He had beaten the odds and somehow climbed to basketball's highest level.

He had risen out of a small college and clawed his way through the Continental Basketball League by working tirelessly and loving the game as much as life itself.

But when Troy Hudson returned to his native Illinois last spring following a dreadful first season with the Orlando Magic, he was practically at wit's end. His jump shot had left him, and it seemed as if his passion for basketball wasn't far behind. Poor decisions on the court led to far too many turnovers and had some in the Magic organization wondering if the 6-foot-1, 170-pound guard would ever be able to run the team effectively.

So, for the first time in his life, Hudson shied away from the playground courts, put away his basketball shoes and tried to get his mind off the sport. Instead, the aspiring rap artist buried himself in his music, hoping his bitterness toward the sport that betrayed him would eventually fade.

"In the past, I'd play basketball year-round, every day, all day, but I think I was just burned out," Hudson said. "My music helped me out a lot because I didn't touch a ball for about two months. I just worked on my music and tried to get my mind somewhere else.

"Putting (basketball) down helped me get that hunger back. I stayed in shape by working out, but I didn't touch a ball. I missed it. And when this season started back, I was ready to play again."

The time away from basketball did wonders for Hudson, whose play has improved dramatically this season. His shooting percentage is up dramatically (from 33 percent to 43 percent), his scoring average has nearly doubled (from 4.8 to 9.3) and his assist-to-turnover ratio (130-to-66) is better than 2 to 1. He has gone from being a liability to a weapon off the highest-scoring bench in the NBA. And he's one of the key reasons why the Magic, who host the Atlanta Hawks tonight, have won eight of their past 12 games.

"My comfort level is really high with Troy now," said Magic coach Doc Rivers. "It's from telling Troy that I'm going to trust him. I put him out there and I let him play through his mistakes now."

Rivers, a point guard during his 13 NBA seasons, admits now that he might have been part of the problem when it came to Hudson last season. Hardly a conventional point guard, Hudson always has looked to score first and pass second. His biggest strengths are his blinding quickness and dribbling -- tools that allow him to get to the basket for easy scores. Rivers admits that at times he misused Hudson and tried to force a style on him rather than letting him play more freely.

"I tried to make him run the team and be something that he's not,'' Rivers said. "Now I'm telling him to just play the game. I want him to be aggressive and look for points.

"Troy is a scorer. We don't bring Troy in to run the team; we bring him in to score. I use Troy as a point-guard version of (former Detroit guard) Vinnie Johnson. We bring him in and tell him to get us as many points as he can. That's just who he is because he's not a point guard. He's a scoring guard, so that's the way we use him."

When Orlando traded Chucky Atkins as part of the Grant Hill transaction in August of 2000, the Magic signed Hudson off waivers to back up starting point guard Darrell Armstrong. Orlando soon found out what Utah and the Los Angeles Clippers already knew: Hudson is far from selfish, but he is more of a gunner than a play-maker.

Hudson didn't endear himself to Rivers with his start in Orlando. In his first month with the Magic, he made just 29 percent of his shots and had nearly as many turnovers (14) as assists (18). And things didn't get much better the next two months when he hit just seven of 41 3-point tries and committed another 32 turnovers.

As a result, Rivers became reluctant to play Hudson. He benched him for six games in March, and the added minutes eventually took their toll on Armstrong. Armstrong's 6-foot-1, 180-pound body eventually broke down because of the added stress and he was a shadow of his usual self down the stretch because of a groin injury.

"Even though I struggled last year, I think it helped me learn the position,'' said Hudson, who was Southern Illinois University's all-time leading scorer while playing primarily shooting guard. "The transition is always easier if you just play the way you know how and gradually build up your knowledge of the point guard position.''

Clearly playing with a renewed sense of purpose and more confidence, Hudson went out and saved his job with some solid play. He has scored in double digits 18 times and topped 20 points three times.

But more importantly, Hudson's decision-making has been much improved. Heading into tonight's game, his 130 assists dwarf his 66 turnovers. His progress never was more apparent than Saturday night when he beat opposing point guard Jason Williams and Memphis' zone defense for 18 points and seven assists.

Said Rivers, who often turns to Hudson now at the end of quarters for one-one-baskets: "Troy was amazing. We had Don Reid, Monty Williams, Troy, Jud (Buechler) and (Andrew) DeClercq on the floor and I think we scored 10 times in a row just because Troy was breaking them down and getting us open shots.''

Hudson has no plans of putting basketball aside again anytime soon. But his first rap album _ "Ghetto Fa Shore'' _ is due out in the spring. Music, he said, helped fill the void when basketball briefly left him.

"I'm the type who tries to never get too high or too low,'' he said. "I just feel really free on the court now. When the coach and your teammates have confidence in you that helps you have confidence in yourself. If you miss a shot, it's no big deal now. Now I have confidence to shoot it again and make it. That freedom and trust makes all the difference.''