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Solomon Hughes (actor)

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Solomon Hughes
Hughes at the LBJ Library in 2020
Born (1979-02-28) February 28, 1979 (age 45)
Alma materUniversity of California, Berkeley
(BA, MA)
University of Georgia (PhD)
Occupations
Years active1997–present
Known forlead role of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty
Basketball career
Personal information
Listed height6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
High school
CollegeCalifornia (1998–2002)
NBA draft2002: undrafted
PositionCenter
Number14

Solomon Young Hughes[Note 1] (born February 28, 1979)[2][3] is an American educator, athlete, and actor known for his leading role in Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty a sports drama television series on HBO.

Sports career

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Hughes stands 6 feet 11 inches (2.11 m) tall.[2] His father, Ronald Hughes, played basketball at California State University, Fullerton and is a professor of sociology there.[4] He played on the basketball team at Bishop Montgomery High School in Torrance, California, graduating in 1997.[5] At age 17 he signed a letter of intent to play for Tulane University, but decided not to enroll there, which subjected him to a two-year ban on playing NCAA basketball. He attended Fork Union Military Academy for the 1997-98 school year, then enrolled in the University of California, Berkeley, practicing with the California Golden Bears despite his ineligibility. Upon appeal, the NCAA reinstated his eligibility on November 3, 1998, and Hughes played his first collegiate game that night.[6] Hughes played with the Golden Bears for four years and was a captain of the team.[7]

He played for the Harlem Globetrotters[8] for 13 games[9] and tried out for the National Basketball Association in 2003.[9] Hughes also played professionally in the United States Basketball League, the American Basketball Association, and in a professional basketball league in Mexico.[5][2]

Educational career

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Hughes graduated from the University of California, Berkeley earning a BA in Sociology and MA in Education.[5] In 2013 he received his PhD in Higher Education and Policy Studies from the University of Georgia Institute of Higher Education[10] for his dissertation titled “Approaching signing day: the college choice process of heavily recruited student athletes”.[1] Hughes is an instructor and faculty affiliate at Duke University's Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity.[11] He was also a visiting instructor on the academic staff at Stanford University[7] as well as the assistant director of the EDGE Doctoral Fellowship Program at Stanford.[5]

Acting career

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Hughes was cast as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar[12] in HBO's Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty. Playing Abdul-Jabbar was Hughes' first acting role,[2] playing the iconic athlete for 17 episodes over 2 seasons. The show has since been cancelled, with the Season 2 finale acting as the series finale.[13]

Notes

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  1. ^ Hughes' full name is printed out on the title page of his University of Georgia PhD dissertation.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b Hughes, Solomon Young (2013). "Approaching signing day: the college choice process of heavily recruited student athletes" (PDF). University of Georgia. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d Steve Kroner (March 3, 2022). "Cal alum Solomon Hughes makes acting debut as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 'Winning Time'". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  3. ^ "Solomon Hughes". RealGM. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  4. ^ Edelstone, Steven (March 4, 2022). "How a pro hooper turned PhD ended up on HBO's new Lakers show". SFGate.
  5. ^ a b c d Staff. "Solomon Hughes '97 to Play Lakers' Abdul-Jabbar in HBO Pilot". Bishop Montgomery High School. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  6. ^ Adams, Bruce (December 20, 1998). "Bears' Hughes finally solves NCAA's Rubik's cube". SFGate.
  7. ^ a b Jake Curtis (April 4, 2022). "Ex-Cal Basketball Player Solomon Hughes Plays Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in TV Series". si.com. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  8. ^ "All-Time Globetrotters". Harlem Globetrotters. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  9. ^ a b Wait…Winning Time's Solomon Hughes Was a Globetrotter?? And It Was Hard????. The Rich Eisen Show. April 12, 2022. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  10. ^ "Institute Graduates 2012-2013 (2013 Ph.D.)". Louise McBee Institute of Higher Education((University of Georgia)). Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  11. ^ Staff. "Visiting Faculty - Solomon Hughes". Duke University. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  12. ^ Petski, Denise (September 12, 2019). "HBO's Showtime Lakers Pilot Casts Its Magic Johnson & Kareem Abdul-Jabbar". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 16, 2021. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  13. ^ "'Winning Time' is canceled by HBO after ratings for Season 2 were nearly cut in half". Los Angeles Times. September 18, 2023. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
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