John Hudson (basketball, born 1954)

John Hudson (born May 29, 1954) is a retired American professional basketball player. After being drafted by the Chicago Bulls in 1976, Hudson went on to gain considerable fame in Iceland as one of the first foreign born professional players in the country.[1]

For other people named John Hudson, see John Hudson (disambiguation).
For the basketball player born in 1966, see John Hudson (basketball, born 1966).
John Hudson
Personal information
Born(1954-05-29)May 29, 1954
NationalityAmerican
Career information
CollegeConcord University
(1975–76)
NBA draft1976 / Round: 10 / Pick: 158th overall
Selected by the Chicago Bulls
PositionCenter
Career history
As player:
1978–1979KR
1981KR
As coach:
1978–1979KR women's
Career highlights and awards
As player:

As coach:

College career

Hudson played college basketball for the Concord Mountain Lions from 1975 to 1976. In 1976, he was selected to the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference All-Tournament team[2] after averaging 21.5 points and 13.0 rebounds per game.[3]

Professional career

Hudson was drafted by the Chicago Bulls in the 10th round of the 1976 NBA draft but did not make the opening day roster.[4] In August 1978, he signed with reigning Icelandic champions KR, becoming one of the first foreign born professional players to play in the Úrvalsdeild karla.[5] On September 30, he scored 53 points against ÍS during the pre-season Reykjavík Basketball Tournament.[6][7] In November, KR participated in an 8-team international tournament in Ireland which included English National Cup runner-up Coventry Team Fiat, Irish league champions UCD Marian and Scottis club Paisley that went on to win the Scottish Basketball Championship that season. KR finished third in the tournament, after beating Scottish champions Boroughmuir in the Bronze game.[8] Hudson led the tournament in scoring, with 164 points in 5 games for an average of 32.8 points per game.[9] In January, KR participated in another international tournament, this time in England, where it faced Cincinnati Oaks from the United States, Scottish champions Boroughmuir, and the hosts Team Ziebart, which went on to win the English National Basketball League that season. KR again finished third with Hudson averaging 28.0 points per game.[10]

On March 14, 1979, Hudson was suspended for one game[11] after a confrontation with a referee Guðbrandur Sigurðsson in KR's loss to Valur.[12] The atmosphere after the game became heated, with fans throwing small objects towards the referees when the exited the court.[13][14] Despite Hudson absence, KR defeated ÍS 85–79, behind Jón Sigurðsson 28 points, and kept their championship hopes alive.[15]

On March 25, Hudson won the Icelandic Cup after KR beat long time nemesis ÍR, led by Paul Stewart, in the Cup final.[16] In the game, which had heavy police presence due to violence by supporters in the stands at recent games,[17] Hudson scored a team high 19 points.[18]

On March 29, Hudson scored the game winning basket, with 32 seconds remaining, against Valur, securing KR's second consecutive national championship.[19] In the game, he scored a team high 34 points.[20] For the season he was second in scoring with 576 points in 19 games, although he had the highest points per game with 30.3, narrowly beating Mark Christensen's 30.0 points per game.

After having played in Greece, Hudson returned to KR in October 1981[21] to shore up the team's frontcourt while Stew Johnson was recovering from a finger injury.[22] He left the team in November after averaging 19.5 points in 4 games.[23]

Coaching career

Alongside playing for the men's team, Hudson coached KR women's team during the 1978–1979 season. On April 2, he led the to the national championship after defeating ÍS, 55–48, in the title deciding game.[24]

References
  1. Gylfi Kristjánsson (5 September 1978). "Hudson er mættur". Vísir (in Icelandic). p. 13. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  2. "IT'S A CELEBRATION! - Concord University Athletics". Concord Mountain Lions. 27 January 2010. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  3. "Career History". cumountainlions.com. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  4. "Sé ekki eftir því að hafa komið til Íslands". Tíminn (in Icelandic). 29 October 1978. pp. 18–19. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  5. Gylfi Kristjánsson (29 August 1978). "Blökkumaður með KR í körfunni í vetur". Vísir (in Icelandic). p. 12. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  6. "Hudson fékk rautt spjald og KR vaknaði af dvala!". Dagblaðið (in Icelandic). 2 October 1978. p. 18. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  7. Ásmundur Sverrir Pálsson (3 October 1978). "Reykjavíkumótið í körfuknattleik". Þjóðviljinn (in Icelandic). p. 10. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  8. "KR var langvinsælasta liðið í keppninni". Tíminn (in Icelandic). 30 November 1978. p. 10. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  9. Gylfi Kristjánsson (29 November 1978). "Snilldarleikur Hudson í Dublin". Vísir (in Icelandic). pp. 12–13. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  10. "KR-ingarnir í þriðja sætinu". Vísir (in Icelandic). 15 January 1979. pp. 14–15. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  11. "Hudson ekki með í kvöld". Þjóðviljinn (in Icelandic). 15 March 1979. p. 14. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  12. H. Halls. (13 March 1979). "Hudson lét hnefana tala eftir að KR beið lægri hlut gegn Val". Dagblaðið (in Icelandic). pp. 12–13. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  13. Gylfi Kristjánsson (13 March 1979). "Hann sparkaði í mig". Vísir (in Icelandic). pp. 12–13. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  14. "Rauða spjaldið, æsingur og spenna". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 13 March 1979. p. 23. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  15. "KR-ingar ekki dauðir úr öllum æðum". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 16 March 1979. p. 31. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  16. "Bikarinn til KR-inga". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 27 March 1979. p. 23. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  17. "Liðin leika undir lögregluvernd". Vísir (in Icelandic). 23 March 1979. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  18. "Máttlausir ÍR-ingar auðveld bráð fyrir KR-inga". Tíminn (in Icelandic). 27 March 1979. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  19. "Þetta var stórkostlegt". Tíminn (in Icelandic). 30 March 1979. p. 15. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  20. Gylfi Kristjánsson (30 March 1979). ""Við erum meistarar!" hljómaði í höllinni". Vísir (in Icelandic). pp. 14–15. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  21. "John Hudson leikur með KR-ingum". Vísir (in Icelandic). 16 October 1981. p. 7. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  22. "Hudson kemur!". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 16 October 1981. p. 30. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  23. "Hudson er farinn". Vísir (in Icelandic). 13 November 1981. p. 7. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  24. Gylfi Kristjánsson (3 April 1979). "Enn einn titill í hendur KR-inga". Vísir (in Icelandic). p. 5. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
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