Ross Hodge Instilling Playing Smart: ‘It’s Not Good Enough Just to Play Hard’

WVU head coach Ross Hodge was mic’d up during a recent practice, offering fans a peak of the new-look Mountaineers at work.

The video below shows Hodge running drills, praising players and giving advice about playing hard and smart.

"𝙄𝙩'𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙞𝙩"

🎙️ @coachrosshodge is on the mic pic.twitter.com/Pcy64FZBG4

— WVU Men's Basketball (@WVUhoops) September 24, 2025

“You gotta merge it. You gotta play hard and you gotta play smart,” Hodge said. “It’s not good enough to just play hard. You gotta think while you’re playing.”

When practice concluded, Hodge left the team with a message about preparing for the upcoming season.

“It’ll be here before you know it, Hodge said. “Gotta stack these days. Gotta make them count.”

This season will be Hodge’s first as the head coach at WVU, marking the fourth coach for the Mountaineers in four seasons.

The WVU roster is full, as Hodge completed the 2025 team with the signing of Evans Barning Jr. on Aug. 26.

Hodge has high hopes for this year’s team, saying he wants to get the Mountaineers back to the NCAA Tournament in an interview with CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein.

“Obviously, want to get back to the NCAA Tournament. I mean, the ultimate goal would be to win a national championship,” Hodge told Rothstein when asked about his goals.

Even though Hodge hasn’t experienced the NCAA Tournament as a head coach, he has won everywhere he’s been and he believes he has a team full of winners.

“Experience matters at this time period, so one thing we’ve tried to do is add guys to our roster who have won and been part of winning, even if it wasn’t winning at West Virginia,” Hodge told WV Sports Now’s Mike Asti about his work in the transfer portal.

Historically ahead of the 2025-26 season, WVU basketball sits as No. 20 as far as all-time wins in college basketball history. West Virginia has reached the NCAA Tournament 31 times, advanced to the Sweet 16 on 11 occasions, the Elite Eight three times and the Final Four twice. WVU has also won a conference tournament championship 13 times and the NIT twice. West Virginia claims the 1942 NIT title as a national championship.

Find more coverage of Ross Hodge and the WVU Men’s Basketball program at WV Sports Now.