Pittsburgh Basketball: John Hugley MVP of Barcelona exhibition games

The big men for Pittsburgh Basketball continue to play some exhibition games this offseason, with starting big man John Hugley recently playing in Spain.

A couple of weeks ago, Guillermo Díaz Graham of Pittsburgh Basketball got the opportunity to play for the U20 Spain national team and the forward and freshman twin of teammate Jorge played well, particularly on the defensive end, en route to winning the gold medal.

It was a solid showcase for the freshman as he returns to the completely rebuilt roster, where playing is up for grabs for almost everyone. One player who won’t have to worry about competing for minutes is John Hugley, one of the lone brightspots from last season’s 11-21 (6-14) squad. He led them with 14.8 ppg and 7.9 rpg overall.

Hugley was given the opportunity to play for the USA East Coast Team on their trip to Barcelona to take on players from Spain’s Liga ACB teams. The USA roster featured frontcourt players such as Benny Williams (Syracuse), Rafael Castro (Providence), and Jarrett Hensley (Cincinnati). Hugley easily had the most experience and proven production out of the group and it showed in how he played, starting at center in all three games.

Because these are exhibitions with the goal of all 14 players getting on the court, the minutes were effectively split evenly overall, to around 11-13 mpg for each. Yet Hugley still was able to have a noticeable impact on the court in each game.

In the first matchup, Hugley’s passing ability was on full display, setting up teammates from the perimeter. It’s a part of his game that Pittsburgh wasn’t able to see since there was a lack of shot-makers overall. The big finished with six points and five rebounds.

The rising junior center had a much bigger impact in Game 2, going for 13 points and 15 rebounds, with most of the damage coming in the first half alone. Hugley can be one of the most dominant big men in the paint so his overwhelming the smaller Spaniards wasn’t a big surprise. His production didn’t drop in the last game either, going for 17 points and eight rebounds.

The only other player that played anywhere near as well was Brandon Newman of Purdue. But it was clear that Hugley had the biggest collective impact in all three games, and looked great with the ball as a playmaker or scorer. He’s going to run the offense for Pittsburgh Basketball this upcoming season and if this past weekend is a sign, he’s ready to lead the team into being more competitive than they’ve been in recent years.