Elijah Hughes

[EastCoast2]

We are Syracuse for God sake. We are a perennial power. We win, we play in front of 30K plus fans in arguably the best conference. We need to get our swag back.

Outside of a miraculous run to the Final Four two seasons ago, we've been by our own standards mediocre for a few years now.

We don't reclaim our status as an elite destination to play ball by taking on kids like Hughes.

In all due respect, I would love to be many of you all's car salesman right now. I could sell you a lemon and have you excited to drive it off the lot.

Hughes??? Really???

I don't think Hughes played AAU basketball while he was in HS, so that definitely could have dampened his exposure. Some players take longer to develop, he was a multi-sport athlete in HS. Look at how Nichols and Southerland developed into very good shooters with 1-2 years of focus. He's a great athlete, and at 6'6, the staff thinks he can be a more skilled and more coordinated Southerland.

Judging one year of freshman stats isn't the best approach. Mike Gbinije average 1.7 ppg as a freshman, should we have said no "Gbinije??? Really???" to him back then?

 

[djorange1989]

I don't think Hughes played AAU basketball while he was in HS, so that definitely could have dampened his exposure. Some players take longer to develop, he was a multi-sport athlete in HS. Look at how Nichols and Southerland developed into very good shooters with 1-2 years of focus. He's a great athlete, and at 6'6, the staff thinks he can be a more skilled and more coordinated Southerland.

Judging one year of freshman stats isn't the best approach. Mike Gbinije average 1.7 ppg as a freshman, should we have said no "Gbinije??? Really???" to him back then?

correct, he had little to no exposure in HS, I think he only played one year of HS basketball too. We have had a lot of players who shot a very low 3 pt percentage their freshman year and ended up being excellent shooters. I understand the concern with bringing him in, having him have to sit and have a precious scholarship taken up. However, he is a terrific fit for our system, is just tapping into his potential and the staff loves him. will be interesting to see where this goes

 

[jr4750]

I don't think Hughes played AAU basketball while he was in HS, so that definitely could have dampened his exposure. Some players take longer to develop, he was a multi-sport athlete in HS. Look at how Nichols and Southerland developed into very good shooters with 1-2 years of focus. He's a great athlete, and at 6'6, the staff thinks he can be a more skilled and more coordinated Southerland.

Judging one year of freshman stats isn't the best approach. Mike Gbinije average 1.7 ppg as a freshman, should we have said no "Gbinije??? Really???" to him back then?

I think you are right, that he could absolutely develop. It's so easy to compare him to MG, who was also a multi-sport athlete in HS, and a Top 30 player, which this kid was not. MG also practiced and played against Duke level players in the year he was in college. Moral of this rant, there is definitely more question marks with Hughes than there were with MG. If he comes, I will be a fan, and really hope he develops like Mike did.

 

[AZOrange]

No disrespect, but you seriously can't be comparing Quade and this kid? The lesson learned (or not) from the Quade situation was not to put all our eggs in one basket, and get left at the alter when there were still really GOOD players available. Not some kid recruited by ECU and Iona.

Huh? It's just a visit. We should take as many visitors as recruiting will allow...

 

[JazzNC]

I don't think Hughes played AAU basketball while he was in HS, so that definitely could have dampened his exposure. Some players take longer to develop, he was a multi-sport athlete in HS. Look at how Nichols and Southerland developed into very good shooters with 1-2 years of focus. He's a great athlete, and at 6'6, the staff thinks he can be a more skilled and more coordinated Southerland.

Judging one year of freshman stats isn't the best approach. Mike Gbinije average 1.7 ppg as a freshman, should we have said no "Gbinije??? Really???" to him back then?

Gbinje was highly thought of out of high school, and highly sought after when he left Duke. The numbers he posted at Duke were due to lack of playing time. Hughes isn't wanted by any big program but us...Southerland was recruited to shoot. He was one dimensional. He didn't develop his shot, that was his whole game. We need shooting, and Hughes doesn't deliver that.

It's ok if you like Hughes... I don't. I believe we are much better than what he can offer, and clearly other upper echelon schools feel the same.

 

[JazzNC]

Seriously, don't bother trying to dissuade me. I don't like Hughes, I think it would be a waste of a scholarship if we offer. You all are free to believe whatever you want to believe.

I will GLADLY eat crow in three years if we make another Final Four, and Hughes is a major contributor.

 

[EastCoast2]

Seriously, don't bother trying to dissuade me. I don't like Hughes, I think it would be a waste of a scholarship if we offer. You all are free to believe whatever you want to believe.

I will GLADLY eat crow in three years if we make another Final Four, and Hughes is a major contributor.

