MONSTER ENERGY BIG 12 MEN'S BASKETBALL MEDIA DAYS

October 21, 2026

Ross Hodge

Finley Bizjack

Miles Sadler

Martin Somerville

West Virginia Mountaineers

Media Day Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We are joined by West Virginia men.

Coach, we were talking about the special atmosphere that exists in Morgantown for basketball, West Virginia athletics. Expectations are high. What has been the biggest challenge for you this off-season to take your program to the next level?

ROSS HODGE: Yeah, I wouldn't say our challenge is unique to anyone's in this time period. You're going to have roster turnover in college basketball, in college athletics, just bringing a group together.

When the buzzer goes off in everyone's season, nowadays everything is quickly all about them, their decisions, their roles. Once you get everybody together for the first time in June, everything had been up about the individual to that point, and then it really becomes about the team from then on.

With this group, you learn a lot about 'em through the recruiting process. You try to weed out as much of that as you can, put a group together that understands there's going to have to be some sacrifices made for us to achieve the ultimate goals.

THE MODERATOR: Three newcomers up here. How would you explain what each of these three bring?

ROSS HODGE: Miles brings a perfect blend of confidence, competitive spirit, really has a level of humility and humbleness in his heart.

Finley loves basketball, loves to compete. He's another one that enjoys people. It's real. It's not fake. He loves to be in the gym. He loves to compete.

Martin brings a level of connectivity to our locker room. Really has an ability to meet each one of his teammates where they are. Has a great feel for people and what each person needs to be the best version of themselves.

THE MODERATOR: Question for all three of you, why was coach Hodge and West Virginia the right fit for all of you?

MILES SADLER: Well, for me personally, most of the time on visits a lot of schools will tell you about how good you are, what you do great. One thing Coach Hodge told me was my flaws, what I did wrong. It's definitely weird to hear on a visit, but I feel like that drew me closer to him. I felt like he could elevate my games in ways I didn't think I could.

FINLEY BIZJACK: The part of my game I feel like I needed to develop most was my defense. Coach Hodge gave me examples of how he can do that in his system. It was just trusting coach and the family atmosphere that he had.

MARTIN SOMERVILLE: I think the first thing I looked at was just the coaching staff, how everybody has stayed together for multiple years, which in this day and age is really hard.

I think that spoke a lot about Coach Hodge, the type of man he is. Now knowing him for a few months, the type of guy he is, you can really look up. You'll learn a lot from him. He holds you accountable. That's, like, what growing up is. Those stats were the reason why I came to West Virginia rather than any on court reasons.

THE MODERATOR: What have you noticed now that you're staff has been in place for a little while?

ROSS HODGE: It's certainly an advantage, I mentioned it earlier, you're going to have roster turnover, newness each year to year with the way the landscape is.

To have a staff that we've been together now going on our fourth year, we learn how to play off each other's strengths and weaknesses. My witnesses, they know how to fill in with their strengths. A full understanding of what we're doing, why we're doing it, how to communicate in a manner.

In some ways they can communicate it better than I can even now. That's definitely a blessing in the time period that we're in.

THE MODERATOR: What is the message that you want each of these three young men to understand about the Big 12, the uniqueness that it will bring?

ROSS HODGE: Yeah, just the margin of error, or lack thereof, from night in to night out. I think if you look, margin of victory, if you combined all the Big 12 games, the scores, ran 'em all together, just the average score differential is a possession, just how important each blockout, each rebound.

Again, some of the best college basketball coaches, not only in the game today, but ever, some of the most historic venues, obviously some of the best players. You get the whole combination of elite coaching, elite talent, elite fan bases, and it's exciting.

There should be a level of appreciation to be a part of it. Understanding that it takes what it takes. There's no other way around it.

In this league, toughness, togetherness; you better be resilient. You better be able to move on from one play to the next, one game to the next.

THE MODERATOR: What is the most exciting part for each of the three of you student-athletes about competing night in and night out for what your coach just talked about, the gauntlet of the Big 12?

MILES SADLER: For me personally as a freshman coming in is the atmospheres. I feel like every school has their own atmosphere, especially with the fans included. 13, 14,000 people at each venue. Definitely being in front of that, doing what I love.

FINLEY BIZJACK: Definitely playing against the best players, the best coaches, the best programs. Those are the games you grow up watching. Trying your best to be a part of that.

Honestly, winning is what stood out to me.

MARTIN SOMERVILLE: I think having the opportunity to play for something bigger than yourself. West Virginia is a beautiful state, beautiful community. The guys I'm going into this league with are even better, so I'm really confident in us and the Big 12 this year because of my teammates.

THE MODERATOR: Miles, being new to college basketball and a freshman, how has the reception in Morgantown been for you?

MILES SADLER: No matter where I go, someone recognizes me, whether it's at the grocery store or if I'm just driving by. I've been stopped in my car a couple times.

Anywhere, they love basketball out there. They love what we have going on. They love the team. I'm sure it's the same for a lot of the other guys on the team, too.

THE MODERATOR: Coach, do you get stopped in your car?

ROSS HODGE: Probably not as much as he does.

THE MODERATOR: What is your typical approach to handling pre-season prognostications for your squad? You're picked to finish tied for eighth.

ROSS HODGE: I understand it's kind of part of building excitement for a season. As far as my motivation or our motivation or the things that we kind of talk about, don't put a lot of stock into it either way.

We know we got to get a lot better. To do that you got to be able to kind of take it like coachspeak 101 coming like one day at a time and focus in on what you can control.

We're confident in our group and we kind of have a saying, we talked about it yesterday, we respect everyone, but we don't fear anyone at the same time. That certainly is the way this league is. You better have a healthy amount of respect for your opponents, but you certainly don't fear any of 'em at the same time. An awareness that if you do these things, you can be successful. If you don't do these things, you can get your butt kicked.

THE MODERATOR: What do you think like West Virginia is doing best as a basketball team?

FINLEY BIZJACK: Just practicing. I feel like we practice harder than anyone in the country. Definitely no practices like this I've ever been a part of. We just play so hard, we're so competitive. Our entire program hates losing from the top down.

MARTIN SOMERVILLE: I mean, I would say obviously execution and stuff could get better as we go on throughout the season. I think we've done a beautiful job of our connectivity from 1 through 15. All the guys really love each other. We're happy to see each other win. You know what I mean? We're happy to see each other make good plays. I think that goes a long way throughout the season.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you for your time. We appreciate you being with us.