Savage announces addition of Butler transfer DJ Hughes

Published 10:54 am Wednesday, May 31, 2023

JOHNSON CITY – ETSU men’s basketball added another player to its 2023-24 roster.

Head coach Brooks Savage and his staff announced the signing of DJ Hughes on Wednesday. Hughes, a 6-foot-6, 230-pound forward, played the last two seasons at Butler. Hughes has two years of eligibility remaining with the Buccaneers.

“DJ brings great versatility and toughness to our frontcourt,” said Savage. “He is a tremendous rebounder and a high-level competitor. DJ has a high basketball IQ, great motor and the ability to impact winning on both ends of the floor. He fits really well into our system – being able to play inside and out on the offensive end, guard multiple positions defensively and rebound both backboards. DJ plays with a ton of passion and is someone who will energize our team and our fans!”

Hughes played in 34 games over two seasons at Butler. The Indianapolis native averaged 1.1 points and 1.6 rebounds in 7.7 minutes per game as freshman, while he posted 1.7 points and 1.9 rebounds in 8.7 minutes this past season as a sophomore.

“When I was deciding where I wanted to go, I knew the decision had to feel right,” said Hughes. “It had to feel like I was at home. Johnson City felt like home to me and I’m ready to get the city back in the spotlight for college basketball.”

As a freshman, Hughes had six points and six rebounds, while going 3-of-4 from the field in 23 minutes against Oklahoma. Hughes also had back-to-back four-rebound games against DePaul and St. John’s also in the 2021-22 campaign, while this season the forward had a six-point, eight-rebound effort in 13 minutes over The Citadel. Hughes followed up that game with a six-rebound performance against Tennessee, while he had four points and four rebounds at California.

Hughes was a three-star recruit by ESPN and 247Sports coming out of high school where he played at Lawrence North. Hughes averaged 13.5 points, a team-leading 7.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 steals as a senior. During that senior season, Hughes led Lawrence North to a 28-3 record and a trip to the Class 4A state championship. The 1,000-point scorer shot over 65 percent from the field as a senior and 63 percent as a junior. Hughes, who was named to the ALL-USA Central Indiana boys basketball Super Team by the Indianapolis Star, averaged 11.2 points and 6.9 rebounds as a junior. The Wildcats were 25-2 in Hughes’ junior season where he had the game-winning put back in the Class 4A sectional title game against Warren Central, but the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the remainder of the tournament. The Wildcats were the No. 1 team in the state and the favorite to win the state title that 2019-20 season. As a sophomore, Hughes averaged 8.4 points and 6.5 rebounds.