Jade Hughes: Making the Most of It
2/13/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
When Jade Hughes arrived on campus in the fall of 2005, she had aspirations of taking the College of Charleston women's basketball team to heights it had never known before, the Southern Conference regular-season and tournament title and a trip or two to the NCAAs. Last year, she was just mere seconds from accomplishing a pair of those, as the Cougars lost a heartbreaker to Western Carolina in triple overtime in the league championship game.
This year, Charleston is second in the league standings and just a game out of first, heading into the final four games of the regular season and the Cougars are poised to make a run again at the goals that Jade and her teammates set years ago.
Ask anyone on the team, and they'll tell you that Hughes has been a leader and has served as a catalyst for the success that the Cougars have had the last couple of years.
It means a lot when I think about that," says Hughes. "Definitely one of our goals this season is to win the regular season title and SoCon tournament. It will mean a lot if we can accomplish those goals. When I first came here I wanted to win the SoCon and to have that chance this year is really special."
These are not uncommon goals for most any college basketball player but in the fall of 2007, Hughes saw her aspirations of SoCon glory nearly dashed entirely. In the early morning of a fall September day, Hughes was crossing the street in front of her house in downtown Charleston and was struck by a car. With a fractured skull she sat out the 2007-08 season.
Jade spent a year outside of basketball and took a medical redshirt. She took off the first semester of 2007 and stayed at home in Spartanburg rehabbing and concentrating on getting better. She returned to Charleston in early 2008 where she began attending classes again and practicing with the team, who finished that season 14-16 without their star point guard.
"I learned not to take every day for granted. Not being able to work out or play basketball for eight or nine months really made me appreciate not only the game but more basically appreciate life and the people. Make every day matter. Live every day to the fullest because at any second it could be taken away."
Two years later, Hughes has made the most of her new found opportunity. Earlier this season she became just the fifth CofC Division I player to eclipse the 1,000-point plateau and is two three-pointers away from becoming the Division I leader in three-pointers made and six assists from becoming the Division I leader as well.
Hughes graduated this past December and while she doesn't know what she wants to do, whether she stays involved with basketball by playing overseas or coaching or trying something different altogether, she does know that before too much longer her days at the College of Charleston will end.
To that end, the Cougars are preparing to travel to Hughes' hometown of Spartanburg to play Wofford for the final time in her Career.
"I don't know how I'll feel. I will probably be more focused on the game. I know I'll try to play better since it is the last time in front of my friends and family. I probably won't think about it too much until after the game. I'm just looking forward to it."
At some point this season, she will say goodbye to the College of Charleston and Cougar basketball after five years. She will leave as one of the best players in CofC history and is one of the reasons the Cougars have achieved their success. Yet, this is not what stands out to her as the legacy she will leave.
"The one thing I want people to remember about me is that every game I went out and played hard and they could tell I really enjoyed playing the game."
