Retired NBA star Larry Hughes started his basketball career at Christian Brothers College High School. Three years ago, he came back to the school as founder of Larry Hughes Basketball Academy, held inside the CBC gymnasium.
The class that runs Monday evenings showcases Larry’s skills and drills program, which focuses on athletes in grades 4–8. “The core of our organization is skills and drills,” says Jayson Wells, head of development at the academy. “The way you prepare yourself is out here with the fundamentals.”
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Wells is a 13-year basketball veteran who played internationally. He met Hughes through a mutual friend. Wells explained that Hughes and his philosophies were greatly similar, which inspired the partnership.
Ss soon as Wells steps into the center of the gymnasium, he blows his whistle and calls out, “Eyes on the hoop!” The kids—who are known in the academy only as athletes—focus on their coach.
At least six vetted trainers and coaches—known in the academy as motivators—assist Wells in leading the athletes through drills and developing what the academy calls a “basketball IQ.”
“The basketball IQ is the foundation. It’s understanding when to make a bounce pass, when to make a jump shot,” Hughes says. “We’re teaching them why they use those particular skills.”
Throughout the drills, Wells continued to remind the young athletes of “names, reminders, and encouragements.” Like the motivators, the young athletes are encouraged to learn the name of everyone in their class. They’re also told to give feedback to help other athletes improve. Finally, they provide encouragement as a “personal touch” to motivate each other.
Hughes incorporates his own form of martial arts into the curriculum, a proven system of development that was adopted by NBA player Chris Paul for his own academy, CP3 Basketball Academy, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
“We use a martial arts system. Athletes begin with a white shirt, run through the cycle, then they are promoted to a black shirt,” Wells says. How belts represent growth in martial arts, the shirts at Larry Hughes represent growth in his academy.
Hughes added, “Starting younger we are able to catch bad habits early, and mold them in ways to be successful.”
The academy currently has 300 members divided between its skills and drills program for grades 4–8 and juniors program K–3. Each class has 30 kids per session, so motivators have more opportunities to work closely with the kids.
The CBC gymnasium continues to be the academy’s temporary home.
“We’re looking in the fall for our own facility in the Maryland heights area,” Hughes says. “We believe the area is a good connector to draw from areas such as West County as well as the St. Charles area.”
As the academy continues to grow, especially its juniors program, Hughes’s cites the amount of experience as the main reason why parents should bring their young athlete to the academy instead of a competing program.
“You have someone with 13 years’ experience playing in the NBA. You have someone with 13 years’ experience playing overseas. The amount of knowledge we have here, you won’t find anywhere else,” Hughes says.
Contact Larry Hughes Basketball Academy at 314-881-8443 for a free trail session or to discuss passes and plans. The office is located at 10880 Baur, while programs are held at Christian Brothers College High School (in the Bommarito Ford Gymnasium), located at 1850 De La Salle.
