By Robert Wilson
Madison-Ridgeland Academy will be without one of its top boys basketball players and one of the top sophomore guards in the country until at least January, MRA coach Richard Duease said.
Ashton Magee, a 6-foot-6 transfer from MHSAA Class 5A South Jones High, had surgery Friday to repair a tendon in his knee and will be out four months, Duease said.
Magee had been rehabbing his knee – tendinitis caused by growing pains – but decided to play in an AAU tournament in Georgia earlier this month. He was playing on a 16-and-under Team Mississippi, coached by MRA middle school principal Ross Hailey. Hailey said Magee re-injured his knee in warmups in the second game of the tournament.
“I’ve never seen him play because he has been dealing with this knee issue since he transferred here this summer,” Duease said. “I have heard some great things about him, and I know he would have helped us. Hopefully, we will get him back in January and he can help us the rest of the season.”
Magee is ranked No. 34 in the country in the Class of 2025 by Ballislife.com. He enrolled at MRA this summer. He has offers from Ole Miss and Southern Miss. Magee started as a freshman for South Jones. He was named to the Chris Paul Rising Stars National Camp Top 10 in the Class of 2025 last summer. Magee played on the varsity for South Jones as an eighth grader and averaged 5.2 rebounds.
Duease was looking forward to Magee complimenting MRA star senior point guard Josh Hubbard, ranked No. 17 in the country among point guards by ESPN’s 2023 Top 100 and the all-time leading scorer in MAIS history.
Duease, the winningest high school basketball coach in Mississippi history, will begin his 48th season this year. He has with 1,774 wins (1,382 boys and 392 girls) with 40 state titles and 15 Overall titles (13 boys and two girls).
MRA opens the season against MHSAA Class 6A Meridian High Oct. 29 in the Newton High Tournament.
