Hall of Fame
Brandon Hughes came to Newberry from Boiling Springs High School in Spartanburg, South Carolina in the fall of 1996. In four years, three full seasons, Hughes would establish himself as one of the premier point guards in not only the South Atlantic Conference, but the state of South Carolina. After an injury to his knee limited Brandon to just seven games his freshman year, Hughes exploded onto the scene in the South Atlantic Conference. Leading the conference in steals, 4th in assists, and 6th in scoring, Hughes was named to the All-SAC first team. After a sensational sophomore season, Hughes picked up where he left off in the 1997-98 season with a spectacular junior year. The 6-2 point guard once again led the SAC in steals, finished 2nd in steals per game, and 5th in scoring. Brandon was a two-time SAC Player of the Week and was named to the All-SAC first team yet again, but Brandon would save his best for last. In a marvelous senior year, Hughes would step into the national spotlight. In a dynamic 1999-2000 campaign, Hughes led the SAC in scoring, steals, and assists while also ranking 6th in the conference in rebounds and tenth in field goal percentage. Brandon’s assists per game average of 3.32 was 5th in the nation, his scoring average of 23 points per game and assists per game of 7.0 were 10th amongst all of Division II. Another All-SAC first team appearance was prelude to a South Atlantic Conference Player of the Year award. Brandon was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches South District first team and the Daktronics All-South Region first team. Hughes was named to the Daktronics All-America second team for the 1999-2000 season and the Lutheran Player of the Year by the Lutheran Brotherhood. During his final year as an Indian, Hughes became the 27th player in Newberry history to score over 1,000 points with his final total of 1,420 ranking 11th in school history. Brandon scored in double digits in every game he played in his final year and 79 out of the 88 during his Newberry career. His 620 points in the 1999-2000 season was the 15th most by a Newberry Indian for a season and at the time Brandon finished his career he was at or near the top-10 in 23 categories in the South Atlantic Conference record book.
