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Ralph Sampson is probably considered the best college basketball player in the history of the commonwealth of Virginia, but Odell Hodge’s stats/awards at Old Dominion are also rather impressive. He began his career by being named the CAA ROY in 1993 and graduated with 2117 PTS/1086 REB. He was named CAA POY/tourney MVP in both 1994 and 1997 and CAA All-Defensive team in 1997. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with both Jim Corrigan (1 of Odell’s assistant coaches) and Carol Hudson (former ODU SID) about 1 of the greatest players in school history. Today marks the 12th anniversary of Odell’s #33 jersey being retired on February 12, 2010, so we take this time to remember his life/legacy.
Hodge graduated from Laurel Park High School in 1992 as the all-time leading scorer in Virginia high school history with 2530 PTS: what made him choose ODU? Jim Corrigan: I was not there at the time. Oliver Purnell was the coach who recruited him. Carol Hudson: Coach Purnell was on him all year long. I think that he wanted to stay in-state.
In 1993 he led the conference with 56 FG% and was named CAA ROY: how was he able to come in and contribute right from the start? JC: He was extremely talented and a big/strong/athletic player. He had a great combo of skill/size and had the opportunity to play right away. CH: He was so big/strong/athletic for his size. Oliver liked to press/run and Odell would often beat the guards down the floor and surprise his opponents. He had great hands and when he pushed you down low that was pretty much it.
In the 1994 CAA tourney title game he scored 28 PTS including the go-ahead basket with 15.7 seconds left and blocked Clayton Ritter’s shot with 1.1 seconds left, but Kent Culuko made a 3-PT shot at the buzzer to clinch a 1-PT win by James Madison: where does that rank among the most devastating losses of his career (despite being named tourney MVP in a losing effort), and how nice was it to get revenge in the 1997 title game with a 4-PT OT win over the Dukes? JC: Coach Jeff Capel came in right after that but I would assume that it was a very devastating loss. CH: I think he lost his state high school title game so when we finally beat JMU in 1997 it was the happiest that I have ever seen him. The 1994 loss was devastating for everybody: we were up by 18-19 PTS in the 1st half.
In 1994/1997 he was named conference POY: what did it mean to him to receive such outstanding honors? JC: I am sure that it meant a great deal to him but he was more about winning games than receiving individual honors. When we beat JMU in 1997 he had a career-high in REB, which demonstrated how much he wanted to win: he made every big play for us. CH: I think that he enjoyed it. He also did a lot of community service and won an award for that as well. He liked talking to kids/reading books to them.
He only played 4 games in the fall of 1994 before having to sit out the rest of the year with a knee injury: how was he able to bounce back the following year, and how on earth were you able to beat Villanova in triple-OT the following March?! JC: We had a very experienced team with 3 really good seniors. It took us a while to get going but once we figured it out we had a great year. By the time we played Villanova they were welcoming of the challenge rather than intimidated. Had Odell not gotten hurt we had a chance to be really good: we were a preseason top-25 team but his injury obviously changed everything. We played Tulsa really close in the 2nd round of the NCAA tourney. CH: We were playing SIU and going to have a great team with a great non-conference schedule (including Arizona/St. Joe’s). Even after he got hurt we still had some great players like Petey Sessoms/Mike Jones who just banded together and would not be denied. That group of guys kept battling before the triple-OT game wore us out, and then we lost to Tulsa in the 2nd round.
He remains #3 in school history with 2117 PTS/1086 REB: how was he able to balance his scoring with his rebounding? JC: He was just a really good player! The 2000 PTS/1000 REB club is very exclusive and he did whatever it took to win. If he scored 4 PTS but we won a big game he could care less about his stats. CH: He had great hands so it was not hard for him to rebound, and defenders could not do much with him since he was so big/strong.
He led the conference in BLK 3 different times and his 286 career BLK were #2 in CAA history behind only David Robinson: what was his secret for blocking shots? JC: He had excellent timing and really soft hands. He would not swat it into the stands but rather tip it into the air where we could recover it. CH: He did not jump very high but had great timing and could go straight up. He was rarely in foul trouble because he just had that knack.
He spent more than a decade playing pro basketball overseas: how proud are you of all his success? JC: He is a great human being and I am very happy that he found his niche. I think he is still in Belgium working as an executive for the team that he used to play for: he seems to be doing very well. He was always a great representative of ODU. CH: We are all very proud of him. He had a great collegiate career and then did very well overseas. I think he is in the front office of a team in Belgium. You cannot help but like him.
In 2010 the school retired his jersey and inducted him into its Hall of Fame: where did that rank among the highlights of his career? CH: I would feel it is right up there with winning a conference title/graduating. It made his parents very proud.
When people look back on his career, how do you think that he should be remembered the most? JC: He was the total package: great kid, conscientious student, the epitome of what you want a student-athlete to be. I hope people remember all of that because he was more than just a great basketball player. CH: As a very pleasant person with a smile on his face no matter what kind of day he was having.