It wasn’t so much an idea that was planted in Ross Hodge’s head as it simply was a way of life.

It’s why the moniker Hodge wears as a defensive-first basketball coach is one he wears proudly.

“I wasn’t the most talented player,” the first-year WVU head coach said. “If I was going to play, I had to compete and scrap and fight and claw.”

It’s the type of personality Hodge tries to instill into his players, and it’s come with a certain level of success.

North Texas was third in the nation in points allowed last season. The Mean Green were 45th in the country in defensive efficiency, according to the Ken Pomeroy ratings.

It all goes back to Hodge’s high school days in Dallas and then into his junior college days at Paris (Texas) Junior College.

His coach there was Bill Foy, an Indiana ma

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