Ross Hodge adjusts to late-game situations

One of the questions that coaches are often asked is their approach in late-game situations when leading by three on the defensive end of the floor.
Do you foul or play it out with your defense?
West Virginia head coach Ross Hodge isn’t necessarily committed to either approach.
“I’m not married to either. I’m not like a hardcore. I know some people are,” he said. “I think there’s a lot of factors that you could consider.”
Among those are where the game is being played is your team at home or on the road? What is the foul situation on either team and also importantly, can you rebound the basketball?
“Do you feel comfortable rebounding, knowing that if you foul them, they’re probably going to make one or miss one? Can you rebound the miss?”
It’s something that Hodge practices with his team and true to form both situations are gone over. But while it’s a hot-button topic, Hodge can only recall a handful of times that it’s happened to him in his 23 years coaching.
“I think I’ve actually only been in that situation about five or six times,” he said. “Couple times as a head coach.”
One other thing that Hodge has done in those situations is discuss the options with his team to discover what they’re most comfortable doing in those end-game instances. And given his defensive background with how his teams have performed on that end, that answer has been consistent.
“And so those guys typically wanted to say, no, we’ll get a stop,” he said.
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