Ross Hodge Details Difference of Floyd, Eaglestaff in Season Opener

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – WVU Basketball is 1-0 under head coach Ross Hodge with a 70-54 win over Mount St. Mary’s Tuesday.

The Mountaineers were led by senior guard Jasper Floyd with 25 points and a double-double from senior forward Brenen Lorient with 11 points and 13 rebounds. As the two UNT transfers who followed Hodge, he noted how it makes sense they have adjusted well.

“Probably not a super surprise, but the two guys that probably looked the most comfortable on the floor were the two guys that played for me and had been through 40 of these with me prior,” Hodge said in the postgame press conference.

Hodge added the defense has settled in more than the offense, noting that defending was a crucial difference in the game. WVU scored 25 points off turnovers and 19 off fast breaks.

“But thought our overall activity, uh, defensively was probably the difference in the game,” Hodge said. Challenged our guys. Had not came out of the exhibition game and the closed door scrimmage, hadn’t came out at halftime very well. And I thought we came out with a good little push, got a little separation, and did just enough to hang on.”

On the note of Floyd, Hodge commended his level-headed approach to the game, adding he helped the team regroup when it struggled to shoot early.

“Jasper has a unique ability to understand what his team needs in each moment, and again, his calming presence, especially early in the game when we were kinda having a hard time finding baskets, he, you know, he, he sensed that, and, you know, he can, he can do that or he can kind of go into facilitate mode,” Hodge said.

Senior guard Treysen Eaglestaff had a down night from the floor, going 0-for-3 without any field goal attempts in the second half. After scoring 18.9 points per game last season at North Dakota, he scored just one single point in his Mountaineer debut.

However, Hodge has faith Eaglestaff will “settle in” on offense after having a high bar set for him in terms of effort on both sides of the court.

“This isn’t like my first time with coaching really good shooters that maybe it will take a little while to really get their legs under them because of the effort that we’re asking them to exert on the defensive end of the floor,” Hodge said. “And you’re asking them to play harder than he’s ever had to play on that end of the floor. And he wants, he understands that and he’s bought into it. And like all, all good offensive players, the game will open up for him and he’ll settle in and he’ll find a rhythm for sure.”

WVU will take the court again at 7 p.m. Thursday when it hosts Campbell at the Hope Coliseum.

Find more coverage of WVU basketball and Ross Hodge at WV Sports Now.