Whenever the Greenport High School basketball team needs inspiration, they need only turn to one teammate.
A few years ago, Aaron Hubbard needed a wheelchair to get around the high school.
Today, after 14 surgeries, not only can he walk to classes, he can participate in sports.
“Aaron is very important to our team,” head coach Justin Moore said during practice on Monday. “Aaron has been through a lot. These kids have been growing up with Aaron their whole lives. They’ve been around when Aaron went through surgeries and was in a wheelchair. It was possible that he was never going to walk. So, for him to be able to be up and walking and being able to come out on the basketball court and run and play in games is a blessing.
“He definitely makes us all look in the mirror and see that it could be worse, and we don’t need to complain, because he’s not,” the coach added.
Hubbard, a junior, has bilateral club feet, spina bifida and hydrocephalus and walks with a limp, but that has not stopped him from participating in sports following a series of surgeries at Stony Brook.
“I had casts on both legs at one point,” he said. “Mainly I was in the wheelchair, really all my life. To get out of the wheelchair, it feels amazing, feels really nice. It really felt like I accomplished something.
“The doctors made sure that I was good and healthy and ready for basketball and all these other sports that I play.”
Hubbard, a big-time sports fan, is also the Greenport/Mattituck/Southold football team manager and plans to be with the baseball team when it returns to varsity action this spring.
He might not be a regular, but Hubbard has become the heart of the Porters.
“He really just showed us that no matter what your circumstances are, you can always persevere and always be a part of the team and still be passionate about the stuff that you love,” said senior forward Taiquan Brumsey, a cousin.
Senior guard Nelson Shedrick also has seen Hubbard’s dedication first-hand.
“He’s the hardest worker on the team,” Shedrick said. “He’s always showing up to practice super early and puts in a lot of work. He’s here for JV, the varsity, the junior high. Just being always around basketball.”
Moore put it this way: “If I said practice will be at 4:30 in the morning, he’ll be the first one here. Having the conditions and all that he went through, it really is amazing how dedicated he is.”
While Hubbard doesn’t play regularly, he has become the team’s biggest cheerleader.
“He really brings us up, fires us up,” said senior guard Kal-El Marine. “Since I was a sophomore, if I played super well, or even if I didn’t play that well and we lost, he would text me after the game: ‘Good work today, Kal.’ If we lost, ‘You tried your best.’ Just hearing a positive mindset from someone who doesn’t play, it’s just a great teammate to have.”
It was about this time last year that the 5-foot-3, 140-pound Hubbard received the surprise of a lifetime.
Wearing number 22, he was called in as a late sub in a 70-56 loss at Smithtown Christian on Jan. 20.
Running down court on defense, he got fouled. “I didn’t know that they were going to stop the game, but that’s when I heard the whistling. They wanted me to shoot free throws.”
Hubbard sank two free throws, much to the delight of the cheering crowd, then nailed a field goal.
“It was definitely a big honor for Aaron,” said Moore, who had worked with Smithtown head coach Daniel Skaritka in advance to arrange for the late game highlight. “His teammates were happy for him. It was a big night, because one thing we preach is family. For them to see one of their teammates have an honor to be able to do that, knowing what he went through, it was a blessing to see.”
Hubbard was grateful.
“It really was an amazing opportunity,” said Hubbard. “It feels good, but I’m not done yet. We’re not done yet, trying to accomplish more goals for basketball.”
Skaritka nominated Hubbard for the Suffolk County basketball Ed Lynch Unsung Heroes Award, which he won last year.
“I was shocked,” Hubbard said. “Props to him. It felt really amazing getting that award. If it wasn’t for coaches and my supporting team I wouldn’t be where I’m at right now.””
The second-place Porters (6-1, 5-1), who are in a solid position to reach the county Class C finals, trail only Bridgehampton (7-1, 6-0) in League VII.
“Really, I think we can make it to the Final Four and be the last team standing,” Hubbard said of the state tournament. “But we’ve just got to put in the work, the hard work. I think that we’re going to go pretty far this season.”
Given what Hubbard has already accomplished, nothing seems impossible for him and the Porters.