No Hood ornament shooting from outside

Steve Virgen

There was a sequence during UC Irvine’s 74-69 victory over

Pepperdine Nov. 30 that typified the essence of Mike Hood, a senior

on the Anteaters’ men’s basketball team. Hood, known as a quiet sort,

missed a shot badly midway through the first half. The fans at

Firestone Fieldhouse erupted with chants of, “Airball!” “Airball!”

and continued every time Hood touched the ball.

But then later in the first half with 1:13 remaining he knocked

down a three-pointer that briefly silenced the crowd, but the Waves’

fans cheered again when Mike Westphal hit a three-pointer to answer.

But, Hood came right back, again amid the jeers, and nailed a

three-pointer with 25 seconds.

At this point, Hood could have gestured to the crowd, as if to

say, “What’s up?” He could have raised his fist in the air. He could

have put his hands above his head and raised the roof. Instead, Hood

did what he has always done after a key basket. He turned and ran

back to play defense.

In an age where emotion and intimidation is practically

encouraged, Hood is a throwback to a time when the art of outside

shooting was all about getting the job done, which is simply knocking

down the open shot.

“That’s not really my style,” Hood said of talking trash or

showing emotion after hitting a shot. “I just play the game, and play

hard. I don’t really react to the crowd. I try not to.”

Hood scored a game-high 17 points to lead the Anteaters to the win

over Pepperdine, which provided confidence and momentum for UCI. And,

as the Anteaters are preparing to play at No. 17 Stanford Dec. 19,

the Anteaters will look to Hood again to be one of their key

contributors. Hood, one of only two seniors on the Anteaters’ squad,

will look to maintain the improvements he has made on defense against

the Cardinal. He will most likely be matched up against senior guard

Julius Barnes, who has been instrumental in Stanford’s early-season

success, which includes an NIT Preseason Tournament final appearance.

“Coming into the season, I knew I had to play a lot better

(defense) than I did last year,” Hood said. “I had way too many

letdowns on defense. This year, I want to play harder on defense and

put more effort into it. I think when I do that it helps my offense

too because I don’t worry about making shots, I just worry about

stopping my opponent.”

Hood saw the results of his concentration on defense when UCI lost

87-65 to then-No. 7 Oklahoma in the Sooner Invitational Nov. 22.

Despite the loss, Hood was able to hone in on his defensive skills as

he usually covered the Sooners’ standout guard Hollis Price, who shot

4 of 12 from the field.

“To see where one of the top teams in the nation was at and where

we were at was really good for our team,” Hood said. “We saw that we

could play with these people. It would take a little more effort and

more work. Basically, we just need to keep our confidence. We had

them. We could have played a lot better than we did. But, it’s just

the beginning. We can use that game as a steppingstone for the rest

of the season.”

Hood has always found stepping stones throughout his basketball

playing days. He has experienced trials, the ups and the downs, which

has made success all the more sweeter. But, he doesn’t show much

emotion over it. He might end up shedding a tear or two when Senior

Night comes around later in the season, but that is understandable.

Hood suffered a bout with patella tendinitis in his first season

with UCI, after transferring from the College of Southern Idaho, a

community college. He used a medical hardship and sat out the season

to maintain two years of eligibility. In addition to his injury, Hood

also struggled with the transition into NCAA Division I basketball.

“It was a big adjustment,” Hood said of transferring to UCI. “At

the beginning, I was trying to do too much, instead of letting the

game come to me. And then came the injury. It was all a setback. But

I fought through it, worked hard during the summer and I guess I had

an all-right year last year.”

Hood led UCI with 61 three-pointers last season and ranked eighth

in the Big West Conference in three-point goals made per game (1.91).

He also hit 7 of 9 three-pointers en route to a career-high 25 points

in a win at Idaho, the same school that was interested in him when he

was looking to transfer.

Hood was not really up for celebration after that win over Idaho.

It was another W in the column, not an opportunity to talk trash.

Vintage Hood.

“I’m definitely not a rah-rah type,” Hood said. “I’ll get happy

about a big shot or a win. I’ll show a smile or something. But after

I hit the shot, that play is over to me and I try to move on to the

next one.”

For now, Hood is moving on to the next one in Palo Alto, when the

Anteaters face the Cardinal.