By Pat Clines
Sacramento, Calif - Former SCF basketball standout D'Moi Hodge (2018-20) lead the way for the University of Missouri (25-9) in the first round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament and advanced to the second round. Hodge lead the Tigers, the #7 seed in the tournament, with 23 points (8-for-14 FG, 5-for-10 3PT, 2-for-2 FT), four rebounds, two assists and four steals in the 76-65 win over #10 seed Utah State. They will face #15 seed Princeton (21-8) (Ivy League Tournament winner) in the second round after they defeated #2 seed Arizona (28-6) 59-55 in their first round game.
"It's obviously amazing watching one of our former players play in the NCAA tournament and have them play for the last three years," said head coach Tom Parks. "They paved the way to see how capable they are when they come from junior college and have success. I thought D'Moi played a really good game and made the right plays that were big and down the stretch. Obviously, I'm very proud of D'Moi of the system he's playing in and working well with his teammates while his defense has been spot-on. I loved watching him play and I loved coaching him during his two years with the Manatees. Playing in an NCAA Tournament has always been a dream of mine and to see him accomplish a dream like that is just remarkable for him. I'm very excited for him as he prepares for Princeton in the second round."
Hodge is the second Manatee under the Parks era to play in the NCAA tournament. His former teammate, Isiah Dasher (2018-20) helped lead the Saint Peters Peacocks to the Elite Eight in the 2022 NCAA National Tournament.
Hodge began his collegiate basketball career at New Mexico Junior College in 2017-18, however the guard and native of Tortola, British Virgin Islands decided to redshirt and ended up transferring to SCF in 2018.
In his first year with the Manatees (Parks' first year as head coach), Hodge averaged 19.3 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 3.1 steals and 2.1 blocks per game, which included a 50 point game against Miami Dade. After helping the Manatees win the Suncoast Conference Tournament against Polk State and qualify for the FCSAA State Tournament for the first time since 2013. He would also end up on the All-Suncoast Conference First Team, the FCSAA All-State Team and the FCSAA All-Tournament Team as well as earning FCSAA Player of the Week three times and NJCAA Player of the Week once.
In his second year with the Manatees, Hodge's stats and accolades would increase as he averaged 25.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 2.7 steals and 2.1 blocks per game. During the season, Hodge would earn his 1,000th point against Florida State College at Jacksonville (December 15, 2019) before setting program records for points in a single season (805) and most career points (1,403) that were held by James Life (2004-06). Once again, he would lead the Manatees to the Suncoast Conference Tournament and defeated Polk State for the second straight year while ending up on the All-Suncoast Conference First Team and the FCSAA All-State Team before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
After his tenure with SCF, Hodge would end up continuing his collegiate career at Cleveland State under head coach Dennis Gates. There, he helped the Vikings to a 19-8 overall record with a 16-4 record in the Horizon League where they would win the Horizon League Regular Season Championship and the Horizon League Championship Tournament to secure an automatic bid to the 2021 NCAA Men's Tournament, their first bid in 12 years before they fell in the first round to final four participant University of Houston. He would average 10.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game.
In his senior season, Hodge would return to the Vikings where he averaged 15.5 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game. He would help the Vikings win a second straight Horizon League Regular Season Championship before making a trip to the 2022 NIT where they would fall in the first round to eventual tournament winner Xavier University. He was named the Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year and was named on the All-Horizon League First Team.
Hodge, with one year of eligibility remaining, transferred to Missouri after Gates landed the job as the Tigers head coach. Three of his teammates, guard Tre Gomillion, guard Ben Sternberg and center Mabor Majak also ended up transferring with Hodge to join Gates.
Hodge is currently averaging 15.1 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.6 steals per game for the Tigers and is one of 25 finalists for the Lefty Driesell Defensive Player of the Year award (NCAA National Defensive Player of the Year). His 2.6 steals per game rank #4 in the nation.