AURORA — Watch O’Rion Hughes play basketball and you’ll start to see a galaxy of tiny stars.
Utilizing a strong yet spidery 6-foot-3 body, the senior from Gateway has an old-school versatility and style that is a microcosm of so many great players.
Drive to the hoop in that shoulder-down physical style, create a shot and take it with a hand in his face? Hughes has been doing it for years.
Sky over taller and bigger kids for rebounds, especially the nasty ones on the offensive side of the floor? Ditto.
Bring the ball up the floor, distribute, drain the mid-range jumper, play the No. 3 spot or get low and post up? No problem.
How about leading by example? Yes, sir. After all, this happy-go-lucky kid with a genuine smile and polite mannerisms was raised by a Marine.
But of all the things Hughes makes others see, it’s safe to assume none have the identical mental picture he does. That’s because in O’Rion’s mind, he swims on the floor with a dorsal fin and an empty stomach.
“Great whites and killer whales pretty much run the ocean,” said Hughes, drawing a parallel between his passion for hoops and dream of becoming a marine biologist. “That’s how I play my game. I’m always on attack mode.”
Hughes has been not-your-average-basketball-player for years now. As a sophomore, he averaged 12 points a game as a supporting actor to a talented group of Olympians that lost to eventual champion Mullen in the Great 8 of the Class 5A state tournament.
Last season, he averaged 22 points a game as Gateway made it to the second round of the state tournament.
In two games this season, Hughes is averaging 32 points after another summer of refining his game at basketball camps on both coasts.
“I feel I can pretty much D-up and take anybody on,” said Hughes, who illustrates his fearlessness by talking about defending former Mullen 7-footer Ray Hall (now at Providence) and former Arapahoe guard Levi Knutson (Colorado).
Hughes is arguably the most skilled player in the state at present. While fellow seniors such as Poudre’s Dallas Elmore and Cherry Creek’s Trey Eckloff already have their collegiate choices made, Hughes’ size makes him a puzzle.
Can he handle the ball well enough to be a Division I guard? Is his range good enough to be a shooting guard? Is 6-3 too small for a small forward?
“Skill-wise, he’s so advanced you make up things for him to do to keep him interested,” longtime Gateway coach Jeff Sweet said before tackling the trickier question of ranking Hughes. “If not the best, he’s certainly one of the best.”
Arapahoe coach Dan Snyder sees so much of Knutson in Hughes and admits he “loves” Hughes’ ability to excel anywhere on the floor.
“Those are the guys who are very difficult to defend and there are not a lot of high school kids who can do that on a consistent basis,” Snyder said.
Along with Clayton Goggins, Hughes will shoulder the majority of the scoring and experience burden for the young Olympians this season. Tradition and Hughes’ ability to get others involved again this season point to a tougher Gateway squad down the stretch.
Hughes remains a quiet and disciplined leader who loves the spirit of competition. At practice Monday he kept his volume low and began every suggestion with a disarming grin.
“I smile every time I do it,” he said. “The way I look at it is people get yelled at all the time at home, it makes no sense for me to do it.”
At home, Hughes is a kid happily rooted in a simpler time. He wasn’t allowed to go anywhere when he was young, he says, although he knows now it was for good reasons and fortified his character.
His idea of a big night out? Grab some burgers and go bowling.
And when he watches and steals moves from basketball players, he doesn’t stop with Melo and LeBron James; he eats up old footage of Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
If he’s not watching hoops, he’s probably watching old “classics” such as “Predator” and “RoboCop.” In fact, he used to think his mother named him O’Rion after “RoboCop,” which was released by Orion Pictures.
So when O’Rion talks about being all happy and jolly this Christmas, he’s kind of pulling your leg, because he’s talking about going to see the sequel to “Aliens vs. Predator.”
So whether it’s movies about monsters or clips of hardcourt heroes, O’Rion Hughes is a unique kid whose head is in a common place — somewhere in the stars.
