CJ Bruton
February 2, 2021
Will Hudson
- Nationality: USA
- Date of Birth: 30/03/89
- Place of Birth: Madison, Wisconsin (USA)
- Position: F/C
- Height (CM): 206
- Weight (KG): 106
- Junior Assoc: None
- College: Oakland (2007–2011)
- NBL DEBUT: 7/10/11
- AGE AT DEBUT: 22
- LAST NBL GAME: 15/10/14
- AGE AT LAST GAME: 25
- NBL History: Gold Coast 2012 | New Zealand 2013
- Championships: 1
- New Zealand (2013)
BIO: Will Hudson was born in Madison, Wisconsin (USA) and attended Middleton High School in Middleton, Wisconsin where he was a three-time all-conference selection and a three-time letterwinner in basketball for head coach Kevin Bavery.
As a junior in 2005/06, he averaged 14 points, eight rebounds, and four blocks per game.
NBL EXPERIENCE
Will Hudson made his NBL debut with the Gold Coast Blaze at 22 years of age. He scored 18 points in his first game.
During his first NBL season, Hudson averaged 9.5 points, 6 rebounds, and 0.4 assists as the Blaze finished in third place (17-11).
NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS
2012/13
In 2012, the Breakers looked to become the second team in league history to record a three-peat. While Cedric Jackson, Leon Henry, Thomas Abercrombie, Dillon Boucher, Mika Vukona, CJ Bruton, and Daryl Corletto all re-signed, a major decision made this off-season was to not re-sign leading scorer Gary Wilkinson (to Europe) in favour of elevating promising Kiwi centre Alex Pledger into the starting lineup. Import forward Will Hudson (via Gold Coast) signed as his replacement, while Corey Webster, who had sat out the previous season due to a 12-month suspension for the use of banned substances.
The Breakers recorded a number of historic moments this season, beginning with Jackson recording his first career triple-double with 28 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists against the Melbourne Tigers (November 30, 2012). It was only the second triple-double recorded since the NBL went to 40-minute games at the start of the 2009/10 season.
By February, the Breakers extended their longest winning streak record to 11, a record that by mid-March had been extended to fifteen straight games.
New Zealand (24-4) finished on top of the ladder for a second consecutive season with Jackson (14.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 6.8 assists, and 2.8 steals) leading the league in assists and steals for the second straight season. Jackson was a obvious choice for the league’s Most Valuable Player and was also selected to the All-NBL First Team for the second consecutive season. Mika Vukona and Thomas Abercrombie were selected to the All-NBL Second and Third team’s, respectively, and Andrej Lemanis was voted the Coach of the Year.
New Zealand faced Sydney in the semifinals and swiftly eliminated them in two games. Abercrombie (15 points and 3 rebounds) and Jackson (11 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals) leading the Breakers in game one (81-64) and Bruton (21 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists) and Pledger (18 points and 12 rebounds) taking charge in game two (99-88).
New Zealand progressed to the Grand Final series, where they would face off against Perth in a Grand Final re-match of the previous year. The Wildcats entered the series shorthanded, having lost starting guard Damian Martin to a Achilles injury prior to the playoffs. Brad Robbins came out of retirement to cover the loss, but with the team missing Martin, the Breakers defeated Perth easily in two straight games. Game one (79-67) saw Corletto (19 points on 7-10 shooting) catch fire and in game two (70-66), the Breakers were led by Bruton (16 points) and Jackson (14 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals). Jackson was subsequently named Grand Final MVP as the team delivered a historic three-peat win.
Hudson would play in 25 games, averaging 8.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 0.7 assists.
Will Hudson played two seasons in the NBL, playing for both the Gold Coast Blaze and the New Zealand Breakers. He averaged 8.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 0.5 assists in 56 NBL games.
