Lester Hudson, SG

In just two seasons at Tennessee-Martin, Hudson established himself as one of college basketball's premier shooters.

Hudson didn't graduate from junior high school or high school. His well-documented academic problems kept him from landing on a major college team until the Skyhawks offered him an opportunity in 2007-08.

The player in men's Division I history to record a quadruple-double, with 25 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 steals in a 116-74 win over Division II Central Baptist College, Hudson shattered numerous school and Ohio Valley Conference records. He is the first player in UTM history to earn All-American honors and is the first Skyhawk to ever earn OVC Player of the Year accolades, accomplishing that feat twice.

As a senior, Hudson was a finalist for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, while also being named among a select group of 50 players on the James Naismith College Basketball Player of the Year Trophy. He led his team to the first-ever Ohio Valley Conference regular season championship in program history and was named OVC Player of the Week a record seven times in 2008-09, including a stretch of five consecutive, becoming the first player in the 61-year history of the OVC to earn the honor five consecutive weeks.

Hudson became the OVC's season scoring champion during the National Invitational Tournament first round game with Auburn, scoring his 880th point of the year, he recorded his 1,000th point at UT Martin in the Dec. 6 game at Eastern Kentucky, which was only his 40th contest in a Skyhawk uniform. He finished his two-year career with the Skyhawks scoring 1,727 points, only two shy of the program's four-year scoring mark.

He is three inches shorter than advertised -- the school listed him at 6-foot-3 -- but Hudson stood tall on the basketball court during his first season in college. The well-traveled athlete is regarded as one of the best shooters in the 2009 NBA Draft, but there is much more to his game than scoring.

Hudson displays an excellent knack for rebounding. The combo guard will more likely have to play the point at the next level, and while he still needs to work on his ball-handling skills, he is an unselfish passer, averaging 4.4 assists per game during his UT Martin career.

Hudson has an outstanding wingspan (81-inches) for a player of his size, coupling that with very good leaping ability and a strong upper body. He is a solid pressure type defender who uses his impressive reach and active hands to disrupt the action in the passing lane. In 2007-08, he registered a school season-record 94 steals (2.8 steals per game), ranking fourth in the nation in that category. He added 75 steals as a senior.

Hudson spent his childhood raised in the drug-ravaged projects in Memphis. He was a regular visitor at community centers and gymnasiums, where he was known as being "roughneck tough" for his playing performances vs. current and former University of Memphis players. The problem was, he spent so much time on the court, that he was soon neglecting school and had to repeat the ninth grade.

Hudson never showed much desire to attend school, which prevented him from playing high school basketball. Finally, by his junior year, Central High coach Applewhite discovered him playing in the gym, during which Hudson dominated a game that featured several players from the high school team. "He was just toying with them," Applewhite said. "You know how you play with your little brother?"

Hudson's high school coach helped get him to Southwest Tennessee Community College, where Applewhite had played two decades earlier. It also was the only school that showed interest in Hudson, who did not earn his GED until early in his first semester at Southwest.

However, academics remained an issue for Hudson. Verties Sails, the Southwest head coach, said, "We had to almost break a hammer over his head to get him to sit down and understand he had to study. Lester is a product of the streets, let's face it."

Hudson spent two seasons at Southwest. He averaged 13.5 points, shooting 52.3 percent from the field and 36.7 percent from 3-point range in 25 games in 2004-05. He tallied 157 rebounds, 67 assists and 48 steals.

The following season, Hudson began drawing attention from Division I programs. He earned NJCAA All-American and TJCAA All-Conference first-team honors in 2005-06. He averaged 17.6 points per game, connecting on 46.5 percent of his field goals and 67.8 percent of his shots from the charity stripe. He also averaged 3.0 assists, 2.3 steals and 5.6 rebounds per game for the Saluqi squad.

Hudson was forced to sit out the 2006-07 season because he did not graduate from Southwest. He attained a 2.5 grade-point average, but lacked the requisite core classes, causing the Division I teams to back off on recruiting him. Largely because of his relationship with assistant coach Jason James, Hudson landed at Tennessee-Martin, where spent the year eagerly waiting for his opportunity to play.

Finally cleared of academic issues, Hudson went on to garner All-American (only non major college player on the CollegeInsider.com first-team unit) and All-Ohio Valley Conference first-team honors. The OVC Player of the Year was also named the league's Male Athlete of the Year in 2007-08.

