My agent has been communicating with a couple of NBA teams so far but as of today my #1 objective right now is to keep BBCD in Pro A.
I have been given here an opportunity to excel on the court, good coaching, and a tremendous amount of on-court experience which I have fully taken advantage of.
For example, I’ll be the first to admit I used to see the game at the PG position as it progressed in present-tense, but now with this added experience and mental growth I see more than just the next pass after mine (which I call the hockey assist), I now see the next 3-4 plays and what pace to play at just by quickly examining whose hot on my squad, whether or not we’re scoring consistently, and the defense being played.
Coach has definitely took the time out to teach me this. Because as a basketball player you always hear since your a young kid “think the game” and its true. Basketball is a bunch of fun for me again I must admit.
We had a very important game and although I scored 19 points and had 10 rebunds and 8 assists, we lost by 7. We’ve got four games left in order to stay in Pro A. We have a number of injuries so I need to step up my game to a higher level.
Coach told me that now I’m the leader of the team. It’s not only about the points, the assists, it’s about making my teammates better.
As for the NBA teams interested, I came here to get experience and improve my jump shot, and I’ve done those things.
We’ll see during the summer, I’ll keep working to get better… like picking the NCAA champ! I had Pittsburgh, but you know, it’s so easy to pick the usual suspects (the Dukes, the North Carolinas…).
Seriously, I’ve read that it seems the Nets are committed to keep the core intact. Coach Lawrence Frank was very honest when he told me last summer that I was the final cut; he let me know which areas I had to improve so I would get to play in the NBA again.
Finally, it’s play off time! I see Cleveland winning the championship because of the maturity of LeBron James, and the fact that everybody on the team knows their role. LeBron can score 30 points, get 10 rebounds and 10 assists, and everybody on the team loves him. He’s been the MVP of the season and he will be the MVP of the Finals.
We’re on a three-game losing streak right now, but we’re still optimistic that we can turn it around. We’ve had a couple of injuries, but I’m sure we’ll improve.
My first four games, it was really a challenge for me to get acquainted to my teammates. Same thing with the coaching staff.
There’s still a lot of adjusting to be made. Now I feel very comfortable running the point guard position. I knew that it’s something I had to do apart from improving my jump shot.
Against Strasbourg, our next game, we have to be very vocal, more demanding on everybody. Putting extra work on defense, getting tougher on defense.
It’s been a month since I’ve been here at Besançon, but I honestly don’t know the city. It seems that it’s a nice place to live and the people I know here are great people, but I focus on my work. I have to get the job done, that’s why I came here. So it’s 24/7 basketball: in the morning me and Justin Hawkins shoot before pratice, then practice; then we shoot after practice. Before the second practice we lift weights, we practice and then after practice we shoot once again. When we finish, we eat some food and then I go to my house.
I know that my chance to get back to the NBA, especially now that I’m learning the point guard position, is to not sort of be a shooting guard who can also play the one but a point guard who can also play the two and the three positions.
It’s very important for me to knock down open 20-footer jump shots so everyday I try to work on my game.
Talking about the NBA, there were no blockbuster deals at the trade deadline but there was a big one for a NYC guy like me: Stephon Marbury wearing the green Celtics jersey. I’m happy for Steph. It’s good that now he’s got a chance to win the championship. He’s an icon for New York on a contender team. I’m a fan of Marbury since I was a teenager so I’m definitely happy for him. I’ve never been a Celtics fan, but If I had to be a Celtics fan, that would be now because of Marbury.
Finally, my take on the economy. Obviously it’s gonna affect players who are playing overseas and I have to take advantage of every situation. I have to make sure that I get better everyday. To win the mental war with my jump shot so when I get back to the States everybody will see that I improved a lot.
I recently signed for the remainder of the season with French team Besançon. After leaving Australia I was able to go home and be with my family and friends in NYC. Then about a week later I was heading to Europe.
The city seems to be good but honestly I haven’t seen pretty much. My whole routine consists on going from my hotel room to practice, focusing on learning the offense and defensive system of the team.
Coach told me he wants me to get to the lane and create good shots for the other guys. You know the drill… Play hard, distribute well, effective shooting, guarding the best point guard and most importantly: running the team.
And talking about my teammates… There are really good players, but there is a really, really good young player called Justin Hawkins. This kid really can play. He has a smooth stroke, like Carmelo Anthony’s. This kid has a lot of potential.
We worked out for an hour and after the second practice we went together to lift weights. I feel good knowing that he also loves being in the gym. We’re gonna push each other to get better. This is a plus in this situation.
But I mean it: this kid has game. We can complement each other very well on the court.
I have no NBA opt-out clause this time. I will focus for the remainder of the season on Besançon.
This can be a very positive situation, coming to a team that desperately needs some help.
About the stuff that happened in Australia… I wish the team luck. I think it was a good situation for the most part… And I wish my former teammates and coaching staff the best of luck in the future.
Anyway, I don’t think this will hurt any chances to come back to the Australian League someday.
