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Bulls' Larry Hughes nothing to laugh at
Veteran guard stepping into shot, stepping up game
By K.C. Johnson | Tribune reporter
8:21 PM CST, December 7, 2008
The creator of the hilarious Web site heylarryhughespleasestoptakingsomanybadshots.com has posted only two entries since the February trade that sent Larry Hughes from Cleveland to the Bulls.
The self-described Cavaliers fan claims his work is done now that Hughes plays elsewhere. But even if the witty site were still being mined for material daily, the serious truth is Hughes wouldn't be giving anybody much with which to work.
Hughes is—no joke—currently taking good shots.
"I'm being aggressive and putting the practice time in," Hughes said. "If I didn't put the time in, I don't think any of this would be happening. But I've really been working at shooting the ball in rhythm and stepping into shots. Right now the three-pointer is what I'm getting."
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Larry Hughes in action Larry Hughes in action Photos
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2008-09 Bulls schedule, results
And the three-pointer is what Hughes is hitting: 12 of his last 17. Hughes is up to 47.7 percent on his three-pointers and 44.8 percent overall, far above his career figures of 30 percent on threes and 41 percent overall.
Hughes is averaging 13 points in 26.8 minutes, the Bulls' second-highest scoring average prorated over 48 minutes behind Ben Gordon.
"I've been around a while," Hughes said. "A lot of these guys have seen me go out and score 30 and play a lot of minutes. They see me playing less minutes and kind of wonder. But I come to practice every day and work on what I need to work on. And I keep moving on to the next day.
"I always try to keep my teammates before me on the court. I try to help guys out, get guys in their groove because I feel I can always find my groove."
Hughes did little to dispel his reputation, fair or not, as a selfish player by complaining about his playing time Nov. 18 in Los Angeles. His comments led to a meeting with coach Vinny Del Negro and general manager John Paxson, and Hughes since has accepted his lesser role professionally if begrudgingly.
"If you ask me, he's handled it well," Gordon said. "He voiced his opinion about it, but he handled it professionally. And whenever he gets a chance to play, he takes advantage of it."
Hughes' 14-point second quarter helped ignite the Bulls' offense in Saturday's home victory over Washington. He then drained a huge three-pointer with 95 seconds left to negate a late Wizards comeback.
"Larry has played consistently all year from the first day of training camp," Del Negro said. "He wants to compete. He wants to play every minute. Defensively he's one of my better guys. He gives me versatility. He's got some years under his belt in this league."
That experience has spawned both ridiculing Web sites and, at least currently, efficient play at both ends.
kcjohnson@tribune.com
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1 comment:
One of the true role models on and off the court left in professional sports today, meaning, it is from his heart, he wants to help, many others its a photo op.
Larry Hughes does it on a moments notice and I wish there were more professional athletes with his demeanor. If someone makes it 10 plus years in the NBA, they are that rare 10%, if they do it with the class of Larry Hughes, they are in that rarest 1%.
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