Southerland was recruited as a shooter and shot 29% from three as a freshman. Hughes hasn't been 100% focused on basketball for very long. Kid has a lot of potential and I think 18 months in a Syracuse gym could make him a very good player as a redshirt sophomore. Our best teams recently had 5th year guys littered. Arinze, Rautins, Scoop, Cooney, Gbinije. You're saying this kid isn't good enough because of what he did in limited action as an 18 year old, while I think he could be very very good as a 21-22-23 year old. We all want to recruit 5 stars all day then we freak out when they leave early (Malachi, McCullough, etc.) If you want guys to stick around and play 3-4 years, you need guys like this.

 

[jordoo]

Southerland was recruited as a shooter and shot 29% from three as a freshman. Hughes hasn't been 100% focused on basketball for very long. Kid has a lot of potential and I think 18 months in a Syracuse gym could make him a very good player as a redshirt sophomore. Our best teams recently had 5th year guys littered. Arinze, Rautins, Scoop, Cooney, Gbinije. You're saying this kid isn't good enough because of what he did in limited action as an 18 year old, while I think he could be very very good as a 21-22-23 year old. We all want to recruit 5 stars all day then we freak out when they leave early (Malachi, McCullough, etc.) If you want guys to stick around and play 3-4 years, you need guys like this.

I didn't realize Hughes would have 3 years of eligibility left . With his size and athleticism he could give us lots of flexibility down the road at the 2/3 spots. I like his upside but right now I'm still focused on needing a SF and G who can play next year and hopeful both can shoot.

 

[JazzNC]

Southerland was recruited as a shooter and shot 29% from three as a freshman. Hughes hasn't been 100% focused on basketball for very long. Kid has a lot of potential and I think 18 months in a Syracuse gym could make him a very good player as a redshirt sophomore. Our best teams recently had 5th year guys littered. Arinze, Rautins, Scoop, Cooney, Gbinije. You're saying this kid isn't good enough because of what he did in limited action as an 18 year old, while I think he could be very very good as a 21-22-23 year old. We all want to recruit 5 stars all day then we freak out when they leave early (Malachi, McCullough, etc.) If you want guys to stick around and play 3-4 years, you need guys like this.

If the situation was different, I would wholeheartedly agree with you.

But I think 2017 is far more pivotal than I guess most others do. Two consecutive NITs would be disastrous for recruiting in 2018. Couple that with the negative recruiting against Syracuse and JB's age, and it's a legitimate concern.

The kid may well blossom into a decent or even good player in several years (or he might not). We need contributors NOW! I'll reserve any further comments about this kid until after we hear Tucker and Ayala's decisions.

 

[EastCoast2]

If the situation was different, I would wholeheartedly agree with you.

But I think 2017 is far more pivotal than I guess most others do. Two consecutive NITs would be disastrous for recruiting in 2018. Couple that with the negative recruiting against Syracuse and JB's age, and it's a legitimate concern.

The kid may well blossom into a decent or even good player in several years (or he might not). We need contributors NOW! I'll reserve any further comments until about this kid until after we hear Tucker and Ayala's decisions.

As much as I'd like Ayala to commit to SU for 2017, he's more likely a program guy than a John Wall. The staff is aware there are roster holes for 2017, but they're also looking ahead to 2018, 2019, and 2020. Hughes helps with all of those.

 

[jordoo]

As much as I'd like Ayala to commit to SU for 2017, he's more likely a program guy than a John Wall. The staff is aware there are roster holes for 2017, but they're also looking ahead to 2018, 2019, and 2020. Hughes helps with all of those.

I agree about Ayala, a program guy who can fill a need right away. He can play either guard spot, he can make open shots and run a team.

 

[JazzNC]

As much as I'd like Ayala to commit to SU for 2017, he's more likely a program guy than a John Wall. The staff is aware there are roster holes for 2017, but they're also looking ahead to 2018, 2019, and 2020. Hughes helps with all of those.

Recruiting in 2018, 2019 and 2020 will be seriously hurt if we have another NIT season. Those kids will look elsewhere and at programs with more stable coaching.

 

[Jasoncuse]

Iona and Seton Hall are the competition?

SH is fine, but where are the other bigger name schools? I'm guessing he wants to be closer to home. If others are to get involved, it may be early still, since it's been a little over a week since he made his transfer intentions known. It still sounds like this kid is more mid-major than high-major type, but hopefully is just a late bloomer. I do like the size and athleticism.

 

[EastCoast2]

Recruiting in 2018, 2019 and 2020 will be seriously hurt if we have another NIT season. Those kids will look elsewhere and at programs with more stable coaching.

Just like after the 2007 and 2008 NIT seasons happened, we had a terrible recruiting cycle over two years:

2010: Fab Melo, Dion Waiters, CJ Fair, Baye Keita
2011: Rakeem Christmas, Trevor Cooney, Michael Carter-Williams

 

[HoustonCuse]

We are Syracuse for God sake. We are a perennial power. We win, we play in front of 30K plus fans in arguably the best conference. We need to get our swag back.

