COLUMN: In NIT defeat, Ross Hodge’s words showed a level of passion that will be appreciated at WVU

MORGANTOWN — TV sets throughout West Virginia were tuned in to ESPN’s coverage of the NIT semifinals Tuesday night for a glimpse of the future.

What we saw of, now, WVU men’s basketball coach Ross Hodge was a swarming defense that guided North Texas to a 15-4 lead over the first nine minutes against UC Irvine.

We saw help defense that led to traps in the half-court. We saw a team that thrived on creating steals and turnovers, while being overly protective of its own offensive possessions.

In the end, yes, we saw that UC Irvine came back for a 69-67 victory, sending the Anteaters — the absolute best nickname in college athletics — to the NIT finals against Chattanooga on Thursday.

In the minutes that followed the game, back in the media room inside Hinkle Fieldhouse, it turns out we learned so much more about who Hodge is as a person than we ever could by watching a 40-minute basketball game.

Normally, postgame interviews are filled with talk of Xs and Os, missed free throws, rebounds or taking advantage of opportunities.

Rest assured, there was plenty of that, and Hodge can talk the game of basketball with the best of them.

But there was also talk of family, of heart and devotion. Not just from Hodge, who arrived in Morgantown on Wednesday to begin his tenure with the Mountaineers, but also from his players.

“You literally do life with these guys and you help them navigate losses with their families,” Hodge began. “You know, we’ve had losses. We’ve had people lose family members this year. We’ve had staff members have kids this year.

“And like, you’re going through all those life experiences with these players, and that’s a big part of our messaging. It’s more important than the basketball part. And what you see on the floor is just, in my opinion, kind of a reflection of how much these guys care about each other, and I would be the biggest hypocrite in the world if I changed.” 

That was a response by Hodge to a question about if he was torn between finishing his season at North Texas and getting started at WVU.

And he wasn’t finished.

“So I was going to stay true to me. I’m always going to be who I am, and I love these guys, man,” Hodge continued. “Obviously you get pulled in a little different directions, but no different than you would be if you’re at North Texas this time of year.

“You’re recruiting the portal and you’re prepping for games. I wanted to give these guys everything I had, and you know, when we told them (about the WVU job) I mean, they were so incredibly happy for me. It was like tears of joy from them.” 

You think there were tears of joy from WVU players when Darian DeVries told them he was going to Indiana? 

Perhaps there were. DeVries had earned his players’ trust and respect. By no means was he some type of insensitive robot.

In 30 years of seeing coaches come and go, though, this is the first time I’ve heard the phrase “tears of joy” used for a coach who was leaving for another job.

“Our motto is stay together all the time, on and off the court and we lead by coach’s example, and his heart is always in the right place,” North Texas guard Atin Wright said. “We follow after him. I personally had no doubt, like he wasn’t going to change when he found out he had got the new job.

“Like he said, we were all happy for him. He’s a great man, honestly.” 

Hodge spent eight years of his life in Denton, six as Grant McCasland’s assistant and the last two as the Mean Green’s head coach.

“We’ve really been through all the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, man, and you do life,” Hodge said. “Your kids come to North Texas, and my son’s five. You know, he’s 13 now. My daughter was nine. You have staff members who have kids, and they get older. You lose a staff member in Nelson Haggerty, which we still talk about every day and use his quotes. You go to NCAA tournaments and you win games and you win NITs and you lose tough losses.

“Met so many people that supersedes anything that you could do on a basketball floor, and it is really hard to even kind of put that into words at this moment.”

Now, I don’t know what level of success Hodge will have at WVU. He may never break .500 or he may win a few Big 12 titles.

If he is able to bring with him to Morgantown that same ability of wearing his passion on his sleeve that he displayed Tuesday night in Indiana, then the guess is Hodge will fit in pretty darned well.