Hodge's shooting is contagious
D’Moi Hodge has the quickest trigger on Mizzou’s roster. The graduate senior guard said the deciding factor for him between a good shot and a bad shot is whether or not he can get it off. He leads the Tigers in 3-point attempts by a mile, pulling up for 167 and averaging 7.0 per game. No one else on the roster has taken even 100.
The British Virgin Islander had another good night from beyond the arc in Missouri’s 83-74 home win over South Carolina on Tuesday, connecting on 4-7 triples. Notably, the team as a whole shot 12-25 on 3s.
When Hodge played at State College of Florida from 2018-20, he didn’t have as many fellow threats along the perimeter as he does with the Tigers. His head coach at the time, Tom Parks, noticed that when Hodge had a good night defensively, the rest of the team seemed to bring the same energy.
“Defensively, when he’s going, everyone’s going,” Parks said via text. “Maybe there’s something to it on the offensive end.”
That’s been the case since Mizzou began SEC play. Here’s a quick look at the Tigers’ splits since the conference opener against Kentucky on Dec. 28 when Hodge shoots above and below 30% from long range:
It makes sense that Hodge is a human barometer when it comes to how well the team shoots considering how many treys he attempts. But him having a good shooting night opens up the floor for his teammates, who are often able to knock down open 3s as well. Hodge agreed there seems to be a ripple effect.
“I feel like it's the way this team is built,” Hodge said. “Like, if Noah Carter hits two 3s, it makes it easier for me because now they're gonna be locked in on him not shooting more shots. I might get an open shot where I can take my time to get the shot off. It is contagious as far as the team we've got. If somebody hits four 3s, it's going to be easier for everybody to get open shots because the other team is scrambling trying to get this one person not to shoot more shots. So it is contagious.”
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