| Julius Hodge Workout |
If NBA folks somehow had forgotten about Julius Hodge during his four stellar years at North Carolina State, they got a great reminder of the good and the bad Tuesday afternoon.
Knicks president Isiah Thomas, Nets president Rod Thorn, Jazz general manager Kevin O'Conner, Bobcats GM and head coach Bernie Bickerstaff, Hornets GM Allan Bristow and Clippers head coach Mike Dunleavy ? along with scouts from the Wizards, Heat, Sonics, Nuggets and Sixers ? were all on hand to watch the new and improved Hodge.
Hodge has been working on adding some muscle to his wiry frame and improving that shaky jump shot. The verdict: Both have improved.
Hodge will never be a pure shooter ? his release still has a major hitch ? but at least the ball went in the hoop today. That didn't happen often enough in college in the estimation of NBA evaluators. He also looks a little stronger, though it's unlikely Hodge will ever be much thicker than Richard Hamilton.
Everything else about his game was great. His quickness, athleticism, ballhandling and court vision are pluses. He had one spectacular pass in two-on-two drills that was Jason Kidd-like.
Hodge has already had workouts with the Knicks, Rockets, Kings, Clippers, Jazz and Suns, and Insider got feedback from several of those teams. Each said he moved up the board after his workout with the team and would be in the mix late in the first round.
According to Hodge, several teams told him they were looking at him as a full-time point guard. One team at the workout confirmed that to me. If that holds true across the board, Hodge could make a major jump up the board.
Used courtesy of: ESPN.com |
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