Elijah Hughes decided Friday to enter the NBA Draft process, potentially forgoing his final season at Syracuse after a strong redshirt junior campaign. The forward averaged an Atlantic Coast Conference-leading 19 points per game, adding 5.0 rebounds and 3.4 assists while flashing his ability on the defensive end as well. A recent NBADraft.net mock draft had Hughes as the 38th selection.

The Daily Orange spoke with Hughes about his decision to test the draft waters and whether that means his time at SU is officially over. 

The Daily Orange: How did you finally come to the decision?

Elijah Hughes: It was just following my heart. What I felt was right at the time. Praying a lot. Asking for guidance. With my family, we just came to the decision that this is right for me at the time.

D.O.: Did you ask for advice from people who went through the process?

E.H.: Yeah. I talked to Oshae (Brissett). I talked to some other guys who were at Syracuse. Some other guys who were in the NBA. Just to know how they took it, how they handled it with everything happening. But what they went through and their experience. That kind of stuff.

D.O.: With pre-draft up in the air, what is your plan for the next month?

E.H.: Yeah, I had to fill out some paperwork for (the Undergraduate Advisory Committee). But I did that. And, like you said, this is going to be a weird pre-draft couple of weeks. We’re just going to see how it goes, really.

D.O.: How do you work out for teams?

E.H.: I mean, that part is kind of up in the air. No one knows what’s going to happen. It’s kind of a wait and see kind of thing.

D.O.: How do you expect you’ll get answers to your questions?

E.H.: I don’t know. (The Undergraduate Advisory Committee) could be helpful, but for the most part, I’m going to just try to play everything out and take everything a day at a time. 

D.O.: Have you signed with an agent yet?

E.H.: No, not yet.

D.O.: Do you plan on signing with one?

E.H.: With the NCAA rules, I could still sign with an agent (and return to school). I will be signing with an agent, it’s just a matter of time. So, we’re just in the search for that. Trying to find the right one. The right fit. With the new rules, you’re allowed to return even if you sign with an agent.

D.O.: So, you are still going to wait and see what you hear before committing entirely?

E.H.: Yes.

D.O.: Will the Early Entry Deadline be moved?

E.H.: With everything going on with (the novel coronavirus), everything with this draft and pre-draft process is up in the air right now. Nobody knows what’s going to happen, how it’s going to happen. Everything’s kind of like that.

D.O.: What are your favorite memories from Syracuse?

E.H.: Man, I could speak for hours about that. Most of it’s just being with my teammates every day, kind of stuff. Just as college students first. Just being college students on the basketball team at Syracuse. You could put the pieces together for that, I guess. But a lot of fun on the court, obviously. Last year, the shot at Duke sticks out. Making the (NCAA Tournament) last year, and even my redshirt year. When we found out we made the Tournament and we had to play the First Four game in Dayton. Being in the locker room with the guys and celebrating the way we were celebrating. And I wasn’t even playing, but that was just something I’ll never forget. I was really happy for my team. I was able to travel with them, that was my first time traveling. I have so many, I could talk about it for hours.

D.O.: How upsetting was it for the ACC Tournament to be called off early?

E.H.: Of course. Of course. We’re all young, we’re all doing what we love. And to see it kind of taken away from us, when we were arguably… No, not even arguably. We were playing our best basketball. We played our best game against North Carolina. The whole season. Everyone came in and did something to help us. So, to see us go out the way we went out: It sucks. And it hurt. It was really kind of like, ‘Wow.’ I mean, it wasn’t in our control and it’s just one of those things, man.

D.O.: Anything could happen after beating one of the hottest teams in the ACC, right?

E.H.: Right. It’s March. Syracuse has a thing about rolling in March. We were ready to make a crazy run.

Published on March 23, 2020 at 8:51 am

Contact Michael: mmcclear@syr.edu | @MikeJMcCleary