Larry Hughes

[davidnark]

I lost track of where he was this season in the NBA. This afternoon, I turned on the Magic/Bobcats playoff game, and guess who came off the Charlotte bench to trigger a series of key runs? He looks smart and confident for the first time in a long time.

[kshoe]

I lost track of where he was this season in the NBA. This afternoon, I turned on the Magic/Bobcats playoff game, and guess who came off the Charlotte bench to trigger a series of key runs? He looks smart and confident for the first time in a long time.

Speaking of Larry, 101.1 has been running a series on "hometown heros" that typically last an hour and include interviews with friends, family etc. They just had one on Larry with Rammer narrating. Baniak, Spoon, Derrick Thomas and Tatum were all on there. Brought back good memories so if anyone gets a chance I'd suggest they listen to it. Its probably on their website somewhere.

[thetorch]

It tells you how poorly the Knicks are run. Larry couldn't get off the bench for a horrible Knick team and now suddenly he is a contributor on a playoff team.

[Taj79]

Larry Brown drafted Hughes for the Sixers all those years ago. Now Brown is running th Bobcats. Coincidence? I remember some (roy I recall) denigrating the situation in Philly when Hughes left for being a situation not conducive to Larry's talents (as any would be playing second fiddle to Iverson). Yet he's abck with Brown. Interesting.

Bottom line: just another grossly overpaid journeyman. You want him to do well but its always been a rollercoaster.

[Band Legend]

Larry Brown drafted Hughes for the Sixers all those years ago. Now Brown is running th Bobcats. Coincidence? I remember some (roy I recall) denigrating the situation in Philly when Hughes left for being a situation not conducive to Larry's talents (as any would be playing second fiddle to Iverson). Yet he's abck with Brown. Interesting.

Bottom line: just another grossly overpaid journeyman. You want him to do well but its always been a rollercoaster.

Maybe Larry has entered a stage of his career where he can flourish in a more complimentary role. Let's face it, some players are just not cut out to be the man on an NBA team; Larry is one of those guys. Maybe we just all hoped for too much because he came from SLU. He did have a couple of very good years in Washington when he was one part of a three player star setup. As far as being overpaid is concerned, no one put a gun to Cleveland's head when they signed him to that 5/60 contract. The bottom line is that he is the only Billiken in the league, and therefore my favorite player.

[davidnark]

Maybe Larry has entered a stage of his career where he can flourish in a more complimentary role. Let's face it, some players are just not cut out to be the man on an NBA team; Larry is one of those guys.

This is probably accurate with hindsight being 20/20, but 19 year-old lottery picks certainly aren't drafted to play complimentary roles.

[billiken_roy]

hughes from my viewpoiint was an extremely lazy offseason player. he never seemed to spend a single offseason working on anything instead we would read more about him hanging with nelly or opening up bars.

i was the biggest larry hughes fan but to say he has had a disappointing pro career is an understatement. he should have been a star. and he has no one to blame but himself.

he is proof the real defining trait of a pro athlete is what's inside. not how high they can jump or how fast they can run etc. larry didnt have the heart and guts to be the man.

[joe_davola]

I'm as big of a Larry fan as anyone and I truly believe he had the talent to be the "MAN" for any team. I think he just lacked the competitiveness and desire to be that player. If you compare him against guys like Jordan, Kobe, Lebron, Iverson, Magic, Bird...those guys had a burning fire lit inside them. It was almost as if they were insulted when and opposing player thought they could defend and stop them. They demanded themselves to be better than their competition. They did whatever it took. Of course, Larry is a quiet guy and maybe he gave me the wrong impression, but I never got that sense of competitiveness from him, and ultimately I think that is what may have kept him from reaching the upper tier of the players in the NBA and being an all star year after year. I'm one of Larry's biggest fans and can't tell you enough how happy I was when he came to SLU. He will still go down as one of my favorite Bills and one of my most despised enemies in HS (Desmet Grad).

[joe_davola]

hughes from my viewpoiint was an extremely lazy offseason player. he never seemed to spend a single offseason working on anything instead we would read more about him hanging with nelly or opening up bars.

i was the biggest larry hughes fan but to say he has had a disappointing pro career is an understatement. he should have been a star. and he has no one to blame but himself.

he is proof the real defining trait of a pro athlete is what's inside. not how high they can jump or how fast they can run etc. larry didnt have the heart and guts to be the man.

