Ross Hodge press conference summary: BYU
West Virginia head coach Ross Hodge addressed the media following the BYU match up and WVSports.com provides a summary of what was said.
–Hodge said he wanted to thank everybody that came out today and Hope Coliseum was special. His team lost a couple tough ones and people are hanging in with them and created a special environment. West Virginia executed really well early and attention to detail was good. Brenen Lorient and Chance Moore did a good job on AJ Dybantsa. BYU has shown the ability to come back and the Mountaineers responded.
–Hodge thought that West Virginia was able to drive the ball which made BYU vulnerable on the defensive glass. Lorient was active and played with a level of urgency.
–Hodge felt that today was a reward for the last 72-hours for this team and the work they have put in.
–Hodge wasn’t surprised by the fact that BYU made a run in the second half. They have two of the elite one-on-one players in the entire Big 12 and you don’t want to give them multiple chances. West Virginia’s ability to get the ball after they missed was big.
–Hodge has talked a lot about the slim margins in this league outside the top three or four. It’s so thin and the difference between winning and losing can be a loose ball here, a hustle play.
–Hodge said you’re not thinking many positive thoughts when BYU had the ball down three after the turnover. He said he was hoping they didn’t wall up and foul him but the fact that they were able to force a turnover there is an example of the resiliency of this team and ability to bounce back after negatives.
–Hodge thought that the attention to detail and the commitment that Lorient showed without fouling Dybantsa was key.
–Hodge said that because of both of these team’s natures at halftime he warned them of the same message that he did coming into the game that the Cougars were equipped to come back and now leads was too insurmountable.
–Hodge said this is a difficult place to play and he felt his team played well against Kansas and again tonight against ranked teams inside Hope Coliseum.
–The urgency that his team talked about was this group has been so committed since they stepped on campus June 1. Their commitment level and doing what they’ve been asked to do is really good and as good as he’s been around. Hodge wanted to make sure he was giving his team everything he had. He told his team to continue to trust each other and pour into each other. Hodge said he told his team to keep doing the right things and not fracture but once the ball is out of their hands you don’t know if it’s going in.
–Hodge wanted to hear Country Roads today and it was a special moment and a special fan base and you want to be able to reward the people that stuck with you in tough times.
–This game in particular they felt they needed size on the floor so he knew they would have a combination of different players with size. DJ Thomas was battling him as good as he could on the defensive end, but they felt they needed more size so they went bigger in the second half more.
–Chance Moore is being aggressive and he’s been aggressive with his attack and drawing fouls. When his motor is running he is an elite player and when it’s not running he is an average player.
–The charge that Amir Jenkins took was huge. Lorient did a great job all night long. Hodge knew that off of size and length and athleticism that Lorient and Moore would be the primary defenders and in an emergency you’d have to go Jasper Floyd.
–Hodge said you got to wake up the next day and do it all over again. It started right after the game the players got treatment and rest and they’ll get together tomorrow afternoon and then on a plane Monday.
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