Matt Hodge Commits to Villanova скачать в хорошем качестве

Matt Hodge Commits to Villanova

It’s a great day to be a Wildcat. Villanova head coach Kyle Neptune got his first verbal commitment from St. Rose High School's Class of 2024 when Matthew Hodge made the call for the Wildcats on Friday. The love for soccer might be contagious in his home country, but his heart was always elsewhere. He wanted to follow in the footsteps of his father, Odell, who played professionally overseas and was a Division I basketball player at Old Dominion. There was no clear-cut path for him in Belgium, but Hodge was prepared to do anything “My dad really helped me staying humble and having the right attitude with everything in basketball,” Hodge said. “In Belgium, this sport isn’t really that popular as it is over here. I was playing for fun, but also taking it serious starting at age 12, which was a big step for me. In Belgium, they don’t really have the right tools to get better like they do over here with AAU and high school. My dad pushed me to go into a boarding school and really taking basketball seriously for 20 hours a week and doing that until I moved over here.” Hodge made the big move to go across the Atlantic Ocean and move to the United States in the summer of 2022, with hopes to pursue his basketball goals. “If I didn’t make that decision, I wouldn’t be where I am today,” Hodge said. “I’m really grateful that I’m here right now. ... For me and my brother, we never knew if our dreams could actually become reality because we were in Belgium and it’s not easy to get into college from over there. We were ready for anything.” On Friday, the 6-foot-8 forward got to fulfill his own Division I dreams, when he announced his commitment to play at Villanova during a live video which streamed from St. Rose High School throughout all of our classrooms to his friends and family in Belgium. You can watch the video below. He chose the Wildcats over Penn State, Maryland, Marquette, Seton Hall and Xavier. “Super excited by my choice, I felt like that was the place I really wanted to be in, where I could shine the most and really get the most out of my potential,” Hodge said. “Any school on my list was a great school and had a great path for me, and every visit I took was super exciting, but Villanova just felt right. It was the right move for me in my heart. After really thinking for a while, it popped up and sticked around and that’s where I wanted to go. I went with that feeling. While the move to New Jersey may have been intimidating for Hodge, he wasn’t completely alone. He moved in with his high school coach at St. Rose, Brian Lynch, who had also played at Villanova from 1996-2000. Head Coach, Brian Lynch, also happens to be his godfather and was teammates with Odell Hodge in Europe. Hodge credits Lynch for the opportunity and for helping him through the recruitment process but notes that his decision was made completely on his own. “He really helped me in comparing every school on the basketball aspect,” Hodge said. “I could really talk to him about how a roster looks, what are they losing next year, and if their play fits my style. He was really effective in that way. “Knowing that he went to Villanova had nothing to do with my decision, and I want to make that clear, too. He never pushed me a certain way or led me to go to Villanova, that was all my decision and I’m really grateful for that.” With his college recruitment process, Hodge is focused on his final high school season. Last winter was a resurgent season for St. Rose, and he and his teammates hope to follow up with an amazing sequel.