Ross Hodge talks redshirting in today's college game
The game of college basketball has continued to change and West Virginia head coach Ross Hodge has had to adapt to it.
One area that is especially true is with roster management.
The days of bringing in a freshman class that will stick together and become the nucleus of a team over the course of their careers has become rarer in the current climate. That is forcing coaches to rebuild rosters on the fly through the transfer portal with massive turnover each off-season.
It’s just become a part of the game and one that is challenging to navigate when mixing those freshmen into the rotation given their lack of experience.
But freshmen still have a role in the makeup of rosters although how they’re managed has shifted quite drastically over the years. In the past, if a freshman wasn’t ready to see the floor they would often be redshirted in order to allow them to develop.
Now, the process has become expedited to the point where the concept of redshirting almost seems archaic. It can still occur, but the focus now has shifted to getting the most out of every roster piece.
“The chances of bringing a high school kid in, redshirting them, seeing them develop from one year to the next, to the next, to the next all the way through and having them in your program for five years is probably not going to happen until some things change,” Hodge said.
Redshirting can still be an option for some players but it’s often a case-by-case deal and depends on the structure of the current team.
“If you had a freshman and the family just didn’t feel he was ready or maybe there wasn’t going to be any minutes available to them then maybe you do consider it,” he said.
It’s something that Hodge will keep in his back pocket, but typically something that he will only deploy in the time being if it’s going to put a freshman in a difficult spot where they’re playing minimally and being docked a full-year of eligibility for that time on the floor.
It’s just another hurdle for coaches to clear while managing a roster but one that is critical when determining the path of development for young players.