Agreed

[MB73]

hughes from my viewpoiint was an extremely lazy offseason player. he never seemed to spend a single offseason working on anything instead we would read more about him hanging with nelly or opening up bars.

i was the biggest larry hughes fan but to say he has had a disappointing pro career is an understatement. he should have been a star. and he has no one to blame but himself.

he is proof the real defining trait of a pro athlete is what's inside. not how high they can jump or how fast they can run etc. larry didnt have the heart and guts to be the man.

Hey Broy, we agree on something.

It was a total fluke that he went to SLU, due to the unfortunate illness of his brother.

One yr wonder, do not blame him for leaving early, we all would have done the same, I think his first 3 yr NBA deal was for $ 3M a yr = $ 9M.

Not saying he is a bad person, just did not have the drive to develop his huge talent and take it to the next level.

So he did OK in the NBA, made millions, just did not have what it takes to get better.

Settled for less.

[thetorch]

We forget that Larry was not born spinning a basketball on his finger like some guys. He only started playing competitively in his teens. That hurt him a lot especially when it came to his shooting development.

His athleticism was never out of this world either. He was average for an NBA guard. Couple that with his slight frame and you have a makeup for a mediocre career.

His peak years when he had a chance to be an All Star he got hurt. He never got the bounce back in his step after that. Also the death of his brother took a heavy toll on him. I always thought he was miscast as a tweener guard. He should have never tried to be a point guard and the teams that made him do that ruined his development.

I'll say this Hughes has many opportunities to hang it up and walk away with all his money. He never did. Despite the fact that he has played for some extremely poor organizations he has managed to have a lengthy career. A lesser player would have hung it up, Larry developed his defensive skills and has now become an off the bench stopper while because of his injuries he can't light it up on the offensive end like he used to.

[STL Hoops Insider]

http://www.nba.com/playerfile/larry_hughes/career_stats.html

Pretty good 12 year career. I dont think anyone can complain. Played on an NBA Finals team. 14.2 ppg is his career average. The names that never reached that plateau would surprise you. Six-time all-star Jermaine O'neal has the exact same career scoring average. And as said before he made defense his calling card and made the All-Defensive 1st team in 2005.

[someoneelse]

This is probably accurate with hindsight being 20/20, but 19 year-old lottery picks certainly aren't drafted to play complimentary roles.

They aren't, you are correct, but they do, and often. GMs should know that you don't know what you are getting with a 19 year old. You are drafting potential. It is easy to mock, say, Darko Milicic, but he is still in the league. Some others from that draft class are not.

[ACE]

http://www.nba.com/playerfile/larry_hughes/career_stats.html

Pretty good 12 year career. I dont think anyone can complain. Played on an NBA Finals team. 14.2 ppg is his career average. The names that never reached that plateau would surprise you. Six-time all-star Jermaine O'neal has the exact same career scoring average. And as said before he made defense his calling card and made the All-Defensive 1st team in 2005.

While there have been some disappointments with the injuries and bouncing around to different teams, most guys would kill to have had the NBA career Larry has had. A look at that draft shows some guys like Bibby, Carter, Pierce and Nowitzki who have had better careers, but a lot more from that draft turned out to be much worse than Larry - Olowakandi, LaFrentz, Traylor, Clark, Dickerson, Harpring, Drew, McLoed and Lopez.

[kevinfootes]

While there have been some disappointments with the injuries and bouncing around to different teams, most guys would kill to have had the NBA career Larry has had. A look at that draft shows some guys like Bibby, Carter, Pierce and Nowitzki who have had better careers, but a lot more from that draft turned out to be much worse than Larry - Olowakandi, LaFrentz, Traylor, Clark, Dickerson, Harpring, Drew, McLoed and Lopez.

Larry has had a nice enough career. IMO, the biggest knock against him is the contract he signed with Cleveland. Wasn't it something like 5 years, $70 million? That just didn't work out. I don't blame Hughes for that, anybody would take the money. He's been a good player, but not a franchise type...and certainly not the Scottie Pippen that Cleveland hoped he would be.