January 16th

In the first installment of Matt Hodge’s player profile, we delved into his strong two-point efficiency, three-point volume, and on-court team offensive efficiency, all of which have remained strong after another 10 games. His two-point percentage currently ranks in the 90th percentile, and his three-point rate in the 95th percentile. While he only converted 29.7% of his threes at the seven-game mark, we correctly identified this as a small sample size issue rather than a skill issue. Through 17 games, he’s now hit an improved 35.6% of his three-point attempts, which ranks in the 84th percentile. It’s safe to say that his confidence in letting threes fly has paid off. Together, his productive two-point and three-point scoring has led to an uber-efficient 52.6 effective field-goal percentage, a statistic that accurately weighs the value of a three-point shot versus a two-point shot.

Along with efficient two-point scoring and improved three-point shooting, Hodge has maintained a productive level of offensive rebounding while keeping his turnovers low. The result of all this has been improved team offense; Villanova’s offensive rating with Hodge on the court has improved by 7.5 points per 100 possessions, from 115.0 to 122.5, since our initial player profile. Hodge was a supremely impactful player at that time, and he has only improved since then.

December 4th

Matt Hodge has been quite productive for Villanova to start the year, flashing his high-level inside-out scoring. Through seven games, Hodge has converted 63% of his two-point attempts and launched 11 threes per 100 possessions, something only 17 other high-major players are currently doing. His sample size stabilized two-point percentage and raw three-point attempt rate rank in the 88th and 91st percentiles, respectively, among wings. While he’s only converted 29.7% of his threes thus far, this number is skewed due to small sample size variance. His padded three-point percentage, designed to mimimic sample size stabilization, currently sits at 32.8% and has the chance to rise as he hits more of his shots.

Hodge pairs this inside-out scoring prowess with low turnovers and solid offensive rebounding, all of which combine to make him a low-friction, easy-to-implement player within any lineup. As a result, Villanova posts an impressive 115.0 offensive rating with Hodge on the court. Only two underclassmen match Hodge’s two-point efficiency, three-point volume, and on-court team offensive efficiency as underclassmen. It is an intersection of statistics that is rare at a young age and makes Hodge supremely valuable.