Grieving Hughes leaves Cavaliers

[jacobdrj]

http://www.cbc.ca/story/sports/national/2006/05/11/nba-cavaliers-hughes.html
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Grieving Hughes leaves Cavaliers[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]WebPosted Thu, 11 May 2006 20:27:43 EDT[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]CBC Sports [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Cleveland Cavaliers guard Larry Hughes might not play Saturday because of a death in the family.[/FONT]

[FONT=verdana,arial]Larry Hughes may not play in Game 3. (Mark Duncan/Associated Press)[/FONT]

• [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]
  [*]RELATED: Larry Hughes bio[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Hughes, 27, received permission Thursday to fly to St. Louis upon learning that his brother Justin had passed away at age 20.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Justin Hughes was born with a heart defect and underwent a successful transplant 10 years ago, but began having complications last December.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]"He embraced the team and was excited about being at the basketball games," Cavaliers guard Damon Jones said of Justin. "Just to see the excitement on his face was a special thing, to know what he was going through in his life."[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Hughes was excused from practice to join grieving family members in Missouri, so it remains to be seen whether he will return in time for Game 3 of their NBA Eastern Conference semifinal versus Detroit.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]The Pistons lead the best-of-seven series 2-0.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]"Right now, basketball should be the furthest thing from his mind," Jones said. "He has to be there for his family.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]"If he's able to get back, that's good. If he's not, we're going to continue to keep him in spirit in our hearts."[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]"I look at Larry as a brother of mine," Cavaliers forward LeBron James added. "And for Justin to pass away during a time like this, it's very difficult to focus on anything but Larry and his family right now."[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Hughes has struggled this season, his first with Cleveland, missing 45 games with a broken finger that required two surgeries because it healed incorrectly the first time around.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]He averaged 15.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.4 steals and 35.5 minutes in 36 games, including 31 starts.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Hughes has averaged 15.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.6 steals and 31.3 minutes in 480 games (348 starts) since being drafted eighth overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in 1998.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]He also has played for the Golden State Warriors and Washington Wizards.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Cleveland signed Hughes last Aug. 2 to a free-agent contract worth $60 million US over five years.[/FONT]

 

[loopymitch]

Very sad, he was so young. My thoughts and condolences go out to the Hughes' family

 

[KevinMartinsGirl23]

I just read this on NBA.com. Their family has a foundation to donate to if anyone wants to- it is dedicated to helping people find transplants- I guess Justin had a heart defect at birth.

My thoughts and prayers are with this family in their time on need. Truly sad.

 

[KevinMartinsGirl23]

This is from NBA.com- here is some info for the foundation as mentioned above:

Note: The Larry Hughes Family Foundation assists families of organ donors and recipients with financial and emotional needs, and works to educate the public about organ and tissue donations. The foundation was established in August 2000 by Larry and Vanessa Hughes on behalf of Vanessa's youngest son (and Larry's brother), Justin, who was born with a heart defect.

Foundation Address:
The Larry Hughes Family Foundation
1021 South Big Bend Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63117

 

[KingKong]

Wow, my condolences to the Hughes family.

 

[love_them_kings]

That is heartbreaking. My thoughts & prayers are with his family.

 

[HndsmCelt]

My sympathies to the Hughs family. Good call on the foundation for transplants. I for one will never understad why so few people actually cary doner cards.

 

[Dave McNulla]

that sucks. i remember when tim duncan's dad died. i figured out that there are things more important than basketball games.

 

[bibbinator]

My sympathies to the Hughs family. Good call on the foundation for transplants. I for one will never understad why so few people actually cary doner cards.

That will be the case until donor status becomes opt-out instead of opt-in.

People generally have a difficult time thinking about their own death, they'd rather not do it. If you make organ donation opt-out most people will just ignore it, like they do now.

 

[jacobdrj]

That will be the case until donor status becomes opt-out instead of opt-in.

People generally have a difficult time thinking about their own death, they'd rather not do it. If you make organ donation opt-out most people will just ignore it, like they do now.

That is a good point. Interesting. I had never heard of this before. However, some might think this was somehow against personal freedom (body the ownership of the state instead of the person/next of kin). I don't see how this gets changed.

 

[HndsmCelt]

That is a good point. Interesting. I had never heard of this before. However, some might think this was somehow against personal freedom (body the ownership of the state instead of the person/next of kin). I don't see how this gets changed.

You are unfortunatly dead on. There are religions that forbid donating orgas as they see it as desecation and some individuals who jsut get creeped out by it, so yes it would be a questionable move to ask citizens to opt out on their ID's... just a sad situation. A family close to me suffered for years hoping for a compatable liver for their 27 year old daughter, then she died before getting to the top of the list. Really wakes peopel up to HOW severe the shortage for transplants is when you hear stories like this.

 

[KingsChick]

oh, thats truly, truly sad to hear. to have your brother pass away, at age 20. wow. prayers go to the Hughes' family.

 

[chaps]

wow, i dont know about you guys but this just reminded me of how irrelavent basketball really is in life. I hope the Cavs organization gives him as much time as he needs to grieve. Basketball should never come before something like this. Not for any circumstance.