Elijah Hughes projected to Toronto in first round of new mock draft

The possibility of former Syracuse basketball stars Elijah Hughes and Oshae Brissett reuniting in the pros is intriguing.

Even with all the uncertainty over the current NBA season, as well as the association’s combine and its draft, former Syracuse basketball stud Elijah Hughes is getting a lot of high praise from some analysts and writers.

CBS Sports’ Kyle Boone on Tuesday unveiled the seventh version of his 2020 NBA mock draft, and Hughes finds himself in the first round. The 6-foot-6 small forward, who led the Atlantic Coast Conference in scoring during the 2019-20 campaign, is listed by Boone as having an overall prospect rank of No. 22 and a position rank of No. 7.

At this juncture, Boone projects that Toronto will pick Hughes at No. 27 in the first round of the NBA Draft. Of course, as Boone notes in his piece, the draft can’t occur until a lottery order is figured out, and the lottery order can’t get sorted out until the present NBA term concludes one way or another.

Boone adds, “Despite the lottery order still not set, team need and fit is weighed heavily as opposed to my own personal view on prospects.”

Elijah Hughes could meet up with a former Syracuse basketball teammate in the NBA.

With that as context, Hughes potentially heading to the Raptors, a team that won the NBA championship last summer, is tantalizing. For one, Toronto is a terrific organization, as it pertains to its players, coaches, and front-office personnel.

Secondly, another former Orange star, Oshae Brissett, has spent his time during the 2019-20 NBA stanza competing for both the Raptors and their G League squad, the Raptors 905.

On the Hill, Brissett and Hughes suited up for one season together, in 2018-19. In that campaign, the ‘Cuse recorded a 20-14 mark and lost in the NCAA Tournament’s round of 64 to Baylor. It would prove a ton of fun if these two former Syracuse sensations could link up at the pro level.

Boone had this to say about Hughes in his most-recent mock draft. “The more teams learn about Elijah Hughes the more they like. He soaked up a ton of defensive attention last season and yet still averaged 19 points on a fairly efficient volume for Syracuse, averaging 34.1% from the 3-point line on 228 attempts. His scoring coupled with his 6-6 frame could give the Raptors a real playmaking threat on the wing they lack.”

Nothing is a guarantee, but it seems like a relatively solid bet that Hughes will hear his name called at the 2020 NBA Draft, whenever the event ultimately transpires. Now the question for Hughes may center more on which round he is chosen in, and that’s an exciting notion for this determined, humble young man.