James “Juice” Hughes

Student

Since the beginning of Bay’s fall 2022 semester, James “Juice” Hughes has been a member of the Bay College Norse men’s basketball team. So far, James said he has greatly enjoyed his time as a Bay student.

A Chicago native, James graduated from Bradley Tech High School in Milwaukee in 2022. Later that year, he moved up north to start his college career at Bay.

“I got an offer from Coach Johnson to play basketball here,” he said.

James said he had received recruitment offers from multiple colleges. He opted to go with Bay’s offer because the college’s location gave him a unique opportunity to focus on athletics with minimal distractions.

“I wanted to go somewhere I could just focus on playing basketball,” he said.

According to James, he had been interested in basketball “all his life.” Still, he did not have the opportunity to pursue this interest right away.

“I always saw LeBron on TV, but I never had the resources to fully get into basketball before I moved to Florida. I met a lot of people there that were interested in seeing me make it far in basketball,” he said.

James started playing organized basketball in middle school and has continued to play the sport ever since. He was a basketball player during all four years of high school and started during three of those four years.

Even so, basketball was not the only sport James participated in during high school. At the same time, he got involved with track and football.

“I was involved in more than that, but that was my main three,” he said.

By the start of his second semester at Bay, James said he was still getting used to the college experience.

“It’s a roller coaster, for sure. One day is good, the next day isn’t the same. But it’s not so bad,” he said.

As of early February, James said his first season with the Norse has been going very well.

“We’re currently 17-4 – 7-0 in conference,” James said, adding that his teammates are a “nice group of guys.”

James’ studies at Bay have also gone smoothly.

“Classes have been pretty good. My teachers are great, and I love the staff here,” he said.

While he is majoring in liberal arts at Bay, James chose to minor in business.

“I want to start my own company and my own clothing line – I want to learn the money side of it, how to do it the right way,” he said.

In addition to playing basketball and attending classes, James has been taking advantage of the services offered through the TRIO program at Bay.

“They provide a lot of help and do a lot of events throughout the year,” he said.

Since basketball is James’ current top priority, he is still deciding whether he wants to stay at Bay for another year or move on when the winter 2023 semester ends. Either way, he aims to transfer to a four-year college after leaving Bay and look for work beyond that point.

“Hopefully, I’ll be able to find a career in sports—either doing Olympic track for Team USA, playing professional basketball, or going back and doing football,” he said.