Wikipedia

Walter Hodge

For the judge, see Walter Hartman Hodge.

Walter Wallace Hodge Muñoz (born September 21, 1986) is a Puerto Rican-U.S. Virgin Islander professional basketball player for Zastal Zielona Góra of the Polish Basketball League (PLK). Internationally, Hodge plays with the senior U.S. Virgin Islands national basketball team, due to eligibility arising from his Virgin Islander grandfather. After being a reserve point guard in his first two seasons with the Florida Gators, he became the starting point guard for the two-time defending national champions in the 2007–08 season. On June 5, 2013, in appreciation for his contribution to Zielona Góra, his jersey number was retired.

Walter Hodge
Hodge with Zielona Góra, in 2012.
No. 15 – Zastal Zielona Góra
PositionPoint guard
LeaguePLK
Personal information
Born (1986-09-21) September 21, 1986 (age 38)
Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
NationalityPuerto Rican / U.S. Virgin Islander
Listed height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Listed weight170 lb (77 kg)
Career information
High schoolFlorida Air Academy
(Melbourne, Florida)
CollegeFlorida (2005–2009)
NBA draft2009: undrafted
Playing career2009–present
Career history
2009Capitanes de Arecibo
2010–2011Cangrejeros de Santurce
2010–2013Zielona Góra
2013–2014Saski Baskonia
2014→Capitanes de Arecibo
2014–2015Zenit Saint Petersburg
2015Capitanes de Arecibo
2015–2016Cantù
2016–2017ASVEL
2017–2019Homenetmen Beirut
2019–2020Sagesse Club
2020Al-Wahda
2020US Monastir
2021–2022Zamalek
2022Kuwait
2022–2023Al Ahly
2023–2024Homenetmen Beirut
2024Al Ahli Tripoli
2024–presentZastal Zielona Góra
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Representing  Virgin Islands
FIBA CBC Championship
Gold medal – first place 2011 The Bahamas

Early years

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Hodge was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico.[citation needed] He attended Florida Air Academy in Melbourne, Florida, a private military academy, and played high school basketball for the Florida Air Falcons. The Falcons won the state championships, with undefeated teams, during his sophomore and senior seasons.

College career

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Hodge, center, between coach Billy Donovan and George W. Bush.

Hodge accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida, where he played for head coach Billy Donovan's Florida Gators men's basketball, team from 2005 to 2009. Playing a reserve role in the 2005–06 season, Hodge averaged 3.9 points and 1.2 assists per game, as a freshman. He started 8 games in Southeastern Conference (SEC) play, and averaged 19 minutes per contest, during the Gators' first national title run.

Hodge had a decreased number of starts and minutes during the 2006–07 season, starting just three games, but increasing his scoring average to 5.7 points per game, as the Gators repeated as national champions. He had a career high of 17 points against Florida State, and finished the season hitting exactly 50% of three-point shot attempts. With the departure of Taurean Green to the NBA, and Lee Humphrey to graduation/playing overseas, Hodge became the starting point guard for the Gators, during the 2007–08 season.

Professional career

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In August 2010 Hodge signed with the Polish League team Zielona Góra. In April 2012, Hodge was named the Most Valuable Player of the Polish Basketball League. As the Zastal Zielona Góra's top player, he won with his team the 2011–12 Polish League Bronze Medal (3rd place).

In the 2012–13 season, Zielona Góra's team debuted in the European-wide 2nd-tier level EuroCup, and advanced to the Last 16. Hodge was the team's leader, with averages of 21.2 points and 5.4 assists per game, while shooting 51.7% overall from the field (52.4% on 2 point field goals) and 50% on 3 point field goals (making 25 out of 50 attempts). In week 6, he took the EuroCup Basketball Player of the Round honors. On February 25, 2013, Hodge was awarded the Polish-Czech All Star Game MVP (he scored 22 points in the game). He was named to the All-EuroCup Second Team in 2013.[1] In June 2013 he won the Polish League championship. It was the first Polish national championship in Zielona Góra's history. On June 5, 2013, Basket Zielona Góra retired Hodge's jersey number 15. He became the first player in the club's history to be honored with a jersey retirement.

