If Rob Judson was fatigued during the weekly coach’s corner show on a Thursday night at Fatty’s Pub and Grille, he wasn’t letting it show. The fourth-year NIU men’s basketball coach had returned to DeKalb with his team at 2:30 a.m. the previous night. The next day, he headed to work, ran practice in the early afternoon and sat through a half-hour interview with Bill Baker and Sid Simmons later that evening.

It was 7 p.m., but he was still cheerful. He was still going.

“It’s one of the fun parts of coaching,” said Judson of his weekly radio spot as his bag of carryout cooled on his table in the corner of the restaurant.

Rest wasn’t in sight for Judson. He and the Huskies planned to leave the next day to face Wright State University for his team’s third road game in eight days.

Fatigue doesn’t seem to affect Judson, but being away from his family does.

Still, he sees the long road trips and recruitment-filled summers away from his family as the price he has to pay for living his dream of coaching the game of basketball.

“I’ve been fortunate to be in the state of Illinois my whole career,” he said. “And I’ve enjoyed every stop along the way. Everybody has a purpose in their life. Sometimes it’s not obvious to us what that purpose is, but if you work hard and do the best you can where you are, then you’re going to fulfill that purpose.”

The 46-year-old coach had not always seen his purpose so clearly, but learned to let his purpose come to him.

First playing for his father at Zion-Benton High School, and then the University of Illinois from 1977 to 1980, Judson remembered learning the art of shooting.

“From the time when I was a little kid shooting at a pail with the bottom cut out in our basement up until high school, I took a lot of shots,” Judson said. “The difference between a good shooter and a great shooter is a million shots.”

Judson’s many shots paid off when, as an Illini guard, he set the school’s single-season (.957) and career (.875) free-throw percentage records.

“I had to make a lot of free throws because it was the only place I could get open,” Judson said. “When I was there, I needed to make them.”

NIU assistant coach Donald Whiteside, who played for NIU when Judson was an assistant coach from 1989 to 1991, remembered Judson as his shooting mentor.

“I definitely would consider him a shooting guru,” said Whiteside, who set the NIU single season and career records for three-pointers made. “I had glitches in my shot, and he was real good at pointing those out. He took my shot and simplified it; he taught me how to be a guard.”

After graduation, Judson moved on to coach high school basketball for nine years at Palatine, Wauconda and Glenbrook South high schools.

“I always wanted to be a student of the game, and I did that as a high school coach,” Judson said. “I learned so much. The Chicago area is a great place to be a high school coach.”

In 1989 a new door opened for Judson when he was hired by Jim Molinari as an assistant coach at NIU.

After learning coaching as a high school coach, Judson learned recruiting as an assistant, using his roots in Illinois to his advantage.

For the next decade, Judson climbed the college coaching ladder. After two seasons with the Huskies, Judson moved to Bradley, where he was an assistant coach for five seasons before returning to his alma mater.

After being hired by the Illini as an assistant coach under Lon Kruger, the well-liked Judson helped Illinois to an Elite Eight appearance in 2001. He also had a part in recruiting some of the upperclassmen now on the team.

“He’s a big part of what’s going on at Illinois right now,” said Kruger, who now coaches for the University of Nevada at Las Vegas. “I think he’s helped lay their foundation with his great Peoria and Chicago-area recruiting.”

Still, Judson hadn’t reached his goal of being a college head coach.

“There were some days when it felt like it would be a long time away,” Judson said. “Particularly at Bradley – our first two years were tough. When you go into those hard times, it’s hard to be farsighted.”

Judson chose to let his future come to him, and in 2001, his opportunity came – but so did a challenge. He was offered the job as NIU head coach, but would have to rebuild a team that in the previous year had the worst record in school history.

“Every move we’ve made has been for the better,” said Judson’s wife Kim, who is an assistant professor in NIU’s marketing department. “I’m from Champaign, but moving here was still a very happy move. We are really lucky – because both of us really enjoy getting up in the morning.”

The transition wasn’t easy at first. NIU lost its first three games with Judson as head coach. In his first year, the team finished 12-16, but would shine the following year.

In the 2002-2003 season, NIU got its first postseason win since 1996 with a first-round victory over Buffalo in the MAC tournament, before losing to eventual champion Central Michigan.

This year, Judson’s young Huskies are 7-3 at home, but 4-12 on the road. It is after road losses that Judson actually appears to be fatigued.

“He’s competitive,” Whiteside said. “Whether it’s competing at recreational basketball or in competition, he hates to lose.”

For now, Judson says all his team needs is a shot of confidence. From there, he works on his team one day at a time.

“We’re just trying to do everything we can to get through today,” Judson said. “And we’ll do the same tomorrow.”