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Section: News Articles

Section: Sports

Dragons’ Hodge leaves PJC for Midland College

Ending a brief but successful few years at Paris Junior College, Dragons Head Basketball Coach Ross Hodge has accepted the head coach’s position with Midland College.

A former PJC player, Hodge was named Conference Coach of the Year and twice Region XIV Coach of the Year. He has led the Dragons to consistently high achievements both regionally and nationally.

“I just feel very blessed to be leaving a great situation at PJC, and coming into a great situation,” Hodge said Thursday from Midland, where he was to appear at a 1 p.m. press conference. “I just want to thank everyone at PJC for the opportunity to take over a very good program there in Paris.”

Hodge also expressed his appreciation to PJC’s faculty and staff, as well as fans of the Dragons.

“Obviously,” he said, “Paris is very special in my heart. I’ll miss everybody.”

The Dragons ended this season as Region XIV Tournament runners-up and North Zone co-champions with a 25-6 overall record and a national ranking of sixth in defensive points allowed. PJC was also ranked in the top 10 for the third straight year. Last year Hodge led the Dragons to the Region XIV Conference Championship and an 8th-place national finish in NJCAA National Tournament.

Hodge also served as assistant to former Dragons Head Coach Bill Foy.

“We wish Coach Hodge the best of luck in his new position,” said PJC President Dr. Pamela Anglin. “He’ll be missed, though I told him that we’d see him in Hutch.” (The NJCAA National Tournament is played annually in Hutchinson, Kan.)

Hodge’s resignation is effective immediately. He beat out many candidates to replace Midland’s former head coach Grant McCasland, who left April 20 to take the head coaching position with Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas.

Hodge’s tenure has produced several All-Americans and many All-Conference players with most moving on to play at the university level.

In the 2007-08 season the Dragons won the most games in school history (30), achieved the highest national ranking in school history (No. 4), and started out the season 19-0.

In Hodge’s first season the Dragons won the 2006-2007 TEAC regular season conference championship while having the best regular season record in school history (26-4) and finishing with a No. 7 national ranking.

From 2003 to 2005 Hodge was an assistant to Sam Walker at Texas A&M University — Commerce while earning his master’s degree in kinesiology. The TAMU-C Lions won the Lone Star Conference regular and tournament championship, falling one game short of the Elite Eight in the national tournament.

Hodge’s playing career started at Seagoville High School under Leonard Bishop, and he moved on to play basketball at PJC. In the two years he played for Foy at PJC, Hodge was the point guard for a team that won 20 games both years and made two regional tournament appearances.

Hodge went on to play at TAMU-C and set the school record for assists in a single season, finishing second in the nation in that category. He received his bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology in 2003.

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