Grant McCasland Gives High Praise to WVU Basketball HC Ross Hodge

No. 13 Texas Tech topped WVU basketball 70-63 on Sunday in Morgantown, and Red Raider head coach Grant McCasland gave a shining endorsement of Mountaineer head coach Ross Hodge.

He didn’t not mince his words when describing how equipped he believes Ross Hodge is for the WVU job.

“He is built for this in a way that I cannot explain. It’s one of the toughest, most resilient, demanding people in the right way. And he believes in people in a real way and it’s not tied to hoops,” McCasland said in his postgame press conference..

McCasland and Hodge have a long history together, from coaching against each other at the JUCO level to being on the same coaching staff for seven seasons, leading to Hodge taking the reigns of North Texas from McCasland after he left for Texas Tech in 2023. He described their reunion as emotional for him.

“There’s a lot of emotions. I love his family and his mom was here, his sister was here, his wife texts my wife,” McCasland said. “And it’s just, when you do life with people in a real way and you’ve done things that have never been done at universities, there’s just a lot that goes into it.”

After being near him for so long, McCasland has faith Hodge will move WVU in the right direction quickly.

“Obviously have so much respect for Coach Hodge, he’s like a brother to me,” McCasland said. “And I know he’s gonna move this program in a real way quickly. It’s what he’s always done and there’s nobody I respect in this more than him.”

WVU basketball will take the court again when it visits UCF at 6 p.m. on Saturday.

Find more coverage of WVU basketball at WV Sports Now.