As Hubert King II watched tears stream down his son’s face, he was torn between the desire to console him and an overwhelming sense of pride.
Hubert King III, who is affectionately known as Trè, is a standout sophomore forward on the Riverbend boys basketball team, which is having one of the best seasons in the school’s 20-year history. But on this particular evening, Trè and the Bears had come up just short in a 57-53 loss to Colonial Forge in the Commonwealth District tournament championship game.
As Hubert drove them home after that setback on Feb. 18, it was clear to him how invested Trè was in the sport — a sport that he picked up out of sheer boredom in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic four years ago.
“He showed me how bad he wants this,” Hubert said. “And that inspired me.”
Perhaps that was because Hubert saw some of himself in his son.
Hubert King II was a two-sport star at Caroline High School in the early-2000s. Initially known for his athleticism in track and field, he eventually took to basketball as well, leading the Cavaliers to a 22-2 record and the Battlefield District regular-season and tournament titles as a senior in 2004. After high school, Hubert eventually landed at Voorhees (S.C.) University, a member of the NAIA, where he played from 2007-09.
Hubert’s breakout campaign at Caroline came during his sophomore year, when he averaged 17 points and 10 rebounds for a Cavaliers squad that was coming off a trip to the state championship game the season before.
Like his father, Trè has turned his sophomore campaign into a coming out party. He’s averaging 15.2 points, five rebounds and 2.4 steals per contest, which is good for second, third and second on the team, respectively. He also leads Riverbend in free-throw percentage (85%) and is second in 3-point percentage (35%).
But the comparisons between father and son cease when trying to find common ground beyond their breakout seasons.
“Absolutely none,” Hubert said with a grin when asked about the similarities between their styles of play. “At 6-foot-3, I was more of a high-riser and a physical player, and I had more post moves. [Trè] is more of a shooter, so it’s about getting into his spots on the wing where he can take good shots.”
Trè agreed with his dad’s assessment.
“I’m definitely more of a shooter,” he said. “I feel like my strong suit is I can shoot the 3s and the mid-range stuff well, although I still have room for improvement in both of those areas.”
If you’d told Hubert and Trè five years ago that they’d be analyzing the latter’s basketball skills at any point in time, they likely wouldn’t have believed it. But after the COVID-19 pandemic shut the world down for much of 2020, Trè found himself looking for a new hobby.
“Because of social distancing, I didn’t get to do much outside of my homeschooling in [2020],” Trè recalled. “So as [social distancing] went away in 2021, I really wanted to try something new.”
Trè joined a homeschool team, where he picked things up quickly, earning defensive player of the year honors.
“After that, my dad told me that I had the potential to develop into a really good player,” Trè said. “I was having fun, and I felt great about things, so I knew I was ready to put the work in at the high school level.”
By the time Trè walked through the front door at Riverbend as a freshman in August 2023, he was already one of the best players in the building, earning a spot in the varsity squad’s starting lineup.
“His size [6-foot-0] and strength, combined with his ability to make shots, are what stands out about him initially,” Bears head coach Nat Jackson said. “To give you an idea of his shooting ability, he has the potential to be a 40% 3-point, 50% field-goal and 90% free-throw shooter. He’s really close to that now. He can score from all three levels. Once he develops off the dribble and adds a few more post moves, it’s going to be close to impossible to guard him.”
Jackson didn’t stop at Trè’s offensive potential, though.
“We expected him to be more comfortable this year on offense, and he has been,” Jackson said. “But where he’s surprised us is on the defensive end. He’s one of the best perimeter defenders on the team this season, and that wasn’t the case last year. Trè really made it a point to work on that this offseason.”
“I feel like I can be great on defense,” Trè said. “Especially on-ball defense. I just need to keep working hard at my craft.”
In terms of Trè’s offense developing further, Hubert pointed out that his son has benefited greatly from the play of senior post players Amani Gipson and Donovan Tate. Gipson averages a double-double, leading the Bears in both points (15.6) and rebounds (10.2) per game. Meanwhile, Tate is second in rebounding (7.2) and assists (2.3), and fourth in scoring (8.6).
“He’s got good bigs to play with,” Hubert said. “Their play has allowed him to get more open looks and really shine on the perimeter.”
Trè, Gipson and Tate, along with senior guard Nate Tyler (10.1 PPG) have all been instrumental in Riverbend’s success this winter. The Bears (17-6) finished second behind Forge in the regular-season district standings before falling to the Eagles in the district championship game. Riverbend’s 57-54 victory over Brooke Point in the district semifinals on Feb. 17 set a program record for most wins in a single season, breaking the mark set by the 2016-17 team, which finished 16-6.
Riverbend’s efforts earned it the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye in the Region 5D tournament, which tipped off Monday night. The Bears will have a chance to make more history on Wednesday, when they host Potomac Falls in a semifinal showdown at 7 p.m. A win would earn them the first state tournament berth in program history.
For his part, Trè wants to win for his teammates.
“We have a chance to make history and send our seniors out with something they’ll never forget,” he said. “Our school has never won regionals or made it to states, so to have a chance to accomplish those things for them is big to me.”
