Ross Hodge dives into plan in scouting, more
West Virginia head coach Ross Hodge has a path he follows when scouting prospective players.
That starts with offensive rating, which is a metric that measures shooting percentage from two, shooting percentage from three, free throw percentage, assists, and turnovers.
“If there’s a player that someone gives us a name that has played at the university level, that’s the first thing I’m going to do is get on there and look at their offensive rating,” Hodge said on the 3 Guys Before the Game Podcast.
Team-wise, Hodge wants to observe points-per-possession as he believes it’s a good way to measure defensive efficiency. Sometimes, even better than just the raw data, when scouting.
“None of it tells the complete story but they all tell little parts of the story,” he said. “We’re going to look at points-per-possession, your effective field goal percentage offensively and defensively.”
Hodge also places a big emphasis on doing research on all of the players and finding if they will be equipped to be pushed outside of their comfort zone. It’s a key part of the scouting process.
“Are you going to let us push you past the point of where you’re comfortable? And if there’s kind of like a, you know, there’s a proverb that says, when a student is ready, a teacher will appear, and a lot of that is true. I’ve always said, I’ve never, I’ve never coached a player that didn’t get it, that wanted to get it,” he said.
Hodge understands that what he does on the defensive end has garnered plenty of attention but he also points to the fact that on the offensive end, his teams have been very efficient. At North Texas, his team had the second-best offensive rating in the American Athletic Conference in 2024-25.
Tempo is another aspect that is a little different than the perception.
“You’re really trying to get the best shot you can get. We’re not the type of team that wants to get shots up just for the sake of getting shots up,” he said.
But if those open shots present themselves to the right shooter, that’s when Hodge wants his team to pull the trigger and shoot the basketball. And the primary goal is putting the best players in their best positions.
“Getting everybody to understand what’s going to be a good shot for us? And I do think that can be hard for young players. Shot selection, I always say, is not an equal opportunity,” he said.
__________________________________________
• Talk about it with West Virginia fans on The Blue Lot
• SUBSCRIBE today to stay up on the latest on Mountaineer sports and recruiting
• Get all of our WVU videos on YouTube by subscribing to the WVSports.com Channel
• Follow us on Twitter: @WVSportsDotCom, @rivalskeenan, @wesleyshoe
•Like us on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok
