Elijah Wayne Hughes (born March 10, 1998) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for the

Wisconsin Herd The Wisconsin Herd are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and are affiliated with the Milwaukee Bucks. The Herd play their home games at Oshkosh Arena. History On June 29, 2016, it was anno ...

of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

. He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

East Carolina Pirates The East Carolina Pirates are the athletic teams that represent East Carolina University (ECU), located in Greenville, North Carolina. All varsity-level sports teams participate at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division ...

and the

Syracuse Orange The Syracuse Orange are the athletic teams that represent Syracuse University. The school is a member of NCAA Division I and the Atlantic Coast Conference. Until 2013, Syracuse was a member of the Big East Conference. The school's mascot is ...

Early life

Hughes was born in

Poughkeepsie, New York Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsi ...

and grew up in

Beacon, New York Beacon is a city located in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The 2020 census placed the city total population at 13,769. Beacon is part of the Poughkeepsie– Newburgh– Middletown, New York Metropolitan Statistical Area as we ...

. He started playing basketball through the

Catholic Youth Organization Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) is an international Catholic youth movement founded by Bishop Bernard Sheil in Chicago in 1930. It would become a major factor in the development of race relations in the US Catholic Church following World War ...

(CYO) and began playing on the

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It has ...

(AAU) circuit for local coach, Kenney Dawson. Hughes became well-known in Beacon for his basketball ability, dominating games at Loopers Park.

High school career

Following his eighth-grade basketball season, Hughes was called up to the

varsity team In most English-speaking countries, varsity is an abbreviation of the word ''university''. In the United States and Canada, the term is mostly used in relation to sports teams. Varsity in the United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, varsity team ...

at Beacon High School in

. Early in high school, he mainly played the

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...

position despite his exceptional size. After two years at the school, Hughes transferred to John F. Kennedy Catholic High School in

Somers, New York Somers is a town located in northern Westchester County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a population of 20,434. The nearby Metro-North Commuter Railroad provides service to Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan with a ...

with hopes of receiving more exposure. As a junior, he led his team to a 26–2 record and runners-up finish at the

Catholic High School Athletic Association The Catholic High School Athletic Association or CHSAA is a high school athletic association made up of Catholic high schools based in New York City, Long Island, Westchester and Buffalo. It is the largest Catholic high school athletic league in ...

(CHSAA) championship. Hughes was named first-team Class A All-State and CHSAA Class A

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

(MVP). He scored 42 points against

Jamesville Dewitt High School Jamesville-DeWitt High School (JDHS) is a New York state public education facility located in the town of DeWitt, serving high school students (grades 9–12) in the Jamesville-Dewitt Central School District. Notable alumni * Buddy Boeheim, pro ...

. After the season, he committed to play

for

East Carolina East Carolina University (ECU) is a public research university in Greenville, North Carolina. It is the fourth largest university in North Carolina. Founded on March 8, 1907, as a teacher training school, East Carolina has grown from its orig ...

. However, he struggled academically, in part due to the long commute and the school's competitive academic environment. To help improve his grades and meet

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

(NCAA) requirements, Hughes transferred to

South Kent School South Kent School, a private all-boys boarding school in South Kent, Connecticut, United States, is located on a campus in western Litchfield County. It is sited on Spooner Hill east of Bull's Bridge, overlooking the former Housatonic Valley ra ...

, a

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

South Kent, Connecticut South Kent is a village located in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States, alongside the border with New York, and within and part of Kent, Connecticut. South Kent has its own Post Office whose ZIP code is 06785. South Kent is also home to ...

, and later attended summer school. He became teammates with many other

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

prospects, including

Tremont Waters Tremont Waters (born January 10, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the Metropolitans 92 of the LNB Pro A. He played college basketball for the LSU Tigers. Early life and high school career Waters played at South Kent Schoo ...

and

Myles Powell Myles Blake Powell (born July 7, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Qingdao Eagles of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for the Seton Hall Pirates. High school career Powell attended ...

. Hughes was a three-star

recruit __NOTOC__ Recruit can refer to: Military * Military recruitment * Recruit training, in the military * '' Rekrut'' (English: Recruit), a military recruit or low rank in German-speaking countries * Seaman recruit Books *''Le Réquisitionnaire'' (E ...

and the No. 5 player in his state according to

247Sports 247Sports is an American network of websites that focus mainly on athletic recruitment in college football and basketball. It is owned and operated by Paramount. The website hosts a large network of team-specific subsites, with each subsite b ...

College career

Hughes began his collegiate career at

. As a freshman, he averaged 7.8 and 2.3 rebounds in 27 games, missing seven games due to injury. The Pirates finished 15–18, and Hughes gained weight due to the injury. His season-high 19 points came against

South Florida South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of th ...

on December 28, 2016. Following the end of the season, Hughes announced that he would be leaving East Carolina. Hughes decided to transfer to

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

over an offer from

Seton Hall Seton Hall University (SHU) is a private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesan u ...