Hudson set the school season-record for points scored (847), ranking fifth in the nation with a 25.7-point average, becoming the first player in school history to lead the OVC in scoring. He set UTM records by making 291 of 627 field goals (46.4 percent) and 124 of 320 three-point attempts (38.8 percent). His average of 3.76 3-pointers per game ranked tenth nationally.

The combo guard also set a school season-record with 94 steals (2.8 steals per game), the fourth-best total in the nation. Even though he played in the backcourt, he led the team with 259 rebounds (7.8 rebounds per game) and also paced the Skyhawks by handing out 148 assists (4.5 assists per game), becoming just the second player in school annals to lead the OVC in that category. He also became the first men's player in Division I history to record a quadruple-double with 25 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 steals in a 116-74 win over Division II Central Baptist College.

After the 2007-08 season, he applied for early entry to the NBA Draft.

"I want to see where I stand," Hudson said. "I want to go to camp and see what happens. If the right opportunity presents itself, I will decide then."

By not signing with an agent, Hudson used his opportunity to return to school for the 2008-09 season.

Hudson finished second in the nation in scoring in 2008-09, averaging 27.5 points per game. He made 313 of 697 field goals, greatly improved his shooting from the foul line from his freshman year, connecting on 88.1 percent of his free throw attempts (shot 69.8 percent in 2004-05). His 313 field goals made set the OVC and school season-record and also led the Division I ranks. He also placed 21st nationally with 75 steals (2.3 steals per game), as he totaled 135 rebounds (4.2 rebounds per game) with 18 blocked shots.

Positives: Not big enough to play 2-guard position in the NBA, but has a very quick release and excellent long-range shooting ability and can make a nice living taking shots from the perimeter … Has adequate ball-handling skills and despite his shoot-first mentality, he is capable of controlling the ball on the floor and executing crisp passes to open outlets … Compensates for a lack of size and bulk with a freakishly long wingspan (81 inches) for a point guard, along with excellent vertical skills (36 inches) and a good standing reach (8-foot-2 1/2) … Very creative with the ball in his hands, doing a nice job of distributing it … Has very good leg drive to the basket drawing contact on the way to the rim -- wants to play physical when playing inside … With the ability to draw contact, he gets to the foul line regularly, where he has very good lift and made 88.1 percent as a senior … Even at his size, he gets more than enough elevation on his jumper to keep it high and above the outstretched arms of bigger defenders … Has crisp stop-and-go action, doing a nice job of pulling up from the dribble on the perimeter to flip in an easy trey … Shows good body weave and balance in dish-and-drive situations, needing just a little space to be creative with the ball … Creates good space for himself and does a good job of setting his feet when operating in catch-and-shoot situations … Despite his ability to score points in bunches, he is very patient on the court, letting the action come to him before he decides to attack the rim and draw contact in the lanes, drop back to gain space for his jumper or just feeding the ball out to an open target … Has good explosiveness, getting into the paint with his crossover and his elevation skills are an asset on the offensive glass -- he had impressive rebounding figures for a player his height … Can pull back and hoist up a smooth fadeaway shot or take the ball off the dribble, lift high off the ground and put up points in a hurry … With his range and high release point, he has valid NBA 3-point range (ranked 10th in the nation with 3.76 treys per game as a junior and 12th with 3.31 per game as a senior) … Shows classic shooting form, effortlessly fading back to get the space he needs to execute his jump shot … Has a quick spin move coming off screens … Has very good balance and body control to separate from the defender and is able to create separation with his initial step slashing to the basket … Lacks much experience but he has developed a variety of release points along with a very smooth stroke … Crafty court veteran with very active hands attacking the passing lanes, as he has consistently ranked with the nation's leaders in steals (fourth with 2.8 steals per game as a junior and 21st with 2.3 per game as a senior) and has great anticipation ability to steal the ball on the move … Has become an efficient passer with the range to fire the ball long distances, especially when pushing the ball up court on the fast break … Takes as much pleasure getting his teammates involved on the offensive end as he does scoring himself, as he is very good at scanning the court and locating the open outlets to distribute the ball … Shows good lateral movement skills when moving to defend vs. perimeter shooters, as hedging on screens, sticking his hands into the opponent's dribble or timing his leaps to alter or block the opponent's shot … Very tenacious crashing the boards, where his elevation, wing span and sheer determination will see him even out-battle centers to secure the rebound, as he has very good second jump ability under the glass.

