The Collected Wit and Wisdom of Julius Hodge

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Advice given to Cameron Bennerman, starting in place of the injured Scooter Sherrill, before a March 6, 2004 game at Wake Forest’s Lawrence Joel Coliseum:

“When you’re hungry, you eat; when you’re a frog, you leap; if you’re scared, get a dog.”

In response to UNC player Rashad McCants’ comments comparing college to prison, preseason 2004:

“I don't look at it in that same way, because if that's the way he looks at it, I would hate to see what their shower scene looks like.”

On gaining 15 pounds of muscle in the 2004 off-season:

“It will make me look sexier at the beach.”

On the differences between Harlem and Raleigh, January 21, 2002

“New York is the place to be. I could wake up there at three in the morning and decide to go to the store for some chips and Snapple and there would be cars racing down the street and people walking around everywhere. If I do that here, I'd probably get attacked by a deer.”

After NC State’s 78-74 upset victory over #1 Duke, February 15, 2004:

“We're out here beating ranked team after ranked team; winning big games, making the big plays...we're hard to kill, like cockroaches.”

When asked whether Duke’s Cameron Crazies got to him in a January 15, 2004, loss at Cameron Indoor:

“There's no way I could let a guy with a 4.5 GPA, acne and bad breath decide the way I'm going to play on the court. Everywhere I go I get that, so that didn't make a difference.”

When asked by a reporter to share his thoughts on Wake Forest’s Chris Paul being voted 2004-2005 ACC Preseason Player of the Year:

“You guys were the ones that voted for him.”

After being named ACC Player of the Year 2003-2004, Hodge was asked to comment on Duke’s Chris Duhon finishing second in the voting:

“Duhon’s always saying that everyone's playing for second place, well I guess now he's that guy.”

On returning for his senior season, rather than entering the NBA draft:

“...I just thought why not stay, you know? The NBA's not going anywhere.”

During a press conference to announce his decision to return for his senior season:

JH: “…to get to the point, I’m declaring myself eligible for the NBA draft.  Questions?”

Reporter: [starts to ask a question]

JH: GOTCHA!!!

Later in the press conference, Hodge holds up a photograph of Coach Herb Sendek looking sleep-deprived and sporting a beard…

JH: “How could you say ‘no’ to a face like this?”

On Wolfpack guard Tony Bethel:

“I can't pump him no more because he's the truth. He's not even close to the same player as a year ago. His jumper is always going in. No disrespect to no one, but with me and him we're the best backcourt in the country.”

Discussing NC State’s potential in 2004:

“I see us as the 'lunch-baggers' of the ACC. We just go to work every day, try to get the job done.”

After being benched as punishment for being late to a team event, December, 2004:

“I wasn't late for anything.  Coach has a philosophy. If you're early, you're on time. If you're on time, you're late. I disagree with it, but we got the win, and that's all that matters.”

On preparing to play the Manhattan Jaspers, December, 2004:

“I know the guys we are going to be playing will be tough, rough and buff. We have to be ready to play them.”

Discussing a dunk he made during a game, November, 2004:

“I can't explain it.  My legs were feeling fresh. I can be athletic at times”

On the team’s improved performance in the second half of a game, November, 2004:

“I think early on…early in the game we were careless with the ball but…towards the end of the game we started...umm...being...well, not careless, I guess, and started making shots.”

On spreading the ball around in a game, November 2004:

“I did a good job of that even though I could easily be the Heisman Trophy winner of college basketball.”

After losing to Maryland in the 2004 ACC Tournament:

“[We] wanted to go down in history for winning the ACC Tournament championship, not for being up 20 and losing. I never had the thought ... it never passed through my mind that we would lose this game.”

After the Wolfpack won an exhibition game that was too close for comfort:

“Today was a little bit of a lesson that we can't go out there with our heads up our anuses thinking that we have every game won.”

On having the ball stolen from him by Florida State’s Tim Pickett:

“I was peeved. I had some turnovers like I was in the seventh grade. One time, Pickett took my cookies.”

On his grueling personal workout schedule, preseason 2002:

- “My attention is to getting better every day, and you have to sacrifice some things. I guess the ladies are what I’ve got to sacrifice. If that’s something I have to do for us to win the National Championship, then I’m more than willing to do that.”

- “If I didn’t do that, I would sense someone else would be out there getting better than me. It’s daytime in California, and I’m about to go to sleep at midnight and Cedric Bozeman is still in the gym shooting threes. I can’t give up.”

After committing to NC State as a high school senior, 2001:

“Just making it to the NCAA tournament is not a goal of mine. I would like to win a national championship as soon as I arrive on the scene.”

On taking a shot to the groin from Wake Forest guard Chris Paul in a March 6, 2005 game:

"At first, I just wanted to find out if I could still have children.  Once I figured out I could have children, it was all good."

After defeating Florida State on the first day of the ACC Tournament, March 10, 2005:

“All we can do is continue to play great basketball, great defense, and continue to show off our pearly whites.”

After defeating Wake Forest in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament, March 11, 2005:

- “Earlier this season, I said I'd walk barefoot from Raleigh to Cary to not only get in the tournament, but to win a championship. I guess I had to take one [a shot to the groin] for us to do it.”

- “It wasn't about anyone else except NC State. That's all we could play for, what's on the front of the jersey.”

From a television interview, December 2004:

- “When I’m not playing, I like to work on my game and look fly for the honeys”

- “This is the best personality the ACC has ever seen.”

On playing in Reynolds Coliseum:

“The only thing I didn't like too much was the heat.  It felt like I lost five pounds out there.”

After defeating UConn in the second round of the NCAA tournament, March 20, 2005:

- “What’d I tell you?  WOLFPACK!”

- “No one believed it could happen.  It feels that much better because no one believed.”

On the game-winning basket:

- “[The UConn defender] started clapping his hands and smiling, and I knew there was no way I was going to be denied.”

Last Update: June 24, 2005

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