Madison Academy freshman Joshua Langford dispels prep school rumor (Jeff Sentell)

MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- Who needs footwork, game tape, shot mechanics or even a vertical jump test? Who needs AAU tournaments?

There's a modern way to know a kid is talented beyond his years. That's when the world starts making stuff up to rationalize extraordinary ability.

Madison Academy freshman Joshua Langford won the 2013 Gatorade Alabama Player of the Year honor this year.  He's already a two-time winner of the Alabama Sports Writers Association's Class 3A Player of the Year honor.

He was named an member of the ASWA's "Super 5" member last Thursday at the Mr. and Miss Basketball banquet. That's a stamp that says he's already among the top five players in the state regardless of the size of the school he's at.

Langford is just a freshman and a pretty well-spoken one at that. The reports of his ability continue to spread across the state.

But so have the whispers about his age or whether he'll be at a prep school soon. The rumors about his age came first.

Langford told AL.com last season he had verbal scholarship offers from Alabama and Auburn before his eighth-grade season. Those were twin 2011 offers for a member of the Class of 2016.

Skills and offers like that fertilized those rumors. He's already almost 18, they said.

The eighth grader averaged 18 points per game along a season that netted the first of those Class 3A Player of the Year honors.

He’ll run out of AHSAA playing eligibility soon, they said. He's so good because he's so old, they said.

Translation: He can’t possibly be this good without as asterisk.

But he is. Langford already fits the profile of Duke, Kentucky and North Carolina good. It is no stretch to consider he might even be Derrick Rose or John Wall one-and-done good.

He's a scorer that also doesn't mind playing a defense with his reputation. Langford told AL.com this year at the Final 48 he did repeat the seventh grade at Madison Academy, but he did not play basketball.

He will be eligible at Madison Academy as a senior, he said.

That made him 16 years old. He won’t be 17 until January. Langford said at the Mr. Basketball banquet last Thursday he's added an inch. He's now 6-foot-5 and growing.

He also allowed a reporter the chance to debunk the latest urban legend about a projected flight path to prep school.

Message board posts and tweets are all over that one. Even a few of the state's top players at last week's banquet expect to see him to be at a basketball factory before college basketball.

That said, let's call timeout for a minute. What are the reasons why any high school player would go to a prep school?

Better education? Superior coaching? To play for a winning team? Exposure? Supporting cast? A stage to land the big offers?

Let's debunk regarding Langford as fast as Mourning and Mutombo used to swat shots.

Madison Academy has two talented whippersnappers to grow alongside him in sophomore Kerryon Johnson and freshman Malik Miller. Johnson and Miller are likely SEC football players. They are already great athletes and competitors.

It is not science fiction to think the Mustangs can win four straight AHSAA championships They nailed down the first of those last month. Andy Blackston, their coach, is one of the most respected basketball minds in the state.

Madison Academy offers a great academic environment.

Huntsville’s high school hoop scene is a gladiator's arena for top-shelf basketball. Langford also already fits the profile of a kid who'll have every offer he could ever ask for.

That should be by the time he's a junior.

He was one of the state's top three players by anyone's evaluation this season after 23.5 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. According to Blackston, passing is his most admirable trait.

Langford carried a team depleted by injuries to Miller and Johnson this year to the state title by beating a team led by the state’s top senior prospect in the state semifinals.

He shot 85 percent from the line and also doesn't understand the prep school rumor.

"I hear about that," he said. "I don't pay any attention. It’s something I’m used to. I don't think I need prep school. There's no need to go to a prep school. Why would I leave Madison Academy to go to a prep school?"

Langford has said he wants to win a state title every season at Madison Academy. He said Thursday he wants to win Mr. Basketball honor one day.

That doesn't look sound like a kid looking to bolt for a sneaker academy.

That's a lot of logic, but we all should also recognize the illogical is possible with any form of college recruiting. A freshman sensation may say he'll never go to prep school, but who really knows?

Stars may align for him to graduate earlier to get to a Top 10 program. Or a few McDonald's All-American types may wish to play together. Anything is possible. We've already seen a player go from high school to playing in Europe for a seven figure paycheck to NBA all-star status.

But Langford is pretty well-spoken. It doesn’t sound like any of that stuff appeals to him right now. That’s better than any rumor.

Jeff Sentell covers Birmingham high school sports for The Alabama Media Group and The Birmingham News. Write to him at jsentell@al.com.

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