Ross Hodge said he expected the heat that comes with coaching at West Virginia. What caught him off guard was the way that heat landed on players.
Speaking on his radio show Thursday night, the WVU men’s basketball coach said he was ready for the criticism that comes with the job, but not for the online abuse aimed at his team last season.
“When I took this job a year ago, I was fully prepared for the level of criticism. When all this was going down, I set my family down and I’m like, ‘Look, you’re going to have to learn to not read the internet.’
You can read the article, just don’t read the comments. It wasn’t too far long after that; Shelly’s mom, Donna, she told Shelly, she’s like, ‘You know, Ross told me not to read the comments, and I just think I’m not going to read the comments.’
I felt like I was fully prepared for that. I understood that comes with the job.
Being this job in particular, you have no pro sports teams, and it comes with the territory. The one thing I was not prepared for in any way, shape, or form was the level of vitriol and criticism that the players receive.
I was not prepared for that, and that was a major learning curve for me personally, trying to help them navigate that part of it.
Hodge said he’s had to address that issue with his group sooner and more directly than he expected.
“I feel like I’ve done a better job earlier having those conversations with this group," Hodge continued. "It’s easier for us.
I’m 46, and I can not read it. I can.
I can not get on there. Very hard for the players.
You can say, ‘Hey, just don’t read it.’ They do.
I think there’s a lot of different converging time periods - the amount of monetization that can be created by internet accounts that receive views and clicks, and let’s be honest, the negativity does drive that. So there’s actual financial incentives to be shocking and critical.
And there’s the gambling component now that is directly tied with our players. Some of it is viewed as: they’re professional, they’re compensated.
I’ve always said, if we play like crap and our players don’t play well… there’s criticism of the game, and the player in the game is fair. But when you take it to the other side of things where you are, like personally attacking them, direct messaging, threatening, that’s a part that’s like… it just isn’t helpful.”
That distinction matters. Criticism of how a team plays is one thing. Personal attacks, threats and direct messages aimed at players are something else entirely.
Hodge’s comments reflect a problem that extends well beyond Morgantown. Across passionate fan bases, especially at Power Four schools, social media has made it easier for frustration to spill over into cruelty.
Some people hide behind burner accounts, while others use their real ones. Either way, the message is the same: criticism is part of the job, but making it personal goes too far.
In Other News...
West Virginias Rotation Is Taking Shape But A Key Battle Isnt Over
West Virginias preseason exhibitions have given Ross Hodge a clearer look at how his first Mountaineers rotation might settle in, and the early signs suggest a compact core is already separating itself from the pack. Hodge has leaned on a group he trusts, using the exhibitions to sort through a roster that looks deeper and more versatile than the average preseason group, while also getting a better read on which players can help in meaningful minutes once the games start counting.
Still, the picture is not fully set, because there are players on the edge of the rotation who have at least made the decision more complicated. The Mountaineers have enough pieces to mix and match, and that kind of flexibility can be a strength, but it also means the final pecking order is still being fought over behind the scenes. For a team trying to build identity early, the most interesting question may be less about who starts and more about who earns a lasting role once the roster trims down to its true eight or nine. [Read more 🡒]
Ross Hodge Sent An Early Message To West Virginias Young Frontcourt
The first real teaching moment of the Ross Hodge era arrived quickly for West Virginias young frontcourt. In an exhibition against Wheeling, freshman Aliou Dioum was whistled for a technical foul after hanging on the rim following a dunk, and Hodge made sure the message was delivered immediately on the floor. It was the kind of correction that can get lost in a preseason tuneup, but for a staff trying to establish standards early, it clearly mattered.
Dioum stayed in the game and still made his presence felt, finishing with seven points, two rebounds and two blocks in seven minutes. Even in a non-competitive setting, Hodge treated the sequence as a reminder that habits count, especially for a group of young bigs learning how to operate within the details. For West Virginia, it was a small moment with a larger purpose, the sort of baseline expectation that can define how the frontcourt develops from here. [Read more 🡒]
WVUs Defensive Ceiling Looks Shakier Than Fans Wanted To Admit
West Virginias defensive profile has become harder to gloss over as the Big 12 schedule has worn on. A look at the Pro Football Focus grades and snap counts shows a unit with only a few players grading above 70, which is a pretty thin margin for error when the games get tighter and the competition gets more explosive. The struggles in that four-game stretch in conference play exposed how quickly things can slip when the back end is under pressure.
Geimere Latimer has been one of the steadier pieces, piling up a heavy snap load and holding up well overall. But the broader picture still points to a defense that has had trouble finding enough reliable play at safety, and that has left the passing game vulnerable in ways West Virginia could not afford. The question now is not whether the Mountaineers have some individual pieces to build around, but whether the ceiling of the unit is lower than many hoped heading into the season. [Read more 🡒]