HoopsHype.com NBA Blogs - Julius Hodge

Hi everybody!

Back in Australia… I had a number of offers in Europe, but the loyalty from the Adelaide 36ers‘ staff and the fans was tremendous and helped me in my decision.

I’m a man on a mission: I’m really appreciative of the opportunity the Nets offered me and I will love in the near future to be a part of their family. But if it’s not them, maybe another team in the NBA. You know at the end of the day, the goal is to be back there.

Here I am doing early morning cardio running alongside the ocean and I would say one hour and a half before practice, I work really hard in designed point guard workouts. My late nights? They just consist on overdoses of jumpers. Big fun, you see?

Just like a mad doctor in his lab, I stay in the gym.

Playing out here in Australia I want to be considered a ringer. It’ something we say in NYC. It means you play so well it looks like the other guys are from a younger age group.

After the season I will head to Europe and I will finish the year taking part in the playoffs for a European team.

While in Australia, I will try to get these guys a championship. We have good talent here in Luke Schenscher (who you may remember from Georgia Tech), Aaron Bruce and Adam Ballinger.

We have a new coach, Scott Ninnis, who is a very good guy, very easy-going and very intense on the sideline. He stresses defense… I love to play defense, so I think everything will go well.

Obviously I’m following the NBA season, especially the Nets. I think that Devin Harris is playing tremendous, and if he continues playing this good they will win a lot of games. You didn’t see that coming, huh?

Vince Carter is playing well too, but that’s the type of player he is… He can knock down shots and be a great leader. The sky’s the limit for them.

I’ve been really impressed with Rudy Fernandez so far. He’s such a young player and he’s doing crazy moves! I saw him in the Olympic finals against the USA… He was killing!

We play Friday on the road in Sydney and we come back and play on Saturday against the South Dragons, which are run by the Australian National Team coach (Brian Goorjian). They have a really good young player, Joe Ingles, who played against the U.S. in Beijing. I believe he can be a high pick in the NBA Draft next June.

Well, I must keep practicing.

Bye!

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!

Hi guys,

We will have to change the name of the blog in coming days to Training Camp Diary. It will not be Free Agent Diary anymore since I will no longer be a free agent at the end of the week. I’m signing a contract with the Nets in a few days and I’m very excited about the opportunity the team is giving me.

The third point guard spot is the one I’m definitely looking to fill. The two guys ahead of me in the depth chart, Devin Harris and Keyon Dooling, have been like big brothers for me here lately. You learn a lot from them just from watching, but also playing against them is a good thing. Besides, they give you tips of good stuff about how to handle the point guard position. They are winners and I’m very grateful to them.

They are not the only guys that have been good to me. I have to give a shoutout to my man Rick Dalatri, who’s been helping me so much in the weight room since I arrived here five months ago. I’m at 222 pounds, 6 percent body fat right now. Also I have to give credit to Howard Eisley, who is teaching me a lot of useful things about the PG spot… But really, everything and everybody has been Class A since I began my journey with the Nets in the spring. Hopefully it all ends up with me staying here.

This training camp is going to be a little different for me. With the Nuggets, I was the young, excited and impressionable new guy. Now I’m more mature and more prepared. And although I know this time around I know I have nothing guaranteed, I’m not nervous. I’m hungry. And when you’re hungry, what do you do? You eat. That’s my mindset. That’s what you learn growing up in the NYC playgrounds.

Talk to you when training camp begins. Bye!

Hi guys,

For the past week I’ve been studying the game thouroughly, learning about some great point forwards. I’ve watched some old tapes of Paul Pressey when he played with the Milwaukee Bucks with coach Don Nelson. I’ve also watched a lot of the old Grant Hill when he played brilliantly with the Detroit Pistons. Also some of Penny Hardaway with the Orlando Magic.

I’ve watched a lot of tape about great defensive stoppers as well. Shane Battier has been a great defensive forward from Day 1. He can contain small guards but also small power forwards. I also like to watch how well Tayshaun Prince plays. His all-around game is awesome.

Trying to learn how these very talented players do on the court will help me improve my game. I’ve especially trained my pull-up off the dribble this week.

My feelings are still the same about making the Nets’ roster: very good. I think I have a good chance to make it.

I really appreciate the good feedback I’ve had in this diary. That said, in my last post a couple of readers talked about one incident I had with Chris Paul years ago. CP3 hit me in my groin area and they won the game. Then he was suspended and we played against them soon after. He didn’t play and we won. That’s it… Something that is part of the game.

Everybody is talking now about the Mario Chalmers/Darrell Arthur situation at the NBA’s rookie transition program. It was a very unfortunate situtation and the reaction of our commissioner David Stern was a good one. These guys will learn from this and I’m sure they will not committ the same mistake again.

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

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!

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!

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!