Outside of a miraculous run to the Final Four two seasons ago, we've been by our own standards mediocre for a few years now.

We don't reclaim our status as an elite destination to play ball by taking on kids like Hughes.

In all due respect, I would love to be many of you all's car salesman right now. I could sell you a lemon and have you excited to drive it off the lot.

Hughes??? Really???

Have you contacted the staff? It sounds like you have amazing insight and clearly are much more level headed and plugged in than they are. It just kills me to think they are making all these decisions with no guidance.

 

[721Comstock]

Seton Hall has been doing pretty well, but regardless we shall see what happens. I'll let JB decide, as we haven't offered anyway. He's talented, and will have a year of playing, and a year of practicing in our system under his belt. 4-5 star recruits are great, but sometimes you need guys like Silent G. No clue how EH pans out, but just saying.

Silent G was a Top 50 recruit, who went to Duke. And got stuck behind AA-quality players.

This kid is just a guy. Who was recruited by pretty much nobody - and probably for good reason.

Chewie was at Providence for a year, sat out a year and practiced our system, and then played for us.
How'd that work out?
This kid was a much lower level recruit than PC was also.

 

[EastCoast2]

Silent G was a Top 50 recruit, who went to Duke. And got stuck behind AA-quality players.

This kid is just a guy. Who was recruited by pretty much nobody - and probably for good reason.

Chewie was at Providence for a year, sat out a year and practiced our system, and then played for us.
How'd that work out?
This kid was a much lower level recruit than PC was also.

Hughes moved around HS quite a bit and didn't play AAU. It's not like he was at Oak Hill or Montverde or Brewster. He had next to no exposure before his senior year.
Chukwu nearly went blind... what's your point? You've given up on PC too because he was basically 25% before he had to stop playing? I'd imagine trying to play D1 basketball with one eye closed is tough.

 

[JazzNC]

Just like after the 2007 and 2008 NIT seasons happened, we had a terrible recruiting cycle over two years:

2010: Fab Melo, Dion Waiters, CJ Fair, Baye Keita
2011: Rakeem Christmas, Trevor Cooney, Michael Carter-Williams

Boeheim wasn't 72 years old then. We also had Hop recruiting not Gmac.

 

[JazzNC]

Have you contacted the staff? It sounds like you have amazing insight and clearly are much more level headed and plugged in than they are. It just kills me to think they are making all these decisions with no guidance.

Who said they are making any decisions without guidance? The fact is they do miss on recruits. We have players transfer out regularly or don't live up to expectations... just as we have players that exceed expectations. I agree with their assessment of most of the kids we recruit. Hughes I don't.

Why is it so important to convince us that Hughes is worth the gamble? What do you gain? Who am I to you? My opinion shouldn't mean anything to you. Disagree, move on...

 

[HoustonCuse]

Silent G was a Top 50 recruit, who went to Duke. And got stuck behind AA-quality players.

This kid is just a guy. Who was recruited by pretty much nobody - and probably for good reason.

Chewie was at Providence for a year, sat out a year and practiced our system, and then played for us.
How'd that work out?
This kid was a much lower level recruit than PC was also.

Chewie was blind in 1 eye for a good portion of his minutes with us. Maybe he won't pan out, but that is a very underhanded argument. Fact is - we don't know yet.

 

[jordoo]

Hughes moved around HS quite a bit and didn't play AAU. It's not like he was at Oak Hill or Montverde or Brewster. He had next to no exposure before his senior year.
Chukwu nearly went blind... what's your point? You've given up on PC too because he was basically 25% before he had to stop playing? I'd imagine trying to play D1 basketball with one eye closed is tough.

The way Chukwu played makes total sense once we heard about the eye. It looked like he was lost out there which he sort of was without any depth perception. I haven't given up on him but at this point I'm not counting on a lot either. Much like Howard.

 

[721Comstock]

Chewie was blind in 1 eye for a good portion of his minutes with us. Maybe he won't pan out, but that is a very underhanded argument. Fact is - we don't know yet.

Chewie showed very little BEFORE the eye injury. And that is a fact.
JB even said as much.

I am certainly not holding that against him, it was a fluke injury that was not remotely his fault (nor would it matter if it was).
He just didn't look like a guy who'd been playing college hoops for 2+ years already.
And he certainly wasn't ready to contribute very much as a RS Soph, in spite of those 2 years in college.

People are calling for this kid to be some sort of Silent G 2.0.
Probably the same people who said Chewie was going to put up stats better than some unholy hybrid of Soph. Fab Melo & Sr. Rak Christmas.

 

[RF2044]

We are Syracuse for God sake. We are a perennial power. We win, we play in front of 30K plus fans in arguably the best conference. We need to get our swag back.

