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Mississippi State transfer Rodney Hood adjusting to life at Duke

Rodney Hood

Life isn’t always easy for a college basketball transfer, and we got a peek into that life via the Duke Chronicle, Duke’s student newspaper.

In a piece by Andrew Beaton, Hood gives insight into the struggles he has faced since coming from Mississippi State and enrolling at Duke this fall. Per NCAA rules, he is barred from traveling with the team unless he pays his own expenses, often leaving him at home while his team makes its way around the country.

The biggest catch? Duke’s dorms are not outfitted with cable television.

“It’s almost like a prison, like you’re on punishment type of thing,” Hood told the paper. “It wasn’t like I just decided to leave [Mississippi State]. My coach left. I went to that school to play for that coach. When he left, I felt like a big part of me left, as far as the reason I went to the school. For me to be put in this shell, and have to stay here all the time—even though Duke has a great campus—it feels like more punishment than anything.”

Hood and Rick Stansbury, the coach who left Mississippi State, had had a long relationship throughout his recruitment and Hood was Stansbury’s big recruiting catch. He was a Top 50 recruit who Stansbury spoke glowingly about on the basketball court.

For now, though, he needs to wait until next season before he can suit up for the Blue Devils.

“You sit here and battle with these guys every day, and then you can’t be there to support them,” Hood said. “[Tyler Thornton] pointed out to me the other day, ‘We’re undefeated with you on the bench.’ I ain’t think about it—not saying I get any credit for that—but I just wish I could be there.”

To read the entire piece, click here.

Daniel Martin is a writer and editor at JohnnyJungle.com, covering St. John’s. You can find him on Twitter:@DanielJMartin_