3/9/03 - Divergent Paths

Dom Starsia is accustomed to defensemen who fit a certain mold: strong, silent, slightly arrogant, a bit ornery and blazingly intense — “guys with a hard, crusty edge.” That’s the type of defenseman he was in college. As Virginia’s lacrosse coach, all of his best players at that position have been the same way. In describing junior Brett Hughes, however, Starsia uses words like “modest,” “sweet,” “sensitive” and “emotional.” “He’s not like the other great defensemen we’ve had here,” said Starsia, who has coached three first-team All-Americans on defense — Tommy Smith, Ryan Curtis and Mark Koontz — in 10 years at UVa. “Brett has the same physical gifts that they had, but he’s such a modest kid. I wasn’t sure he had enough of that hard edge.” Hughes is making Starsia think again. In his third season as a starter, the 6-foot-3, 212-pound Ohio native has emerged as one of the best defensemen in the country. Last Saturday at Syracuse, there was no doubting his toughness or competitive fire. Matched against Michael Powell, the nation’s leading scorer and player of the year in 2002, Hughes was magnificent. He held Powell to no goals and two assists, keying the defensive effort in a 16-15 upset of the defending national champions. “That was fun. It was just the situation I wanted,” Hughes said. “To be the best, you have to play the best. That was my goal when I came here, to get the opportunity to guard the best attackmen in the country. Now I’m getting to do what I came here to do.” For two years, Hughes played alongside — but in the shadow of — Koontz, a three-time All-American and the 2002 ACC player of the year. Koontz always received the toughest defensive assignment, while Hughes frequently shut down the opponent’s No. 2 or 3 attackman. Hughes says he was content to wait for his turn. After all, the two players are longtime friends. They played football and lacrosse together at Upper Arlington High School and Hughes decided to follow Koontz to Virginia. In so doing, he knew he would play an understudy role for a few seasons. “I really liked the fact that Mark was here. I learned a lot by watching him and he really helped me with my confidence,” Hughes said. “Now I think I’ve learned enough and have paid attention enough that I can do what Mark did.” During their time as UVa teammates, Koontz and Hughes were similar in that both relied on superior quickness and technique rather than physical brawn. Yet they had contrasting demeanors. While Koontz was tenacious and serious, Hughes came across as laid-back and un-linebacker-like. “He was more of a surfer than he was a football player,” Starsia said. “He had long hair. He was very sweet-natured, very emotional. That’s not a bad thing. I like Brett a great deal. He’s in my office more than any other player and we talk a lot. He couldn’t be better with my daughters. He’s very well-liked among his teammates. But I remember thinking, ‘Maybe this kid is a little too sensitive.’” Hughes sees how he can give that impression, but he believes it’s not accurate. “I think it’s very much a misconception of me,” he said. “Even in high school, I’d get that. Reporters would talk to me and write I’m a West Coast, laid-back kind of guy. I guess I am — until you get the ball. “On the field, I play to win and I play to dominate every situation. People who know me well know I don’t like losing in any situation. I don’t like when Johnny [Christmas] scores on me in practice. I don’t like losing in video games. I’m highly competitive in everything I do.” Hughes worships Michael Jordan, perhaps the most competitive athlete ever, and like Jordan he loves a challenge. He’ll get another one today when the No. 1 Cavaliers (2-0) play at No. 5 Princeton (0-1). Hughes will be matched against Tigers attackman Ryan Boyle, a preseason first-team All-American. At the same time, Hughes knows a lacrosse game isn’t life or death. He often plays with a smile on his face. That differentiates him from Curtis, the national defenseman of the year in 1999, who played with a perpetual scowl. “You hear war stories about Ryan Curtis, about how ferocious he was,” Hughes said. “But just because I smile doesn’t mean I’m not just as competitive. I have fun when I’m playing. Why not? It’s fun, it’s not work. “Make no mistake: I think that’s where my competitiveness comes from. The second I stop smiling and having fun, I think I lose my edge. When it was at the end of the [Syracuse] game and I was chasing Mike Powell, I was loving every second of it. It’s beautiful.” Hughes says he couldn’t have achieved anything in sports without being competitively tough. He was the Ohio co-player of the year in lacrosse and the state’s defensive player of the year in football as a high school senior. Starsia calls Hughes one of the best high school football players he’s ever seen, but the coach can’t help but scratch his head sometimes when he sees Hughes’ soft side. “He takes everything to heart. If something happens bad in the world, it affects him,” Starsia said. “I tell him, ‘There are things you can’t control. Your girlfriend’s car got broken into and you’re in tears. Can we please just focus on lacrosse?’” Hughes laughs good-naturedly at his coach’s characterization before offering a correction. “It’s not sweet and sensitive as much as it is passionate,” he said. “I care about friendships and relationships. I care about my teammates. I think I do everything whole-heartedly. That’s just the way I am.”