What Ross Hodge Said Following the Win Over Stetson

The West Virginia Mountaineers (2-0) hammered the Stetson Hatters (0-3) Friday night at Hope Coliseum, 91-53.

West Virginia freshman guard Miles Sadler led all scorers with 25 points to go with six assists, while junior guard Joson Sanon was 6-of-8 from three-point range to finish with 18, senior guard Finley Bizjack ended the night with 11 points, and sophomore center Mouhamed Sylla had 11 points and six rebounds.

WVU head coach Ross Hodge met with the media following the win and gave his initial thoughts on the Mountaineers improving to 2-0.

Miles Sadler’s 25 points

"I thought he was really aggressive to start. I thought his decision-making in the paint has gotten better because he can get there, not whenever he wants, but he can get there a lot. So, it’s just about his willingness to make the right play.

"Sometimes the right play is for him to shoot; sometimes it’s for him to pass. I feel like he’s balanced that well, playing good floor games – three rebounds. He can keep getting a lot better. He had 25 (points) but gave up 12 on baseline out-of- bounds plays and a couple of defensive breakdowns. His heart is in the right place, and he’ll continue to get better."

The defense’s performance in the second half compared to the first half

"Our previous three games, we had really turned people over and we had been really aggressive.

"I thought, on some level, our aggression in the first half was used against us a little bit. We weren’t always intelligent with our ball pressure - we were getting on the side of them. They did a good job of moving pieces and parts. We were getting spread out. We weren’t guarding the ball and didn’t have our gap integrity and they were getting the ball in the paint and getting some good looks.

"We were fortunate in the first half that they missed some free throws and some other quality looks.

"In the second half, I thought we did a better job of still having that controlled pressure but did a better job of keeping the ball in front of us and out of the paint and made them take tough jump shots instead of getting in the paint, drawing fouls, getting layups."

The team’s ability to shoot from the outside

"(Sophomore center) Mo (Mouhamed Sylla) and (freshman center) Aliou (Dioum) really work on it and even (freshman center) (Amadou) Seini has a good touch. Whether he was included in everyone or not, he can.

"They all put a lot of work in, and I see all of it in the gym and feel really confident when the ball leaves anybody’s hands that it’s going in."

The team’s physicality against Stetson

"I wasn’t crazy about our physicality in the first half. I thought we had some opportunities to grab some rebounds on the offensive end that kind of squeezed through our hands. I felt that as the game went on, our physicality was able to increase and did a better job. That’s where our numbers can come into play, keep throwing fresh bodies out there and keep holding people to a high level of accountability to do what you are asking them to do."

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