Langford, Mustangs are No. 1

Michigan State signee Josh Langford has helped lead Madison Academy to the No. 1 ranking among the state’s Class 3A teams. CONTRIBUTED

By MIKE EASTERLING / For the Record

HUNTSVILLE – Madison Academy basketball coach Andy Blackston has two words to describe the success of his team despite the loss of his center due to injury.

“Myles Parker.’’

Parker, the Mustangs’ 6-foot-7 junior, has more than ably taken up the void left by the loss of big man Austin Troxell. Troxell, also 6-foot-7 and a highly-prized junior football prospect, was lost for the season when he tore an ACL during the final stages of gridiron season.

“He’s been coming on and playing a lot stronger,’’ Blackston said.

Entering this past weekend’s Steel City Invitational, the Mustangs’ two loses against seven wins were not garden variety.

The first came in the star-studded Lighthouse Classic in Corinth, Miss., to Columbia, a team Blackston said was the “biggest I’ve ever seen in high school.’’

Despite the 32 points scored by Michigan State signee Josh Langord, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard rated as the No. 17 senior in the country by ESPN, the Mustangs fell 76-61 to Dunbar of Lexington, Ky., in the Hoop Fest at Marshall County High School in an event Blackston said was among the “top 10” in the country.

If high school counted RPI, the strength of schedule gauge the NCAA uses, the Mustangs would easily rate among the country’s better teams.

As it stands, Madison Academy started the season ranked No. 1 by the state’s sportswriters in the season’s first poll and stayed there in last week’s second release.

Madison Academy begins play in the annual “The Huntsville Times Classic” at Huntsville High School Dec. 28 at 3 p.m.