Word out of Iowa City, Iowa yesterday that former junior college player Anthony Hubbard has left the Iowa basketball team to pursue opportunities closer to home on the surface is not really strange. Players transfer frequently and often want to play closer to family and friends.
But Hubbard is a special case. Iowa gave the 26-year-old a scholarship earlier in the year after much scrutiny and controversy. Hubbard spent nearly four years in prison for armed robbery.
He was playing in a summer league near Iowa City and apparently doing well. He apparently enjoyed the Iowa program. Then poof: he’s gone without ever playing a game for the Hawkeyes.
Did Hubbard really suffer from homesickness and want to return to the East (he grew up in Virginia and played junior college basketball in Maryland) or was there another reason? Why did Iowa release him from his scholarship and allow him to transfer to any other school in the country? Often, programs won’t allow players to transfer to a different conference school and/or an opponent on the team’s schedule.
One sports talk show guy speculated that Hubbard broke a rule. The University of Iowa has been obviously tight lipped about the situation and comments reported are of the usual public relations variety.
People may never really know what happened in Hubbard’s case (if it wasn’t homesickness), but in this Internet age you can be sure someone or some people are trying to uncover further information.
Stay tuned.
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