Negatives: Shorter than advertised (school listed him at 6-foot-3, but he's actually 5-foot-11 7/8-inches), making him more likely a score-first point guard at the next level … Has not faced much top-level competition, spending just one year at a mediocre Division I school … Has a thick frame that could impact his speed if he continues to add weight and bulk … Struggled academically throughout high school and into college and at age 25, he's older than most in his draft class … His age will impact the time he will have to adjust to NBA ball … Has good leg drive into the paint, but because of size issues, he can be pushed around by bigger opponents and will back off and reside at the perimeter rather than try to generate contact … Unselfish player but needs to be selective taking shots and sometimes tries to carry the team on his shoulders … At other times, he will park along the perimeter when he should be charging to the basket in attempts to draw contact … Pure shooter, but does not appear comfortable when having to slash to the rim … Decent ball-handler for a few minutes at a time but hasn't run the show consistently … High dribble led to turning the ball over when driving through a crowd and guards with active hands have good success disrupting his drives (averaged 3.82 turnovers per game as a junior and 3.23 per game as a senior) … Some of the turnover problem is the fact that he gets so engrossed in getting to the basket, that he is not always alert to his surroundings, especially when the defense rotates on him from the weak side … Very good disrupting action in the passing lanes, but sometimes gets too overaggressive going for the steal, resulting in costly fouls instead.

Compares To: ANDRE MILLER, Philadelphia … It is difficult to compare Hudson to any one player in the NBA. He turned out to be much shorter than advertised when measurements were taken at the Orlando camp, but he compensates with his long wingspan and leaping ability. He is a true scoring machine but needs to improve his developing ball-handling skills as he's likely to play the point in the pros. He is turnover-prone dribbling the ball in traffic but can draw contact and finish. He can pull up and fire his jumper from anywhere on the court and shows unselfishness getting the ball out to teammates. He compares to Baron Davis (Clippers) defensively for the way he keeps his hands active in the passing lanes. His mid-range shot is comparable to Miller's and his rebounding prowess is much like that of scrappy Jason Kidd's (Dallas). His long-range stroke rivals that of Rodney Stuckey's (Detroit). His fade-away shot looks much like Deron Williams' (Utah), but despite all of these nice comparisons, he is still an aged prospect with only two years of Division I basketball under his belt.

--Report by Dave-Te' Thomas

All-American third-team selection by The NBA Draft Report, earning honorable mention from the Associated Press … FoxSports.com Mid-Major All-American choice … USBWA Division I All-District IV and NABC All-District I first-team choice … Earned Ohio Valley Conference All-Tournament Team and All-OVC first-team accolades … Became just the fourth athlete in league history to be named OVC Player of the Year twice in a career … Lowe's Senior Class Award Top Ten Finalist and was also a semifinalist for the James Naismith Award and John R Wooden Award … Rated the OVC's best NBA prospect and most versatile player by Lindy's magazine … Set the league record by earning OVC Player of the Week honors seven times, including five consecutive weeks (11/17, 12/22, 12/29, 1/05, 1/12, 1/19 and 2/09 … Started all 32 games, leading the nation with 313 field goals made (697 attempts, 44.9 percent) and finished second in the Division I ranks in scoring, as he averaged 27.5 points per game … Ranked 12th in the nation with an average of 3.31 3-point field goals per game, hitting on 106 of 299 treys (35.5 percent) … Shot 88.1 percent from the foul line (148 of 168) … Ranked 21st nationally with an average of 2.3 steals per game (75 total) … Pulled down 254 rebounds (7.9 rebounds per game), as he handed out 135 assists (4.2 assists per game) and blocked 18 shots (0.6 blocks per game) … Registered 11 double-double performances and scored in double figures in all 32 games, including 30 contests with at least 20 points, 12 with at least 30 points and two with over 40 points.

All-American first-team selection by The NBA Draft Report, CollegeInsider.com and the Associated Press, as he was the only selection from a non-major Division I institution (joined Michael Beasley of Kansas State; Stephen Curry of Davidson; Kevin Love of UCLA and Tyler Hansborough of North Carolina) and also became the first player from his school to earn first-team national honors … Added Mid-major All-American second-team accolades from CollegeHoops.net … All-Ohio Valley Conference first-team choice, becoming the first Skyhawk to garner OVC Player of the Year and Male Athlete of the Year honors … Recipient of the 2008 Bob Carroll Male Athlete of the Year Award … Became the first player in school annals to lead the OVC in scoring, breaking the school season-record with 847 points, as his 25.7-point average ranked fifth in the nation … Set school season-records with 291 of 627 field goals (46.4 percent) and 124 of 320 3-pointers (38.8 percent) … His average of 3.76 three-pointers per game ranked 10th in the country … Led the team with 148 assists (4.5 assists per game), tying Ryan Owens (1995-96) for sixth on the school season-record list … Was the only point guard in the country to lead his team in rebounds (259, ninth-best in school season annals), averaging 7.8 boards per game … Set the school season-record and ranks second on the OVC annual record books with 94 steals, ranking fourth nationally with an average of 2.8 steals per game … Blocked 22 shots (0.7 bpg) … Had 126 turnovers and 87 personal fouls … Scored in double figures in all but the 2/14 Tennessee Tech game, starting 32 of 33 contests … Scored at least 20 points 23 times, including 12 30-point performances … Had the first quadruple-double in Division I history vs. Central Baptist, and registered 11 double-double contests.

