Ross Hodge Talks Scoring Options, WVU Basketball at Full-Strength

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The WVU basketball win over Mercyhurst Sunday marked the team’s first time taking the court with every player available after senior forward Jackson Fields made his debut after recovering from injury.

“He has a very good voice. I thought he finished well around the basket for not playing a game and then missed a lot of time as it was, but you know, stepped up there, made three free throws, gives you some versatility, he’s another good rebounder and I thought for his first time out it was pretty good,” Hodge said in the postgame press conference.

Fields’ return comes just two games after fifth-year guard Chance Moore came back from sitting out the first five games due to the NCAA’s transfer rules.

Moore made a quick impact, leading the team in scoring with 11 points against Mercyhurst while averaging nine points and 5.7 rebounds per game. As Moore became the team’s seventh leading scorer in just eight games, Hodge is looking for more offensive consistency as WVU has its full roster available.

“You’re not always gonna have everybody playing great on the same night, but if you can just get a little more consistency across the board, then I think you can really start seeing just the evolution of an offense and a little more flow and a little more comfort out there,” Hodge said.

Hodge noted that the defense played well on Sunday, but the offense will need time to reach its potential.

“Everybody wants instant microwavable like results, you know what I mean?  I’m not just like coach speaking, but it’ll take this group a little while in particular. That’s why our defense has gotta anchor us and you know, we’ll be finding ourselves and finding our rhythm and the more they play together, the better they will be,” Hodge said.

WVU basketball will take the court again at 7 p.m. on Wednsesday when it hosts Coppin State at the Hope Coliseum.

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