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Hubbards second chance could come at NU

The second chance Anthony Hubbard has been waiting for looks to be right around the corner, and he very well could end up finding it in Lincoln, Neb.
After spending nearly four years in prison following a robbery arrest when he was just 17, Hubbard, now 25, is well on his way to continuing his life turnaround and achieving his dream of playing Division I basketball.
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The 6-foot-5, 215-pound wing from Frederick (Md.) Community College has already received a number of official offers for his play in the juco ranks the past two seasons, including offers from Nebraska, Iowa and Penn State. He's also received some interest from the likes of Kansas State and Louisville.
Even though his life took a turn for the worst at an early age, Hubbard said he's become a better person from overcoming all that he's been through.
"It's something that's going to affect me for the rest of my life whether I like it or not," Hubbard said. "It's a part of me, not necessarily a part of who I am but a part of my life, and people are either going to accept it or not accept it."
Hubbard, a native of Woodbridge, Va., played his freshman season at Odessa (Texas) Junior College before transferring to Frederick last season. He averaged 20.7 points and 10.1 rebounds while shooting 64.1 percent to help guide the Cougars to a 24-5 record.
Because he's so much older than most junior college transfers and obviously incoming high school seniors, Hubbard said he has a bit of an edge over other players in both his mental and physical maturity.
"I do feel like I have a one-up on these guys," Hubbard said. "I feel like I'm a lot stronger, and just mentally prepared for whatever I'm faced with."
Nebraska has been in contact with Hubbard for the past couple months, as he said NU assistant Wes Flanigan has been his primary recruiter. He is scheduled to visit Lincoln next weekend, and he already took an official visit to Penn State last month and just visited Iona this weekend.
Hubbard said he still plans on visiting Jacksonville University before the end of the spring signing period, which runs from April 13 to May 18, but he has no other official visits lined up.
At this point, he said it was too early to rank where Nebraska stood on his list of schools, but Hubbard did say he's already established a good relationship with the coaches.
Most importantly, he said the Huskers' staff has been completely supportive of his situation, making him feel like Nebraska could very well be where he'll get his second chance.
"They have been very supportive," Hubbard said. "The coaches (at Nebraska) have been really good about that and adamant about giving me a second chance. That's really important to me."
Nebraska has two scholarships available for the 2011-12 season, and it just hosted visits from juco guards Matt Glover of Sheridan (Wyo.) CC and Dylan Talley of Blinn (Texas) CC this weekend.
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