WVU Basketball
Prominent Coach Feels WVU Will Benefit from Brenen Lorient’s Improvement at UNT
Brenen Lorient, the newest Mountaineer, impressed his former coach with how much he grew at North Texas under Rodd Hodge last season.
Lorient, who committed to WVU Tuesday, is following Hodge from UNT to West Virginia after a breakout junior season with the Mean Green.
Before his time at UNT, Lorient spent two seasons at Florida Atlantic under now-Michigan head coach Dusty May, one of the people WVU athletic director Wren Baker called to consult when deciding to hire Hodge.
“He talked about competing against Ross Hodge and what a great coach he was and how tough his teams were,” Baker said of his conversation with May. “How he always thought they maximized their ability.”
One of those players Hodge got the most out of was Lorient, who was named first-team All-AAC and the AAC Sixth Man of the Year after last season.
During their conversation, May told Baker he was impressed by how much Lorient improved.
“He said ‘I watched that player’s growth this year and from afar I admired it. (Hodge) got more out of him than I could,’” Baker relayed.
May also offered an endorsement of Hodge when WVU announced his hiring on March 26.
“West Virginia is hiring one of the best young coaches in the country. Ross possesses the grittiness, emotional intelligence and humility to be successful at any level of basketball. He has won at every stop, and I can’t imagine that changing in Morgantown. I couldn’t be more excited for Ross and his family.”
Lorient averaged 0.8 and 2.2 points per game in two seasons at FAU, playing in 52 games. In 36 games at UNT last season, he averaged 11.7 points and 4.9 rebounds, shooting 56.9% from the floor.
At the time of his commitment, Brenen Lorient was the second player to join Hodge’s first transfer class at WVU.
