Ross Hodge press conference summary post Pittsburgh
West Virginia head coach Ross Hodge addressed the media following the win over Pittsburgh and we provide a summary of what was said.
–Hodge felt like they did a really good job of executing what they asked their guys to do. They kept them off the foul line and they came into the game plus 13 in the rebounding margin. They kept the ball in front of them and out of the paint. They defended well all night long and West Virginia had good looks that didn’t go down early. DJ Thomas really settled in and made some big plays. He challenged his team to have a couple possession lead heading into the second half and this time played well out of the break and closed strong.
–The maturity of the team was on full display. They never shyed away about how important this game was but at the same time they knew when the ball tipped they had to execute and play within themselves. They only turned the ball over six times in that environment. They really settled in and they went on a run and the crowd got behind them and it was really fun to be a part of it.
–Hodge has known Jeff Capel for a long time but the Mountaineers are balanced and Harlan Obioha and Brenen Lorient both have the ability if you play them one-on-one good things can happen. Tonight was a testament to the work that Obioha did in the summer. Obioha got really deep position and once he gets his hands on it he can get it to his chin and finish it.
–Without Chance Moore and Jackson Fields they have to be really smart without fouling and they challenged them to rebound the ball.
–Hodge was thinking through so many scenarios in his head and was focused on his energy and where his team’s focused was so he didn’t really pay much attention to what was happening with Pitt.
–Hodge wanted to share that moment at the end of the game with the fans were he let out a scream. This game means a lot to him but it means more to those fans that have been to so many Backyard Brawls.
–Every game is hard for different reasons and the moment it’s easy, it’s not. There’s misery and relief in coaching and there isn’t much in-between. He was excited for the fans and the players and he was excited with how his team executed in that type of environment.
–There were times they could squeeze the floor in ball screen coverages but they were able to really shrink the floor and get deflections and run outs. They wanted to keep the ball out of the paint.
–Hodge said that they were getting good looks that didn’t go down and Pitt made some difficult shots. Going through some of these earlier games you still feel that game pressure maybe even a little more in tight games and that can benefit you in later games. When Pittsburgh made the late run there wasn’t any panic. He felt that his team is a mature group and they allow them to coach them. They knew they haven’t started halfs great but they took it on themselves to carry that level of intensity and get easy baskets.
–Obioha is a ball of energy and he’s talked to him about having a better reserve on his energy dumps. He has a great personality and is very engaging and loves playing basketball. He always wants to eat both literally and metaphorically, he’s a large man. They want to establish him down there early on to see what teams are going to do.
–Both of the freshmen are light years ahead of where typical freshmen are from a maturity standpoint and they’re both great listeners.
–Hodge said he heard Sweet Caroline and while he tried to stay locked in to the moment but there were a couple times where his mind wondered that he wanted to hear Country Roads and Sweet Caroline with 14,000 people in here. Hodge said the reality lived up to what he expected. He wants to enjoy this one and you can’t give it back on Monday now.
–Hodge said you hope the maturity of your team and so many of the players and himself included have been on both sides of it. These guys have won big games before. They do have bigger goals. It can be a really big game and regardless of what happened with the outcome no trophies have been handed out. They haven’t won the Big 12.
–Everybody had their part in it but Jasper Floyd had a steadying influence and never got rattled. They made really simple plays all night long. He said the execution level over the course of the 40-minutes was good.
–Hodge hopes this is a game that he can point to in order to show the defensive execution.
–Hodge said that Fields is getting close. Doesn’t know if he will be ready for Monday but he’s getting close and they want to be protective of him. They want him almost over ready.
—Treysen Eaglestaff is still processing a lot and they just want him to be him. Teams are just standing players next to him and Huff which opens up the game for other people and his time will come.
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