Bigger Than Basketball

Former Minnesota State men's basketball guard
Cam Hodges is a player development coach with the NBA's
Philadelphia 76ers (76ers photo)

Cam Hodges, a Minneapolis native, spent the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons with the Minnesota State men’s basketball team where he averaged 6.5 points and 3.9 rebounds as a junior and 13.7 points and 4.8 rebounds as a senior. His junior season almost didn’t happen because of a military commitment. He has since been honorably discharged from the military.

Under the guidance of veteran head coach Matt Margenthaler, Hodges and the Mavericks finished the 2010-11 season with a 28-5 record. Named the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Defensive Player of the Year, Hodges enjoyed a stellar senior season, earning Second-Team All-NSIC honors. The 6-foot-5 guard helped lead Minnesota State on a memorable run through the NCAA tournament which led all the way to the NCAA DII Final Four in Springfield, Mass.  The Mavericks eventually fell to second-ranked Bellarmine in the national semifinals, but Hodges was playing his best basketball, tallying a career-high 24 points and grabbing seven rebounds in the loss to the Knights.

Following his collegiate career, Hodges played professionally in Romania, Hungary, Luxembourg and Slovenia.

Stemming from an internship with the National Basketball Association's G League that he competed in 2015, Hodges knew that he wanted to coach in some capacity.

“I knew I wanted to coach once I was done playing, I just wasn't sure at what level,” Hodges said. “I kind of found my path once I did an internship in the NBA G League and the rest is history,” he said.

And he did just that, becoming an assistant coach under one of the NBA’s legendary coaching minds, Gregg Popovich.

Hodges spent three seasons with Popovich and the Spurs, serving as a player development assistant during the 2018-19 season, where he worked under shooting coach Chip Engelland, who took over as San Antonio’s head of player development after Brett Brown left to take the head coaching job with the Philadelphia 76ers.

After three seasons with the Spurs, Hodges was hired as a player development coach with the Sixers, where he currently works individually with three players.

“Day-to-day, I'm in charge of the development of three players on our roster. It's usually some on-court development work followed by some individual film sessions with those players to identify areas we are excelling in and areas we can improve in,” Hodges said.

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Hodges gives a lot of credit to Margenthaler and the rest of the Minnesota State coaching staff for putting him in the position he is in today. 

“The impact that the coaching staff at Minnesota State had on me was huge,” Hodges said. “I realized that coaching wasn't about the X's and O's. At the core of it, it's all about relationships. They brought out the best in me on the court and helped me develop into a better man off the court because of the time and energy they invested in me as a human being before a ball player. So naturally I wanted to have a career that would allow me to serve others,” he said.

Another trait that Hodges carries over from MSU to his career is accountability.

“I think the biggest lesson I learned from my time at MSU was being able to hold myself accountable day in and day out,” Hodges said. “If for one second Coach thinks you're slacking, you will be called out in front of the group. Being able to hold yourself accountable every day and perform your job the best you can was the mindset and that has carried over into my coaching career and my personal life,” he said.

When asked what his favorite part of his career is, Hodges gave a simple but incredibly important answer that he learned from his time with the Mavericks.

“The relationships,” Hodges said. “Investing my energy into another person to help them get to where they are trying to go in life and their career. In sports, we are all trying to accomplish something greater than ourselves and being able to play my role in doing so I find very fulfilling,” Hodges said.

Looking into what the future may hold for him, Hodges isn’t concerned about it as he focuses on his time with the Sixers.

“Honestly, I really try not to think about the future too much,” Hodges said. “I try to focus on learning and developing myself every day and life will come together like it should,” he said. 

Contributed by Collin Wilmes, Minnesota State Athletic Communications Intern

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