Wake Forest Athletics
Deacon Sports Xtra: From Baltimore City to Wake Forest; Hugley Continues to Inspire
2/14/2022 12:25:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Les Johns
After playing in junior college and division one, Joe Hugley earned the trust of Steve Forbes for his first full time position.
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WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – It was a frustrating evening on the hardwood for the Demon Deacons, but Wake Forest Director of Player Relations Joe Hugley still took a few minutes after a blowout loss at Syracuse to visit in the stands with Cedric Mondjii, a former teammate who had made the trip to the Carrier Dome.
Just five short years ago, they played JUCO-level basketball together at Baltimore City College. Now Mondjii is an assistant coach for DIII Medaille College and Hugley is on the staff at Wake Forest under second-year head coach Steve Forbes.
"Who would have thought that both of us would have been coaches back in Baltimore City College?" Hugley said they reflected together.
"Not me. Life is crazy. I've been through a lot the last five or six years, but God has led me here to Wake Forest. I'm just blessed to have this opportunity. I did not see this coming at all. I knew I wanted to be a coach but didn't know it would come so fast or at this level."
Hugley's journey to Wake Forest started once he entered the NCAA Transfer Portal after two seasons at Central Connecticut State.
"I was see-sawing on if I wanted to transfer from Central Connecticut State," he said. "Once I made that decision, I entered the portal. My phone was going crazy. I got so many phone calls and text messages. It was Brooks Savage who was heading up my recruiting for ETSU. He hit me up via Instagram."
The reaction to the direct message from Savage was visceral and certain.
"I ain't going to ETSU," Hugley said to himself at the time. "I'm from Maryland and the east. I'm not going to Tennessee. That was my first initial reaction."
But for some reason, the contact nagged at Hugley, and he started researching about the opportunity.
"I knew what I was looking for, because I'd transferred previously from JUCO," he said. "I knew what to look for and dissected the recruiting process. I looked into Coach Forbes, the history of the program. I saw they were bringing a bunch of guys back and had a winning program.
"Maybe this is something that interests me a little bit."
Hugley finally responded to Savage on Instagram, and they started forming a relationship that led to a visit to Johnson City.
"When I went on my visit, the guys who were coming back seemed happy," Hugley said. "They were winners and had great camaraderie. They just needed a couple more pieces to get over the hump.
"I've scored a lot of points. I had gotten my rounds off, I wanted to win. I won in high school and in AAU, but when I got to college I didn't win as much as I was used to. I wanted to win. I wanted to go out a winner. I can get buckets, but I want to win."
Another attraction to choosing East Tennessee State was that Hugley didn't immediately see anyone on the roster who was capable of doing what he does best.
"They don't have a guy like me, who can stretch the defense a bit," he said. "What I bring doesn't exist with the guys they have coming back, and that was my mindset entering ETSU.
"Coach Forbes allowed me to play the game. He always says that every time I touched the ball, I shot it, but he let me do it. He let me play my game and get shots up that my teammates believed were the best shots."
By the time Hugley made his decision to join the Buccaneers, he was convinced they had a chance to win a lot of games and make a run in the 2020 NCAA Tournament. As it turns out, they went 30-4, claiming the Southern Conference Tournament Championship which earned them an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament — which was ultimately canceled because of the beginning of the pandemic.
"We had a lot of high-major players on our team," he said. "I knew we could be really good. My first week there I realized those guys were really good, but they needed a little leadership, and that's what I brought. I just wanted to play the role the coaches wanted from me, and that gave the guys peace of mind, so I wasn't considered a threat to their playing time. I was just there to fill the gaps."
In late February, right before the penultimate game of the regular season against Wofford, then-ETSU coach Forbes summoned Hugley and dug into his future. Was he interested in playing professionally overseas or was he interested in other opportunities?
"If you don't play overseas, you're somebody I would love on my staff," Forbes told Hugley.
It was an opportunity Hugley couldn't refuse, so he quickly told Forbes he was interested. Forbes said they would work through the details in the coming weeks.
"I was humbled by that," he said. "I've wanted to be a coach since I was a sophomore in high school."
But then fate intervened in that process. By May 1, Forbes was introduced as the new head coach at Wake Forest.
"We had an understanding I was going to be on his staff at East Tennessee State," Hugley said. "We never talked about Wake Forest. So, a month or so went by and I still hadn't talked with Coach. I'd talked to (B.J.) McKie and Savage, who told me I should be fine, but I was nervous because the big dog still hadn't called me yet."
The early stages of the pandemic being what they were, Hugley's sleep schedule got a bit erratic. So, after being up until roughly 4 a.m., he gets a mid-May call from Forbes at 8 a.m.
"I had to act like I was wide awake for the call," Hugley says now with a laugh.
"Hey coach, how's it going?" Hugley answers, trying his best to sound awake.
"I believe in you, and you bring unbelievable value to my staff," Forbes said, according to Hugley. "I want to offer you a full-time position at Wake Forest."
"It didn't take more than two seconds to accept," Hugley said. "I had made the decision to not play overseas and begin my coaching career, so why not start in the ACC? You don't offer these positions to just anybody, so him offering the position showed how much he trusts and believes in me."
With the Demon Deacons poised for an NCAA Tournament appearance and enjoying their first 20-win season in a dozen years, Hugley is treasuring his time on the staff.
"I love it," he said. "There's great people here. I enjoy the people I work with every day. It doesn't feel like a job. I love what I do. It's a phenomenal career to have, to build relationships, affect positive change and help the players get better on and off the court. This is the reason I got into the business."
Where will he be in five or ten years?
"Wherever God leads me," Hugley said. "I don't like to look down the road. I just want to enjoy every single day. I want to continue to grow as a coach and learn. Wherever God wants me to be in five years, that's where I'll be.
