It was the cherry on top of a great season for Hampton senior Alexus Grubbs as she inked her name with Mars Hill University on Wednesday inside Hampton High School.
As she signed her paperwork, the future Lady Lion was joined by a room full of friend and family.
According to Grubbs, choosing the NCAA Division II school was an easy decision.
“I just felt like it was what my heart was telling me,” Grubbs said. “I really like it over there. They have a great campus. They have a really good community. I visited three times. Third times a charm, I guess, because that is when I made my decision.”
When Grubbs suits up in the Mars Hill uniform, she will be under the leadership of new head coach Jenny Finora, who was hired to lead the Lady Lions in June of 2016. With the Lady Lions developing under a new coach, Grubbs hopes she can step in and make an impact.
“They are still building,” said Grubbs. “I can come in and make a big difference. That is what I want to be able to do.”
For the past four years, Grubbs has donned the Lady Bulldogs basketball uniform. During her time with Hampton, Grubbs recorded 1,742 points and was 92.8 percent from the foul line. Her senior season, she averaged 15 points a game with 527 for the year. She also had 153 rebounds, 124 assists, and 115 steals her final year with the Lady Bulldogs. Along with her stats, Grubbs had many accolades during high school career.
For Grubbs, being a Lady Bulldogs has been something to be proud of.
“It means a lot,” she said. “It is something that I am going to take with me forever where I go. This year has been my favorite since we went all the way to state.”
When Grubbs was a sophomore, the Lady Bulldogs were able get to a sub-state contest where they fell to Oliver Springs in a close game. Hampton, however, would triumph over Oneida, 42-41, during this year’s sub-state round, punching a ticket to the state basketball tournament. The Lady Bulldogs made it to the state semifinals after beating Huntingdon 37-29, before losing to Clarkrange 37-37. Making it to the state tournament and signing to play ball in college has really made Grubbs’ senior year special for her.
“It is just unbelievable,” she said. “I have always wanted to play ball in college, and now it is official
“It was making history,” Grubbs added about playing in the state tournament. “Not a lot of people get to do that.”
Since the seventh grade, Grubbs competed on the Lady Rain AAU team under coach Todd Bower. Grubbs credits playing for Lady Rain in helping her better her game.
“It is more about developing as a player,” said Grubbs. “You develop your skills and advance as a player. It really helped me a lot over the year playing for him.”
For the majority of her time playing for the Lady Bulldogs, Grubbs played under head coach Bud Hazelwood, who was very happy for Grubbs and her accomplishment. Hazelwood looked back on the first time he coached Grubbs in a game.
“We were playing Chuckey-Doak, and I didn’t even know their names yet,” said Hazelwood. “I had only been in practice with them once. We were down like 24-9 in the first quarter, and I’m thinking, ‘What have I got myself into?’ Then Lou (Alexus Grubbs) hit like four three-pointers in the second quarter, and we ended up winning that game by 30 points.
“She was very frail and weak as a freshman, and she had to play inside as a post,” continued Hazelwood. “She could shoot it, and from there it just took off for her.”
Hazelwood went on to say that he believes it was Grubbs’ sophomore year when she really stepped up and had a great season.
“In the first part of the season she had to really step up her game,” Hazelwood said. “Really, I think, as good as her junior and senior years were, I think her sophomore year was outstanding. She just took over. She went from playing post to playing point guard and did a great job adjusting.”
Hazelwood also pointed out Grubbs’ work ethic, which he believes is what makes her such a great player.
“I remember one time I was going to give them three days off, and she said, ‘No! We can not take three days off,'” Hazelwood said with a laugh. “She just wants to stay in the gym. This year, she went to school, came to every practice, and worked 30 hours a week. She has athletic ability, but she has made herself even better by living in the gym.”
In hopes of staying around sports after college, Grubbs said that she plans on studying physical therapy while at Mars Hill.