The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1525890
50 ■ THE WOLFPACKER Julius Hodge Brings His Fearless Attitude To A New Challenge Tim Peeler is a regular contributor to The Wolfpacker and can be reached at tmpeeler@ncsu.edu. PACK PERSPECTIVE BY TIM PEELER O n Oct. 19, at Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium, former NC State All-Amer- ican and 2004 ACC Player of the Year Julius Hodge will make his head coaching debut when he takes his Lincoln Univer- sity Lions into the Blue Devils' den. It's a place that Hodge is more than famil- iar with. While he may have never won a game in his four trips there as a player, he was al- ways competitive, with super-spicy interac- tions with the Cameron Semi-Crazies. Hodge, a brash teenager from Harlem when he arrived in Raleigh in the fall of 2001, liked the back- and-forth with Duke's famous fans. "There's no way I could let a guy with a 4.5 GPA, acne and bad breath decide the way I'm going to play on the court," he said after losing 76-57 during his ju- nior season, one of his more famous ca- reer Hodge-isms. "Everywhere I go I get that, so that didn't make a difference." Hodge is excited that his first unofficial game — it's a preseason exhibition for the Devils — will be at such a place, if only to show that he still has no fear of going against the giants of the game. During his 10 games against Duke, the Blue Devils were never ranked lower than No. 5. "I'm going into this position with a vision, one that might be different than what it has been," he said. "My vision is for our program to be one by which all others are measured. In order to be the best, you have to play the best." Fortunately, the 40-year-old Hodge inherits a team that has been successful the past two years in the NCAA Divi- sion II Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association. Under interim head coach Jason Armstrong, the Lions advanced for the first time in history to the CIAA championship game in 2022-23 and, af- ter Armstrong was named permanent head coach, won their first CIAA title. Armstrong, however, was fired after the 2023-24 season, opening the door for Hodge to be hired over the summer. Based in Oxford, Pa., Lincoln is close to his East Coast roots. Twelve of the Lions' 15 players are from New York or New Jersey. "My mission is to build servant lead- ers for life in the com- munity, in the class- room and on the court," Ho d ge sa i d . " Yo u 're able to do that through trust-building — trust, love and a commitment to connect and serve." Hodge still giggles at his own jokes and is as gregarious as ever, the sa m e b ra s h co m m u - nications major who captured the hearts of Wolfpack fans and an- noyed opponents for four years during one of the most successful eras of the past 40 years. But he has a differ- ent purpose these days. "I always saw basketball and life moving simultaneously, meaning there are going to be bumps in the road and there's going to be adversity," said Hodge, whose NBA career was cut short because of a shooting incident during his rookie season. "Your only response when those times come is, how do I find a solution to continue moving forward? "I've been in the shoes of these young men, and I'm only here to elevate them. I'm only here to wrap my arms around their shoulders and take a couple steps with them, leading them in the right di- rection." If it sounds as though Hodge has grown up since he finished his 10-year professional basketball career (three seasons in the NBA and seven overseas) and took up coaching in 2015, it's be- cause he necessarily has. He's been at Buffalo, Santa Clara, San Jose State and Arkansas-Little Rock. He's picked the brains of bosses, like cur- rent Alabama head coach Nate Oats and former Wolfpack coach Herb Sendek, as well as former teammates who have entered the coaching profession. He worked hard, even while still play- ing, to be ready to become a head coach, avoiding some of the pitfalls that other players who had long professional ca- reers endured in their quest for head coaching jobs. He's ready to face the ever-changing landscape of college athletics, with the transfer portal, the name, image and likeness agreements and other challenges that are all but certain to filter down to Division II in the coming years. He is relying on the mentors who have always guided him, primarily big brother Steve, the coaches he's worked for, and the teammates, like Justin Gainey, Archie Miller and Levi Watkins, who have informed him about their col- lege coaching experiences. Although Hodge is still two months shy of his 41st birthday, his daughter Michaela just enrolled at Hofstra, where she is a 6-foot-3 freshman basketball player. His son Legacy is growing into a player who hopes one day to follow in his father's footsteps as a program- changing force on the court. Yes, Hodge has grown up to be a coach and a basketball dad, but he'll always rely on the charm that he brought with him to Raleigh nearly 25 years ago. "I'm just going to be myself," he said. "And that part is pretty easy." ■ Hodge will coach his first game for Lincoln University when the Lions face Duke in an October exhibition. PHOTO COURTESY LINCOLN UNIVERSITY " My mission is to build servant leaders for life in the community, in the classroom and on the court. You're able to do that through trust- building — trust, love and a commitment to connect and serve. Hodge