Arkansas State's Bryan Hodgson Talks 'Bittersweet' Return To Tuscaloosa

TUSCALOOSA, AL — Former Crimson Tide basketball assistant coach and current Arkansas State head men's basketball coach Bryan Hodgson said the team was on its way to Tuscaloosa Thursday when the team bus began to overheat just outside of Holly Springs, Mississippi.

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Roughly three hours away from Tuscaloosa, Hodgson was sitting in the front of the bus as he usually does when the driver told him he had no choice but to pull over.

"We were going to have to stay there until we could get a new bus or a mechanic," Hodgson told Patch on Friday. "So we let the bus cool down and after a while, we got the mechanic from the bus shop on the phone."

Hodgson — a staunch believer in and practitioner of the Blue Collar Basketball mentality he was a part of in Tuscaloosa — was joined by senior guard Avery Felts, sophomore forward Rashaud Marshall and the bus driver in changing a belt in the engine and getting the team back on the road.

"Most of the team was on the bus catching Zs and we missed our shooting time but we were able to get here and had a great dinner at Chuck's thanks to Charles Morgan," he said. "I was able to speak to the Tuscaloosa Tip-Off Club, so it's always awesome to come back and see familiar faces."

A native of western New York, Hodgson met his fiancée in Tuscaloosa and went on to become a popular commodity during his four years on the Crimson Tide coaching staff, where his talent on the recruiting trail saw Alabama sign top-15 classes in each season.

Hodgson is also credited with signing the first Canadian players in Crimson Tide program history: Joshua Primo, Keon Ambrose-Hilton and Charles Bediako.

When asked about his approach to recruiting and what he thinks sets him apart from other coaches, Hodgson said he credits his emphasis on building and maintaining relationships.

"I consider myself a people person and take pride in building relationships," he said. "It's something Coach [Nate] Oats and I did together for a long time and I've carried that with me here."

Hodgson is 1-0 in his second season in Jonesboro, Arkansas, after making an immediate splash in his first major college head coaching job.

A finalist for the Joe B. Hall Award, which is presented to the nation’s top first-year head coach, Hodgson led the Red Wolves to one of the most successful seasons in program history in just his first season as the team posted a 20-17 record.

This made Hodgson one of just two first-year head coaches last year to win 20 or more games against Division-I competition after inheriting a 20-plus loss team. He also guided the Red Wolves to the Sun Belt Conference championship game, along with the program's first postseason appearance since 1999 as Arkansas State competed in the Ro College Basketball Invitational.

"I love it here and we had a nice run last year and made it to the Sun Belt Championship," Hodgson said. "It's been great to get to put my stamp on things and we really have a talented team."

Indeed, Hodgson pointed to Kobe Julien as a standout on his squad after the junior transfer from Louisiana-Lafayette averaged 18 points a game last season and was named Sun Belt Preseason Player of the Year.

However, he said the Red Wolves on Friday night will be without 6-10 junior forward Izaiyah Nelson, who Hodgson said was "arguably our best player."

"He's extremely talented and an SEC-level kid, so missing him is going to hurt," he said. "But it's going to be bittersweet coming back [to Tuscaloosa]. I'm excited to come back and you obviously want to win. But folks are still like family to me here."

Alabama and Arkansas State are set to tip off at Coleman Coliseum on Friday at 7 p.m.

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