Daily Dose of Crimson Tide: Wendell Hudson

When Wendell Hudson originally said yes to Alabama, becoming the first black athlete under scholarship at the school, his low-key signing party in the heart of Birmingham included just Kool-Aid and cookies.

The first time he walked into the Bryant Hall cafeteria to eat with the other athletes, the closer he got to the meal being served the quieter the room became. But then he noticed that all of the workers, who were black, were all smiling. They piled up his plate like he was boxer Deontay Wilder trying to gain some extra weight for his upcoming heavyweight title bout.

Hudson didn't know it at the time, but he was just beginning to be a pioneer at the school. He came back to be an assistant coach, and was the university's first black head coach when he led the women's basketball program from 2008-13.

On the 50th anniversary of becoming the first black scholarship athlete at Alabama, he was the first to have his jersey retired.

Alabama had been talking about retiring the first jersey in program history for more than a year, and once the decision was made there really was no debate about which number would be hoisted to the rafters.

"He was the obvious choice," athletic director Greg Byrne said.

Running back Wilbur Jackson (1971-73) was the first black football player to accept a scholarship at Alabama. Offensive lineman John Mitchell (1971-73) was the first to play.

Helping pave their way were the five black walk-on players who participated in the 1967 spring practices: Dock Rone, Arthur Dunning, Melvin Leverett, Andrew Pernell and Jerome Tucker.

But Hudson was the pioneer.

“There’s nobody who understands, because he’s the first,” said former All-American center Sylvester Croom, who was the SEC's first black head football coach at Mississippi State.

The players who followed him also made their mark, including T.R. Dunn, Charlie Russell, Charles Cleveland, Leonard, Anthony Murray, Rickey Brown, Reggie King …

Fifty years later, they’re still coming.

“He paid the way for guys like me,” said guard Kira Lewis Jr., who was recruited out of Meridianville, Ala. “Without him, I’m probably not here.”

Hudson's high school team won the first integrated state championship.

He averaged 19.0 points and 12.9 rebounds over his Crimson Tide career and was twice named the SEC Player of the Year (1972-73), the first Alabama player to land the award.

Hudson was the SEC's leading rebounder in 1971-72, topped the league in scoring in 1972-73 and landed All-American honors in 1973.

He was selected in the second round of the NBA Draft in 1973 by the Chicago Bulls, he went on to also play for the Memphis Tams of the ABA.

And now his No. 20 is displayed in the rafters at Coleman Coliseum, along with the basketball program's greatest achievements.

“Change is not a bad thing,” Hudson said was what he learned over the years. “But it can be hard.”