Nate Schneider
Sports Scene
A picture shared by Dansville athletics on Twitter back in September of 2015 shows all you need to know about how regarded Caleb Hodgson is as a basketball player.
Then a freshman for the Aggies, Hodgson was shown in the picture at a Michigan State football game after an invite from Spartans men’s basketball coach Tom Izzo.
The 6-foot-9 Hodgson has received plenty of invites and overtures in the couple of years since, with the same Twitter account showing him last November as a guest recruit at a University of Michigan men’s basketball game.
Hodgson has received scholarship offers from Western Michigan and Central Michigan to name a couple, while the junior will certainly see more offers and attention come his way before making a decision on his future.
But in the present, he is providing a dominating force in the interior for the Aggies once again. In helping lead the charge to an 8-1 start this season, Hodgson is averaging 23.8 points per game along with 14.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks. He is also adding 2.8 assists and 1.9 steals per.
“He’s scoring at a great pace for us but he does so many other things as well,” eighth-year Dansville head coach Cole Feldpausch said. “He gets so many rebounds and he blocks a lot of shots, so he’s anchoring our defense as well. He’s a great passer. Our offense runs through him. He’s a great scorer, but he’s capable of doing so much more.”
Hodgson has managed to not only embrace the spotlight and all the attention that comes with being a high-profile Division I recruit, but also keep the focus on his high school team and the goals that have been laid out.
“Credit to him for being able to take care of both responsibilities,” Feldpausch said. “On the one hand, he recognizes his responsibility to the team as far as being a great player and needing to be more aggressive. But at the same time, it’s never about him. More than anything, he cares about winning and doing what’s best for the team. But he also knows he has an important future choice and he puts a lot of stock into doing what will best for him.”
Dansville has won four in a row, the latest being a 69-60 triumph at Fulton on Jan. 17. The Aggies hosted Pewamo-Westphalia on Jan. 24 after our print deadline.