No, hubs need to be big cities. The cheapest flight is direct a to b when the flight is large and full. When one of A or B is a large city that means there are more people who want to take the flight. New York will have direct flights to everywhere in North America even without being a hub because it is large enough live there that direct flights make sense. Then it becomes a hub by accident as people who want to get from small city to small city without a direct flight discover they can make New York a hub and get there. They would prefer a direct flight, but not enough people live in either to make it worthwhile.