Syracuse Basketball: Elijah Hughes has expanded his trophy collection

Syracuse basketball redshirt junior forward Elijah Hughes has landed the premier recognition from the Eastern College Athletic Conference.

Syracuse basketball star Elijah Hughes is expanding his trophy collection. The redshirt junior forward on Thursday received the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division I Player of the Year award.

Hughes also earned a spot on the All-ECAC first team, according to a press release.

In case you’re wondering, the ECAC is an 80-year-old organization with more than 200 members across the NCAA Division I, II and III levels, per its Web site. Many of the ECAC’s participants also belong to another, primary league – like the Atlantic Coast Conference for the Orange.

The ACC’s leading scorer during the 2019-20 campaign at 19.0 points per contest, Hughes put forth one of the finest stanzas in recent ‘Cuse program memory. He got snubbed for several potential honors on a national scale, but Hughes did secure a place on the All-ACC first crew.

Hughes, who recently revealed that he would enter the NBA Draft process, is joined on the All-ECAC first unit by Yale junior forward Paul Atkinson, Long Island University senior guard/forward Raiquan Clark, Siena sophomore guard Jalen Pickett and Saint Francis redshirt senior guard Isiah Blackmon.

Holy Cross freshman forward Joe Pridgen is the ECAC Rookie of the Year, while Merrimack’s Joe Gallo is the Coach of the Year.

A big congrats to all of these guys, especially Hughes. It came as no surprise whatsoever that he has elected to test the NBA Draft waters, given the term that he just achieved.

However, with all the uncertainty surrounding the draft and the combine, and the distinct possibility that individual workouts with NBA squads may not occur due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, there’s at least a small chance that Hughes could consider returning for his final stint of eligibility on the Hill.

Mock drafts published by analysts and writers will assuredly change with a decent amount of frequency, but, at this juncture, it appears that Hughes is viewed as a mid-to-late, second-round selection. CBS Sports’ Kyle Boone, for one, updated his NBA Draft prospect rankings on March 25, and Hughes checks in at No. 58.