Ross Hodge press conference summary 9-25
West Virginia head coach Ross Hodge addressed the media in a press conference to open practice and WVSports.com provides a summary of what was said.
–Hodge said he got to experience the Backyard Brawl for himself and it was awesome. He said he didn’t wade into the deep end of the Blue Lot but he got to experience that.
–Hodge said they’ve established good routines and it’s a hard working group. There is a lot of learning but right now they’ve transitioned to the phase where they are making some new mistakes not the same ones. It’s a fun group to be around. There are some guys that have made some big strides such as Harlan Obioha who has lost around 30-pounds and added some muscle mass.
–Hodge said he hasn’t found out as much yet but when you really start learning about yourself is when you start playing other people. You can get better but when you start playing other people is when you start figuring your team out.
–Hodge said that when he was playing not long ago you played more. You didn’t work out as much, you played. You weren’t necessarily working on a specific skill. They play so much now in a controlled environment. Hodge said that they’re always in a very controlled environment where not that long ago you were playing pickup games at the rec or parks or open gyms and you called next. At the time you picked who you thought would win and you had to earn your right to it.
–First thing that jumps out about Obioha is the way he looks. He is lighter and he has incredible hands and feet. Great touch and now he is able to be a little lighter on his second jump and it allows him to play longer stretches of quality basketball.
–Hodge said there has to be a baseline talent that you’re looking for obviously but what they try to identify is people that have been part of winning teams. If you’re on a championship level team or program you understand that it’s not just about you and you understand the traits it takes to win. They tried to identify that in the portal class and now you’re trying to merge those people together here.
–Personality traits and competitiveness and people that legitimately love the game of basketball and other people are non-negotiable type of traits. You aren’t going to be married to a strict ideology on how you want to play. You do have things you aren’t going to bend on but once you get those guys it’s about what gives the team the best chance to win on a nightly basis.
–Hodge said that he has to push back a little bit on the idea that he can’t win the Big 12 with a bunch of new players. It’s difficult to win one game in the league and it isn’t lost on him how difficult it is but there is a way to win each game that you play and starting with the opener you’re really just trying to figure out how to win each game. The ultimate goal is to win National Championships and Big 12 Championships but it starts with just learning what they need to do. He isn’t wired in a way that sits back and quantifies right now this is year one it will take a little time. He knows it’s going to be challenging because it’s one of the best basketball leagues in the country but it’s going to be that way every year.
–Slowly but surely Hodge is figuring out strengths and how can they get guys to play to their strengths and enhance their strengths. They need to figure out what is going to be good for them. So much of everything in the recruiting process is devoted to the individual. But you have to slowly and gradually merge it into the team. Hodge is letting it play out in practice but they have a smart and mature group.
–Hodge said that you ask difficult questions for players in the transfer portal. You don’t not ask questions you might not want to know the answer to. A player might fit the physical attributes and the talent level but you can skip over some of the other things such as locker room fit and how he responds to difficult coaching. It’s a small profession so you can find out about players outside of the statistics. A formula that Hodge believes in is the makeup of the individuals assuming there is a baseline of talent requirement.
–Hodge said that DJ Thomas and Amir Jenkins fit a lot of the same qualities that they are talking about. There is a physical requirement but a lot of it is mental. What is going to give DJ Thomas a chance to be a very good player for a long time is his ability to listen, comprehend and do. It sounds simple but it’s not. Amir Jenkins has won a lot as well now it’s about being caught up to the speed and physicality.
–Those two freshmen don’t look like freshmen out there playing.
–Honor Huff and Treysen Eaglestaff bring shot making ability and their range to shoot it opens up a lot of space for others on the floor. Both of them are underrated passers and are unselfish to the point he wants them to be more selfish. If they can see the rim they need to shoot it.
–Hodge respects when parents ask tough questions to him as well. He wants them to be able to ask difficult questions whether it’s in the recruiting process or here. You ask the question, he provides the answer and then you have to move forward. But sometimes guys don’t want to ask the question because they don’t want the answer.
–Hodge said the experience shows up early and they’ve been part of quality programs. They understand what it’s like at this level and the process that comes along with that. The first thing young players embrace is the weight room and the next thing they learn is they learn how important treatment is post and pre treatment. The last thing is their diet. That’s the evolution of a college player.
–Hodge said you skip some steps with having a roster that’s experienced because you don’t have to spend as much time trying to teach them how to practice.
–Hodge said it was cool to be opening the entire Big 12 slate on a Friday they are the stand alone Big 12 game so that jumped out as a unique opportunity. It’s cliche he does think it can be overwhelming if you look at the totality of it so he doesn’t look at that.
–The season is a journey and they are spiritual journey’s in their own way with highest of highs and lows. You’re running a marathon but it’s at a sprinters pace with how rosters are constructed. It goes by really fast and that’s an advantage of having those seniors.
–Jackson Fields can run, can shoot and is still a couple weeks away from getting the pins out of his wrist but it’s his non-shooting hand. He tries to mimic as many drills without a ball. That’s kind of where he is and it’s trending positively.
–Hodge said with the success they had at North Texas they always had great people around them. The external pull and even just that part of the job is different. The basketball part doesn’t feel different.
–You start with guys being eligible quickly with older players in the transfer portal. Every time they’ve set the rules to play by. There was some precedence with Chance Moore and similar cases and he felt that with similar cases and the support he had from previous schools that there was a good chance what happened was going to happen. Moore is an incredible rebounder and has great versatility. The best teams have different ways to win games and if you have versatile lineups that gives you different ways to win.
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