Walter Hodge


Walter Wallace Hodge Muñoz is an American-Puerto Rican-U.S. Virgin Islander professional basketball player for Sagesse Club of the Lebanese Basketball League. Internationally, Hodge plays with the senior U.S. Virgin Islands national basketball team, due to eligibility arising from his Virgin Islander grandfather. After being a reserve point guard in his first two seasons with the Florida Gators, he became the starting point guard for the two-time defending national champions in the 2007–08 season. On June 5, 2013, in appreciation for his contribution to Zielona Góra, his jersey number was retired.

Early years

Hodge was born in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. He attended Florida Air Academy in Melbourne, Florida, a private military academy, and played high school basketball for the Florida Air Falcons. The Falcons won state championships, with undefeated teams, during his sophomore and senior seasons.

College career

Hodge accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida, where he played for head coach Billy Donovan's Florida Gators men's basketball, team from 2005 to 2009. Playing a reserve role in the 2005–06 season, Hodge averaged 3.9 points and 1.2 assists per game, as a freshman. He started 8 games in Southeastern Conference play, and averaged 19 minutes per contest, during the Gators' first national title run.
Hodge had a decreased number of starts and minutes during the 2006–07 season, starting just three games, but increasing his scoring average to 5.7 points per game, as the Gators repeated as national champions. He had a career high of 17 points against Florida State, and finished the season hitting exactly 50% of three-point shot attempts. With the departure of Taurean Green to the NBA, and Lee Humphrey to graduation/playing overseas, Hodge became the starting point guard for the Gators, during the 2007–08 season.

Professional career

On August 2010 Hodge signed with the Polish League team Zielona Góra. In April 2012, Hodge was named the Most Valuable Player of the Polish Basketball League. As the Zastal Zielona Góra's top player, he won with his team the 2011–12 Polish League Bronze Medal.
In the 2012–13 season, Zielona Góra's team debuted in the European-wide 2nd-tier level EuroCup, and advanced to the Last 16. Hodge was the team's leader, with averages of 21.2 points and 5.4 assists per game, while shooting 51.7% overall from the field and 50% on 3 point field goals. In week 6, he took the EuroCup Basketball Player of the Round honors. On February 25, 2013, Hodge was awarded the Polish-Czech All Star Game MVP. He was named to the All-EuroCup Second Team in 2013. In June 2013 he won the Polish League championship. It was the first Polish national championship in Zielona Góra's history. On June 5, 2013, Basket Zielona Góra retired Hodge's jersey number 15. He became the first player in the club's history to be honored with a jersey retirement.
In June 2013, Hodge signed a two-year deal with Spanish club Laboral Kutxa Vitoria. In February 2014, he was loaned to Puerto Rican club Capitanes de Arecibo, for the rest of the season. In August 2014, he parted ways with Laboral Kutxa, and signed with Russian club Zenit Saint Petersburg. On May 6, Hodge returned to Capitanes de Arecibo.
On July 31, 2017, Hodge signed with Homenetmen Beirut of the Lebanese Basketball League. After playing with Capitanes de Arecibo for some time in 2018, Hodge returned to Homenetmen Beirut on September 25, 2018.

National team career

Hodge is a member of the senior U.S. Virgin Islands national basketball team. With the U.S. Virgin Islands, he played at the 2009 FIBA Americas Championship, the 2010 Centrobasket, the 2011 FIBA CBC Championship, where he won a gold medal, the 2012 Centrobasket, the 2014 Centrobasket, the 2016 Centrobasket, and the 2017 FIBA AmeriCup.

Awards and accomplishments

College