Outside of a miraculous run to the Final Four two seasons ago, we've been by our own standards mediocre for a few years now.

We don't reclaim our status as an elite destination to play ball by taking on kids like Hughes.

In all due respect, I would love to be many of you all's car salesman right now. I could sell you a lemon and have you excited to drive it off the lot.

Hughes??? Really???

Hey -- I actually agree with a lot of the positions you've taken in this thread, especially about the timing, the need to make a big splash in 2018, etc. It is also ridiculous to compare this guy to Gbinije, who was a McD's AA -- a better comparison [at least in terms of being a darkhorse, not in terms of game] might be Hakim. Here is some information about Hughes that might make you at least take a wait-and-see approach to how things play out.

• He was a multi-sport athlete who didn't focus on basketball until much later in his high school career, and didn't garner a ton of recruiting attention
• He didn't play AAU ball
• Our coaches literally weren't aware of him until very late in the recruiting game, after he played at our elite camp
• Kid got exposure his senior year playing at a powerhouse program South Kent, but by then most coaches were involved with other prospects
• He switched between multiple high schools, so keeping tabs on him up until that point may have been challenging for coaches

Hughes has a nice stroke, is a big / strong athlete who could play the 2 or the 3. I will not argue that he did not shoot the ball that well at ECU during his freshman year. Many freshmen struggle shooting the ball their first season of playing college ball, but the tools are there. This kid reminds me of David Johnson in terms of size, body type, and athleticism.

Now, will he prove to be that good of a player? Obviously, I don't know. But I don't think that this is a huge "settle" or a "reach," at least not in terms of the athletic ability and tools. Might we land better players in the class of 2018? That's certainly possible, and something that can't be debated in an informed way right now because we don't know how things will play out.

The main concern I have is that we have a need to improve wing depth NOW with our three remaining slots in the class of 2017, because we need the depth for next year. If we land Ayala / Tucker --a big if right now -- and this is the third guy, I will have ZERO problem with it. If we don't land Ayala / Tucker, and bring in a guy who has to sit out -- well that might be good for down the road, but it won't help us next season and I'd be dreadfully concerned about next year's team.

I don't want to divert too far off the main topic. Just wanted to provide some info about Hughes that might make you reevaluate what you state above.

 

[JazzNC]

If you guys are so desperate to add a guy, and want to take a gamble on a project or program guy, why not offer Nahz over this guy?

Nahz is eligible to play right away, appears to be equally athletic, and both lack a jump shot. Nahz is Jay-Z's nephew. Hughes is a ECU/Iona recruit.

I'm not particularly sold on Nahz either, but he's three stars and offers a marketing edge that Hughes cannot. How can you want Hughes and not want Nahz? I'm curious as to the rationale?

 

[JazzNC]

Hey -- I actually agree with a lot of the positions you've taken in this thread, especially about the timing, the need to make a big splash in 2018, etc. It is also ridiculous to compare this guy to Gbinije, who was a McD's AA -- a better comparison [at least in terms of being a darkhorse, not in terms of game] might be Hakim. Here is some information about Hughes that might make you at least take a wait-and-see approach to how things play out.

• He was a multi-sport athlete who didn't focus on basketball until much later in his high school career, and didn't garner a ton of recruiting attention
• He didn't play AAU ball
• Our coaches literally weren't aware of him until very late in the recruiting game, after he played at our elite camp
• Kid got exposure his senior year playing at a powerhouse program South Kent, but by then most coaches were involved with other prospects
• He switched between multiple high schools, so keeping tabs on him up until that point may have been challenging for coaches

Hughes has a nice stroke, is a big / strong athlete who could play the 2 or the 3. I will not argue that he did not shoot the ball that well at ECU during his freshman year. Many freshmen struggle shooting the ball their first season of playing college ball, but the tools are there. This kid reminds me of David Johnson in terms of size, body type, and athleticism.

Now, will he prove to be that good of a player? Obviously, I don't know. But I don't think that this is a huge "settle" or a "reach," at least not in terms of the athletic ability and tools. Might we land better players in the class of 2018? That's certainly possible, and something that can't be debated in an informed way right now because we don't know how things will play out.

The main concern I have is that we have a need to improve wing depth NOW with our three remaining slots in the class of 2017, because we need the depth for next year. If we land Ayala / Tucker --a big if right now -- and this is the third guy, I will have ZERO problem with it. If we don't land Ayala / Tucker, and bring in a guy who has to sit out -- well that might be good for down the road, but it won't help us next season and I'd be dreadfully concerned about next year's team.

I don't want to divert too far off the main topic. Just wanted to provide some info about Hughes that might make you reevaluate what you state above.

Thank you for your post. I read that article on Hughes, and it soothes the sting out of pursuing Hughes a little bit. But I'm just not convinced. I, like you, have no issue with Hughes IF we land Ayala AND Tucker.