Sat out the season at Tennessee-Martin, concentrating on removing his academic ineligibility.

NJCAA All-American honorable mention at Southwest Tennessee Community College, playing for head coach Verties Sails … All-Tennessee Junior and Community College Athletic Association first-team and named Region VII Most Valuable Player … Runner-up for conference Player of the Year honors … Led the team to a 24-5 record, as they captured the Region VII Championship and the JUCO National Tournament … Scored 510 points (17.6 points per game) in 29 games, shooting 46.5 percent from the field (191 of 411), 32.7 percent from 3-point range (50 of 153) and 67.8 percent from the free throw line (78 of 115) … Averaged 5.6 rebounds (163), 3.0 assists (87) and 2.3 steals (66) per game … Named Most Valuable Player of the Region VII Tournament after scoring 22 points in the Saluqis' 92-73 victory over Columbia State in the championship game.

Hudson, perhaps the best all-around player on the Saluqis' squad, averaged 13.9 points per game and was also among the team leaders in rebounds (6.8), assists (2.7), and steals (2.1).

In 119 games at Tennessee-Martin, Hudson averaged 26.6 points per game, setting the school career-record while ranking fifth on the Ohio Valley Conference all-time list … Shot 85.8 percent from the foul line (289 of 337), the sixth-highest percentage in OVC annals … His 289 free throws made placed third in school history, while his 1,727 points scored were two shy of the UT Martin all-time mark of 1,729 points by Mike Meschede (1984-88) …

Made 604 field goals, surpassing the previous Skyhawks all-time record of 575 by Mike Meschede … Connected on 230 three-point attempts, ranking second in school history behind DeWayne Powell (302, 1992-96) and ninth in OVC annals … Handed out 283 assists at UT Martin, ranking seventh in school history … His 169 steals placed him third on the school all-time record list behind DeWayne Powell (263, 1992-96) and Jeremy Kelly (175, 2001-06) … Holds the OVC and school season-record with 880 points scored in 2008-09, topping the old conference mark of 878 points by Jim McDaniels of Western Kentucky (1970-71) … His 847 points in 2007-08 rank fourth in league annals (854 by James "Fly" Williams of Austin Peay in 1972-73) … His 124 three-pointers made in 2007-08 broke the school and OVC season-record, topping the league mark of 120 by J. Robert Merritt of Samford (2005-06) … Registered 94 steals as a junior, a school season-record and a mark that ranks second on the OVC annual record chart behind Van Usher of Tennessee Tech (113, 1990-91) … Holds the school's top two spots on the field goal season-record list with 291 in 2007-08 and 313 in 2008-09, surpassing the previous mark of 246 by Michael Hart (1995-96) … Made 148 free throws in 2008-09, two shy of the UT Martin season-record of 150 by Marcus Glass (1985-86), as his 141 free throws made in 2007-08 rank fourth on that list … His 259 rebounds in 2007-08 rank ninth overall on the school season-record list and are the most ever by a UT Martin guard … His 148 assists in 2007-08 tied Ryan Owens (1995-96) for sixth on the school season-record list … In 2007-08, Hudson became the first men's player in Division I history to record a quadruple-double, registering 25 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 steals vs. Central Baptist College … His eight 3-point field goals vs. Morehead State (12/17/07) were the most by a Skyhawk in a game since Mike Meschede made ten vs. Mississippi College (1/16/88) … His ten steals vs. Central Baptist (11/13/07) set a school game-record … Scored 42 points vs. Tennessee Tech (3/04/09), two shy of the school game-record 44 by Okechi Egbe vs. Bethel (11-20-00).

No injuries reported.

Only lettered once in basketball at Central (Memphis, Tenn.) High School, playing for head coach Andre Applewhite … Was academically ineligible as a senior and failed to graduate.

University Studies major … Son of Evelyn Hill and Lester Hudson Jr … Born 8/07/84 … Resides in Memphis, Tennessee.