Syracuse basketball has Elijah Hughes back, but it may prove too late for the Orange in 2020. Here are all the details and what it all means.
Syracuse basketball fans received some great news just prior to tip vs Florida State, Elijah Hughes had returned to the lineup.
Earlier in the week, Hughes had suffered a groin strain in warmups vs NC State and only managed to play a few minutes before he took himself out.
Historically groin strains can keep athletes out anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. Leading up to the game, the Orange were hush-hush about his status.
The only lead we had was Elijah’s two-worded tweet, “nothing major.”
On Saturday he was a man of his word.
Hughes ended up playing 39 out of a possible 40 minutes. The only break Elijah got was when he awkwardly fell down to the canvas in the first half. He came out of the game for a brief moment before running back onto the hardwood.
If you watched the game, clearly Elijah Hughes was never 100 percent. Despite that factoid, Hughes still powered through his pain to deliver a 25 point performance on a 10-of-20 shooting night.
"“I wasn’t going to say no. I know my team needed me. I just tried to help any way I can.” – Hughes to Donna Ditota of Syracuse.com."
While the outside world was left guessing, those close to the Syracuse basketball program had a feeling early in the week that Hughes would be able to suit up vs the Seminoles.
Elijah was walking around gingerly throughout the contest and after he made some game-changing plays you could see him grimacing on the other end.
"“It was painful in every step I took. Painful. I just gutted it out. When my adrenaline got going I didn’t feel it at times, but also, those long timeouts, sitting down for a long time, it tightens up again.”"
The fact that Elijah was able to lace them up for the Orange just a few days after his injury is commendable. He’s clearly the best player on the team and they’re a different squad when Hughes is on the court.
The problem is it may be too late.
Despite his heroics late in the game, Syracuse still fell to FSU, 80-77. In the last game vs NC State, the Orange desperately needed Elijah and if he would’ve played there’s a very strong chance SU could’ve pulled out that game.
If Hughes would’ve been fully healthy, perhaps the Orange even pull off the upset over Florida State. There’s never a good time for an injury, but this hit Syracuse at the worst possible time and now it may be too late.
This dropped the Orange even further down the line and now puts their season in a very precarious position.
Up next for the Orange is a road trip against one of the best teams not only in the ACC but the entire country in Louisville. The mission is clear for Syracuse, beat the Cardinals on the road or else their bubble may burst.