Hodge's work with the guards resulted in a pair of Spartans earning all-conference honors in back-to-back seasons. Seneca Knight was a 2020 honorable mention selection as a sophomore while senior Richard Washington also earned honorable mention honors after leading the Mountain West with 19.5 points per game in 2021.
In 2021, a pair of Spartan Guards saw a big jump in offensive production under Hodge's instruction. Washington improved his points per game average from 10.3 as a junior to 19.5 as a senior while junior Trey Smith boosted his average from 2.3 ppg to 8.0 ppg.
Hodge joined the Spartans after spending the 2016 and 2017 seasons at Santa Clara University as an assistant coach for Herb Sendak, his college coach at North Carolina State. In Hodge's first season with the Broncos, Santa Clara produced its first winning season in four years.
His blossoming coaching career started at the University of Buffalo in 2015 as the director of player development. In his one season with the Bulls, Buffalo recorded a 20-win season for the sixth time in school history, successfully defended its Mid-American Conference championship and played in the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons for the first time in school history.
The 2005 North Carolina State University graduate was a two-time All-American, the 2004 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Player of the Year and a two-time All-ACC player. He was a second-team consensus All-America as a junior and an Associated Press honorable mention All-America as a senior.
Hodge was a first-round draft choice of the Denver Nuggets and the 20th overall selection in the 2005 National Basketball Association (NBA) draft. He played for the Nuggets and the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA and throughout Europe, Asia and Australia before embarking on a coaching career.
Hodge's stint with the Spartans was a reaquaintining with the program. In his second major college game of his freshman year at North Carolina State, Hodge was a starter in the Wolfpack’s win over San Jose State in the 2001-02 season-opening BCA Tournament in Raleigh, N.C.