[h1]NBA a world away for Julius Hodge[/h1][h3]Chip Alexander[/h3][h3](Raleigh) News & Observer[/h3]
After being a man on the move, Julius Hodge knows where he wants to be grounded this time next year: In the NBA, hopefully in the playoffs and chasing anNBA championship. "You know me," Hodge said. "I'm still chasing that dream." And this past season, that meant chasing it all over theglobe.
The season took the former N.C. State star from New York to Italy to Australia to Albuquerque, N.M. He played against such teams as Benetton Treviso (andformer Pack teammate Engin Atsur), the Singapore Slingers and the Austin Toros.
Hodge tried his hand at a new sport, cricket. He even surfed off the south coast of Australia -- the kid from Harlem, N.Y., testing the waves DownUnder.
"It was quite an experience and fun at times," Hodge said in an interview last week. "But it's not where I want to be."
In 2005, Hodge was where he wanted to be -- with the Denver Nuggets, as the team's first-round draft choice. But his time in the NBA proved to be alltoo brief, and nightmarish.
Hodge, the ACC player of the year as a junior at NCSU, played sparingly in 14 games his rookie season before being the shooting victim of a late-nightincident. In April 2006, he was hit in the hip, leg and foot after leaving a Denver nightspot. A car pulled up next to his car on Interstate 76 and shots werefired.
No one was charged in the shooting, which left Hodge hospitalized. The next season, he was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks but soon was placed on waivers andwas out of the NBA.
"What happened to me in Denver made me smarter as a player and as a person," Hodge said. "I probably wasn't associating with the rightpeople. I should have been staying around the team veterans like Marcus Camby.
"It helped me grow. One thing you learn is life is more than about those 48 minutes on the basketball court. You should always strive to live life tothe fullest. You need to be a good person."
Hodge, 24, dismisses his short stay in the Italian league last season with Cimberio Varese and then Legea Scafati, saying the living arrangements weresubstandard. But he quickly became something of a cult hero after joining the Adelaide 36ers of Australia's National Basketball League in lateDecember.
"Not only is he a great player, but one of the friendliest and most approachable players we've had at our club," said Paul Bauer, operationsmanager for the 36ers. "He was a huge hit with our fans. Our attendance figures went through the roof after the fans caught a glimpse of Julius ...
"And he took it all in his stride. A great on-court showman and an even better teammate."
In 12 games with the 36ers, Hodge averaged 24.6 points, 9.1 rebounds and led the league with 5.9 assists a game. The 6-foot-7 guard scored 39 points in onegame, and had 25 points, 12 rebounds and 13 assists in another.
Hodge said he had a condo overlooking a beach in Adelaide, a city of 1.1 million. He tried cricket but said it was "a little too boring" and thematches too long.
"They can be 10 to 12 hours," he said, laughing.
And his surfing?
"I was horrible," Hodge said. "I fell off and fell on my side pretty hard. I vowed I would not get on a board again."
Leaving Australia after the season, Hodge returned to play 16 games in the NBA's Developmental League with the Albuquerque Thunderbirds. His numbers --23.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 6.0 assists -- again were impressive, enhancing his chances of making it back to the NBA.
Hodge said his plan now is to attend a few NBA minicamps, play in the summer league and make it into an NBA preseason camp.
"I definitely see it as very promising," he said.
Hodge said while he is still "the prankster," he no longer seeks out the nightlife. He has a 15-month-old daughter, Michaela Supreme Hodge, andsaid he spends much of his free time with her at home.
"Instead of me going out late at night, she keeps me up at night," he said, laughing again.
Hodge said he speaks every couple of weeks with Herb Sendek, his former coach at State, and wears his Wolfpack garb during his daily workouts at the NewYork Athletic Club.
"I'm spending a lot of hours on my shooting technique," he said.
Hodge keeps up with the doings in the ACC and hopes State center J.J. Hickson, who has entered his name into this year's NBA Draft, will stay in collegefor at least another season.
Hodge could have given up his last year of college ball to turn pro. But he's convinced coming back for a senior season helped him become first-roundworthy.
"The NBA is a tough transition," he said. "A lot of young guys who jump early don't realize how much hard work it is.
"You've got to make the best decision for you and your family. All I can say to those thinking of making the jump is, 'Good luck.'"
