College basketball has begun to open the doors to players with NBA experience to come back and play at the Division I level.
A former Syracuse University star wants to add his name to the list.
Elijah Hughes played a couple seasons at SU after a transfer from East Carolina, and in those two campaigns, he averaged 16.3 points per game.
He was then chosen with the No. 39 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, and he appeared in 54 NBA games between the Utah Jazz and Portland Trail Blazers.
Hughes figures if the likes of James Nnaji and Charles Bediako can go back to college and hoop, why not him?
He posted about it on X on Wednesday:
College basketball is cooked bro who I gotta talk too to go back to Cuse and hoop
— Eli (@elijahhughes) January 21, 2026
Hughes has played more NBA games than any of the other guys who have returned to college basketball so far.
He hasn't played in the NBA since the 2021-22 season.
Hughes has since spent time in the G League as well as in Liga ACB in Spain.
It seems that his NBA experience would be too much to actually allow him back into NCAA basketball, and he may just be delivering that message tongue-in-cheek.
But if he's not, the Orange would certainly love to have him.
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