Leader of the Pack
RALEIGH, N.C. – Julius Hodge drove to the basket and scored, then turned to run back on defense. On the way, for a brief moment, he held the Heisman Trophy pose.
It was the North Carolina State Wolfpack guard’s not-so-subtle way of letting everyone know where he thinks he ranks among the elite players in the country, even if he had the wrong sport.
“I feel like I’m the best player in college basketball,” said Hodge, a passionate college football fan. “I was just having a little fun out there, but I believe that.”
He has plenty of evidence to support his brashness.
This month, Hodge became the first player in N.C. State history to reach 1,600 points, 600 rebounds and 300 assists. That type of all-around play helped him win player of the year honors in the Atlantic Coast Conference last season, beating out Wake Forest’s Chris Paul, North Carolina’s Rashad McCants and Duke’s J.J. Redick.
Hodge returned for his senior season, determined to make himself and his 12th-ranked team better.
“To be honest, I didn’t see myself staying in college for four years,” he said. “But I knew that staying for this final year would be the best decision for me and my family and the N.C. State basketball community.
“I really want to win a championship and we’re good enough to do that.”
So far, so good. Hodge is in the top 10 in the ACC in four different offensive categories – scoring average (19 points), rebounding (7.1 per game), assists (six per game) and field-goal percentage (58) – and has helped N.C. State (8-0) to its best start under ninth-year coach Herb Sendek.
Against Liberty, Hodge finished a rebound and an assist short of his second career triple-double. He’s had at least four assists in each game, and that unselfishness has rubbed off on the other players.
“He’s really gone out and played a team game,” Sendek said. “He’s really trying to help his teammates, and they’re trying to help each other.”
Everything hasn’t been perfect. Sendek held Hodge out of the starting lineup against Manhattan for coming late to practice – something Hodge said he didn’t do.
That’s been about the only hiccup to the fast start for Hodge and N.C. State, although neither has been tested. All eight games have been in front of the home fans against mostly undermanned opponents.
A game at No. 18 Washington on Sunday night changes all that. The Huskies (7-1) are off to their best start in eight years behind talented Nate Robinson, a 5-foot-9 guard who averages 22.5 points. UW’s lone loss was to Gonzaga.
Robinson likely won’t match up often with the 6-7 Hodge, but when it does happen, Hodge is ready.
“I know personally I have a target on my chest,” Hodge said. “But I don’t back down from challenges.”
He faces perhaps the biggest challenge in his performance at the free-throw line. A career 78 percent shooter, Hodge has made 36 of 51 (59 percent) this season, including a 6-for-14 effort Wednesday night against Louisiana-Lafayette.
He struggled so badly that the Ragin’ Cajuns were looking to foul him late in a close game.
“It’s crazy,” Hodge said. “But I’m going to continue to work on this in practice, and eventually, they’re going to fall like they did before.”
Hodge has had a hand in helping the Wolfpack stay undefeated, and a large part of it had nothing to do with his play.
Hodge took an instant liking to freshman center Andrew Brackman before the season and helped him get acclimated to life in the ACC, offering praise and criticism when they were needed.
Brackman had a breakthrough effort against Louisiana-Lafayette, finishing with 20 points, four rebounds and three blocks in 23 minutes.
“He’s been great,” Brackman said of Hodge. “When you do something right, you hear about it, and when you do something wrong, you really hear about it.
“Even though he doesn’t play my position, he’s helped me out a bunch.”