HoopsHype.com NBA Blogs - Julius Hodge

Definitely, I’m schocked and disappointed. I didn’t make the regular season roster but you know, at the end of the day I gave it 100 percent. So at the start of the next morning I knew it would still be a bright day.

I spoke with Kiki Vandeweghe and he said I really improved and had a trade been made, I would still be on the team. He said that it pretty much came down to a numbers game in the end.

I still have a positive outlook of it. It was definitely a very good experience for me. I got my foot back on the door, I was almost right around the corner… Next time I would definitely have a better showing. I know I’ll still have many opportunities out there for me.

I learned that I was going to be waived last Thursday afternoon. Coach Lawrence Frank told me about the bad news. I felt that I gave a 100 percent effort and he let me know that I was doing a great job. There was a situation of 15 guaranteed contracts and a trade wasn’t made, so it left me in a position where I was not going to be on the roster.

After all, I always try to look at the glass as being half-full, not half-empty. That’s my mindset. Half the guys on the team gave me a call or texted me after being waived, saying that they felt I should be on the team. They told coach Frank: “We need Julius Hodge on this team.” But like I said, it was a numbers game.

I’m definitely happy with my progression. I got a lot better. I learned a lot and it has made me a better player.

My plans right now? I’m talking with my agent and I have received interest from two Euroleague teams, two ULEB teams and a couple of teams from Australia. I’m going through this process and we hope we make the best decision. Anyway, I’ll make sure that there is an NBA opt-out clause in my next contract so if an NBA team calls me up for a 10-day contract or they want to give me a chance, there won’t be any problems with me leaving and returning to the NBA right away.

The D-League route was an option but right now I’m focused on different options.

It’s been a great ride. It would have been so much of a blessing staying on the Nets roster and being close to my friends and my family, but the NBA is a businesss and this was a business decision.

When I played an extended amount of time on the court against the Knicks, I think I showed my NBA talent. I felt very comfortable out there, running the team, calling out plays, playing good defense against Nate Robinson and Mardy Collins, and leading the team on a late rally in which we eventually came up short. The guys got heart, and I wish them the best this year.

I know I will be back. There’s no doubt in my mind about that.

In the meantime, I will keep it blogging here.

Thank you, everybody.

Bye!

Hello everybody!

Just got back from our European trip. Paris is definitely is one of the most beautiful cities in the world and although I didn’t play I enjoyed watching the game there. We got the win and it was definitely a good time.

In London, Jay-Z showed up to our practice and he was at the game as well. That’s was pretty cool.

I played in the second game in Europe. We got the win too. I was out there and I made a couple of mistakes, but when you’re a point guard in this League you must have a short-term memory. My motto is, “never get too high on yourself but never get too low.” It was just one bad day. I just have to be ready to pick it up next game versus Boston.

The HoopsHype guys told me what Ben Couch said about the game at London… That even when things weren’t going well for me, I supported my teammates. That’s me. I’m definitely a team player, the way I play the game it’s never about my success or failure, it is about the team success. If I’m on the court I will do everything I can to help my teammates in situations where they can score easily and to be successful both offensively and defensively.

And if I’m on the bench, I’m going to be out there clapping the hardest and rooting my teammates on. I’ve never been a selfish player.

After the game I was sitting by myself, you know, still thinking about some plays in the game where I could have been better at… Then Kenny Smith and Ahmad Rashad walked by.

Kenny, who was the commentator in college during my first three years, told me: “What was it in college, the one thing you had that nobody else had?” And I was thinking and my first response was, “Was the heart?”

Kenny replied: “You had that… But the one thing you had that nobody else had was whenever you stepped on the court you felt that you were the best player. Your mindset then, right now for [making] the NBA, it works. When you are on the court defending Kobe, or playing at the poing guard, you’ve got to have the mindset that you are the best player. Tonight you have a couple of TO’s, and you could have the jitters, but I know the player you are. You’ve got to have a short-term memory at the point guard. Let it go, just be ready not just to do it in every game but in every pratice as well.”

Kenny finally said: “It was just pretty much your first or second game being a PG in the NBA. Just continue to work.”

You know, I took that to heart. From then on, I’ll continue to keep my head up. I know this is a long process and I definitely be better the next game.

Kenny also told me a story about him and Sam Cassell when they played together with the Houston Rockets.

Sam was a rookie and he was complaining about how Rudy Tomjanovich didn’t like his game and how he would always send him to the bench at the sixth minute mark.

Kenny told Cassell: “Look, when you’re out there and I’m on the bench, and you make a mistake, don’t look over to the bench to see if I’m rooting against you or I want you to mess up. I’m here for the rings. When you’re out there, you know the minutes you’re gonna get every night. So play your game, be successful. That’s gonna help the team. Be aggresive, be loose, be fluid.”

I picked up that advice and I’m gonna make sure to use it every time I’m on the court.

By the way, I saw a lot of improvement on the team during this trip. Coach Frank has the flexibility to play many different rotations. When you have a team full of guys so versatile not only on offense but on defense as well, it gives the coach a freedom most coaches would love to have.

That’s all folks, we must practice and prepare to face the world champions, the Boston Celtics.

Bye!

Hello everybody,

We are right now in training camp and it’s been a blessing for all of us. Learning from Kiki Vandeweghe and coach Lawrence Frank has been very instructive for me in terms of understanding the philosophy, the little tidbits of the offense and also the defensive sets.

I think it’s been a plus that I ran some of our offense in college under Herb Sendek at North Carolina State, and I think it puts me a little bit ahead of the game.

Without getting too specific, practices have been pretty much guys going out playing hard, especially on defense. I think we’re right now a little bit ahead in terms of that because a lot of our guys want to play defense. They are like, “OK, we are the underdogs but this year will definitely be a good one for us.”

There are some guys here – like Bobby Simmons or Yi Jianlian – that are eager to show everybody their value. Sean Williams has been finishing every play, every alley oop he catches, and dunking amazingly. He’s so tough to box out, he’s all over the offensive boards, and he’s making shots around the basket. He’s definitely a big plus for us during this training camp. I think we’ll jell quickly. Even Rod Thorn, who had a knee replacement surgery, has spent some time with us.

As I said before, I believe I can fill the third point guard spot. During and after practice, coach Frank talks to me and tells me he knows that I wanna make the right play every time, and he lets me know that I just have to take a little step back, just breathe, relax and run a set. Also, Keyon Dooling has helped me a lot.

Sometimes there might be a set call but the defense may not be ready, so I take the extra second or two to get a set up. I just let the offense come and run it smoothly. I think I’ve been doing a good job at that with the help of the coach.

This group of guys, I give a lot of credit to Kiki and the entire organization building this team, because we all get along. I know that Vince Carter said that Chris Douglas-Roberts, Brian Hamilton and me are like The Three Stooges. Well, you know… We’re young! We practice hard and we are cracking jokes as well.

The next week we will travel to Europe to play against the Miami Heat so it will be really fun. I hope we play good and continue improving as a team. And of course I hope we will do some sightseeing in Paris and London!

That’s all for now.

Bye!