From the concrete to the hardwood

Aubrie King (St. Edwards signee) learned the game of basketball shooting hoops in his backyard with his father Alvie, a former college player himself. Aubrie spent countless hours on his concrete court perfecting his skill and imitating the likes of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson.

"I always looked at old film of two of the greatest players of all-time," said Aubrie. "I loved the game so much while I was growing up, that I wanted to learn from the best. "

The basketball community may say that Aubrie is producing at the lowest level of basketball in the state, but Aubrie is making his shots from the perimeter and looks to find the open spots behind the three-point arc.

This year alone, Aubrie has made 245 shots, which 152 of those makes have been three-pointers, and his three-point percentage is a bit over 50%. In his career (which isn't over yet), Aubrie has totaled over 2600 points, 1500 rebounds, 85% from the free-throw line, 42% from threes, and he is nearing 1000 assist.

Besides the individual accomplishments, Aubrie has helped Mumford to two straight trips to Austin. Last season, Aubrie the rest of the Mustangs missed out in their quest for a state title, losing to Triple A, and the year before Mumford came up short to Clarksville and the title game. In the four years as a varsity starter, Aubrie has racked up 135 wins to 10 losses.

His freshman year, the Mustangs went 27-7, sophomore season 37-1, junior campaign 39-1, and this year the Mustangs are currently 32-1 (only loss to Houston Kinkaid, 69-65).

With those types of win totals, it doesn't seem there has been too many off nights for Aubrie.

"My main focus is to go out there and get it going early, said Aubrie. 'I want to win, and if I start off sluggish I am not helping the team. I don't think about milestones or records when I am playing, we have one goal to reach and we need to play as a team to reach it."

Aubrie's father, Alvie has had the opportunity to experience his son's success on the court due to him being the assistant coach for the Mumford Mustangs. And they both will admit that it can be a tricky situation.

"It's easy for me to get the blame if something is going wrong on the court, and I have to shake it off," said Aubrie. " But on the other hand, it's been great to share everything with him. Not everyone gets to have their father with them on the bench. He has been there the entire time."

"I guess you can say I'm an old school coach," said Alvie. "Aubrie has to hear about it on the sidelines even if it's not his fault. It's a bit of a double edged sword having to be both a coach and father."

Alvie has played the role of a rebounder for many years in their backyard with Aubrie. Alvie says that it has been special to see his son's passion and determination.

"[Aubrie] is always looking for ways to get better. I see the Larry Bird and Chris Mullin style of play in him. Everything that Aubrie does in the backyard has translated to his game on the court. He makes everything into a game situation. He has been fun to watch."

Head coach Chris Sodek says that Aubrie is the hardest working player he has ever coached, and that Aubrie has proven himself since day one of his freshman year.

"Aubrie is the only senior that is on the current roster that played on varsity as a freshman," said Sodek. "He has proven to be a leader since he took the court and I can say that we have taken him for granted. We have a good basketball program, but it's Aubrie that makes this team run. He is a great passer and very unselfish. There have been plenty of times that we have to tell him to shoot the ball."