TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) - Wendell Hudson has been hired as the women's basketball coach at Alabama.

With more than 26 years of coaching experience with both men and women's basketball teams, Hudson succeeds Stephany Smith, who was
dismissed on March 11th after three seasons.

Hudson, a Birmingham native and Alabama graduate, began coaching the Crimson Tide under C.M. Newton as an assistant from 1974-79. He held other coaching positions at North Alabama, Rice, Mississippi and Baylor.

Alabama's first black scholarship athlete of any sport, Hudson was a second-round draft pick by the NBA's Chicago Bulls. He also played for the ABA's Memphis Tams.

Currently, Hudson is Alabama's associate athletics director for alumni relations.

In a statement yesterday, athletics director Mal Moore says when you consider Hudson has excellent basketball contacts throughout the region and the nation "I think Wendell is positioned to greatly help our recruiting efforts."