FMS Hoops Today: Ed Huckaby talks us through Week 1

Fishburne’s postgrad basketball team began the 2012-2013 season ranked fourth in the nation in the PG Sportswriters Top 10 poll, a program high.

The Caissons didn’t open with a schedule of cupcakes, to say the least, tipping off in a two-day October tournament at #7 St. john’s (Wisc.).

“It was their season opener. Sold-out gym, packed. On the road. I’m proud of our guys. They took control of the game with a very tough opponent,” said FMS coach Ed Huckaby, whose team won the opener at St. John’s by a 79-74 final, then a night later defeated Quakerdale Prep (Iowa) 77-66.

That one might have impressed Coach Huckaby more. Quakerdale Prep had scored 123 points in its opening win. Huckaby didn’t expect a repeat of that performance against his team. “Defensively, I think we’re pretty sound,” Huckaby said.

In the end, the 77-66 win “wasn’t our sharpest game, but I was proud of our guys, because we came off that big high of the season opener, two top-10 teams, and we had to turn around and play the next day, and got a double-digit win,” Huckaby said.

“That was a pleasing win. It didn’t meet the eye test, but we fought, fought, fought, and our guys pulled it out,” Huckaby said.

The 2-0 start pushed FMS up one spot in the Top 10, to #3.

The significance of the #3 ranking to Huckaby: “It’s nothing more than people recognize the strength of our program,” he said.

“They recognize what we’ve done here, the good things we’ve done. I think it also says a lot about what we’re doing as a school to build this program to what we want Fishburne postgrad basketball to be,” Huckaby said.