• Loading stock data...
Wednesday, July 30, 2025
Tuned In returns to NYC on September 16. Hear from the biggest names in sports media. Click here to get your spot

Larry Hughes Pushing To Standardize Youth Basketball Skills Development

  • Following a career that included LeBron James and Michael Jordan as teammates, Hughes understands importance of skill development.
  • Along with his Larry Hughes Basketball Academy in St. Louis, he also has the backend Basketball Training Systems.
larry_hughes_playing_basketball
Photo Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
Larry Hughes Big 3
Photo Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

Many athletes use their sport as a platform into other non-sports business ventures, but former NBA guard Larry Hughes is using his post-playing career to transform basketball training.

In April, Hughes, who retired in 2012 following a 13-year career, opened the Larry Hughes Basketball Academy in his hometown of St. Louis after four years of running a remote training company. Along with the academy is a Hughes-co-founded venture, Basketball Training Systems, a full-service platform to support youth basketball programs.

While basketball was an obvious choice for a career, it wasn’t where his thoughts initially pointed.

“I don’t know that there was a definitive point of where I was headed[after the NBA],” Hughes said. “I just knew I had a good business understanding and that I’d live much longer after I was done playing. I’d always focused on the people and community around me.  

“I was just interested in what was next and let things happen.”

The basketball business ventures came after four years of running ROC House Women’s Fitness Spa, an Atlanta-based wellness company geared toward empowering women to have a space of their own, he said. His involvement in Rackhouse was fueled by his wife and daughters and the desire for them to have their own holistic space.

Hughes, however, wanted to get back into basketball, spurred by his involvement in youth basketball and watching how games were being played at the youth and high school levels. He started to think about how he could get the players to feel more successful, as he helped in practices and worked on skill development.

As part of his skills development training, he felt it was important to incorporate things he learned playing with some of the game’s greatest ever – like Michael Jordan when he was with the Washington Wizards and LeBron James when he was with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

“When I played growing up, we didn’t have the amount of skill development as we do today,” Hughes said. “I saw this as an opportunity to, after all the years of being around different players, to look at what were the most important, foundational things to learn. So I built the organization and curriculum-based program.”

As Hughes’ basketball training business got off the ground, there was always an issue of facilities – schools are quick to bump out sports for other events. He always had the vision of owning a multi-court facility. He was able to secure a two-court building, which opened in April. The new Larry Hughes Basketball Academy allows for greater technology integration into the sessions.

The academy has incorporated both RSPCT and Kinexon technology. RSPCT uses optical sensors on the backboard to track shots, makes and misses, arc, angle, and point of entry, while Kinexon measures athletes’ speed, jumps, positioning, and other stats.

Currently, there are approximately 300 K-8th-aged participants and another 200 players participating on the team-play side.

“Using technology has been huge for us, and when we were at multiple gyms we weren’t able to do that,” he said. “It’s an understanding, awareness, and validation. You never get away from the human element of training, but the kids want to understand the whys, and with the help of technology you can explain those whys better.”

READ MORE: James Harden Acquiring Minority Stake In Houston Dynamo, Dash

While the Larry Hughes Basketball Academy is based in St. Louis, Hughes has hopes of scaling the methodology through Basketball Training Systems, the platform he co-founded with Richard Campbell and the New Amsterdam Group. The platform provides human resources support to on-the-court programs.

BTS is currently used at several other high-profile academies, including Chris Paul’s CP3 Academy and Bobby Jackson’s Bobby Jackson Academy. Included in the platform is also a not-for-profit arm that takes charitable donations to help support members who can’t pay academy dues and elite-level team travel costs.

“The focus is using technology to help build players on and off the court,” Hughes said. “We want to help standardize basketball development.”

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Gabby Williams: ‘Unrivaled Saved the WNBA’s Butt’

Unrivaled was co-founded by Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart.
Jul 27, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Sky guard Kia Nurse (11) drives to the basket against Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (8) during the second half at United Center.

Fever-Sky Draws 1.5M Viewers Despite Clark, Reese Absences

Clark and Reese both missed the game due to injury.
Jul 22, 2025; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (not in uniform) celebrates from the bench in the first quarter against the New York Liberty at Barclays Center.

Man Who Stalked Clark Gets 2 Years in Prison

He sent more than 800 messages and visited Indianapolis to see Clark.
Tom Brady

Tom Brady: I Don’t Look at My Team Ownership As a Business

Brady has amassed a major sports portfolio since retiring.

Featured Today

Las Vegas sign

College Sports Embracing Vegas After Years of Cold Shoulder

The Big Ten became the latest newcomer to Sin City.
2000, Jupiter, FL, USA; FILE PHOTO; Montreal Expos pitcher Hideki Irabu in action on the mound against the New York Mets at Roger Dean Stadium during Spring Training
July 28, 2025

Dead Sports Franchises Are Alive and Well on Twitter

The Expos, Sonics, and Whalers have active social media accounts.
Limited Hype
July 27, 2025

Sneaker Reselling Was Once Easy Money. Success Is Now Complicated

Vendors need to evolve what they’re selling and how they do it.
HAPPY GILMORE 2. BTS - (L to R) Adam Sandler as Happy Gilmore and Rory McIlroy as himself on the set of Happy Gilmore2.
July 26, 2025

‘Cool As Hell’: How ‘Happy Gilmore 2’ Hooked Golf’s Top Stars

The process was “cool as hell,” Adam Sandler tells FOS.
Jul 24, 2025; Washington, D.C., USA; Venus Williams (USA) waves to the crowd after her match against Magdalena Frech (POL)(not pictured) in a women's singles match on day four of the Mubadala Citi DC Open at Rock Creek Park Tennis Center.

Venus Williams Returns to U.S. Open Ahead of New Mixed Doubles Format

The number of doubles teams at the US Open has been cut to 16 from 32.
July 28, 2025

Inter Miami Owner Calls MLS Messi Suspension ‘Draconian’

Inter Miami’s owner and coach blast the league for penalizing the superstar.
Joaquin Niemann
July 28, 2025

Scottie Scheffler’s Season Earnings Surpassed by LIV’s Niemann

Niemann has made $21.94 million on the golf course this year.
Sponsored

Game On: Portfolio Players Stories, Brought to You by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

Dealmaker Jeffrey Kaplan maps the evolution of sports as an asset class
July 27, 2025

Terry McLaurin Ends Commanders Holdout After Losing $800K

Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin is still seeking a new contract.
July 27, 2025

Lottie Woad Wins Pro Golf Debut After Forfeiting Nearly $600K As Amateur

Woad won the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open and $300,000.
Christian Wilkins
July 25, 2025

Raiders Trying to Void $35 Million in Guaranteed Money They Owe 

Christian Wilkins missed most of the 2024 season with a Jones fracture.
July 25, 2025

Cattle Dermatitis Outbreak Forces Tour de France Route Change

The Tour cut two climbs and shortened the stage by 35 km.