He did ok, can board aswell as create.

OK, Im gonna throw it out there, if you don't like you can throw it right back -

JULIUS HODGE = DWAYNE McLAINE

Stingray.....I want to be on you! Hodge doesnt really remind me of the D-Train, but he can ball. Those long arms will cause big trouble for a lot of Ingles/Worthington types.

Rusty would be the word id use. shot looked terrible but penetration and passing was good. Couple of very nice finishes near the hoop. Did anyone notice that the refs would not call a foul for the new guy? He got slammed a few times inside.

He did get slammed in the lane and got zero love form the refs... he didnt bitch a bit though... he's come from Seria a where they bang like crazy... prob didnt even notice to much.

He jumper did suck, 'I don't know if you notice but he looked like he'd done over a thousand' push-ups type flat jumper... the kind of jumpers you shout after triple sessions of the Mikan Drill!

Completely reminded me Dwayne Mac also.

negatives - he is tempted to overdribble, and that foul shot.... jury it out on that one.....

positives are that he is very active without the ball. will lead the team in steals and deflections for sure, and is busy on the glass. Has great vision also when he wants to use it.

Certainly a bit of street baller in him, prepared to gamble a bit defensively but got a few steals and deflections and looks like he could come up with the big defensive play when required.

He had a lot of turnovers for his minutes (memory tells me 4 without checking box scores) but hopefully they were mainly due to being unfamiliar with the system and suffering a bit of jet lag.

Got a few nice rebounds and passes and seems to be able to score, I think he'll be a nice fit, really looking forward to seeing what he can do in extended minutes.

Gamble a bit defensively. That's just what we need......

compared to everyone else on the floor he seemed like a jet, was hell fast, but did notice he used the dribble a fair bit more than he should be to create, but was able to get to the basket and pull of some sweet passes, next game i think we will see him take off or the one after

Him dribbling to much could be him trying to figure out the team aswell, I dont want to say they need to Gel, but it will take him a bit to figure out how we play...or maybe he was surprised as surprised by Dench as everyone else must have been...

Was happy with his game tonight. He is quick, slapped it out of Ingles hands a few times and unlucky not to get a few more steals. That cross over at mid court was all class as well. Turned it over a few times but you will find he was fouled on those drives where he lost the ball. His drives to the hoop were real good and we havnt had that for a few years at our club. Obviously there were no plays run for him tonight and he hasnt yet grasped the teams' plays so he did well considering he has had 2 trainings with a team that has played for almost 12 weeks together.

Why doesn't he show in the nbl site box scores?

It takes longer for the NBL to update their site than it takes for Phil to call a timeout.

What were his stats?

Shows fine here on the NBL box scores for that game...

52 Julius Hodge 3/7 0/1 0/2 6 2 3 5 2 3 3 0 2 19:12

Well his stats would have been close to this, i watched the game but no box score as of yet so just from memory:

6 pts 3/5 shooting
3rebounds
1 assist
1/2 steals
3 turnovers
18 mins of play.

he also had a few more deflections which he was unlcuky not to steal the ball.

He wasn't on the box scores cos he didn't bring a receipt of his VBA Membership, Basketball Victoria kicked up a stink - Walk over Given.....

That 1/2 crt x-over was pretty nice.

He seemed to travel a few times but it was uncalled by the Ref. He has pace for his size and gets to the rim. His jumper is UGLY, flat like a line drive. He really needs to work on FT shooting coz with his ability to get to the rim..he will be fouled alot.

Only caught the last quarter and a bit. Thought he overdribbled into trouble a few too many times, but at least looked to get into the paint. Could certainly have done worse in his first game - a lot of new imports have had average debuts this season - Gerald Brown, Jared Newson, Orien Greene, Derrick Alston, etc.

Mike Chappell on that list too Isaac?

first 2 mins on court were good... 2 pts 1 reb 1 sassist... good start!!!

