By Bobby Narang
Former Northern Illinois University men’s head basketball coach, Rob Judson, continues to add to an impressive coaching career.
Judson completed his third season on the Marquette University staff in Milwaukee. A member of the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame as a player at both Zion-Benton High School and the University of Illinois, Judson’s been involved as a coach on the collegiate level for three decades. His name is well known throughout Illinois, with his father, Phil, and uncle Paul leading small-school Hebron to a single-class State championship victory over Quincy in 1952 and success at the University of Illinois.
Despite his vast experience, Judson, 62, is nowhere close to the end of his coaching days. Judson remains in excellent health and has adapted his coaching style to become a valuable member of Marquette’s staff.
Through the years, Judson has coached at three high schools in the Chicagoland area, Palatine, Wauconda, and Glenbrook South, and been an assistant at Northern Illinois, Bradley, Illinois, Illinois State and Indiana. He was as regular contributor for four years at Illinois as an assistant for head coach Lou Henson.
“I’m continuing to grow my craft,” Judson said. “Marquette is a great place for me. I consider myself a lifelong learner. I want to learn what I can every day, to be ready if I get the chance to be a (head) coach on my own again.
“It’s been a good journey. College basketball is very fluid and competitive and really fuels me and gives me the enjoyment to compete at that level and allowed me to work with some unbelievable people along the way and make a lot of friends. (Basketball) has been very good and rewarding. I feel blessed to be at the places I’ve been at and hopefully I can keep doing it for a number of years.”
Judson admitted the current challenge of coaching during the COVID-19 pandemic is difficult because the Marquette campus is closed and coaches can’t meet with players. But, Judson said he’s welcomed the challenge of learning new tricks of the trade and blending his old coaching tactics.
“The campus is closed and we can’t travel now, but it’s a neat time because I’ve always been a lifelong learner,” Judson said. “I study different teams, new (defensive) coverages, new ways of scoring the basketball and using different set alignments. But the time-tested concepts and fundamentals will always be there. It’s a great challenge right now. This is a time of sabbatical to study and learn more about the game and improve on your craft.”