After an incredible senior season for his Community Christian School varsity boys basketball team, Seth Huston is ready for the next step that few Cyclones have taken — playing at the collegiate level.
The 6-foot-7 Huston signed May 16 to join the men’s basketball program at Barton College, where he has earned the Trustee Scholarship for academics. With most of his tuition already covered, Huston is eager to become a Bulldog, although he’s not sure if he’ll be on the developmental team roster or part of the varsity.
“I don’t know what team I’m gonna be on yet, but I’m excited,” said Huston, whose easygoing manner belies his rugged play in the paint. “But I’m also — I don’t know — I guess I gotta take it one day at a time, but I don’t know what it’s going to be like, so I guess I’ll have to figure it out.”
Cyclones’ opponents had to figure out Huston this season, when he averaged 14.2 points and 14.5 rebounds to lead CCS to the championship game in the inaugural year of the Mid-Atlantic Christian Athletic Association. That rebounding number was third in the state across all associations, per MaxPreps.com, and did not go unnoticed by Barton head coach Ron Lievense and assistant coach Joel Zimmerman. Rebounding and defense are the cornerstones of the Bulldogs program, which finished third in NCAA Division II Conference Carolinas, reaching the semifinals of the conference tournament before bowing out with a 17-12 record. Barton’s developmental team, coached by Zimmerman, won the Conference Carolinas title in February.
Lievense was glad to get a 6-7 rebounder with a nice shooting touch and outstanding academics. Huston, who graduated with a 4.0 unweighted GPA, was named to the Farris & Thomas Law Attorneys Academic All-Area team as presented by the Times.
“Seth is a hard-working, coachable young man, very bright and personable,” Lievense said. “I like the fact that he really chases it on the glass. I look forward to working with him to help him reach his goals.”
Huston is happy to be playing for Lievense, having had chances to meet the Bulldog coach.
“When I went into Barton, we talked about, like, what my hobbies and interests were,” he said. “It was kind of like a get-to-know-me thing. It wasn’t really about basketball too much.
“I know he’s a good Christian coach, so I know that his intentions are right. He’s a good guy. So I’m glad to be playing under him.”
Huston, who also played soccer at CCS, said that he picked up some recruiting interest from Pitt Community College but that he pretty much knew he was going to go to Barton after getting the Trustee Scholarship. The son of Carolyn and Ben Huston of Wilson, Huston said he’s still unsure of the major he will pursue at Barton.
“I’m not sure yet,” he said. “I’m going to get all my basic courses done the first two years, but I’m going to be trying to figure that out during that time, because I’m really not sure what I want to do.”
Huston does, however, know what areas of his game needs work to be able to help either Bulldogs team that he lands on.
“Probably my mid ranges (jumpers), most likely and also just be more disciplined, like, be prepared to be more disciplined,” he said. Huston also will look to bulk up from his 195 pounds to handle the rigors of Div. II hoops in the paint, despite being in the upper height range.
As Huston has grown into his body, which may still be growing, he’s assembled more aspects of his game. His first coach at CCS, Kenneth Atkinson, recognized the potential in the still-growing Huston as a freshman.
“You’ve got a good jumper, you’ve got a good stroke, but you’ve got to work on your footwork,” Atkinson recalling telling Huston. “I told him he was competing with different players that nobody expected him to compete with. And I told him, ‘Seth, you can play college ball, but you’ve got to put in the work.’”
Huston took that advice to heart as he demonstrated for Cyclones first-year head coach Derrick Atkinson, who had previously coached him on the junior varsity level.
“Seth made it a lot easier for me this year with his great work ethic and it’s gonna get better now that he’ll have access to the gym, working out more at Barton,” Derrick Atkinson said. “But yeah, 14 points a game, 14 rebounds — that’s a lot. That’s a lot that’s going to be hard to replace that for next season!”
Huston credited both coaches, who are cousins, for helping him to develop into a college recruit. Kenneth Atkinson, who still works with Huston, said his potential has a much higher ceiling than he realizes.
“He has the potential to be a lot better player than he is,” Kenneth Atkinson said. “His confidence level needs to pick up just a little bit. He got to believe in itself. Like I told him, ‘I believe in you. You need to start believing in yourself.’”