Strickland is talented, but he brings a lot of baggage

Sporting News, The, Feb 15, 1999 by Dave D'Alessandro

"It's going to be a learning process for (Hughes)," ESPN analyst Jack Ramsay says. "It seems like everybody has good 2-guards. There are going to be some nights where he wished he was back in college. For a young player, it's not easy playing defense in this league. But Larry does have good tools. His adjustment to the pro game will take a little time."

So far, Hughes hasn't been lit up for 40 points, but he realizes that he has a weakness on the defensive end of the floor.

"I think playing defense is going to be the toughest thing for me," says Hughes, who would have been a sophomore in college. "I'm going to be playing against a lot of experienced players at 2-guard. I'm going to have to play a lot of guys who know how to create their own shots, I'm sure they're going to test me. I'll find out their strengths and weaknesses and pretty much go from there." --Donald Hunt

Dave D'Alessandro covers the NBA for the Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger E-mail him at daved@sportingnews.com.