Elijah Hughes

Elijah Wayne Hughes was born March 10, 1998 in Poughkeepsie, New York and grew up in nearby Beacon. He is the son of Wayne and Penny Hughes and has six siblings. Ejijah's older sister, Talah, played college basketball at Saint Peter's. Hughes started playing hoops through the CYO (Catholic Youth Organization). In the ninth grade, Hughes was asked to join the varsity team at Beacon High School to man the point guard position. After two academic years, he transferred to John F. Kennedy Catholic High School in Somers, New York. As a junior, Hughes led JFK to a 26-2 record and runner-up status at the Catholic High School Athletic Championship (CHSAA). For his senior season, he transferred to South Kent boarding school in Connecticut. Hughes then started his college days at East Carolina (2016-17), but transferred to Syracuse after his freshman year. At Syracuse, Hughes studied human development and family science. Hughes progressed his all-around game in each of three seasons of collegiate ball, the first of which came at East Carolina. He started seven of the 25 games he appeared in that season but elected to transfer after averaging 7.8 points across 20.5 minutes. After sitting out the 2017-18 campaign, Hughes made an immediate impact as a full-time starter for Syracuse. He started all 34 games for the Orange that year, contributing across the board with averages of 13.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists. Syracuse was bounced in the first round of the NCAA Tournament that year, but Hughes was fueled to have his best season yet in 2019-20. He barely left the court his junior year, leading the ACC in minutes played (1175) and field goal attempts (464). That culminated in 19.0 PPG scoring average and a much-improved assist rate of 3.4 APG. Hughes earned first-team All-ACC honors for his efforts and ultimately elected to end his career on a high note, forgoing his senior season of eligibility.