Keeping Track of Hughes News

Trevon Hughes has had a busy month preparing for his professional basketball career. But he still had time to speak his mind as he works toward new opportunities.

During the first week of May, Hughes chose his representation by signing on with Kyle Weaver's agent, Mike Hodges. Hodges represents at least three other players in this year's pool of pro hopefuls, including likely NBA draft picks Darington Hobson (New Mexico) and the underrated Dominique Jones (South Florida).

Then about 10 days ago, Hughes got his feet wet in a pre-draft workout with the "hometown" Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks typically invite former college or high school stars from the area to showcase themselves at these workouts whether or not there is a good fit for them on the team. I think it's a good practice.

But Hughes really made headlines that day with a couple bizarre remarks in an Associated Press story in which he admitted he often thought Bo Ryan "hated" him during his Wisconsin career. A week later I am still baffled by Pop's comments and left to wonder what effect they could have on an incoming recruit. I have always thought that Hughes' success on and off the court could be instrumental to bringing in some of the younger players Wisconsin has courted. Who do you think guys like Vander Blue or George Marshall identify with when they consider the Badgers?

Hughes went on to say he didn't think Bo's swing offense hampered his chances of making the NBA, even though he said the system "probably hides your talent" somewhat. What kind of opportunity Hughes gets at the next level remains to be seen. (**Update: Hughes worked out for Sacramento on June 3**)

I actually didn't realize that Hughes was already 23-years-old until I found his profile on Draft Express while looking for pre-draft measurements. There wasn't much info available for Hughes and the measurables didn't particularly stand out from this year's crop either. He stands over six feet tall without shoes, with an average wingspan and a standing reach of just under eight feet.

For comparison's sake, Hughes looks a lot like Brandin Knight, Sean Singletary, Jonny Flynn or Lawrence Westbrook if you squint at 'em. Looking at some comparisons (Knight or Singletary), maybe Pop could have a cup of coffee in the NBA. But it's more likely that he's the next Badger destined to thrive in Europe or the D-League.

In April, Trevon Hughes survived a game two hiccup to average 12.3 pts, 6 rebs, 3.3 assts and 1.6 stls per game at the Portsmouth Invitational. While his assist-to-turnover ratio wasn't great, he kept it over 1:1 while playing the fourth-most minutes of any player. Pop exploded for 16 second-half points in his team's championship game victory. [box score]

On the Stove Top: Links (4/3)

As we delve into the off-season, content is harder to come by. Thus, a collection of links to catch up on the week's happenings ...

- If you have time, read Monday's article by Rob Hernandez on Jonte Flowers in the Wisconsin State Journal. The whole story was well done, but the Michael Flowers quote rehashed by Hernandez is what stuck out to me:

"Good leadership produces winners,'' Michael said. "But great leadership produces other great leaders. That's what I think of Jonte."

Some might have heard a variation of that quote at some point, but I had not. That shows a great level of respect was present in the Flowers household as all those brothers developed into great athletes ... no doubt fueled by some scrappy driveway pickup games. Now, Jonte finds himself with an opportunity to play basketball professionally, his first step being the Portsmouth Invitational. The same invite led Kam Taylor to a professional contract in Spain; let's see if Flowers can do better.

- The St. Paul Pioneer Press named Jordan Taylor its 2007-08 Player of the Year this week. Will Minnesota's Mr. Basketball be Taylor's next accolade? He cannot arrive in Madison soon enough.

- Speaking of next year's new comers, one rumor gaining steam this week is that Phoenix-area wing Ryan Evans will be joining the Badgers in 2008 as well. Evans, whose father played at UW, seems capable and willing to walk-on to the program, but the intriguing part of this rumor is exactly when and for how long Evans might be paying his own way. Would he in fact be given only a one-year free ride his freshman year, thereby "holding" a scholarship for Jamil Wilson starting in '09, or be a preferred walk-on for a few years with the possibility of earning a schollie down the line. An ArizonaPreps.com article referenced on the Wishoops.net message board seems to be the source of the speculation.

- The collegiate season will culminate this weekend, but the summer high school circuit is already underway. Wishoops.net is running a series of previews for some of the state's best amateur programs, including the following:
:: Wisconsin Playground Warriors 6U (feat. C Evan Anderson, Sussex Hamilton G Kameron Cerroni & Milw. Lutheran G T.J. Kadima)
:: DTA 16U (feat. Milwaukee-area talent like G Flavien Davis & Milw. Custer PF Calvin Godfrey)
:: Tosa Bandits 17U (feat. Wauwatosa East G Keondre Gholston & the Lawson brothers of Racine St. Catherine's)

-Snubbed by the NCAA Tournament committee, Ohio State marched through the NIT and dominated UMass in the second half to claim its own postseason title Thursday night. Small consolation for the Big Ten.

Assuming Kosta Koufos goes pro, Ohio State will be facing the loss of its three top scorers again this offseason. The Buckeyes do have a nice, young nucleus on the perimeter in David Lighty, Evan Turner and Jon Diebler. But Dallas Lauderdale and McDonald's All-American B.J. Mullens are no Greg Odens.

- If you are a glutton for punishment, take another gander at the numbers from Davidson's demolition of Wisconsin in the Sweet 16. From a defensive efficiency standpoint, the game was far and away UW's worst of the year, allowing 1.34+ points-per-possession. The 18-2 advantage for Davidson on fast breaks sheds some light on how that happened.

- Camp Lambeau came to the defense of the swing offense. I myself think the offense--as espoused by Bo Ryan--has some inherent shortcomings, but that discussion is for another day.