busted dealing massive amounts of meth and/or crack, I wouldn’t give them a loan either nor would I imagine they would ever be able to step foot on a big ten basketball court. Each crime has its own set of circumstances that need to be factored when determining how to punish and rehabilitate. It’s certainly a shame that some folks’ futures are drastically tarnished by a meager possession of pot….
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Actually you’re wrong about that. Having been convicted of a drug crime only disqualifies you from getting federal student aid if that crime occurred while you were already receiving aid. And even in that case it is possible to go through a “rehabilitation process” in order to become eligible again.
http://ifap.ed.gov/eannouncements/attachments/011311DrugWorksheetENAttach.pdf
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I think it would be a great story if Mr. Hubbard could come in and play great basketball, graduate and have Mr. Ayoob present for the final game of Mr. Hubbard’s Iowa Iowa basketball career. He seems to have forgiven him and there is no further reason others shouldn’t either. Go Hawks!
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I agree with both posters above. And I also think that if the victim was able to forgive Anthony, that also speaks volumes about his (the victims) character. It would be easy for him to hold a grudge and refuse to forgive Anthony, but he doesn’t appear to have done that. What a wonderful and compassionate person he must be. Now let’s hope that Anthony can live up to that, which I think he will. I also think Anthony has learned from his mistake and I’m sure nothing would make the victim happier than to see this man turn his life around and become a good person. I’m glad Coach Fran was willing to give him a chance and I welcome him aboard.
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If any Hawkeye fan or any Iowan, for that matter can call him or herself a Christian, then you are OBLIGATED to forgive, “judge not, lest ye be judged”, Mr Ayoob was the victim and saw some lost kids and one bad seed. We need to welcome our newest Hawkeye and just maybe we will suddenly have new fans in Texas and Virginia to help spread the word about Hawkeye nation!
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I don’t believe it is the Iowa fans who are not accepting of this young man. It is you newspaper people who like to stir up things. I was very offended with the headline earlier “Felon”. That was NOT necessary and only shows how your paper is becoming more and more offensive.
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Agree with you on that. This crime happened eight years ago. Going to Iowa is not a shot at redemption. It’s called getting on with your life. Hubbard already “redeemed” himself by serving his time and going on to post-secondary education. Keeler had some nice information in this article. But like a lot of the muckraking attempts, it’s time to leave this story alone. Let’s just see what he can do on the court in the Big 10.
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Yep, you win. Once someone is involved in a crime, he should be an outcast for the rest of his life.
Seriously, is this how you think?
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You are totally wrong fieldhouse, helping people who don’t need help is of little good as I see it. Finding a young man who mad a mistake and has taken the punishment as a way to turn his life around is what it is all about.
Myself not being a big Christian can only say to people like you and others who seem to think that only those who are not in need should apply for salvation affirms my belief that most people who claim to have a relationship with GOD don’t have a clue of what he would say and do.
Just because you make a mistake does not in my mind mean that your never going to be worth helping after that moment.
Thanks Fran for being a fair human with a heart.
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Hubbard was in the car as the escape driver, not holding a gun to a man’s head. And since when does “robbed at gun point” mean that a gun was pushed against someone’s head? I’m not trying to down play the situation, but you have your information incorrect and are trying to dramatize the situation as if you were directing a movie.
To your second point, unless you expect your daughter to live under your roof for the rest of her life, she will always be surrounded by ‘older felons’. I can’t imagine you’d ever let her live in a city where felons roam the same streets and ride the same trains on a daily basis. Wouldn’t you think the dorm would be safer than sending her off to live in Lincoln Park where assaults on females are a common occurrence?
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Fieldhouse, your lack of compassion aside, posting lies and misleading statements tells us alot about you. No one ever said it was a small crime. And where do you get the girlfriend living in the same dorm at age 18?
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IMO if T-Hub’s life was to be a career criminal he sure as heck would have found himself in the back seat of a cruiser long before now. It seems to me that experience was a huge kick in the pants and he is running as fast as he can from that kind of life. Can’t wait to see the 2010 Hawks take the court, but football first!! No strike in the NCAA. Nebraska sucks!!
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[...] City, Ia. – Anthony Hubbard was the center of attention Wednesday. A bevy of tape recorders and television cameras recorded his [...]
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