Honestly right now I’m focused on doing the best in the French League. This is definitely a situation that could help my career… Playing some combo guard, a lot of point guard, helping the team getting Ws.
That’s all for now.
Bye!
UPDATE: My first game went really good: 18 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and only one turnover in 24 minutes playing the point guard position. We won by 2points. I defended Brian Laing, a St. Raymonds High School teammate of mine, university of Seton Hall graduate. I must admit it wasn’t as easy-going at first but I got into a good rythm by the 2nd half and our up-tempo offense allowed me to get in transition, throw alley-oops and set my teammates up for easy scores. It was tough leading and running our offense so quickly in just a few days but leading and running a team has never been a challenge for me.
I wanna give big props to my guy Kiki Vandeweghe, who helped me to change my shot. I feel like a young kid again! When I was young all I did was shoot the J each and every time I had the opportunity.
Just wanna thank Kiki for taking that time for me. Like two or three days before Summer League started in July he told me it would take like five or six months to feel my shot. Then I came here to the NBL and now I feel very confident and very comfortable shooting the pull-ups from anywhere. Now I’m the young Julius knocking down jumpers all day long!
Although I played a good game against the Gold Coast Blaze (29 points, 4 assists) we lost on New Years’ Eve. I can tell you, Shane Heal still can play.
The game before we won against a tough team, the Melbourne Tigers, and coach Scott Ninnis lauded my efforts. What a start I had! 9-9 FGs, 20 points and by half-time the match was as good as over with a commanding 62-38 lead.
I was feeling it. I had some player on me, Rod Grizzard, who went to school in Alabama, and Ebi Ere. Whenever I had Ebi on me I knew he was a smaller guard so I was just shooting right over the top. I got it going early… And once my outside game is going, it really helps me to get to the basket and finish strongly or get my teammates open shots. It was a big game for us.
So I think I’ve beeng making a very strong case for the MVP in terms of what I brought to the team. When I first came here, we were in the last place and now we are one or two wins away from being in third place. So I think I’ve been very valuable to the team.
If I get a call from an NBA team, it might take about 15-20 hours of flight time for me to get there but I’ll be able to play right away. No Stephon Marbury’s buyout! Actually, no buyout.
I hear that some NBA teams are looking for a guard… It is a difficult spot to get adjusted to, but once you’ve got the opportunity… I know for me personally that it’s a spot in which I can definitely play very well and help the team.
Obviously, I saw the Lakers-Celtics on Christmas day. The Lakers are for real! You could say it’s a regular season game, but when those two teams play against each other it’s a special game. Right now the Lakers are the best team in the NBA.
Christmas Day in Australia was a little different for me. It was about 90 degrees and humid as a summer day in New York. I hit the beach in the morning for my mile-run as I usually do, and then I went to my house and watched some cricket and played a little tennis, so it was all good.
Here they have an early dinner, like 4.30 in the afternoon. Then, like I said, I played some tennis. Later in the day I was on the phone with my family because Christmas was just starting for them.
I just played against the Melbourne Tigers. We played really well, we battled hard, my mid-range jumper was working and we got a tough win.
Most importantly, my mindset while I’m playing here in Australia is that I look at the games to get a little more than the 25 points, double-digit rebounds and ten assists every game. My whole focus is not to drink the poison. I’m not going be the guy that drinks the poison. When I say that, I mean I’m not resting on my laurels, believing I’m really that good and I don’t have to continue to work hard and improve every day.
I’m out here working extremely hard before and after the game, before and after practice. I stay after every game and I make sure I do my five-spot shooting for about 40 minutes and then I lift weights for another 40 minutes.
Despite suffering a pair of narrow losses, I’ve averaged 26.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.0 steals and I was named NBL’s Player of the Week. Right now we are on two-win streak and hope to continue to roll… And not drink the poison!
Let’s talk a little bit about the NBA now.
I’ve been impressed with the Celtics again this season. KG is still doing it, man. With the exception of Magic Johnson, I can honestly say I’ve never seen anyone in my life as emotionally involved in the game while on the court or on the sideline as Kevin Garnett. Every night, every practice. KG is obviously a Hall of Famer and probably one of the top ten talents ever to play in the NBA. It would be great to watch a Lakers vs. Celtics rematch, because the Lakers are playing great too.
And how about my Nets? Devin Harris… Oh my goodness! The numbers he’s putting up are crazy. I saw it coming during the preseason. The way he creates the shot off the dribbe, how quick he’s changing direction… Very few players do it the way he does it. He should be an All-Star this year.
On a different note, it’s going to be cool to have a baller in the White House. I’ve seen Barack Obama play and he’s got a nice J! Obama can shoot it. I don’t know about his handling, but he’s got a nice stroke. It would be great if I could meet him one day. I’ve been a fan of him for the last two and a half years.
By the way, my daughter’s first word was Obama. Can you believe that? I think it’s great for the U.S. to have somebody who can change things and help our economy because right now we’re in recession and people are losing jobs.
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.
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.
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 Couchsaid 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.
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!
September 23, 2008 @ 2:55 pm by Julius Hodge · Filed under New Jersey Nets
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.
