ºüÀêÊÓƵ U. finished 11-18 in 1996-97 as coach Charlie Spoonhour strained to reboot "Spoonball."
Things changed overnight when Spoonhour got the explosive CBC star to stay home and play for the basketball Billikens.
In his first year. the dynamic Hughes averaged 20.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists. He was named the college Freshman of the Year by the U. S. Basketball Writers Association as he led the Bills to a 22-11 record, the NCAA Tournament and a first-round upset of Massachusetts.
With "Larry Legend" the featured attraction, SLU ranked sixth in the country in attendance.
But on March 9, 1998, Hughes knocked the wind out of the program, leaving for the NBA draft. Less than a year later, after a 15-16 season without Hughes, Spoonhour resigned.
A golden era of SLU basketball ended.