Some good drive and penetration, looked a little tired in defence (understandably) and will take time to start dishing out the passes, but the hands look good..and really offers a chance to break through some of those defensive setups we have failed against before.

high hopes

Very good since he just flew from Italy to new york,to los angeles to sydney,via bahrain, to adelaide , to sydney... didn't know where he was.

Final leg was Melbourne - a little bit shorter plane trip than Sydney, Camel 31 - but the rest is probably spot on.

Would seem like more of a home away from home than the basketball court would right now. Hopefully a really good game next Sat night against the Wildcats, and an absolute stunner for his debut at the Distinctive Homes Dome in front of the home crowd.

I'm really hoping that he's 'the awnser' to the 36ers problems.

Posted by Anonymous a few hours ago
"No dribble, flat shot, flashy and easily bumped- poor choice."

Yep, the D Train all over again.

*** Out clause ***

Only going by what others have said.

PS: I love "Anonymous" tw@s.

PPS: iZac, any chance you can identify who "Anonymous" is this time? : )

Why, so you can tell them where you sit at the Dome again?

Omg DDFan i wish you would die already...No dribble? The guy has mad dribbling skills and just tried to do a bit too much a couple of times. Sometimes i wonder if half the people on this site know anything about basketball.

Dr Bullshit, chill mate. I quoted "Anonymous", for his "no dribble" call. I've never posted my thoughts on Julius, but to clear any doubt, he has amazing ball skills, & caused quite a few jaws to drop at the his debut practice session.

I mentioned the D Train, because others had brought up the similarities to his game. It was purely to highlight the disparity of people's observations on this site.

So we agree on Julius' handles, & I'm right with yah on this:

"Sometimes i wonder if half the people on this site know anything about basketball."

To clarify, I do not have you in the list of no-nothins.
Anonymous posters, well that's another ball game.

Posted by Isaac:
"Why, so you can tell them where you sit at the Dome again?"

No, it's just that you've revealed who "Anonymous" posters were before, when it suited.

DD: He can only link it to an IP address - this can be useful when someone posts something, and then supports their claim under another alias, or they do it as two anonymous posts.

Other than that, he can't really do much more.

You could post in this thread where you sit, and hope that the Anonymous poster will come and see you on game night - or you could just cut your losses and move on. :P

DDFan, what is it that qualifies 'you' as such a basketball expert? As far as I can see from your posts you are nothing but a try hard fan! I am sure that there are a number of people on this forum that have much greater understanding than you do, as well as similar insights into the team through past and present players.

IMHO your opinion is nothing but that of a blow hard who thinks that shouting louder means that you are right!

Posted by Ha Ha within the hour:
"DDFan, what is it that qualifies 'you' as such a basketball expert?"

Absolutely nothing. I never have, nor will I ever try to deceive anyone into thinking that I'm anything more than an avid fan of the game. I'm impressed by those with technical/tactical backgrounds, & have the gift of the jargon. I clearly don't. I am purely an observer of the game, & my main focus is on team effort & the blue collar work that mostly gets overlooked by the box-score hounds. That's what pushes my buttons.

Posted by Ha Ha:
"As far as I can see from your posts you are nothing but a try hard fan!"

Your opinion, that's fine.

Posted by Ha Ha:
"I am sure that there are a number of people on this forum that have much greater understanding than you do,"

Without a doubt.

Posted by Ha Ha:
"as well as similar insights into the team through past and present players."

I'm not seeing any player personal insights from those guys. I wish I did, because they too, would know the guys are bust'n their butts. A case in point, Brett's recent hip injury, came from Ding playing pressure defence, & both hitting the floor hard. Real hard. It's not the Kindy romp that a lot of posters think.

Posted by Ha Ha:
"IMHO your opinion is nothing but that of a blow hard who thinks that shouting louder means that you are right!"

I respond loudly, mostly through frustration from blow hards (as you put it) posting rubbish.

Peace.