Ross Hodge on Roster Development, Mentions Final Scholarship Spot

MORGANTOWN W.Va. – WVU men’s basketball head coach Ross Hodge spoke on the current roster and gave an update on the final roster spot in a press conference Thursday.

The Mountaineers have one roster spot available, which Hodge said he intends to fill and has been working on “daily.”

“We still have one scholarship and we’re working on that, you know, daily,” Hodge said.

While size helps, Hodge said he is looking for the best available player to fill the final spot.

“At this point in time, you’re trying to best available more than anything, but I think, commonly, most basketball fans look at rosters and they always want you to add another big guy, which I get, but I always have to remind people, there’s usually only one really big guy out there on the floor at the time,” Hodge said.

Hodge’s team includes freshman guard Amir Jenkins, who is foregoing his senior year of high school to come to WVU. When evaluating Jenkins, Hodge said it was important to ensure he was ready for the jump to Division I Basketball.

“And I think the biggest thing with, you know, Amir was that he was mentally ready,” Hodge said. “[It] feels that he can contribute at this level, which we obviously believe in that as well. And as much as it is as a physical component to it, it’s really just mentally, are they ready to step out there? And, you know, we felt like he was, and his family certainly felt that way as well.”

The two current Mountaineers who scored the most last season are senior forward Treysen Eaglestaff (18.9 points per game) and senior guard Honor Huff (17.4 points per game). Hodge expects their playing styles to carry over into the Big 12 as they both are efficient shooters.

“The thing is, both of those guys can really shoot the ball, which typically translates. And the can both shoot with range,” Hodge said.

So far, the WVU roster has six players 6-foot-5 or taller, giving Hodge some different choices of lineups.

“You can play big, and then we could actually throw out some really, really big collective lineups… Like, yeah, maybe you’re not playing with two 7-footers, but your collective size across the board positionally,” Hodge said.

“So that’s what I like about our roster is you can play small, you can play big, you can play a couple forwards, you can down size and play a little more of the modern basketball game nowadays.”

Hodge mentioned how members of WVU’s roster have had success prior to arriving in Morgantown. Huff won the NIT Championship with Chattanooga this season and players like senior center Harlan Obioha, junior guard Morris Ugusuk and senior forward Jackson Fields have all played in the NCAA Tournament.

With that, Hodge is trying to find the formula for helping them win together.

“They kind of understand that part of it and what winning takes. And then you’re just trying to get them to understand how are we going to win and how are we going to win together? But you don’t have to teach them how to win necessarily,” Hodge said.

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