Julius Hodge
From Hoopedia
Julius Melvin Hodge (born November 18, 1983 in Harlem, New York City) is an American professional basketball player. He is currently a free agent after being waived by the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks.
Hodge was selected 20th overall in the 2005 NBA Draft by the Denver Nuggets. He played four years at North Carolina State University. ACC Player of the Year during the 2003-2004 season, Hodge finished his college career by leading State to the Sweet Sixteen.
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High School
As a senior at St. Raymond High School for Boys, operated by the De La Salle Christian Brothers, in the Bronx, New York, Hodge was part of the 2001 McDonald's All-American Team and the first-team Parade All-American, New York's "Mr. Basketball", New York Daily News Player of the Year, New York All-Metro Squad, and Sports Illustrated's Old Spice Athlete of the Month. He scored a total of 684 points his senior season, setting the school record at N.C. State, and left rated as the No. 1 shooting guard by ESPN and No. 5 nationally.
College
As a freshman with the Pack, he was the leading freshman scorer in the ACC, avering 10.7 points per game. He was named to second-team All-ACC Tournament team, after averaging 12.3 points. He earned the Lorenzo Charles Offensive Rebounding Award for 2002, Dick Vitale's "Diaper Dandy" and ranked 20th in the ACC in rebounding. He scored a double-double in his first collegiate game and his first ACC game. He was the only Pack player with multiple double-doubles for the 2001-2002 season.
For the 2002-2003 campaign, Hodge was selected as a first team All-ACC player. He recorded four career-highs during the three day run to the finals of the ACC tournament. He recorded his seventh double-double during the ACC final game and ranked seventh in free throw percentage for the season. During this season he recorded the first ever triple-double in Wolfpack history, and was named ACC Player of the Week after leading the Pack to back-to-back victories against Duke and Carolina. He was one of 17 finalists to make the U.S. Pan AM games squad and Dick Vitale put him on his "All-Rolls Royce Team". He was one of the 50 preseason candidates for the Wooden Award.
NBA
Although Hodge was projected to go late in the second round of the 2005 NBA Draft, he was chosen in the first round as the 20th pick by the Denver Nuggets. He appeared in 14 games for the Nuggets in the 2005-06 season while averaging only 0.9 points in 2.4 minutes.
On January 5, 2007, Hodge started in his first career NBA game, against the Los Angeles Lakers. Six days later he was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks along with Earl Boykins for Steve Blake. On February 7 of that year, Hodge was waived by the Bucks.
Nightclub Shooting
After visiting a nightclub on April 8, 2006, Hodge was on Interstate 76 in north Denver around 2 a.m. when another vehicle pulled alongside his and fired several shots. Hodge was told he came within five minutes of bleeding to death. The case has yet to be solved.
Trivia
- He is named after NBA legend Julius Erving.
- His jersey number, 24, is honored at NC State's RBC Center
- Before college, Hodge was nicknamed "Da Jules of Harlem on His Way 2 Stardom" while playing in Rucker Park.
