WVU Basketball
Ross Hodge Explains Biggest Difference Between West Virginia and North Texas

Ross Hodge has been in Morgantown for just under two months, but WVU’s new basketball coach has already noticed a major difference from his last job.
Talking to CBS Sports’s Jon Rothstein on his Eye on CBB Podcast, revealed the biggest difference he’s experienced between being the head coach at WVU and North Texas.
“Being in Denton (Texas) for eight years, you’re just north of Dallas so you’ve obviously got the Cowboys, Mavericks, Stars and other major universities,” Hodge began. “Then you come to West Virginia and there are no pro sports teams around.”
Hodge was the head coach at UNT for the last two seasons and an assistant with the Mean Green for six seasons before that.
“You go from a relatively anonymous life to not much anonymity anymore in Morgantown,” he said with a laugh. “That’s probably been the biggest personal difference from the last month.”
Other than the attention he’s receiving, Hodge said this spring has been pretty similar to what he experienced at North Texas.
“Recruiting the portal kind of feels the same,” he said. “You’re dealing with a little bit different level of players and some of the factors that go along with that, but that part you’re doing no matter where you are.”
Hodge had to hit the transfer portal hard when he was hired as he was tasked with completely rebuilding WVU’s roster. So far, Hodge has signed eight transfers and two high school recruits, although he has said numerous times there is room for a couple more moves.
Ultimately, the biggest change between WVU and UNT is something that Hodge might not realize until the season begins. Hodge and his coaching staff are moving from Conference USA with North Texas to the Big 12, regarded as the county’s top basketball conference.
Hodge recognizes the difference in competition, but also said that tougher opponents also provide better opportunities.
“It’s what we all want to do, you want to play against the best, compete against the best, and play in the best venues,” Hodge said. “The thing it provides you the most is opportunities and as a coach, as a player, as a competitor that’s what you want. You want the opportunity to put yourself in position to have success in late March.”
For a related story, Ross Hodge isn’t afraid to set high expectations ahead of his first season at WVU.