A veteran developer of talent at the high school, college, professional, international and Olympic level, Otis Hughley, Jr. was named the 10th head men’s basketball coach at Alabama A&M on April 18, 2022, bringing with him a wealth of coaching experience and expertise.
PROFESSIONAL COACHING EXPERIENCE (NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION, 2010-16)
A well-known figure in the professional ranks, Hughley made the jump to the NBA in 2010-11 when he was hired as an assistant coach by the Sacramento Kings before joining the Golden State Warriors skill development and video departments in 2011-12. Following that season he would return to the Kings as a scout through 2016.
INTERNATIONAL COACHING EXPERIENCE (NIGERIA, SPAIN, CHINA)
A versatile coach, Hughley has had tremendous success on the international stage with both men and women, having served more than a decade with the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) China Program.
As part of that initiative he was the associate head coach for the Shandong Bulls Goldstone in 2002-03 and helped lead that franchise to a 31-11 record and a first round playoff appearance that season.
He would return to the international game 12 years later as a consultant to the Xinjiang Flying Tigers and as the head coach of the Chinese Taipei Men’s and Women’s National Teams in 2015-16. That same season he would serve as an assistant coach for the Tianjin Gold Lions in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).
In 2017 his international experience would continue to grow to include the women’s game as he was named the head coach of the Nigerian Women’s National Team. In that role he helped lead the program to three Afro-Basket Championships (2017, 2019, 2021), a No. 1 world ranking in Africa, No. 14 in the world and a berth in the 2022 World Cup. The latter made them one of the top 12 teams in the world.
Part of what helped them earn those august rankings was an impressive performance in the 2018 World Cup in Spain when they became the first African team to win a game outside of the continent when they won three in a row to reach the quarterfinals.
They defeated No. 7 Turkey, No. 16 Argentina and No. 20 Greece in that tournament and earned a berth in the 2020 Toyko Olympics where they finished 11th. They are currently one of 12 teams that have qualified for the 2022 World Cup in Sydney, Australia.
HIGH SCHOOL COACHING CAREER (2004-10, LeFlore HS)
Prior to the professional and international opportunities, Hughley proved himself at the high school ranks in Alabama, posting a sterling 185-20 overall record from 2004-10.
In that time he guided the Rattlers to six Alabama State Final Four berths and a 6A State Championship in 2007. Following that title, he played a key role in developing 12-year NBA veteran DeMarcus Cousins from 2007-09, posting a 59-6 mark in those two years.
After being on the NBA radar while at LeFlore, Hughley would follow Cousins to the Association after he was drafted in the first round by the Sacramento Kings.
COLLEGE COACHING EXPERIENCE
While the majority of his coaching career has been spent at the professional and international level, Hughley has seven years of experience at the collegiate level.
WALLACE C.C.-SELMA (MEN’S AND WOMEN’S HEAD COACH, 1993-97)
He would begin that stretch with four years as the head men’s and women’s coach at Wallace Community College – Selma, posting a 135-46 record from 1993-97. Over the course of those four seasons he guided the men to a 90-25 record, two conference championships and a region runner-up finish and the women to a 45-21 mark that included a No. 4 national ranking.
WRIGHT STATE (ASSISTANT COACH, 1997-98)
Hughley would then make the jump to the NCAA ranks with Wright State in 1997-98 where he would play a key role in recruiting. In that time he signed Kevin Melson, the No. 2 scorer in the junior college ranks and a player that would go on to earn league Newcomer of the Year and First-Team All-Conference honors.
LIBERTY (ASSISTANT COACH, 1998-99)
After one season he joined Liberty as the top assistant in 1998-99 and was responsible for signing a Top-25 recruiting class. That group included Antonio Burks who would go on to play for the Memphis Grizzlies.
SOUTHERN (ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH, 2001-02)
His most recent collegiate men’s basketball coaching stop came at Southern in 2001-02 where he served as an associate head coach to the legendary Ben Jobe, a 500-game winner at the college level. There he served as recruiting coordinator in addition to aiding with practice planning, skill development and game and scouting prep.
AUBURN (WOMEN’S BASKETBALL CONSULTANT, 2018-19)
In terms of college hardwood, his most recent stop came in the women’s game as a member of Southeastern Conference (SEC) member Auburn’s staff in 2018-19. There he served as a consultant to head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy, whose team produced the best record of her nine-year tenure with the Tigers, 22-10, that season.
CAMP COACHING EXPERIENCE
You don’t get to be as well connected in the sport of basketball without making the rounds in the camp circuit and Hughley has certainly done that.
Chief among those was his association with the Pete Newell Big Man Camp for more than a decade, which is widely recognized as one of the most influential camps during its existence from 1976-2011.
He also served as a coach and teacher at long-time NBA player Kike Vandeweghe’s Next Level NBA Camp and served as a director at the Nike All-Asia, All-Taiwan and All-Philippines Camps. Hughley has also been a skills coordinator at the Pro Hoops Combine which serves as a Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) pre-draft camp.
EDUCATION
Hughley attended the College of Eastern Utah from 1982-83 before earning his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (Computer Information Systems emphasis) in 1987 from Livingston College, now known as the University of West Alabama.
PERSONAL
A native of Jersey City, New Jersey, Hughley and his wife Valerie are the parents of four children – Jeremiah, Trinitee, Heavyn and Joshua.