In June 2013, Hodge signed a two-year deal with Spanish club Laboral Kutxa Vitoria.[2] In February 2014, he was loaned to Puerto Rican club Capitanes de Arecibo, for the rest of the season.[3] In August 2014, he parted ways with Laboral Kutxa,[4] and signed with Russian club Zenit Saint Petersburg. On May 6, Hodge returned to Capitanes de Arecibo.[5]

On July 31, 2017, Hodge signed with Homenetmen Beirut of the Lebanese Basketball League.[6] After playing with Capitanes de Arecibo for some time in 2018, Hodge returned to Homenetmen Beirut on September 25, 2018.[7]

Hodge signed with Sagesse Club in Lebanon in 2019 and averaged 22 points per game. Later he joined Al Wahdi in Saudi Arabia. On September 21, 2020, Hodge signed with US Monastir of the Championnat National A.[8]

In September 2020, Hodge signed with US Monastir in Tunisia.[9]

In October, Hodge signed with Zamalek in Egypt.[10] He played with the team in the 2021 season of the Basketball Africa League, winning the first-ever championship. Hodge had 12 points and 4 assists in the final and was named the first-ever BAL Most Valuable Player.[11]

On July 27, 2022, the Egyptian defending champions Al Ahly of the Super League announced it had signed Hodge for the 2022–23 season.[12] In March 2023, he returned to the Capitanes de Arecibo after using an opt-out clause in his contract with Al Ahly.[13]

In January 2024, Hodge received an offer from his former club Zastal Zielona Góra, but he decided to sign a 10-day contract with Al Ahli Tripoli from Libya for the Dubai Tournament.[14]

On October 2, 2024, Hodge returned to Al Ahli Tripoli for a second stint.[15]

On October 26, 2024, he signed with Zastal Zielona Góra of the Polish Basketball League (PLK).[16]

National team career

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Hodge is a member of the senior U.S. Virgin Islands national basketball team. With the U.S. Virgin Islands, he played at the 2009 FIBA Americas Championship, the 2010 Centrobasket, the 2011 FIBA CBC Championship, where he won a gold medal, the 2012 Centrobasket, the 2014 Centrobasket, the 2016 Centrobasket, and the 2017 FIBA AmeriCup.[17]

On February 21, 2021, Hodge scored a national team career-high 44 points in a 95–90 loss to Canada.[18]

Awards and accomplishments

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College

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Zielona Góra

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Baloncesto Superior Nacional

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Homenetmen Beirut

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Zamalek

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BAL career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
 †  Won an BAL championship
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2021† Zamalek 6 6 27.6 .486 .370 .882 5.0 5.8 .5 .0 15.5
Career 6 6 27.6 .486 .370 .882 5.0 5.8 .5 .0 15.5

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Eurocupbasketball.com Star power fills 2012-13 All-Eurocup teams!
  2. ^ "LABORAL KUTXA lands playmaker Hodge as first signing of summer". Euroleague.net. June 5, 2013. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  3. ^ "Walter Hodge officially loaned from Baskonia to Capitanes de Arecibo". Sportando.com. February 23, 2014. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  4. ^ "Walter Hodge and Baskonia officially part ways". Sportando.com. August 19, 2014. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  5. ^ Modestti, Luis (May 6, 2016). "Hodge listo para debutar con los Capitanes". BSNPR.com (in Spanish). Retrieved May 15, 2016.
  6. ^ "Walter Hodge inks in Lebanon with Homenetmen Club". Sportando.com. July 31, 2017. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  7. ^ "Walter Hodge returns to Homenetmen". Sportando. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  8. ^ Madwar, Ahmad (September 21, 2020). "US Monastir tabs Walter Hodge". Latinbasket. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  9. ^ "UFFICIALE - Walter Hodge firma in Tunisia con l'Us Monastir". September 23, 2020.
  10. ^ "El al Zamalek se fortalece con la incorporación de Walter Hodge". October 8, 2020.
  11. ^ "Zamalek are the champions of the inaugural BAL". BAL. 30 May 2021. Archived from the original on 30 May 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  12. ^ Ali, Ahmad Gamal (2022-07-27). "BASKETBALL: Al Ahly sign ex-Zamalek star Walter Hodge". KingFut. Retrieved 2022-07-27.
  13. ^ Vocero, Joseph Reboyras, EL (21 March 2023). "Walter Hodge se reporta por sorpresa a los Capitanes de Arecibo". El Vocero de Puerto Rico (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-03-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ "Ahly Tripoli signs Walter Hodge for Dubai Tournament". www.afrobasket.com. Retrieved 2024-10-04.
  15. ^ "Hodge is back at Ahly Tripoli". www.afrobasket.com. Retrieved 2024-10-04.
  16. ^ "Walter Hodge wraca do Zielonej Góry!". plk.pl (in Polish). October 26, 2024. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
  17. ^ Walter Wallace HODGE (ISV).
  18. ^ "USVI Mounts Big Comeback But It Wasn't Enough: Canada Clinches Americup 2022 Qualifier". viconsortium.com. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
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Social Media Accounts

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Walter Hodge on Telegram

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