Hudson back as Trinity Prep coach
Irwin Hudson, who coached Trinity Prep to a 24-6 record and its first boys basketball region final appearance in 2015-16, has returned to that position.
The founder and owner of the OrlandoHoops, Inc. gym and training business coached the Saints for two seasons before stepping down in 2016 to focus on completing his PHD in Human Factors Engineering from UCF. By day, Hudson is a computer engineer and robotics specialist for the U.S. Army Department of Defense.
Trinity Prep announced this week that Hudson replaces Tony DiGiovanni, who compiled a 46-32 record over the past three seasons.
“Trinity Prep is close to home for me, so it’s perfect,” Hudson said. “It was a nobrainer for me to want to go back. It all fell into place. And Tony has been very helpful in this transition. He was doing a great job.”
DiGiovanni said he and his family are moving back to Palm Beach County and he will teach and serve as head coach for The Pine School of Hobe Sound.
Trinity Prep was 17-9 last season with sophomore guard Javon Bennett averaging 25.2 points per game.
“He is special,” Hudson said. “I’m looking forward to coaching a point guard with those skills. I haven’t met the whole team, but Trinity Prep has some talent.”
Hudson lists Dwight
Howard, Austin Rivers, Chandler Parson, Nick Calathes and Tacko Fall among his noteable OrlandoHoops clients.
“OrlandoHoops will take a back seat while I’m coaching high school,” he said. “I’m all in with Trinity Prep.”
DP gains Kugel: Riley Kugel, who averaged 16.4 points and 4.2 assists per game as a standout sophomore for Class 2A region runner-up Central Florida Christian Academy, announced via Twitter that he is transferring to Dr. Phillips.
The 6-foot-5 guard is a major college prospect on the rise. He adds more talent to a DP team that brings back a lot from a 20-8 district title year.
There undoubtedly will be a lot more transfer news to come before the 2020-21 season tips off. Proponents of the school-choice era say it has allowed players to pick the path that benefits them most.
Critics says college basketball has nearly 800 players in this year’s NCAA men’s basketball transfer portal because young prospects learn early how to bounce from one high school to another.
Along those lines, Chaundee Brown — who starred for DP and then The First Academy as a high schooler — entered the college transfer portal and announced this week that he will play his senior season for Michigan after three years as a starter for Wake Forest.
Brown, a 6-foot-5 wing, must sit out a year under current rules, but there is a proposal on the table to change the NCAA policy to allow immediate eligibility for “one-time” transfers.
Brown, who averaged 12.1 points and 6.5 rebounds as a junior, is the third transfer the Wolverines have gained during the COVID-19 shutdown in March. Michigan, under second-year coach (and alum) Juwan Howard, also lost three players who transferred out — including former Daytona Beach Father Lopez forward Colin Castleton to UF.