HoopsHype.com NBA Blogs - Julius Hodge

Hi everybody,

Recently I’ve been in contact with some urban clothing company and I thought about doing ad modeling. When I told my mom about this, she said, “You will not do any underwear modelling, right? And remember that you have to focus on your jump shot to make the Nets’ roster.”

Good advice, mom!

I’m feeling good, really good about my chances to make the Nets roster. I’ve been talking with the coaching staff and the managers as well and they agree that I’ve improved my shooting, my defense and leadership on the court.

Right now, my agent keeps telling me that some international teams have called saying they are interested in signing me, but he doesn’t tell me any names because I’m really focused on achieving this goal of getting a spot on the Nets’ roster.

Recently, we had a mini-camp and I played with very good players, like Keyon Dooling, who is a truly winner; Bobby Simmons… you know, Bob is a pro’s pro, period. And Eddie ‘Mr. Hustle’ Najera. I have heard that he had some issues with a property down in Oklahoma… And obviously, Vince Carter. You know, having all these guys on the court playing, it’s a better version of the Golden State Warriors from two years ago.

I’ve also had the chance to play with the rookies. Man, they are good. Brook Lopez is a force down low, Ryan Anderson can shoot it from outside and CDR (Chris Douglas-Roberts) is a tough wing player to defend.

The intensity was high at the Nets facility. I was trying to get a rebound when I was double-hit hard: in the back and in one bone of my left arm. It hurt, but I decided to make sure I got the call so I started to act a little bit, screaming more than Beyonce and Jennifer Hudson at the Oscars… Coach Lawrence Frank ran my way and asked, “Are you alright?” “Coach, I didn’t know you cared so much about me,” I replied, and everybody started laughing.

Now I’m hearing a lot of stuff about the Spanish team flopping all the time and the U.S. team travelling in every possession in the Olympic finals. Man, let’s be straight: No Tim Donaghy could fix that game. That was an amazing game, with two high-skilled teams going at each other, and the U.S. won because they play defense, they run well in transition and they have players like Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and, especially, Kobe Bryant, who took over in the fourth quarter. This U.S. team has seven or eight future Hall of Famers, they wanted that gold medal and they earned it.

I talked about the slalom kayaking in my last post. Well, I do like the sport although I can only remember who won the silver medal: France. I also liked swimming a lot. Not only because Michael Phelps, but also the amazing 4×100 freestyle victory trailing from behind.

Back to my routine, right now I live ten minutes away from NYC, and I really mean it when I say, “I’ve been training all summer.” I say from Monday to Sunday. 24/7. After practicing, I go to a gym and do yoga and Pilates classes. Compared to the beginning of the summer, my legs are much stronger now and I can easily dunk with both hands. As I said, offseason work is paying off and I’m feeling more comfortable on the court.

Finally, I want to set out to all those football fantasy general managers that the new Jets with Brett Favre and his long passes are going to be really better, so watch out!

That’s it for now. I’ll keep doing my basketball/yoga/Pilates routine and improving my game… The modeling stuff will have to wait!

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Hi guys,

First of all, I want to thank all my fans for reading the blog. I was overwhelmed by all the positive comments to the first post and just wanted to let you know that I will continue to work hard to get back in the league and make NC State proud.

Now let’s focus on what I’ve been doing… Last week, I was with Vince Carter in his camp and had a really good time working with him there. You hear all the critics talking about how he doesn’t seem to care and then you spent time with him… And well, I’ll tell you one thing: Don’t believe the haters. He didn’t  become a star in the NBA for no reason. Being around him, you can see that he’s a consummate pro and that he puts a lot of effort in his workouts. Besides, he’s a truly likable and personable guy that’s always trying to help. Down the road, I would like to be a little being like him. You know, the veteran guy who tries to teach stuff to the young players.

Vince is not the only NBA guy I’ve been around recently. Most nights, I take part on 5-on-5 games in the New York Athletic Club with players like Emeka  Okafor, Mike Dunleavy, Troy Murphy or Allan Houston. Marko Jaric is there, too. No Adriana Lima, though.

(I’ve been playing very well, I might add).

My free agency situation hasn’t changed much. We’re sticking to Plan A, which is trying to make the Nets team. There’s still interest from another couple of clubs willing to invite me for their training camps, but I like New Jersey better. My agent is doing his homework and listening to teams from outside the NBA,  but me going overseas looks like a long shot right now. The NBA option looks very good at this moment.

Like most of you, I’m spending a lot of time in front of TV watching the Olympics. I’ve seen a lot of swimming and discovered one sport that didn’t know much  about: slalom kayaking. Truly enjoyed it. I have even thought about taking it up as a hobby. Although on second thought, the NBA people probably wouldn’t want you doing that.

Obviously, I’m also paying a lot of attention to the U.S. basketball team. They are really getting the job done, winning all their games convincingly. D-Wade is looking impressive. Looks like the D-Wade of old.

I would love to play at the Olympic Games one day. If not with the United States, I would be open to playing for another country, just like Chris Kaman did. I  don’t get how some people call him a traitor. What’s a player to do if he gets a chance to be at something as big as the Olympic Games? I don’t think you can pass on that. To me, as an athlete, it’s just a no-brainer.

Talk to you next week. Bye!

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Hi everybody,

This is Julius Hodge, ACC Player of the Year in 2004 and former member of the Denver Nuggets and Milwaukee Bucks. I will be blogging here at HoopsHype.com all through the summer about my experiences as a free agent. Hope you enjoy it.

As some of you may already know, I’m now trying to get back in the NBA and have been working out with the Nets the last three months in order to prove that I belong in the league. I know there are another couple of teams that are interested, but I’m really liking the situation here in New Jersey. All these weeks with the Nets, I really think they have been very benefitial to me. The coaching staff is great and my guy Kiki Vandeweghe is helping me a lot. My jump shot, which is probably the weakest part of my game, has gotten a lot better. I’ve probably never worked as much or as hard any other time in my career.

I didn’t have much much success (or playing time for that matter) in my first two years in the NBA with Denver and Milwaukee. But I’m not bitter about it. It was hard at the beginning, I’ll admit that. You get from always being the main guy to not playing much and that’s a hard pill to swallow. But all in all, it was a learning experience. And besides, when you’re close to death, as it was my case with the shooting incident, it changes your whole perspective. You’re grateful about anything that’s given to you. You appreciate it’s a blessing just to get a chance to make a living playing basketball.

Physically, the shooting incident was a setback. Mentally, though, it was an inflection point. I believe I’m a better person now. More humble, more generous… I think not only I can help a team on the floor, but also in the locker room.

I know I have offers from teams overseas, but at this point… It’s just the NBA for me. There’s no such thing as a backup plan for me because I’m so focused in getting a job in the league right now. It’s not that my experience abroad wasn’t good. I played in Australia last season and I enjoyed it. It was pretty much my first time outside of the States and I had some adjustments to make, but life was good there. I was actually leading my team on the court and loved to be The Man again. Away from the court, it was nice also. It was 100 degrees pretty much every day, always with your shades on… Besides, I didn’t have to go through the language barrier most American players abroad have to.

Even though FIBA ball is fine, like I said my goal is the NBA. I can be a third point guard, a defensive stopper… Really, I can be an anything guy. And with all the adversity I have had to go through before, I can guarantee I’ll be a good guy anywhere I am.

Got to keep working out. Talk to you next week.

Bye!

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