Former N.C. State standout Julius Hodge takes over Lincoln University’s basketball program
Hodge, a first-round draft selection in 2005, had a brief stint in the NBA and then played for several years overseas. Now, he's taking on his first head coaching role at Lincoln.
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Once a point guard, always a point guard.
Former North Carolina State standout Julius Hodge, the No. 20 pick in the first round of the 2005 NBA draft, was named the men’s basketball coach at Lincoln University on July 24.
The versatile 6-foot-7 guard from Harlem might be best remembered for hitting the game-winning basket that upset No. 2-seeded Connecticut in the 2005 NCAA Tournament.
During a telephone interview, however, the 40-year-old Hodge, who played point guard overseas for nearly a decade after his brief NBA career, was quick to pass praise toward those who shaped his basketball journey.
“I’ve always been around great men and great coaches,” he said, “so I always had it in the back of my mind that coaching was something I wanted to pursue after my playing days ended.”
Hodge played for the Gauchos AAU organization that developed NBA greats such as Rod Strickland, Kenny Anderson, Jamal Mashburn, and Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame member Chris Mullin.
Hodge’s greatest influence, though, was his older brother, Steven, now 51.
“I just grew up watching him play with his buddies,” Hodge said, “all [those] guys who grew up in the crack cocaine era and became high school and college graduates, all hooped at the Division I and II levels.”
Steven, a 6-3 wing, won a junior college national championship at Sullivan County (N.Y.) in 1992 and then played at Division II Southampton College on Long Island. He is now a teacher.
“He was just a great role model and a great teacher,” Hodge said, “so I knew I always wanted to serve and teach others, give them direction and leadership.”
Hodge, whose NBA career lasted just 23 games with Denver and Milwaukee, retired from playing overseas in 2015 after stints in Australia, Venezuela, China, Vietnam, and France.
“As a pro, I definitely was always looking to get other guys going,” he said. “I knew being a 6-7 point guard I could always get around my guy and then draw two [defenders]. That’s why guys really liked playing with me.”
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After retiring, Hodge worked briefly at what is now the Atlantic Coast Conference Network before joining the coaching staff at Buffalo under Nate Oats, now the coach at Alabama.
Hodge was also an assistant under then-N.C. State coach Herb Sendek, who is now leading Santa Clara University. He was an assistant for three seasons at San Jose State and for the last three seasons was an assistant at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
While he credits previous coaches, including Gary DeCesare and Russ Smith Sr., for shaping him as a player, Hodge’s coaching foundation started at home.
“My core values as a coach were instilled in me as a young kid by my older brother,” he said. “Be disciplined, be committed to excellence every day, and be accountable.”
Lincoln won its first Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association tournament title in March under then-coach Jason Armstrong. The team was led by Reggie Hudson, a Bronx native from Hodge’s alma mater, St. Raymond’s High School for Boys, where Hodge was a McDonald’s All-American.
Hodge also singled out last year’s leading scorers, Bakir Cleveland and Freddie Young, who averaged 13.1 and 11 points, respectively.
Peter Sorber, Hodge acknowledged, also was a key contributor in last season’s championship run. Sorber is the older brother of recent Archbishop Ryan graduate Thomas Sorber, who will play at Georgetown next season.
“It’s a great honor to be named the new head coach at Lincoln,” Hodge said. “In my first talk with the guys, I made it very clear: This is their garden and I’m nothing more than a gardener.”
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Hodge’s green thumb includes nurturing a hooper at home. His daughter, Michaela, is a freshman forward at Hofstra. He calls her the “Superwoman of the family.”
Ever the point guard, Hodge considers someone else the family’s Superman.
“He’s my Superman,” Hodge said of his older brother. “He’s the superhero of our family. … I always wanted to follow in his footsteps and so far it’s helped me. I’ve had a good life because he was a great role model.”