Rodney Hood, through no fault of his, broke a tradition. Two of the last three transfers under Coach Mike Krzyzewski have seen Duke win a national championship in their redshirt years.
By Rowan Shiell
Rutgers transfer Dahntay Jones, redshirted when Duke won in 2001, and Seth Curry was there for Coach Krzyzewski’s fourth championship in 2010, after transferring from Liberty University.
Hood didn’t bring any such luck but his story at Duke is just beginning and unlike the other two, whose time is over, he has a blank slate. Neither Jones nor Curry won a championship, nor did the first Coach K transfer, Roshown McLeod. To their credit, they had outstanding careers in college and subsequently signed NBA contracts after leaving Duke.
Hood has the chance to make his own luck. Rumours were spreading throughout the season that he was the best player in practice. To keep this in perspective, anyone could be the best player in practice if that was their zenith. You have to figure the other players had to leave something in the tank for actual games. The good news is Hood can now show what he brings to the table.
“I got a lot stronger and spent a lot of time in the weight room and got more comfortable handling the ball and playing on the blue team and second team and working on my ball-handling skills,” Hood said. “I just plan on coming in and making some noise. I can’t promise this or that. But I will help my team win and get us in the best position to win.”
He wasn’t able to travel extensively with the team due to NCAA rules prohibiting schools from paying for redshirt players to travel. However being able to attend home games and close away games, taught him a lot, especially coming from Mississippi State where there were some issues.
In a Duke Blue Planet blog, Hood pointed out certain traits of departed seniors he admired. The way Mason Plumlee played hard and strong, Curry’s confident attitude, and Ryan Kelly embracing his role.
Maybe Hood needed to sit a year and observe how a team like Duke operates. Being in a negative situation can positively influence a person but nothing beats having some comparison.
“I’ve been on teams that didn’t do the right things and it resulted in losing.” Hood said. “I’ve never been on a team like last year where we did the right things and got good results.”
It may have been very frustrating not being able to play but at least he has taken something positive away from the experience along with getting stronger and improving his skills as a player.
Duke will covet these skills in the coming season. At Mississippi State, Hood was more or less a 6-foot-8 guard who averaged 10 points and almost five rebounds. At Duke he will be required to be more flexible. Without many traditional front-court players, Duke will need to utilize Hood’s length inside.
“Rodney’s got great size for a wing,” Duke associate head coach Steve Wojciechowski told the Herald Sun. “He has tremendous versatility. Rodney can guard any of the 1 through 4 positions in the college game and I think he can do it very well. He wants to be a terrific defender. He’s got the athleticism and the strength to do it. He’s also got the smarts to do it. I think Rodney can be one of the best players in the United States.”
It is glowing recommendations like this that‘s fueling anticipation, along with the pairing of Hood with highly regarded recruit Jabari Parker, for the coming season.
A few weeks ago there was some alarm as Hood suffered an injury while trying out for the USA team going to the World University Games. However it was just a minor injury (a strain on the soft tissue of his right Achilles tendon is the official diagnosis) and he should be ready when the season starts.
“The injury is not believed to be serious but it will require the proper rest and treatment to heal completely,” Coach Krzyzewski told the Herald-Sun. “Rodney is in good spirits and we’re excited to know that he’ll be healthy and ready to go in 2013-14.”
Bermuda Bob adds:
The interesting aspect about Rodney was that Duke originally recruited him right down to the end. He chose State, where he was named to the SEC All-Freshman team. Then he soured on staying when Coach Dick Stansbury suddenly retired one step away from being asked so to do. Standbury has lost his MoJo and State would lose Rodney.
Suffice to say that when he contacted Coach K, the thought was something akin to the old Sammy Cahn song, “The Second Time Around.”
The best example of how well Rodney Hood has acclimated himself to Duke and his teammates is that he was voted as one of this year’s Captains, along with Tyler Thornton. That’s quite an honor considering that it is by vote of the team and coaching staff.
That means that there are serious expectations of this young lefty. My hope is that he will embrace them, and then spurn all the talk of his being around for only this year.
