On NIU’s James Hughes right shoulder resides Joe Cool.

Calm and expressionless, he stares out at the world behind a pair of black sunglasses, moving only when his owner does.

And lately, he’s been growing.

It started slowly. When the 6-foot-11 Hughes first stepped foot on campus, NIU basketball coach Rob Judson figured he weighed around 195 pounds.

“195? I think coach is giving me credit,” Hughes said with a laugh. “I was maybe around 195 but I was probably on the lighter side.”

So instead of playing his first year, Judson decided to red-shirt Hughes in order to hopefully bulk him up.

The task was easier said than done, but fast forward two years – Hughes is now up to 220 pounds, the Snoopy tattoo on his shoulder is the size of a large fist and the sophomore is the Northern Star’s Midseason NIU men’s basketball Most Valuable Player.

“I am so happy to see [Joe Cool] growing,” Judson said. “It means James is getting bigger.”

Of course no matter how much weight Hughes tries to put on, he figures he is always going to be as he is now; tall and long.

It’s his own length that surprises Hughes himself. Whether its reaching for another one of his homemade chocolate chip cookies or corralling a rebound, Hughes will often grab things he thought were well out of reach.

“I’ll be like wow,” Hughes said. “How did I do that?”

But his 7-foot-3 inch wing span is also making opposing players say, ‘Wow.’ Hughes leads the MAC with 2.11 blocks per game – nearly twice as many as second place – and has solidified himself as a force in the middle, Judson said.

“I don’t want there to be a welcome mat in the paint,” Hughes said. “My job is to stop anybody from scoring down low and if I’m not blocking or altering every shot then I’m not doing my job. And that’s not cool.”