Ainge, Celtics Mine Potential Diamond in the Rough With Hudson
"With the 58th pick in the 2009 NBA draft, the Boston Celtics select … Lester Hudson from Tennessee-Martin."
For those of us expecting big things from Danny Ainge and the C's front office, it wasn't quite like hearing the royal horns announcing the entrance of the king after hearing this pick … but it wasn't exactly the trombones playing their disappointing two-toned dismissal when you lose on the Price is Right, either.
In other words: not bad.
OK, so Hudson, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound shooting guard, didn't graduate from high school. He had some academic issues growing up in the drug-filled projects of Memphis. It's a pretty amazing story you'll no doubt hear more about as the Celtics' training camp approaches.
In short, because of his lack of a diploma, he had a tough time getting into college, eventually got his GED, went to community college, bounced around a bit more and eventually went to UT-Martin … all of that to explain why he's 24, at least a couple of years older than most of his fellow draft picks.
The scouting reports say that even though he's actually only 5-foot-11 and 7/8, he has a wingspan of 81 inches and can jump out of the gym.
They say he's one of the best outside shooters in the draft, and his averages of 25.7 and 27.5 points a game during his two seasons as a Skyhawk seem to back that up.
They say he's a terrific rebounder for his size and -- how's this? -- he recorded what is reported to be the first quadruple-double in Division I hoops history, scoring 25 points, grabbing 12 rebounds, dishing out 10 assists and making 10 steals in a 116-74 win over Central Baptist College on Nov. 13, 2007.
In his two seasons at UT-Martin, Hudson was twice named OVC Player of the Year. He graduated with a degree in university studies this May.
OK, so the experts say he's probably too short to play the 2 in the pros, so he'll have to be a score-first point guard. They say his frame is too thick. They say he needs to be more selective with his shots. They say he can be overaggressive on defense, resulting in some costly fouls.
Who knows how he'll fare once he puts on the green and white? No one.
But for weeks, the pressure has been on Ainge and the Celtics to find a diamond in the rough with pick No. 58.
With everything Hudson has been through, and the recent successes he's achieved both on and off the court, it's pretty clear that Ainge found just what he's looking for.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tggi8cToU88
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