North Carolina State University Athletics
Hodge Jersey to Be Honored
9/2/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Sept. 2, 2005
RALEIGH, N.C. - Julius Hodge, the third-leading scorer in NC State history, will have his jersey hanging in the rafters of the RBC Center when the Wolfpack begins the 2005-06 season. The first-round NBA draft pick of the Denver Nuggets will be honored between the first and second quarters of Sunday's football game against Virginia Tech.
Hodge played more minutes in his career than any player in NC State history, with 4,258. He tallied 2,040 points during his years in the red and white, trailing only David Thompson and Rodney Monroe. The Harlem, N.Y., native led the Wolfpack to four consecutive NCAA Tournaments, including last year's Sweet 16 appearance and he was the 2004 ACC Player of the Year.
Hodge is the 19th NC State player to have his jersey honored.
Quotes from Julius Hodge and coach Herb Sendek.
What will it mean to see your name in the rafters?
Hodge: "It'll be a great honor just to look in the rafters and see the David Thompsons and Tommy Burlesons, and then be able to see my jersey. I think it's a great thing."
Are you looking forward to being honored in front of so many people at the football game?
Hodge: "Definitely. I'm really looking forward to being out there on the football field in front of all our fans. I'll probably throw on a Derek Morris jersey, and then afterwards get ready to see the Wolfpack get the Hokies."
What was your reaction when you found out your jersey would be honored?
Hodge: "I just felt jubilation. I thought all the hard work I put in for four years paid off. I'm going to try to do the same thing I did in college at the next level."
What have the last few months been like since draft night?
Hodge: "It's been more work than people think. I've been going from this place to that place doing a lot of appearances. Most of the time I've been in Denver working out; I usually get in the gym at about nine in the morning and don't get out until two in the afternoon. The rest of the day I'm sleeping because I'm tired. It's been tough the last few months."
You had surgery on your knee. How's that coming along?
Hodge: "It's definitely behind me now. I know I'm strong mentally, so I got past it pretty fast. It happened on the court a couple of months ago. I know I'd been feeling pain in it for a while now, but I just played through it."
In terms of positions, what do you and coach George Karl talk about in Denver?
Hodge: "Coach Karl said he's definitely going to play me at some point guard, some shooting guard. At small forward defensively I'm going to get a lot of those matchups. It's pretty much like what I was doing here. As long as I work hard, he says I'm going to be on the court.
Do you ever talk to Karl (a UNC alum) about ACC basketball?
Hodge: "That's all coach Karl does is talk about Carolina. I can't stand it. He's definitely got a lot of State jokes and I say `come on coach, that's what I do. I can get on you guys.' He's my boss, so whatever he says goes."
NC State head coach Herb Sendek's comments on Hodge's jersey ceremony at the football game:
"Once guys are playing professionally, it's very difficult to get them back between 82 regular season game [in the NBA]. There are more people at a football game; it's going to be a great atmosphere. It's going to be a great night and we're going to be able to honor him the right way. I think in Julius' case, the decision to honor his jersey was self evident. The numbers that he produced and the way he won during his career made this decision an obvious one. It was just a matter of when.
"He was a great player for us. He certainly carved his special place in NC State basketball history, and really was a great ambassador for our university off the court. He did a lot of things in the community, always had time for people and did a lot of things that went unnoticed that meant a lot to our school and our basketball program in addition to his tremendous play."
