Syracuse Basketball: Elijah Hughes projected to LeBron James-led Lakers
By Neil Adler
Former Syracuse basketball star Elijah Hughes continues to receive first-round draft prognostications.
Former Syracuse basketball sensation Elijah Hughes is appearing in the first round of another NBA mock draft. Jason McIntyre, on foxsports.com, slots the 6-foot-6 small forward at No. 29 in the 2020 NBA Draft first round, with the Los Angeles Lakers choosing Hughes.
Here’s what McIntyre had to say about Hughes in his most-recent mock draft. “Blossomed into a stud in the ACC last year, scoring 19 ppg. He just turned 22, and reminds me of a more mature version of Malachi Richardson, the Syracuse wing who was drafted in the 1st round in 2016.”
Hughes, who led the Atlantic Coast Conference in scoring during the 2019-20 term and got named to the All-ACC first team, if actually selected by the Lakers would join one of the NBA’s premier teams.
👀 Obi Toppin to the Timberwolves. Cole Anthony playing for MJ. Tre Jones teams up with Kyrie. Check out @jasonrmcintyre's First Round Mock Draft 🙌 pic.twitter.com/DNHsj4N0lG
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) May 27, 2020
The halted 2019-20 NBA stanza, which may resume in the somewhat near future according to a bevy of media reports, found the Lakers at 49-14 and in 1st place within the league’s Western Conference.
Dion Waiters, another former Orange star and 2012 NBA Draft lottery pick, is presently on the Lakers roster, along with two pretty good players that you may have heard of in LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
What a landing spot that Los Angeles would prove for Hughes, a talented, humble young man who in 2019-20 registered one of the finest seasons in recent ‘Cuse hoops memory.
Former Syracuse basketball player Elijah Hughes could link up with other Orange hoops guys in the pros.
In another recent NBA mock draft, CBS Sports’ Kyle Boone placed Hughes at No. 27 in the first round, with Toronto choosing him. The Raptors, a crew that captured the NBA championship last summer, are a tremendous organization from top to bottom and would also make a strong fit for Hughes.
Two additional former Syracuse players who did extremely well on the Hill and are now part of the greater Toronto group, including its G League affiliate the Raptors 905, are Oshae Brissett and Tyler Ennis.
Brissett and Hughes suited up the Orange for one campaign, in 2018-19, when the ‘Cuse went 20-14 and fell in the NCAA Tournament’s round of 64 to Baylor.
Virtually nothing is ever a guarantee as far as the NBA Draft goes, but more and more encouraging signs are emerging that Hughes could get taken in the first round. That would amount to an achievement that he assuredly deserves.