Ross Hodge press conference summary post Lafayette
West Virginia head coach Ross Hodge addressed the media following his team’s matchup with Lafayette and here is a summary of what was said.
–Proud of the way his team finished the last couple minutes getting stops and finishing it the right way. He felt like their defensive intensity was pretty good throughout the entire game. They had done a really good job taking care of the ball and forcing some turnovers. They made some tough shots. Had some busted plays at the end of clocks and that was his biggest disappointment with how they couldn’t make physical plays. The Mountaineers had 19 assists on 29 field goals.
–Every team will play you different and they knew they would zone some and double team the post. That was the play Honor Huff got the first shot of the game out of tonight. DJ Thomas did a good job getting to the right spots and scoring the ball.
–Thomas has a great feel for the game and he is a great listener which is a skill. Sometimes the difference between a wide open layup and getting to where you need to be defensively.
–Huff has the ability to get on a roll and hit some tough shots. He made some really difficult shots and and he’s still getting better and has made some better decisions with the ball.
–Typically West Virginia is a low assist defense and there’s a fine line with keeping the ball in front of you if you’re getting beat and funnel it to where you’re getting beat. To their credit they jumped up and made some tough ones.
–The way the game opened up for us led to how they attacked early in the game and then it allowed them to attack inside later.
–When you got a brand new group and couple freshmen they knew it wasn’t always going to be a work of art and knew they were going to try to find a way to grind through games and win them. The students have been great and have carried the load in those home games. They did what they were supposed to do.
–Hodge sees Huff makes those shots all the time. In his experience, whatever happens in practice typically happens in the game. He makes tough shots in practice and when he shoots it he expects him to make it.
—Chance Moore will give them some good defensive size, he’s physical and he’s a downhill driver. He is a high-end athlete and he gets long rebounds, he’s a bull in transition and gives you another downhill presence.
–His team is unselfish and committed to making the right play. They have depth and a lot of it will depend on how their opponents are playing them. It’s easy to look at times and say why isn’t this guy playing as well as they should. Treysen Eaglestaff is being a great teammates, he’s playing really hard on defense and is celebrating his team on the bench. You complain about kids being selfish, but which one is it because the ultimate goal is to win. It’s a team sport. It speaks to the level of connectivity that his team has. They might not ever be a finished product.
–About to find out what type of road team this is but typically if you can defend and rebound you can be a good team on the road. Time will tell if they’re ready to win the game but they’re ready for that next part.
–Hodge didn’t know that Huff was one short of tying the three-point record but if he did he probably wouldn’t have taken him out but he didn’t want to put him back in in that situation.
—Abraham Oyeadier is out right now because he banged his knee so you didn’t have anybody else to play. He just wanted to finish the game the right way and he felt that group did.
–Moore is a different player than what they have right now. Just gives you one more guy that can drive a close out and take one bounce and be at the rim or the basket.
–Thomas is such an even-keel personality and his mother is an awesome lady. He wouldn’t anticipate this changing him at all and at some point they need to have another leading scorer. He wants to play the game to win and his guys do it the right way.
–Every day is a learning experience for this team so this is the next check point in our season and the next chapter in the book. They’re excited for it and they need to play well. They will learn more and more every time out. The experience will only make them better and even in the midst of frustrating times you learn a lot about yourself and now you get a chance to see if you can go do what you want to do if you go to the NCAA Tournament and beat a good team on a neutral floor.
–Not a dream MTE that he wants to play in but going to the Maui Invitational would be pretty cool. Growing up as a college basketball those games are on and late and those soft rims. This is a great one too that they’re going to this weekend because he had the opportunity to go there two years ago with North Texas. This will be a great venue.
–Hodge said he hasn’t thought about starting 5-0 and matching the best start since the 1950s for a first year head coach. They had a great staff that put a good schedule together and team together. There’s some variance in that with who former coaches have played in their first year. You’re just trying to win tonight and have some good treatment tomorrow and good practice on Wednesday and head to Charleston.
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