. After redshirting a year due to NCAA transfer rules, during which he improved his strength and diet, Hughes was named a starter for the Orange going into his

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after b ...

sophomore season. He was the team's second leading scorer with 13.7 points per game while also averaging 4.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He took more three-pointers than any other teammate and made 36.9 percent of them. Hughes scored a career-high 25 points in the season-ending loss to Baylor in the NCAA tournament. Entering his junior season, Hughes was named to the watch list for the

Julius Erving Award The Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award is an annual basketball award given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to the top men's collegiate small forward. Following the success of the Bob Cousy Award which had been awarde ...

, which honors the top collegiate

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers but taller, larger, and stronger t ...

. On February 11, 2020, Hughes left a game against

NC State North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The university ...

early with a lower body injury. At the conclusion of the regular season, Hughes was selected to the First Team All-ACC. As a junior, Hughes averaged 19 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game. After the season, he declared for the

2020 NBA draft The 2020 NBA draft was held on November 18, 2020. The draft was originally scheduled to be held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on June 25, but due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it was instead conducted at ESPN's facilities in Bristol, Connecti ...

Professional career

Utah Jazz (2020–2022)

Hughes was selected with the 39th pick in the second round of the

2020 NBA Draft The 2020 NBA draft was held on November 18, 2020. The draft was originally scheduled to be held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on June 25, but due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it was instead conducted at ESPN's facilities in Bristol, Connecti ...

by the

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division and play their hom ...

. His draft rights were traded to the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

. On November 24, 2020, the

announced that they had signed with Hughes. He was assigned to the

Salt Lake City Stars The Salt Lake City Stars are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Salt Lake City, Utah, and are affiliated with the Utah Jazz. As of the 2022-23 season, the Stars play in the Maverik Center in West Valley City, U ...

of the

on February 15, 2021.

Portland Trail Blazers (2022)

On February 9, 2022, Hughes was traded to the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

in a three-team trade.

Wisconsin Herd (2022–present)

On November 3, 2022, Hughes was named to the opening night roster for the

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, 18 , , 0 , , 3.6 , , .333 , , .348 , , .750 , , .5 , , .3 , , .1 , , .1 , , 1.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 14 , , 1 , , 8.0 , , .417 , , .357 , , 1.000 , , 1.2 , , .4 , , .3 , , .1 , , 3.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

, 22 , , 3 , , 14.6 , , .296 , , .224 , , .667 , , 1.9 , , .7 , , .5 , , .3 , , 3.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 54 , , 4 , , 9.2 , , .328 , , .280 , , .769 , , 1.2 , , .5 , , .3 , , .2 , , 2.9

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;",

, 25 , , 7 , , 20.5 , , .349 , , .273 , , .684 , , 2.3 , , 1.3 , , .6 , , .4 , , 7.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:center;" colspan="11",

Redshirt , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;",

, 34 , , 34 , , 32.7 , , .420 , , .369 , , .742 , , 4.3 , , 1.5 , , 1.2 , , .8 , , 13.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;",

, 32 , , 32 , , 36.7 , , .427 , , .342 , , .813 , , 4.9 , , 3.4 , , 1.2 , , .8 , , 19.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 91 , , 73 , , 30.7 , , .411 , , .342 , , .763 , , 4.0 , , 2.1 , , 1.0 , , .7 , , 13.9

Personal life

Hughes is the sixth of seven children. Hughes' father, Wayne, works for

information technology Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information technology system (I ...

company IBM. His mother, Penny, was a

teacher's aide A teaching assistant or teacher's aide (TA) or education assistant (EA) or team teacher (TT) is an individual who assists a teacher with instructional responsibilities. TAs include ''graduate teaching assistants'' (GTAs), who are graduate stude ...

for

Beacon City Schools The Beacon City School District (also known as the Beacon City Schools) is one of 18 public school districts serving residents of Dutchess County, New York, United States. The district serves the City of Beacon and parts of the Town of Fishkill ...

before counseling at a

methadone clinic A methadone clinic, or substance use disorder services clinic (SUDS), is a clinic which has been established for the dispensing of medications used in the treatment of opiate dependence —historically and most commonly methadone, although buprenor ...

. Hughes' older sister, Talah, played college basketball for Saint Peter's and scored over 1,000 career points.

References

External links

Syracuse Orange bioEast Carolina Pirates bioHughes speaks to the Inside Syracuse Basketball Podcast in 2023
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Elijah 1998 births Living people 21st-century African-American sportspeople African-American basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from New York (state) East Carolina Pirates men's basketball players New Orleans Pelicans draft picks People from Beacon, New York Portland Trail Blazers players Salt Lake City Stars players Small forwards South Kent School alumni Sportspeople from Poughkeepsie, New York Syracuse Orange men's basketball players Utah Jazz players