Ross Hodge Details Expectations, Goals for First WVU Campaign

Basketball season is closing in. And in just over one month, the newly-named Hope Coliseum will feature the Ross Hodge-led WVU men’s basketball team for the first time in an exhibition game.

What the 2025 squad may look like is up to speculation as of now. However, Hodge has been impressed with his team’s development as of late.

“I think they’ve established like really good routines as a group. It’s a hard working group.
They really support each other. They’ve allowed us to coach them hard and direct and still a lot of learning,” Hodge said in a press conference Thursday.

“But we’ve kind of transitioned to the phase where I like to call it, at least we’re making some new mistakes instead of you want to get to the point where you’re not making the same mistake”

Hodge emphasized bringing in players who know how to win, and it appears he succeeded. Seven of the Mountaineers played postseason basketball in 2025.

Even with proven winners on his squad, Hodge said helping them learn to win together is a different task.

“You’re trying to get your team to understand what is going to be good for us. So much of everything in the recruiting process and even in the summer a little bit is devoted to the individual… And then a lot of the summer you’re trying to improve individual performance and then you start slowly but gradually kind of like merging it into, ‘hey, is this a good shot for player A is a good shot for us?’ You know, that shot for player B may not be that good of a shot for us.”

Even though this is his first year at WVU, Hodge says his mindset is to embrace the challenge of playing in the Big 12.

“I’m just not necessarily wired in a way that sits back and can quantify right now, well, this year one, so it’ll take a little time,” Hodge said. “I know it’s going to be difficult. I know it’s going to be challenging, but whether you’re in year one, or year three, or year four, or year five, I mean, you’re in one of the best basketball leagues in the entire country, if not the best basketball league in the country. So it’s going to be difficult every year.”

With that being said, Hodge is managing the long-term and short-term goals, with championships in mind as the “ultimate goal”

“Your big picture goals are obviously we do want to win a national championship. We do want to win Big 12 championships. That is the ultimate goal. But in that short term, right now, I’m just trying to get our guys to sprint back on defense and call ball and stay in a stance,” Hodge said. “That’s  the micro level. Macro,  that is the big goal, and that is what our goals are. And you got to believe in it. And that’s what we want to do.”

The Mountaineers will take the court together for the first time on October. 26 at the Hope Coliseum against Wheeling for an exhibition matchup. The regular season will start against Mount St. Mary’s on Nov. 4.

Find more coverage of Ross Hodge and  the WVU men’s basketball team at WV Sports Now.