West Virginia head coach Ross Hodge inherits a basketball program that has undergone plenty of change in the past three off-seasons in Morgantown.
The Mountaineers have had four coaches during that time beginning with Bob Huggins to interim Josh Eilert to Darian DeVries and now Hodge.
Over the past two years, West Virginia has missed the NCAA Tournament field in each of those seasons and has compiled a 28-36 record with a 14-24 mark in the Big 12 Conference.
Hodge now has the challenge of getting the basketball program back into the NCAA Tournament which has a rich history appearing in the field five of the eight years before the past two and that total would have been six had the event not been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
So, what needs to happen to get the Mountaineers back in the dance?
“I think it starts a little bit with kind of what we just mentioned getting the right people and with a great staff which I feel like we have in place and getting the right players that aren’t just transactional, and they legitimately want to connect with this place and the history of it even if it’s for a short time period,” Hodge said during an appearance on OFF THE CAROUSEL! with Rob Dauster.
That includes not just using the time spent in Morgantown as a stepping stone in life but instead really connecting with the fan base and the history that the program has to offer.
“You can feel the history of this place when you walk around here,” Hodge said.
West Virginia is a blue collar state with the mentality to match, and Hodge believes that he has everything in place here for the basketball program to be competing for NCAA Tournament bids.
That includes playing in the Big 12 Conference which will provide plenty of opportunities for resume building wins on top of facilities and a commitment to winning from the administration down. And a history of success spanning back multiple coaches that have been able to put their teams into the field.
“You got to get back in the NCAA Tournament consistently and if you’re able to get there consistently enough which is hard to do, it’s not easy. Winning a game isn’t easy, let alone winning 20 games, let alone winning the Big 12, let alone winning a national championship. But ultimately that’s what we want to do. And that’s, that’s, we, I believe you can do that here,” he said.
