Ross Hodge press conference summary post Mount St. Mary's
West Virginia head coach Ross Hodge addressed the media following the season opener against Mount St. Mary’s Tuesday night and here is a summary of what was said.
–Hodge commended Coach Lind and his group. They lost some key pieces but one of the things they respect the most is whether they were up 20 or down 20 their bench was always engaged and a really connected team. Felt that the difference in the game was the defensive activity with their hands and getting turnovers. They hadn’t come out of halftime well before and today they did.
–Everything is going to be a work in progress for a while. They had some defensive breakdowns and some scouting report mistakes they made and just getting comfortable. The two guys that looked the most comfortable were the two guys that had played for him before. You’re always going to be settling in and the defense is typically ahead of the offense and it was good enough to carry them.
–This matches Jasper Floyd‘s career high and he has the unique ability to understand what his team needs and his calming presence when he could see that his team needed baskets.
–Hodge said that having Floyd and Brenen Lorient kind of bookend you with their placement on the floor and they help to be a buffer for the message. The more you play together and them more you do things together it will look better. They know what they’re saying because they’ve already done it before.
–Hodge said the raw numbers in the rebounding are a little distorted because they turned them over so much and when you’re not shooting free throws at a super high rate they’re in good position to get a rebound.
—Morris Ugusuk is a tough defensive player and he’s smart. He’s tough and +/- doesn’t always tell the story but he gave them some good minutes.
—Treysen Eaglestaff is defending and he’s trying hard. This isn’t his first time coaching really good shooters so maybe it will take a little while to get their legs under them because of the effort they’re exerting on the defensive end of the floor.
–Hodge said that each game is a separate entity to itself. You end up playing lineups that he doesn’t even know if they’ve practiced. You tinker with things and adjust things but you have the core lineup but they’ll figure things out as a group and what works. You’ll see different guys on different nights.
—DJ Thomas and Amir Jenkins are very mature. They have the physical capabilities but they have a mental ability to process information. DJ has grown a lot through Jackson Fields injury but it’s forced him to gain every rep.
–Hodge said he told his team to execute and make simple plays. Fatigue type of turnovers when he took a timeout with around 11 minutes left.
–Hodge doesn’t have any concern over long term free throw shooting because the past is the best indicator of the future and they’ve been able to hit them in the past.
–Mount St. Mary’s hit some tough shots to get the game to six and they had a couple opportunities to not grab balls that ended up costing them. He thought it was settling in player better defense and putting the ball in Floyd’s hands and he’ll make the right decision most of the time.
–Difference in the game was to get in run-outs and score off turnovers.
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