After a season where he averaged 17 points and nearly 13 rebounds per game you would think that 6'5" forward Troy Hupstead (Mt. Vernon '20) would be rolling in Division 1 college offers and interest, especially being the key cog to the success of the powerful Knights program led by head coach Bob Cimmino.

For some reason though that isn't the case as even playing with the Riverside Hawks 17u team on the Adidas Gauntlet circuit it seems Hupstead is still having to prove himself, something he is more than happy to do as he knows and believes the end result will all make it worth it for yet another underrated Mt. Vernon star.

Even after a high school season where he achieved so much, Hupstead left unhappy. He averaged a double-double and won a Section 1 Class AA title for his third straight season but losing to Kingston in the NYSPHSAA Class AA Regional Finals was thoroughly unacceptable he says.

It put a damper on his entire season and says that in his upcoming senior year he is determined to not let a situation like that happen again, saying he wants to go out as a State Champion.

"Coming up short in each of my first three years is very motivating," Hupstead stated. "To get to states and get over the top and bring that title back to Mt. Vernon is something I think about a lot and it would definitely mean a lot to me."

Doing that Hupstead says would mean he has to continually get better too. He has put up fantastic numbers over the past few seasons but says that who and what he is right now won't be enough for him as he is studying the game each day, trying to be a sponge and take in all the advice he is given from all his coaches from Cimmino, to his Riverside Hawks 17u head man in Tony Hargraves.

As amazing as it sounds Hupstead doesn't just not have a D1 offer at this point, he doesn't have a ton of interest he says as well. Maybe it's just size at 6'5" or maybe it's just the fact that college coaches have been massively overlooking him in general but Hupstead is ready to go out in July and prove to those same coaches that they need a player like him.

He can rebound with players 3-4 inches taller than him because of his toughness and aggressiveness, he can finish with his back to the basket because of his strong and polished post moves, and his face up game continues to get better and better as well.

Put all that together and you have a player in Hupstead who sure looks ready to join many of Mt. Vernon's players of the past who have also been overlooked early on just to see themselves eventually become Division 1 players. Hupstead is ready for his moment, and ready to show everyone the type of player he is, and truly all he can offer.

"That's just a chip on my shoulder and my extra push I need," Hupstead explained about his lack of Division 1 looks right now. "I feel like I'm very underrated but all you can do is stay humble and keep working hard to prove yourself so that's what I'm going to do."