West Virginia head coach Ross Hodge addressed the media on Thursday during his introductory press conference. WVSports.com provides a summary of what was said.
-- Hodge starts by thanking many people from his family to the WVU administration. He said he talked to both President Gee and incoming President Benson. He said it's a blessing and the last 24 hours have been a whirlwind.
-- The one thing he heats about WVU is the people and Hodge is a people-driven person. he said family is huge for him and he treats his players as such.
-- He views himself as a hard-nosed, blue-collar coach, and that was instilled in him through the people around him. He said he knows the legacy of WVU basketball referencing Jerry West, Joe Mazzulla, Gale Catlett, John Beilein, and Bob Huggins. Said he has a lot of respect for all those guys, referencing interactions with Huggins as well
-- Hodge said the brand of WVU basketball is powerful and he's seen that in recruiting and talking with people over the last week or so since taking the job
-- Hodge said his team will be built on defense. He compared winners in the Big 12 and how they've performed on defense as well as how his North Texas squad has done in scoring defense over the last few years compared to Houston.
-- Hodge said in an era of college athletics that seems so transactional, there are still ways to make it focused on relationships. He said it's about finding people who want to invest in this university and state, saying it starts with surrounding himself with people who care and want to be here
-- In terms of not getting up and leaving after a year, he said this was a hard decision and he's had opportunities to leave in years prior when he was an assistant but didn't. He said his wife has roots in the West Virginia geographical area and he's interested in being at a place where he can connect with the people for a longer time.
-- Hodge said he feels comfortable recruiting nationally and the collegiate landscape has enabled that recently.
-- The portal is open and Hodge has already spent time hitting it. He said no matter if he was WVU's coach or North Texas' coach, he was going to be on the phone recruiting over the last week. He said that's what coaches have to do this time of year and his actions would not have been different if he was here or at UNT.
-- He said his defense gets talked about and rightfully so, however, his team was second in offensive efficiency in his league and multiple players have broken records under him the last two seasons.
-- He does not have a timeline for staffing hires and he will bring some people from UNT to WVU with him. He said he figures there will be a lot of people who have an interest in being on staff and he views it as a puzzle.
-- He said he uses analytics but doesn't live and die by them. He watches the film first, but then he uses the analytics to see if he's seeing what he thinks he's seeing.
-- Hodge said they will respect every opponent they play, but not fear anyone. He knows the caliber of programs in the Big 12.
-- The non-conference schedule will be a collaborative effort and there's not a direct science to it in his opinion. Preaches patience when it comes to scheduling.
-- He said there are tons of resources here for players such as the practice facility and locker rooms and said that's ...
