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The men’s basketball team at Arkansas State encountered a setback while making the trek to Tuscaloosa for Friday’s game against Alabama when their bus broke down, but they were able to get back on the road with the help of an unexpected mechanic: head coach Bryan Hodgson.
The Arkansas State Red Wolves haven’t punched their ticket to March Madness in 25 years, and while there’s no way to know if Bryan Hodgson will be able to bring that drought to an end, he got off to a fairly respectable start by leading the team to a 20-17 record during his inaugural season last year.
That marked the first season Hodgson took the helm of any college basketball program, and the school was obviously hoping to take advantage of the fact that he spent eight years as a protege under Alabama coach Nate Oats (he was initially hired as an assistant when the skipper was at Buffalo before overseeing recruiting for the Crimson Tide for four seasons).
Hodgson got the chance to face off against his mentor for the first time last season in a game where Arkansas State ended up on the wrong side of an 89-65 result, and all signs point to the Red Wolves getting handed another loss on Friday night when you consider they’re listed as 23.5-point underdogs against #2 Alabama.
Arkansas State also missed out on the chance to practice on Thursday thanks to what unfolded while they were heading to Tuscaloosa, as the team bus was forced to pull over to the side of the road in Holly Springs, Mississippi around two hours into the five-hour ride to the home of the Crimson Tide.
The Red Wolves had to wait a couple of hours to get their hands on a new engine belt to replace the one that was shredded, but they were able to get back on the road after Hodgson hopped off the bus to swap it out himself.
Arkansas State bus broke down in Holly Springs on way to Tuscaloosa for tomorrow’s game against Alabama. Shredded belt, stranded for 2 hours before head coach Bryan Hodgson replaced the belt. Will miss practice today, but team is back on road and about two hours from Tuscaloosa. pic.twitter.com/1pDJaUa6eB
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) November 7, 2024
It was only natural that Hodgson took matters into his own hands when you consider he’s been pushing his players to adopt a blue-collar mentality since taking over for an Arkansas State team that gets rated on a points system for doing things like diving on the floor for a loose ball, securing an offensive rebound, or taking a charge.
You love to see someone who truly practices what they preach.