MARTIN, Tenn. - As the city of Memphis grieves over the loss of one of its own - former University of Memphis and Grizzlies star Lorenzen Wright - former University of Tennessee at Martin standout Lester Hudson unleashed a performance on Wednesday night that has many in the community abuzz. The former Skyhawk dazzled his hometown fans with a spectacular 74-point showing.

Hudson has spent most of his time this summer playing for the Thunder in the Bluff City Classic - a Pro-Am league based in Memphis which started in 1981 but has rekindled this summer after a seven-year layoff, thanks to contributions from former NBA great Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway and local businessman Stanley Blue. The league - which began on June 15 and will run through Aug. 12 - features nine teams stockpiled with some of the best local talent, including former and current collegiate and professional players.

After leading the Thunder to a 5-3 record and the No. 3 seed in the league playoffs that began on July 27, Hudson was already determined to put on a show but combined with the news spreading early last week that Wright - one of the most likable figures in the Memphis basketball community - had passed away at the age of 34, Hudson decided to honor Wright's memory with a monumental game.

Showing the same explosive ability to put the ball in the hoop as the two-time All-American did at UT Martin from 2007-09, Hudson stole the show by going off for what is believed to be an all-time Bluff City Classic record 74-point performance.

Playing on the same floor as he did for one season before joining the UT Martin program at Southwest Community College, Hudson poured in 50 of his points in the second half alone, and hit 18 three-pointers for the game. What is even more impressive is that the game featured two 20-minute running clock halves, which translates to Hudson scoring nearly two points for every minute of real-time.

Skyhawk head coach Jason James, who recruited Hudson while he was an assistant coach at UT Martin, received a call from Hudson yesterday.

"He kept saying he was just in the zone," James said. "He was having a lot of fun out there playing basketball."

It's been quite a whirlwind year for Hudson since leading the Skyhawks to their first-ever Ohio Valley Conference title and graduating from UT Martin with his degree in university studies in May 2009.

After he was the only draft pick of the Boston Celtics (58th overall) that June, Hudson appeared in 16 games for the Celtics before hooking up with his hometown Grizzlies in early January. He saw action in nine games for Memphis, including his best game as a pro against the two-time defending world champion Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 1. In that game, he scored a career-high 13 points (including 11 in under eight minutes of playing time in the second quarter) to help the Grizzlies bounce the Lakers by a 95-93 score.

When the NBA free agency period began on July 1, however, the Grizzlies waived Hudson. The Washington Wizards and head coach Flip Saunders wasted no time swooping in on him, and he participated in the team's Las Vegas Summer League games alongside two of the brightest young stars in the game in John Wall and JeVale McGee. Wall, the 2010 No. 1 overall draft pick out of Kentucky, was named the Most Outstanding Player after leading the Vegas league in scoring (23.5 points per game) and assists (7.8 per game). McGee, who recently made the final 19-player cut for the Team USA Olympic squad, ranked fourth in the summer league in scoring (19.5 ppg) and rebounding (9.3 per game).

Despite the solid play from the pair of young players, Hudson quietly made a noticeable impression on the league, as his minutes and points increased with each game. He led the Wizards to a 4-1 record, starting in three of the five games. He averaged 11.2 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.4 steals per game while shooting 49 percent from the floor, including nailing 48 percent of his three-point attempts. His summer league season ended with a 19 point (5-10 from beyond the 3-point line), nine assist effort vs. the New York Knicks squad on July 17.

Hudson also gained national notoriety on July 16 against the New Orleans Hornets. In the third quarter of the game, Hudson recovered a steal and - facing a wide-open court on a fast break - unselfishly lofted the ball high off the backboard to a surging Wall, who slammed the ball home for a thunderous alley-oop slam dunk. The play would later appear all throughout the night on ESPN's Sportscenter's Top-10 Plays of the Day montage and later on in the week as one of ESPN's Top-10 Plays of the Week.

Hudson wasn't done making national waves however. In the fourth quarter of the same game, the Wizards trailed by one point with 2.2 seconds left with their undefeated record in the balance. Enter Hudson, who took an inbounds pass, drove to his left and launched a 22-foot jumper that swished through the net as time expired to give Washington a 90-89 victory. To view the recap from the game, including Hudson's alley-oop and game-winning shot, Click Here (a 30-second advertisement will play first).

With his impressive summer sample with the Wizards, Washington Post Wizards Insider Michael Lee has stated on several occasions that Hudson deserves an invite to the Wizards preseason training camp when the team convenes in late September.

Until then, Hudson will continue to train and focus on his upcoming second season as a professional basketball player. No doubt, with the addition of a 74-point game to go with the feat of being the only NCAA men's basketball Division-I player to accumulate a quadruple-double in a single game on his resume, the legend of Lester Hudson not only grew in his hometown of Memphis, but across the nation as well.

#SKYHAWKS#


RIDIN' THE HOT HAND: Former Skyhawk All-American Lester Hudson reacts after hitting the game-winning shot for the Washington Wizards on July 17 in the 2010 NBA Las Vegas Summer League.