Congratulations to former St. Louis area basketball star Larry Hughes on his induction into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame on Sunday.
Larry Legend was one of the best basketball players ever produced in St. Louis. He was a McDonald’s All-American at CBC and the National Freshman of the Year in his one season of college basketball at Saint Louis University. He went on to enjoy very productive career in the National Basketball Association.
I’ve had the pleasure and honor of watching Larry Hughes throughout his stellar career. Here are my top five Larry Hughes moments from his high school and collegiate career.
*Brew City Conquest: On a late-season road trip to Milwaukee to face a good Marquette team, Larry entered the contest averaging more than 20 points a game. While reading a preview of the game in the local newspaper, Marquette coach Mike Deane has said that they would not do anything special to defend Larry. There will be no double-teams. I had a big smile on my face when I read that. Larry went out and scored a season-high 40 points to give the Billikens a big road victory in front of a stunned crowd at the Bradley Center.
*State Quarterfinals: In the 1997 Class 4A state quarterfinals, Larry’s CBC team fell behind Riverview Gardens 31-19 after one quarter. The Rams were rolling with chants of “View Time! View Time! cascading from all corners of the Mark Twain Building at UMSL.
From that moment on, Larry took matters into his own hands and delivered one of the great show-stopping performances in state tournament history. He finished with 40 points as the Cadets defeated Riverview Gardens. CBC went on to win the state championship the following weekend.
*Larry’s College Commitment: The day Larry announced his commitment to Saint Louis U., the CBC gym was packed. He was a young man of few words back then and his announcement was short and sweet. “I will be attending Saint Louis University. And make sure to get your tickets. We’re going to state.” I loved that. True to his word, he took the Cadets to the state title.
*A trip to McDonald’s: After his stellar senior year at CBC, Larry was selected to play in the prestigious McDonald’s All-American Game. A few noted college basketball experts scoffed at his selection because he had signed at SLU and not one of the blue blood programs such as Duke, Kentucky and Indiana. Well, Larry showed up and showed out in the McDonald’s game. He scored a game high 20 points and showed the national television audience what what already knew in St. Louis. That he was special. He should have been selected the MVP of the game, but that honor went to Kenny Gregory of Kansas. I still feel some kind of way about that.
Bass Pro Legend: One of the biggest high school tournaments in the country is the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions in Springfield. It’s a national event that brings future NBA players to the Ozarks on a yearly basis. The 1997 TOC belonged to Larry has he put on a three-day scoring blitz to lead the Cadets to the championship. He averaged more than 30 points a game during a tour de force performance that still has people talking about it to this very day.
