Ross Hodge press conference summary 11-12
West Virginia head coach Ross Hodge addressed the media ahead of the Pittsburgh game and here is a summary of what was said.
–Hodge said that he hasn’t gone up as much against Pittsburgh in recruiting yet. But they have played against some of the players. He has a tie with Jeff Capel when he got the head coaching job at Paris J.C. When he was there, Capel was at Oklahoma and recruited a player from his school and got to know him.
–Pittsburgh has done a really good job of getting to the foul line and they’ve made more free throws than their opponents have attempted which is a good sign. They’ve defended well. They’re still playing similar to what they have in the past with four-out.
–Like anything what you would like to have is defensive versatility the same way you would on offense. You have to identify what you’re opponent is trying to do and their strengths and you’ll make some small adjustments to what they’re trying to do. There is variance game to game. You try to take away what teams do which can create other issues but you always want versatility with what you’re doing. Long term Hodge believes that this team has a chance to be very versatile. They’re still learning, growing and figuring out what their strengths are going to be but those three games in six days challenged them and gave them a chance to learn.
—Brandin Cummings has an injury but until you hear otherwise you always have to assume that they’re going to play. You have to be prepared for him to play.
—Camren Corhen is playing at an extremely high level. He can spread you out and make some threes but one guy is never going to shut one guy down particularly when you’re talking about pick and roll basketball which he is good at. They do a good job moving him around.
–Hodge told his players that they don’t have to live in this black and white world with no in-between. You can’t shy away from the fact that this is a big game and it doesn’t take long to realize how important it is to so many people in the state and the university. But regardless what happens after tomorrow night there’s still a lot of games left and more. They aren’t shying away from it because that isn’t reality but the long term goals it’s not a formality after tomorrow night. They have to embrace it and play with emotion but not emotional and try to execute.
–Hodge said there isn’t an educational process because you don’t have to be here long to realize it. The players got to experience it at the Pitt football game this year. You can’t allow it to get outside of your character and you can’t let the game break you down you have to execute. It’s a blessing to play in these type of games and he’s looking forward to the challenge.
–Hodge said the biggest difference for an in-conference rivalry and an out-of-conference rivalry is that you can play them again. This is the only opportunity you have to play them here and there is something awesome about playing true home/road games.
—SMU is in Highland Park which is 25-minutes from Denton they had played each other in football but hadn’t played each other in basketball in 25-years. When North Texas joined the American they game had to happen and it meant a lot to a lot of people there. Everyone has played in games that were very important to them but it might not be as equally important to other people. He hasn’t coached in this game but he has coached in big games in his career.
–Hodge said that anytime your high school recruiting you want to start as close to home as you can and even if you don’t get them on the front side maybe you can a few years later. Morgantown is close to so many major metropolitan cities. You’re never going to say no to a good player and if it happens to be close to your proximity even better.
–Hodge is looking forward to learning from the experience tomorrow and growing through it with the atmosphere. The noise level is so high that when you’re on defense and they’re on offense there isn’t as much cadence communication and to be able to verbalize your calls and cues you have to be ready. You can get away with it in a quieter gym but you have to use your voice defensively.
—Chance Moore has had secondary scrimmages with some of the lower minute guys and extra conditioning in. He’s a full participant and this game tomorrow was kind of a hard date already but the Campbell game they squeezed in there and the Lafayette game they squeezed in there to get Moore back as quickly as they could after five games. Jackson Fields is still day-to-day he’s been a full participant in practices and he has participated in those scrimmages as well. You want to make sure he is getting the proper build up to protect not just his wrist but the rest of his body. You’re not practicing as much with three games in six days so you’re trying to get him comfortable. They’re still talking about whether to dress him.
–Hodge said they initially needed games to improve and learn about themselves and magnify some weaknesses and after that stretch they needed some rest and to get back out on the practice floor. Get their legs under them a little bit and clean up some things.
–Hodge said the signing period itself is a little longer now. There’s not as much urgency to get the letter of intent in today. There’s a bigger window and it’s different. It’s all very fluid in recruiting now and what’s true today might not be true tomorrow.
–Rebounding will be huge because Pitt is +13 on the glass. A lot of that comes from their ability to drive the ball and get to the foul line and be aggressive. They can put rim pressure on you and if you’re constantly in rotation you open yourself up for some offensive rebounding.
–Hodge said that it isn’t a knock on any of the previous opponents because each team challenges you in different ways but this is the best team of the four from a talent and production standpoint. It’s a great test and what they need at this moment. It’s an opportunity to step up and it will be an incredible environment. They’re excited about it and look forward to playing the game and he believes they’ll be a better basketball team for the 40-minutes they get in that environment against that team.
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