Archive: Prized Recruit Looking to make big impact

Oringally printed in The Badger Nation, November 2006

All the way from New York City to Madison, Hughes will look to bring new dimension to Badgers.

When Trevon Hughes arrived in Wisconsin for high school, he was basically on his on. Now, as the newest member of the UW men’s basketball team he now is a part of a family.

Originally from New York City, Hughes enrolled in St. John’s military academy where he was a unanimous first-team all-state selection by the Associated Press as a senior. While averaging 22.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 4.8 steals per game Hughes was ranked as a top ten prospect at point guard and received scholarship offers from several schools including Iowa, Illinois, Gonzaga, Georgia and Wisconsin.

However, by committing to the University of Wisconsin, Hughes will look to make an immediate impact for one of the top teams in the nation.

“As I looked at it and looked at the other schools I was comparing [them] to Wisconsin and I didn’t see any comparison between the other schools and Wisconsin” Hughes told The Badger Nation last summer. “The team chemistry I saw here was awesome.”

Hughes also praised the development of current point guard Kammron Taylor and hoped he could enjoy similar success with the Badgers as Taylor enters his fourth and final year in the program. He expressed a lot of excitement with the chance to play with him.

Hughes is also looking forward to adding to the team chemistry this season as he joins the aforementioned Taylor, upper classman Michael Flowers and fellow freshman Jason Bohannon and Mickey Perry in a battle for playing time at the guard positions. Hughes has been a point guard his whole life and considers himself a pass first guard but can score when needed. With his strength and ability to finish when he gets to the rim, Hughes will look to bring a different dimension to an already solid Badger backcourt.

His main weakness in high school was a lack of a defensive presence. However, since arriving on campus, Hughes has worked hard to improve, specifically on his off the ball defensive pressure which has been a staple of past Bo Ryan teams. Hughes also expressed the need to work hard everyday in practice to turn his defense into a strength rather than a liability on the floor.

When asked for advice Coach Ryan could give to his freshmen during practice Ryan answered frankly, “Don’t let Kamm score. Steal the ball from him. Because again, the best respect you can pay to a teammate is to beat him.”

Hughes is set to answer the challenge issued by Coach Ryan.

“I’m going try and get at everyone in practice” Hughes said. “I want to earn the respect of the coaching staff and my teammates.”

Hughes seems to be on the right track as the team has already welcomed the freshman with open arms and are anxious to begin a season filled with expectations. With some preseason polls ranking the Badgers as high as five, the national spotlight will be sure to follow the team throughout the season. That can be a lot of pressure for a true freshman but it does not seem to bother Hughes.