Julius Hodge assigned to Toros

[ChumpDumper]

GUARD BECOMES FIRST NUGGET ASSIGNED TO THE D-LEAGUE
Nuggets Assign Hodge to Austin

DENVER, Feb. 7 -- The Denver Nuggets have assigned G Julius Hodge to the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League (D-League), General Manager Kiki Vandeweghe announced today. Austin has been assigned the Nuggets’ D-League affiliate for the 2005-06 season.

Hodge, 6-7, 210, was drafted by the Nuggets in the first round (20th overall) of the 2005 NBA Draft. He has appeared in 11 games for the Nuggets this season, averaging 1.0 ppg and 0.6 rpg in 2.7 minutes.

Hodge becomes the first Nugget assigned to the D-League since the affiliate system was put into place this past summer. He will report to the team tomorrow and will play for Head Coach Dennis Johnson.

link (http://www.nba.com/nuggets/news/hodge_dleague_020706.html)

He's also the first NBA palyer assigned to the Toros, who could definitely use the size in their swing rotation. I doubt any players need to be released to accomodate him - at least I hope as much.

Also, Melvin Sanders went back to Fayetteville and John Lucas III returned to Tulsa.

[Mr. Body]

I'm surprised Hodge has been a bust so far. Also surprised Denver didn't draft a guy who could shoot.

[ChumpDumper]

Yeah, the shine has really come off Kiki's tenure the past year. Hodge will need alot of PT to develop into the George McCloud/John Salmons-type player that really seems to be his ceiling.

[T Park]

Kiki has gone from one of the best, to one of the worst GMs in a matter of years.

Unreal

[ChumpDumper]

Interesting but not altogether surprising move by coach Dennis Johnson -- he had Hodge playing exclusively at backup point against Roanoke tonight. Not surprising because no one else can really play the point on this team besides Derrick Zimmerman (Alex Scales was the last to try). Hodge had a really tough matchup defensively. He was trying to cover Anthony Grundy, who is the D-League Allen Iverson. He was getting burned alot, but also adapted decently and played the passing lanes well enough to get four steals and a couple of fastbreak dunks off of them. He also tied Zimmerman's total of 5 assists and turned the ball over only once.

For all of Hodge's savvy and team-running potential, he is totally lacking the physical tools to make it in the NBA. He's skinnier than Bowen and much weaker. He simply bounced off of guys like Peter Ramos when he tried to get dunks in traffic -- no calls.
(Ramos himself is the complete opposite - the complete physical package with attitude to spare but no discernable basketball ability). It's difficult to see how Hodge's body is going to develop much more since he's already over 22, but I hope he pulls it off.

I'll probably write something a little more in-depth about the Toros in general after Tuesday's game.

[timvp]

Thanks for the info.

The Nuggets picking Hodge made no sense. They need shooters and he can't shoot. He has a shot to be a John Salmons type player but even that is wishful thinking from what I've seen.

[ChumpDumper]

In retrospect, not many players made much sense for the Nuggets from an immediate help standpoint. Salim Stoudemire perhaps, but how many mini-shooting gurads can one team take? Trading down or out may have been the prudent move, but maybe Kiki tried that too.

[timvp]

I think Francisco Garcia made a lot more sense for the Nuggets. He's not a great shooter either, but he at least has the ability to become a three-point threat.

[ChumpDumper]

True enough. Kiki shanked the offseason by not getting the Pierce deal airtight before he inked Watson. That just focused more attention on the Hodge pick than it would have deserved.

[MI21]

This thread is useless without Julius Hodge quotes.

:)

[ChumpDumper]

"I think I'll like it here," Hodge said.

http://www.statesman.com/sports/content/sports/stories/toros/02/12toros.html

:p

[ShoogarBear]

This thread is useless without Julius Hodge quotes.
True dat.

http://spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12445

[Dre>Parker]

Update....

http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/9572/hodgedebut1dq.png

http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/2816/hodges2ndgame9mn.png

http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/1540/hodgegame32fd.png

"game winner"(sort of) in this game...
http://img472.imageshack.us/img472/223/hodge49lf.png


Average - 15.3 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 4.3 apg, 1.5 spg, 24 mpg


Pretty good IMO, i'm impressed. I like his versitility and once Watson is traded, he might actually have a decent role on the Nuggets(Even more so if Boykins or Miller ever gets injured). Sucks he cant hit the 3 though, but everything else looks good.

[ChumpDumper]

There is no doubt the guy can ball. Whether he can do it at the NBA level is the question.

He is becoming a fan favorite though. The most enthusiastic guy on a team full of slightly jaded vets.

[Dre>Parker]

Have you seen him play live?

If so, what is his game like and how is he really doing. Stats are all ive seen, but they dont even tell half the story. It'd be great to have some kind of sense on what his game is like, because ive never really seen him play(Maybe a couple college games from the tourny a few years ago, but not a lot).

[ChumpDumper]

I saw him play the two home games. See my notes above from the 12th.

He's really quite versatile, runs an offense pretty decently and is pretty aggressive around the basket. Seems like he would excell in a more ball-control type offense - doesn't have the quickness or conditioning to last in a wide open O. On D, he had alot of trouble staying in front of smaller guards, but put his length to good use playing the passing lanes and racking up steals that way. He's sorely lacking in three key areas: strength, athleticism and shooting. If he can develop any one of these three, he'll be in the league for awhile. Hope he makes it, seems like a good kid.

I got season tickets, so I'll see him as long as he's in Austin.