By Harry Minium '77

Odell Hodge ’97 was born in Martinsville, Virginia, and spent five seasons playing basketball for 51鱨վ. But for most of the last three decades, he’s called the small European country of Belgium home.

As an expatriate, he’s played, coached and managed in amateur and professional basketball leagues. He learned to speak Flemish, one of Belgium’s three official languages. “Badly, but enough to get by,” Hodge said.

He married a Belgian woman, Sofie Hodge Ceyssens, and they own a house in Houthalen-Helchteren, in the western state of Limburg. Her parents live next door.

A man plays basketball
Archive photo of Odell Hodge ’97 (far right). 
Photos courtesy 51鱨վ Libraries and 51鱨վ Athletics.

“I could have spent the rest of my life in Belgium,” Hodge said.

But then Mike Jones called. Hodge’s former teammate at 51鱨վ said he was going to be named 51鱨վ’s new coach; he wanted Hodge to be his special assistant.

It took 48 hours for Hodge and his wife to decide to move 4,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean to start a new life.

“You’ve got to take it,” Sofie recalls telling Hodge. “This is your dream job.”

Hodge is a link to 51鱨վ’s basketball past, to a time when the Monarchs won championships and pulled off major upsets in the NCAA Tournament.

He is one of the biggest names in 51鱨վ history. A two-time CAA Player of the Year, Hodge scored 2,117 points and had 1,086 rebounds over the course of his college career. His retired jersey number 33 hangs from the rafters at Chartway Arena, and he’s a member of the 51鱨վ Sports Hall of Fame.

“Odell is still well remembered by 51鱨վ fans,” said longtime season ticket holder Larry Eakin. “When he was hired, there was a lot of excitement.”

Jones said Hodge isn’t just a fan favorite, he’s a legend. “He’s a great example of being an extremely talented, very accomplished man, but yet is so humble and open to everybody,” he said.

Hodge recalls telling Jones at a chance meeting at an 51鱨վ football game two years ago that if a coaching opportunity arose for Jones, Hodge would be there for him.

“Working at 51鱨վ is the only job that would have brought me back to America from Belgium,” Hodge said.