Walter Hodge

Walter Wallace Hodge ( born September 21, 1986 in Guaynabo ) is a Puerto Rican basketball player. Hodge successfully played basketball during his studies in the United States and was with the Gators University of Florida two-time champion of the NCAA. As a professional, he was first in his native active and played from 2010, three years for the club from Zielona Góra in the Polska Liga Koszykówki ( PLK ), where he worked in the 2011/12 season as the "Most Valuable Player " (MVP) in regular time was appointed and with this club in 2013 won the Polish Championship. Since the 2013/14 season Hodge plays internationally for the U.S. Virgin Islands home of his grandfather plays in the Spanish ACB League for the Basque club Laboral Kutxa from Vitoria-Gasteiz.

Career

Before beginning his studies in the United States Hodge graduated from high school at the "Florida Air Academy " in Melbourne ( Florida), where he played until 2004, together with the later Russian national player Sasha Kaun. 2005, Hodge also start studying and stayed in Florida, where he studied at the University of Florida and for the Gators in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the NCAA played. In his first two seasons with the Gators, the very talented 2006 team won for the first time in the history of the college team NCAA Men 's Division I Basketball Championship and was able to repeat the championship the following year. Then almost the entire " Starting Five " was selected the Gators down to Lee Humphrey in the NBA Draft in 2007, with Al Horford, Corey Brewer and Joakim Noah were among the top ten players who were selected in the " Entry Draft " while standing next to Taurean Green substitute Chris Richard were elected in the second round. After this great loss, the Gators were in the following two seasons no longer qualify for the finals of the NCAA, as the Jayhawks of the University of Kansas to Hodge ' schoolmates Sasha Kaun the Gators 2008 nachfolgten as title winners. 2008, five players were also of the Jayhawks in the NBA Draft selected, but no one among the top ten " picks ". Instead, the Gators reached twice an invitation to the National Invitation Tournament ( NIT ), where they were eliminated in the 2008 Final Four of the NIT tournament in the semifinals. After his study in late 2009 Hodge was not selected despite its largely successful college career of a club in the NBA Draft.

After Hodge took part in the summer of 2009 for the U.S. Virgin Islands at the basketball Americas Championship 2009, where the national team remained winless, he played in early 2010 for the Captains from Arecibo in his native country for the first time on the U.S. mainland in the championship of " Minor League " Premier Basketball League (PBL ) took part. The Captains were excluded but after a few games in March 2010, again from the league. Hodge then played in the Puerto Rican league Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN ) for the Cangrejeros from Santurce. But his former club captains successfully defended the championship of the BSN 2010. Hodge then moved to Europe and played for the Zastal from Zielona Góra in the PLK. After the play-offs at the Polish Championship just missed out in the 2010/11 season, Hodge played in the summer of 2011, initially back in the BSN for Cangrejeros, but did not reach the championship final. In the Caribbean Championships 2011, he won with the national team of the United States Virgin Islands, the final against hosts Bahamas. At the start of the European season, he returned to Zielona Góra and was named MVP of the regular season in the PLK. With Zastal he left in the semi-final play-offs for the championship. Then he was like at the 2010 Central American Championships in 2012, where the national teams of Central America including Mexico participate in his country of birth scorer of the tournament.

In the 2012/13 season Hodge took Stelmet as the club from Zielona Góra was called from sponsors reasons this season, on the European club competition Eurocup 2012/13 part where you get into the knockout games in just wide of the catchment quarterfinals failed. Hodge was named as the most effective player of the past two intermediate round match days each named MVP of the match and became the first player since two years, which could achieve this award to two game days in a row. In the Polish League for the first time we won the championship for the club. Then Hodge signed a contract with the Basque club Laboral Kutxa in the ACB league, which is also a permanent participant at the highest European club competition ULEB Euro League. Nevertheless Hodge to play in the NBA Summer League in 2013 for the New York Knicks. Once in the past seemed obstructed a place in the Puerto Rican national team by players like Filiberto Rivera, Carlos Arroyo and José Juan Barea and Hodge therefore reported for the U.S. Virgin Islands, he said now the desire to play for the national team of his country of birth.