James Hodge '17 Recruiting Profile

My whole life, I grew up playing basketball from having a small basketball goal at the age of 2 on the wall in my room, and my mother making me shoot the ball from the bedroom door. Later, I played basketball in middle school. As a player I wasn’t a fan of basketball at the start, I just played without a passion. I fell in love with more than just basketball. I fell in love with the challenge of becoming better. I begin to watch Lebron and Kobe on how they develop their game and how they got great at the sport. I truly wanted to learn and grow into being a better me in the game of basketball.

When I went to high school, I was able to try out for the basketball team and I made the team. I played for the reminder years at the high school. Even in high school, I understood the concept of hard work and perseverance. I was always taught by my parents that hard work pays off. During my Senior year of high school and after high school, I started to play in basketball show cases around Georgia and Florida.

When I went off to college, I decided to focus on my studies even though my passion to play basketball was weighing heavy on my mind. During my sophomore year of college, the coach approach me to try out for the team and my parents agreed that it was time. I tried out and made the team. I dragged myself out of bed every morning at 5 am and worked out hard for two hours before going straight to class. I spent what little free time I had learning and refining my skills. All the training, all the pain and all the loss of sleep seem like it was for nothing. But I soon realize that wasn’t the case. I later found out that I was one of the top featured Athlete for the men’s basketball team at East Georgia State College.

My coaches would tell you that I am harder on myself then I am on anyone. I live by one code work hard, say no to the mind of I can’t, look past my fears and believe I will. I graduated 2021 with my AS in Nursing. I will not sell myself short, I am more capable than you think. I will not stop dreaming and striving to be better at my craft. Success is born out of faith, undying passion and relentless drive. I will challenge myself because good enough is not good enough.

My goal is to play my game on a NCAA Division 1 basketball team.