Wake Forest Athletics
GOLD RUSH: Finding the Range
4/15/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
This article originally appeared in the April issue of Gold Rush
By Sam Walker, Gold Rush
Wake Forest and Cornelius Hudson received word on Sept. 9, 2014, that Hudson had cleared the NCAA clearinghouse, the initial-eligibility certification process for college-bound student-athletes, and would join the Demon Deacon basketball team. The first call Hudson made was to assistant coach Randolph Childress, whom he said has been like a father and coach to him, and the second was to head coach Danny Manning. It was official. Hudson was going to play collegiate basketball at Wake Forest, in the ACC, and he was the last player signed in Manning's first recruiting class.
"I had other schools (looking at me), but I felt comfortable here because I like Coach Danny Manning's style," Hudson said. "Coach Randolph, I call him "Pops," he's just been cool to me. I just had to wait for the NCAA to clear me and my prep school. I had done my school work, and they just wanted to check and make sure everything with my school was good. (When I found out I was cleared), I called Coach Randolph and then Coach Manning."
Hudson, who came to the Deacons from Mt. Zion Christian Academy in Durham, where he participated in a one-year college preparatory post-graduate studies program, has proven to be another valuable addition to the program. Hudson was an "under the radar" recruit who, once consistent, could be a solid foundational player for the Manning era.
"Mt. Zion gave me a chance to get my grades right and my mind right so I could play basketball at this level, and that's what I did," Hudson said. "I just showcased my talent, and it went forward from there."
He has a 6-6 frame and long arms, and he'll bulk up over his career, which will make him tougher in the paint and able to withstand the physical play and longer season. His stroke from three is smooth.
"I'm getting there, and I've put on 10 pounds since I've gotten here, so it's something I'm working on," Hudson said. "I'm trying to get bigger, and I can work harder on that over the summer, but I'll be alright. I work on my shot with Coach Randolph, get my feet set and just get up shots. That's how I work on my threes."
Hudson has two older brothers -- Keiron Stevenson and San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree. Michael was "Big Crab" and Cornelius was "Little Crab," but at 6-6, "Little Crab" isn't so little now. So the "little" part faded away, but "Crab" stuck.
Hudson has shown he isn't afraid to take a big shot or handle the ball in pressure situations. He is still a freshman, making some mistakes, but for the most part they're aggressive mistakes. Something Manning won't tolerate is a lack of effort, and Hudson has not shown signs of backing away from any challenge. Hudson turned 21 years old this past December, so he isn't your average freshman. But even though he is a little older, there's still a learning curve at this level of basketball.
"Our freshmen have to be scorers for us to have success, and that's been the case since day one," Manning said. "Putting those guys in situations where they have to make shots for us to be successful is a lot of weight to put on the shoulders of freshmen, but these guys have handled adversity well."
Graduate student Darius Leonard has noticed.
"There's been a lot of growth with our freshmen," Leonard said. "They've just got to understand it's a long season and a long process, and I went through it my freshman season as well. I'm sure Codi (Miller-McIntyre) and D.T. (Devin Thomas) went through it too, so right now it's just a process. With Cornelius, he can play outstanding any night he goes out there. He's just got to clear his mind, think next play and let the game come to him.
"It's mostly mental in this league. Everybody has a skill set, and everybody can be great, but you have to go make the smart plays and plays that help the team no matter what your numbers look like. I've only seen one other guy play like Crab, and that's John Wall, and he's in the NBA. So if he can keep everything under control and playing the way he is, I told him many times he has the potential to be in the NBA. He is always getting up shots. We know he can make shots, and I know I have faith in him every night."
Junior Codi Miller-McIntyre said that the freshmen have provided a spark with their shooting ability.
"Our freshmen complement us, where Madison (Jones) and I like to drive, they like to shoot, and that opens up the court more for us to be able to get to the rim," Miller-McIntyre said. "So the more we drive, the more they can shoot. It works both ways."
Through 27 games. Hudson was the team's fourth-leading scorer at 7.8 points per game and was 41 for 123 from 3-point range for 33 percent.
Hudson has shown flashes of being a player who can rise to the occasion and isn't afraid to take big shots. On Jan. 13, he hit a three-pointer to force overtime before Syracuse won 86-83. On Feb. 3 against NC State, Hudson hit a pressure free throw to give the Deacons a four-point lead late, and Miller-McIntyre sealed the win with a steal. Then on Feb. 7, Hudson scored a career-high 19 at Georgia Tech, hitting 3 of 9 from three and going 8 for 10 at the free throw line.
In the Feb. 14 game at Virginia, Hudson and Konstantinos Mitoglou each hit big 3-pointers down the stretch that kept the Deacons in the game and ultimately gave them a chance to win on the final possession.
However, Hudson possibly had his biggest 33 seconds of the season in the final home game with a steal and four clutch free throws to help Wake Forest secure a 69-66 victory over Pittsburgh. He finished with 11 points and four rebounds, including swishing all four free throws in the closing seconds.
"We practice free throws every day," Hudson said after the victory. "We actually do this drill where if we miss a free throw, we run to 22, and he (coach) calls it out. I wanted to knock them down because I didn't want to run in practice tomorrow. We just wanted win for the seniors on Senior Night."
