ST. LOUIS — When you think of the name Hughes in St. Louis basktball, you think of greatness.
Larry Hughes led CBC to a state title and the Billikens to the NCAA tourney. And he enjoyed a long NBA career, scoring 10,000 points in 13 years in the league.
But now, he may very well be the second best player in his family.
Meet the next star from the Hughes family.
Larry Hughes Jr. is 6 feet 6 inches and a junior-to-be at CBC. He has a silky smooth jumper that just might be better than dad's.
Larry Jr. and his dad have had a special relationship from the get go. Larry Sr. and his wife have four kids. Larry Jr. is his only boy. And now he's following in the family business. The father didn't push him that way, though.
"You want to be great late. Having things too early... whether you're the best middle-schooler or best 10-year-old in the country, plays no weight when it's big boy time. When it's college scholarship time. When it's doing something that you love and the ability to be played to play that," Larry Sr. said. "It's all about putting the ingredients in the cake and continuing to bake the cake and living with those results afterwards."
But even though it's now a relationship threaded through basketball, it's punctuated with love.
"He's a great man. He's a great father to me and my sisters. A great husband to my mom. So, you've got to love him for that," Larry Jr. said.
"He's a good kid. He's a solid guy. Respectful, humble. I see a lot of myself in him. He takes care of his sisters and his mom. That's why I love him. He takes care of the people around him," Larry Sr. said.
The one-on-one games are quite spirited nowadays, but they will never be as powerful as the love between this father and son.
"I had to stop him a few times and look him in the eye and say give me a hug. I love him and let him know I'm in this battle with him," Larry Sr. said.
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