Defense travels. It’s an often-repeated basketball phase and one that Ross Hodge certainly subscribes to.
North Texas boasted the third lowest scoring defense this past season at just 60.1 points per contest, following a theme of strong play on that end of the floor throughout Hodge’s tenure as the head coach of the Mean Green and even extending back to his time as the associate head coach under Grant McCasland.
That didn’t happen by accident.
It was a decision that Hodge and McCasland made in 2019 to switch up their approach on defense. Once that choice was made, Hodge traveled to Texas Tech where he was able to learn under former associate head coach Mark Adams about the principles of his no-middle defense.
At the time, the Red Raiders had statistically the best defense of the KenPom era and both Hodge and McCasland had seen the scheme first hand going against Adams at the junior college level. But to see it playing out at the highest level possible with Texas Tech made the choice a no brainer.
“We knew that that felt like. It was terrible,” he said.
So, Hodge was welcomed with open arms and was able to learn Adam’s ideology on that end of the floor. It was an approach the North Texas staff quickly adopted and implemented during that time to become one of the stingiest defenses in the country. That choice ultimately played a key role in McCasland eventually landing the Texas Tech job and now Hodge at West Virginia.
“We were a little more bend but don’t break. After that we became a little more aggressive, a little more flexible with the things we can do,” Hodge said.
The reasoning is simple. Looking at the teams that have success at the highest level, many of them are rooted on the defensive side of the ball especially within the Big 12 Conference. Hodge points to the success of Kansas and both Houston and how defense has been at the center for both.
Even back in his playing days, Hodge understood that if he played with grit and toughness on the defensive end of the floor it would help him find a way into the rotation.
The traveling mantra isn’t just a saying either. North Texas has boasted one of the best road winning percentages in college basketball over the past eight seasons and that has largely occurred due to their ability to defend. Hodge plans on carrying that over to his new role atop the West Virginia program.
“We plan on being one of the best defensive teams in the Big 12, which makes us one of the best defensive teams in the country, which gives us an opportunity to play extended basketball in March,” Hodge said.
The reasoning is simple. While shots aren’t always going to fall, if you bring a strong defensive approach every single game you’re going to have a chance every single night. Even at the NBA level, outside of the superstars two of the things that are a necessity are the ability to hit open shots and defend.
“Doesn’t mean we’ll win every game but we’re going to have a chance. Ultimately you recruit good offensive players and get them to buy into playing defense. It’s a lot easier to do that than maybe not skilled players try to turn them into good offensive plyers,” Hodge said.
But that comes down to being flexible, too. During Hodge’s time he’s had teams that have found ways to win with a variety of techniques such as defending the three-point line, guarding twos or ...
