Chris Hudson was back home in Hodgdon this week celebrating a championship basketball season with family and friends for the second straight year.
But while last winter’s run with Hodgdon High School to the Class D state title garnered much statewide attention for Hudson and his teammates, his most recent championship came far away from that limelight and a few hundred miles removed from southern Aroostook County.
The 6-foot-6-inch forward helped Williston Northampton School of Easthampton, Massachusetts, win the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council Class A crown last weekend, scoring 11 points Sunday as the Wildcats edged Suffield (Connecticut) Academy 51-48 in the final at Endicott College in Beverly, Massachusetts.
“It’s the same feeling, the same happiness and the same accomplishment I feel,” said Hudson of his back-to-back title efforts. “But I feel like I challenged myself a lot more at my new school and I feel that much better.”
Hudson transferred to Williston last summer after earning Bangor Daily News All-Maine recognition by averaging 24 points, 16 rebounds and five blocked shots per game while leading Hodgdon to its first state championship since 1996.
“I had to leave my family and that was a very tough thing for me to do,” said Hudson, who would have been a senior at Hodgdon this year but reclassified as a junior upon his enrollment at Williston. “I have a lot of family and friends up here that I really care about, and not getting to see them every day like I used to was a difficult transition.
“But I feel like I did what was best for me, so I think I made a good decision in going. Williston is a very great academic school — 99 percent of the kids there go to college — so I felt like I made the right choice there. It’s pretty rigorous and challenging but I’m getting through.”
Hudson earned high honors academically during his first trimester at the prep school, according to Williston coach Michael Shelton.
He’s also been a steadying presence on the basketball team, initially as a starter and later in the season as the Wildcats’ sixth man.
“When we started the season, I knew Chris was going to be a really intrical part of what we have going on and he was just that,” said Shelton. “He never worries about how many shots he gets and how many touches he gets offensively, he just tries to play as hard as he can at both ends of the floor.
“Time and time again it was Chris who got that key rebound in a game or that steal or a key basket. The moment is never too big for Chris.”
Hudson averaged 7.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game for Williston, which finished its season with a 24-3 record. He shot a robust 68 percent from the field, including 38 percent from beyond the 3-point arc.
“He was always on the court at the end of the game for us,” said Shelton. “I just really, really trusted him.”
Hudson was sidelined for two months last fall due to an elbow injury, but said once he returned to action he was able to develop not only as a teammate but in terms of his individual skills as he works toward his goal of becoming a scholarship-level college player once he graduates from Williston in 2016.
“When I came to Williston I felt like I needed to improve on everything,” said Hudson. “I felt like my skill set had to be that much sharper going into a tough NEPSAC league, but I feel like development-wise I’ve come a lot further than I was at last year and I’m glad I pushed myself and challenged myself in this way.”
Hudson’s improvement may be most pronounced on the defensive end of the court.
“When I was at Hodgdon we played a lot of zone and since I’ve been at prep school I don’t think we’ve played zone one time, it was all straight-up man-to-man the entire time,” Hudson said. “Defensively I think I’ve gotten a lot better. You get a lot better from playing kids who are that good.”
While defense will be a continuing priority for Hudson, so will building up his 190-pound frame and enhancing his ball-handling skills.
“I honestly see his growth in terms of playing at the next level as being able to play a solid three depending on what level he goes to,” said Shelton. “I believe he can do that, and for him to play the small forward position his dribbling off ball screens and his dribbling against pressure and him being able to guard those guys are the things he needs to work on.
“But he’s just overall a really good player, and everyone on campus loves the kid. I can’t say enough about him.”