"If you look too far in the future, you'll miss out on the moments that are taking place right in front of you. I want to continue to coach and positively affect the lives of young men."
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WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – It was a frustrating evening on the hardwood for the Demon Deacons, but Wake Forest Director of Player Relations Joe Hugley still took a few minutes after a blowout loss at Syracuse to visit in the stands with Cedric Mondjii, a former teammate who had made the trip to the Carrier Dome.
Just five short years ago, they played JUCO-level basketball together at Baltimore City College. Now Mondjii is an assistant coach for DIII Medaille College and Hugley is on the staff at Wake Forest under second-year head coach Steve Forbes.
"Who would have thought that both of us would have been coaches back in Baltimore City College?" Hugley said they reflected together.
"Not me. Life is crazy. I've been through a lot the last five or six years, but God has led me here to Wake Forest. I'm just blessed to have this opportunity. I did not see this coming at all. I knew I wanted to be a coach but didn't know it would come so fast or at this level."
Hugley's journey to Wake Forest started once he entered the NCAA Transfer Portal after two seasons at Central Connecticut State.
"I was see-sawing on if I wanted to transfer from Central Connecticut State," he said. "Once I made that decision, I entered the portal. My phone was going crazy. I got so many phone calls and text messages. It was Brooks Savage who was heading up my recruiting for ETSU. He hit me up via Instagram."
The reaction to the direct message from Savage was visceral and certain.
"I ain't going to ETSU," Hugley said to himself at the time. "I'm from Maryland and the east. I'm not going to Tennessee. That was my first initial reaction."
But for some reason, the contact nagged at Hugley, and he started researching about the opportunity.
"I knew what I was looking for, because I'd transferred previously from JUCO," he said. "I knew what to look for and dissected the recruiting process. I looked into Coach Forbes, the history of the program. I saw they were bringing a bunch of guys back and had a winning program.
"Maybe this is something that interests me a little bit."
Hugley finally responded to Savage on Instagram, and they started forming a relationship that led to a visit to Johnson City.
"When I went on my visit, the guys who were coming back seemed happy," Hugley said. "They were winners and had great camaraderie. They just needed a couple more pieces to get over the hump.
"I've scored a lot of points. I had gotten my rounds off, I wanted to win. I won in high school and in AAU, but when I got to college I didn't win as much as I was used to. I wanted to win. I wanted to go out a winner. I can get buckets, but I want to win."
Another attraction to choosing East Tennessee State was that Hugley didn't immediately see anyone on the roster who was capable of doing what he does best.
"They don't have a guy like me, who can stretch the defense a bit," he said. "What I bring doesn't exist with the guys they have coming back, and that was my mindset entering ETSU.
"Coach Forbes allowed me to play the game. He always says that every time I touched the ball, I shot it, but he let me do it. He let me play my game and get shots up that my teammates believed were the best shots."
By the time Hugley made his decision to join the Buccaneers, he was convinced they had a chance to win a lot of games and make a run in the 2020 NCAA Tournament. As it turns out, they went 30-4, claiming the Southern Conference Tournament Championship which earned them an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament — which was ultimately canceled because of the beginning of the pandemic.
"We had a lot of high-major players on our team," he said. "I knew we could be really good. My first week there I realized those guys were really good, but they needed a little leadership, and that's what I brought. I just wanted to play the role the coaches wanted from me, and that gave the guys peace of mind, so I wasn't considered a threat to their playing time. I was just there to fill the gaps."
In late February, right before the penultimate game of the regular season against Wofford, then-ETSU coach Forbes summoned Hugley and dug into his future. Was he interested in playing professionally overseas or was he interested in other opportunities?
"If you don't play overseas, you're somebody I would love on my staff," Forbes told Hugley.
It was an opportunity Hugley couldn't refuse, so he quickly told Forbes he was interested. Forbes said they would work through the details in the coming weeks.
"I was humbled by that," he said. "I've wanted to be a coach since I was a sophomore in high school."
But then fate intervened in that process. By May 1, Forbes was introduced as the new head coach at Wake Forest.
"We had an understanding I was going to be on his staff at East Tennessee State," Hugley said. "We never talked about Wake Forest. So, a month or so went by and I still hadn't talked with Coach. I'd talked to (B.J.) McKie and Savage, who told me I should be fine, but I was nervous because the big dog still hadn't called me yet."
The early stages of the pandemic being what they were, Hugley's sleep schedule got a bit erratic. So, after being up until roughly 4 a.m., he gets a mid-May call from Forbes at 8 a.m.
"I had to act like I was wide awake for the call," Hugley says now with a laugh.
"Hey coach, how's it going?" Hugley answers, trying his best to sound awake.
"I believe in you, and you bring unbelievable value to my staff," Forbes said, according to Hugley. "I want to offer you a full-time position at Wake Forest."
"It didn't take more than two seconds to accept," Hugley said. "I had made the decision to not play overseas and begin my coaching career, so why not start in the ACC? You don't offer these positions to just anybody, so him offering the position showed how much he trusts and believes in me."
With the Demon Deacons poised for an NCAA Tournament appearance and enjoying their first 20-win season in a dozen years, Hugley is treasuring his time on the staff.
"I love it," he said. "There's great people here. I enjoy the people I work with every day. It doesn't feel like a job. I love what I do. It's a phenomenal career to have, to build relationships, affect positive change and help the players get better on and off the court. This is the reason I got into the business."
Where will he be in five or ten years?
"Wherever God leads me," Hugley said. "I don't like to look down the road. I just want to enjoy every single day. I want to continue to grow as a coach and learn. Wherever God wants me to be in five years, that's where I'll be.
"If you look too far in the future, you'll miss out on the moments that are taking place right in front of you. I want to continue to coach and positively affect the lives of young men."
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