South Florida coach Hodgson's emotions run from tears to touch of anger after NCAA Tournament debut

South Florida’s Brian Hodgson ran the gamut of emotions in making his NCAA Tournament head coaching debut not far from where he grew up, and following an 83-79 first-round loss to Louisville on Thursday. The Bulls' first-year coach’s eyes began to well when senior forward Izaiyah Nelson referred to Hodgson as a father figure. “Really right now I’m just honestly struggling to picture myself coaching this game without him,” Hodgson said of Nelson, who followed the coach to South Florida this year after spending two seasons together at Arkansas State.

“Just to hear what he said about me, I feel the same way about him times a million. ” Hodgson also paid tribute to his parents, Rebecca and Larry Hodgson, who adopted and raised him in Jamestown, New York . The game marked the first time Hodgson’s parents got to see him in person in three seasons as a head coach.

His father has dementia, making it difficult for him to travel to Florida and Arkansas. Buffalo, meantime, is only a 60-mile drive from Jamestown. “Someone sent me a picture of my mom and dad with a big smile on their face,” Hodgson said, before crediting his players for clinching the program’s fourth tournament berth, and first since 2012.

“I’ll never be able to repay these young men, because I didn’t know if or when that would happen for my dad to be able to be here and see me in person and how excited he was,” he added. Hodgson was abused as a child and placed in foster care at the age of 2 before being adopted. He wasn’t the only one taken in by his parents, who also fostered more than 100 children.