North Carolina State University Athletics
Hodge About to Join Elite Company
2/28/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 28, 2005
Four years into his college career, Julius Hodge's shot remains unorthodox and he's still more skin and bones than muscle.
So how is it that the 6-7 skinny guy from Harlem is approaching some select company in the Atlantic Coast Conference, one normally reserved for silky shooters or dominating big men?
Hodge is 82 points shy of 2,000 for his NC State career with at least four games left on the Wolfpack schedule. On his current scoring pace of 17.8 a game, he'll soon be joining Rodney Monroe and the great David Thompson as the only NC State players to reach that scoring milestone.
"To score 2,000 points and not be a great outside shooter is a tremendous accomplishment in this league," Maryland coach Gary Williams said. "Julius earns his points on the glass with second shots, he's tough driving with the ball and he forces players to foul him.
"He figures out ways to score. It's a big thing if you know how to get the ball into the basket. It doesn't have to be done a certain way and that's what Julius has done."
Hodge has been more consistent than flashy on the scoring end, getting at least 30 points just twice in his career -- both in ACC Tournament games. He's often more interested in sharing the ball -- and winning -- than his point total.
Hodge is just one of four players in ACC history to have at least 1,900 points, 700 rebounds, 400 assists and 150 steals. The others are Danny Ferry, Grant Hill and Bob Sura.
"Julius is a scorer and a playmaker, so he not only has scored a lot of points but he's been responsible for a lot of points with his assists and movement in NC State's offense," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "Their offense is ideally suited for Julius and his talent, but you can't score 2,000 points without being really good for a four-year period."
There is some debate about how Hodge will fare at the next level.
What position will be play?
Is he strong enough?
Does he have a good enough outside jumper?
Florida State's Leonard Hamilton coached in the NBA, and while he wouldn't comment specifically on Hodge's draft potential, he did predict that the Wolfpack senior would be successful at the next level.
"Julius has matured tremendously as a player," Hamilton said. "The thing that has impressed me the most about Julius is that he's one of those few youngsters that has figured out that not only does he need to perform well himself but he improves the talent around him.
"He seems to have gotten into a groove this year where he is doing all the little things, the dirty work -- he's passing the ball, moving without the ball, defending, rebounding -- and when the time comes for him to step up he does. I've been impressed with his ability to understand he has to do things other than score. He has become more and more of a complete player. Those guys are rare, guys who just play the game the right way. It's going to give him an opportunity to continue playing basketball for a long time. "
The recruitment of Hodge, a top 10 player out of high school, was a turning point for coach Herb Sendek and his program. Heading into Saturday's game against Virginia Tech, the Wolfpack has won 33 ACC games since Hodge arrived in Raleigh. The four-year total pre-Hodge was just 22.
"Julius has certainly uplifted us in so many different ways -- both on the off the court," Sendek said. "He has been a real special player for NC State. When we look back he will be among the truly great players to have played here at NC State." Much of Hodge's success stems from his versatility. His long arms give him an advantage around the hoop, along with his uncanny ability to be better with his left hand than right.
"That's the real key to his success; he is so unique," Sendek said. "There are just not a lot of guys who play the way he does. He does present some matchup problems because of his uniqueness and his size."
Virginia coach Pete Gillen added: "He's tough to guard because for a big guy he's too quick and for a guard he's too big. He can hurt you driving past you on the perimeter and he can hit an outside shot and he can post up and get to the free throw line." Hodge already holds the NC State career record for free throws made, a testament to his ability to beat players off the dribble, get to the basket and be fearless in the paint.
"When I do that the lane is like a big ocean and I just try to take advantage of it," Hodge said.
On the mental side, Hodge more than comes across as NC State's inspirational leader, at times almost willing his team to victory.
"He is a tone setter for NC State," Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser said. "If you look at the total number of ACC victories in the four years since he's been at NC State not many schools have more victories than NC State. That's a real tribute to Herb Sendek and to Julius Hodge. It's nice that he scores the baskets, but winning is the bottom line and Julius has done that." Illian Evtimov, Hodge's close friend, marvels at how consistent his teammate has been through the years.
"Anytime you can score 2,000 points in the ACC that speaks for itself," Evtimov said. "He's come here and done some big things. He's a big reason why the program has turned around the last couple of years."
"I will always feel like I could have done more here," Hodge said. "But scoring 2,000 points would be something that I could show my children some day."
David Droschak was named the North Carolina sportswriter of the year in 2003 and retired from The Associated Press after 21 years to form the public relations firm Hughes-Droschak Communications. Droschak wrote more than 15,000 stories during his two-decade career with the largest news gathering organization in the world. His columns appear on the ACC's official web site, The ACC.com.
