Everything West Virginia Head Coach Ross Hodge Had to Say at Big 12 Media Day

Moments ago, West Virginia men's head basketball coach Ross Hodge wrapped up his press conference at Big 12 media day in Kansas City. Here's everything the first-year header had to say.

What intrigued him about the West Virginia job

"Start with just the history and the tradition. I mean, obviously, probably the most recognizable figure in basketball is the NBA logo in Jerry West. And then just kind of being a fan during that time period, with watching Coach Beilein's teams and (Kevin) Pittsnogle was like a revolutionary time period if you think about it now — stretch five men are everywhere — in that time period, he was really one of the first. And then what Coach Huggins did there. Just the tradition, the administration, the alignment, and then the people of West Virginia — I relate to, and our style of play is something that they can appreciate. Great homecourt advantage and one of the best in the country... You add that all together, and I think you have a recipe for success."

Early thoughts on Honor Huff

"Honor does it every day in practice, so it's not a surprise when you see him go out and make seven, eight threes in a game. He's an incredibly hard worker. He's got an infectious personality, and he's selfless. He's experienced winning and winning at the highest level. He won the NIT Championship last year and made some really big shots along the way. He's another guy you don't have to teach how to win; we're just having to learn how to win together."

What Treysen Eaglestaff has shown

"He's another one that can really make shots. The ball comes out of his hand easy. He's an extremely hard worker, and Treysen is a prolific scorer; he's learned how to be more efficient. What's also been great about him is that he really wants to be better. He allows me to coach him hard and direct, and doesn't take it personal. That's why I think you'll see his best basketball ahead of him."

Initial thoughts on Chance Moore

"Chance has a lot of versatility and experience. When we were putting this roster together, you knew you were going to have some turnover. We didn't want to bring guys in that hadn't won and hadn't experienced winning at other places. Chance had certainly done that at St. Bonaventure, and he's got great positional size. You can play bigger with him and play on the wing, you can downsize with him and play him at the small ball four. He's a good rebounder and has a physicality when he drives the ball."

Evaluation of Jackson Fields

"Incredible intangibles. A great locker room guy, a great teammate. He's another one that you can small-ball him at the five, and he can stretch the floor. Go a little bigger with him at your traditional power forward location and had NCAA Tournament experience."

Key elements to recruiting in the transfer portal

"Be quick, but don't hurry. You certainly want to do your due diligence. Character matters. People still matter, and I think you win with people. Obviously, you have to have enough talent, and I worked for Larry Eustachy for five years that was at Iowa State and won the Big 12 twice and he would say you never see a donkey win the Kentucky Derby, so you certainly have to have the players and the horses, but we also wanted to get people that we felt like love playing basketball and loved other people — that combination usually leads to success."