NBL TOTAL STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-13 | 24 | New Zealand | 24-4 (1) | 25 | 433.0 | 207 | 120 | 17 | 64 | 56 | 12 | 13 | 24 | 51 | 83 | 156 | 53% | 0 | 0 | 0% | 41 | 60 | 68% | 56% | 53% | 23 |
| 2011-12 | 23 | Gold Coast | 17-11 (3) | 31 | 665.0 | 294 | 186 | 12 | 104 | 82 | 18 | 17 | 50 | 76 | 121 | 220 | 55% | 0 | 2 | 0% | 52 | 94 | 55% | 56% | 55% | 20 | Totals | 56 | 1098 | 501 | 306 | 29 | 168 | 138 | 30 | 30 | 74 | 127 | 204 | 376 | 54.3% | 0 | 2 | 0.0% | 93 | 154 | 60.4% | 56% | 54% | 23 |
NBL PER GAME STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-13 | 24 | New Zealand | 24-4 (1) | 25 | 17.3 | 8.3 | 4.8 | 0.7 | 2.6 | 2.2 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.3 | 6.2 | 53% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0% | 1.6 | 2.4 | 68% | 56% | 53% | 23 |
| 2011-12 | 23 | Gold Coast | 17-11 (3) | 31 | 21.5 | 9.5 | 6.0 | 0.4 | 3.4 | 2.6 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 1.6 | 2.5 | 3.9 | 7.1 | 55% | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0% | 1.7 | 3.0 | 55% | 56% | 55% | 20 | Total | 56 | 19.6 | 8.9 | 5.5 | 0.5 | 3.0 | 2.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1.3 | 2.3 | 3.6 | 6.7 | 54.3% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0% | 0.0 | 60.4% | 56% | 54% | 23 |
CAREER HIGHS
| POINTS | REBOUNDS | ASSISTS | STEALS | BLOCKS | TURNOVERS | TRIPLE DOUBLES | 23 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 0 |
|---|
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
- France - ASVEL Basket (2013–2014) | Belgium - Spirou Charleroi (2014)
After his NBL stint with New Zealand, Hudson joined ASVEL Basket for the 2013–14 LNB Pro A season in France, signing on December 30, 2013 and averaging 4.8 points and 2.5 rebounds across 10 games before being released on April 2, 2014.
Hudson joined Spirou Charleroi for the 2014–15 season in Belgium, signing on August 18, 2014 and averaging 10.5 points and 10.3 rebounds across four games before leaving on October 16, 2014.
Hudson played one EuroCup game for Spirou Charleroi in 2014–15, recording 2 points and 4 rebounds in 14 minutes against Virtus Roma.
COLLEGE
Will Hudson suited up for Oakland University during the 2007–08 through 2010–11 seasons, joining the Golden Grizzlies after signing a National Letter of Intent in November 2006 to play college basketball there.
In his freshman season (2007–08), Hudson played 31 games with 2 starts, averaging 3.5 points and 3.0 rebounds in 12.2 minutes per game, and scored a season-high 12 points with three blocks against Adrian College on November 11, 2007.
As a sophomore (2008–09), Hudson appeared in 36 games with 24 starts, leading the team with a .682 field goal percentage, and averaged 7.4 points and 4.6 rebounds in 22.1 minutes per game while recording 25 blocks on the season.
During his junior year (2009–10), Hudson again led Oakland with a .638 field goal percentage, finished fifth in The Summit League with 2.9 offensive rebounds per game, and in 35 games with 24 starts he averaged 6.0 points and 4.9 rebounds in 21.6 minutes per game.
In his senior season (2010–11), Hudson started all 35 games, earned Second-team All-Summit League honors, set a single-season school record with 133 offensive rebounds, ranked second in The Summit League in field goal percentage (.645) and led the league with 3.8 offensive rebounds per game, finishing with 12.6 points and 7.2 rebounds in 31.3 minutes per game.
Across his Oakland career, Hudson broke the school record with 137 games played and 345 offensive rebounds, shot 67 percent from the floor for his career, and became the 29th player in program history to surpass 1,000 career points, finishing with 1,023 points.
Hudson recorded eight double-doubles in the 2010–11 season, tied his career high of 22 points on January 29, 2011 versus Oral Roberts, and finished his collegiate career with a double-double (14 points, 10 rebounds) against No. 8 Texas in the 2011 NCAA tournament on March 18, 2011.
In the 2010–11 Summit League season, Hudson was listed as a Second Team All-Conference selection alongside other league honorees.
According to statistical summaries, his year-by-year college performance included field goal percentages of .532 (2007–08), .682 (2008–09), .638 (2009–10), and .645 (2010–11) with corresponding per-game stats of 3.5, 7.4, 6.0, and 12.6 points, and 3.0, 4.6, 4.9, and 7.2 rebounds over his four seasons.
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