Elijah Hughes projected 43rd to Kings in ESPN 2020 Mock Draft

Former Cuse basketball star guard, Elijah Hughes has his eyes on the NBA Draft. An ESPN Mock Draft has him going 43rd to Sacramento.

Elijah Hughes sure made a name for himself in just two years dressed in Orange. The 6-foot-6 guard was one of the most complete scorers the Orange has had in recent years, taking home the ACC scoring title at 19.0 points per game last season.

When he wasn’t hitting threes or driving the lane hard for layups and dunks, the acrobatic Hughes was swatting shots off the backboard or dishing out passes for his over three assists per game in 2019-20.

Unfortunately for Syracuse basketball fans, Elijah Hughes decided to forgo his senior season for the opportunity to start his professional career. Fortunately for Hughes and Orange nation, he has the skillset and makeup to thrive at the highest level, highlighted by his name often being included in NBA mock drafts.

ESPN’s most recent mock draft, by Jonathan Givony, slotted Hughes at 43rd to the Sacramento Kings – a young team that has shown signs of drastic improvement over the past couple of years.

Although Givony didn’t go into depth on his reasoning for placing Hughes in the early part of the second round, it virtually speaks for itself. The Kings have their point guard in De’Aaron Fox and a good shooting guard combo in Buddy Hield and Bogdan Bogdanovic. However, veterans Kent Bazemore and Corey Brewer are their only two reliable guard/forward combos, a position that Hughes could bring youth to.

At Syracuse, Elijah could bring the ball up the court when asked to, and although Syracuse plays a zone defense, he had quick enough feet to play up top, and the length to guard bigs at the bottom of the 2-3.

This length could be a real selling point, as it really allows him to play an inch or two taller than he is, which is coveted for NBA teams. The CBS Sports big board has Elijah Hughes as the 34th overall prospect, so it isn’t out of the cards to see his name rise even further up the projections before the draft.

With the NBA Draft set for October 16 and the lottery on August 20, expect Hughes’ name to come up a few more times before he gets his name called.