Maplewood senior Bo Hodges has been touted as one of the greatest metro players of all time. Last week, the hype became real as he earned the Class AA Mr. Basketball honors for the second consecutive year. His repeat made him the first metro player since David Vaughn of Whites Creek did it in 1990 and 1991.
“This is a great honor for me but I couldn’t be here without the support of my teammates, coaches and family,” said Hodges. “Maplewood has been good to us. I am glad this helps to show how special a school it is.”
Hodges, coached by Ty Wilson, led his team to the state championships this year after falling one game short his sophomore and junior seasons. His sophomore year, he helped his team upset previously state representative East Nashville in the Region 5AA semi-finals before falling to Pearl-Cohn in the championship game. They went on to end their season at CPA in sub-state. Last season they won Region 5AA defeating Whites Creek but fell at home to Marshall County in the sub-state. This season they fell to Whites Creek in the Region 5AA finals but avenged their loss to CPA from two years ago. Now they are in the state championships for the first time since 2011.
“Bo has been a force for us the past three years,” said Wilson. “This award is well deserved. He and some others suffered through injuries all season but we somehow could make it to where God wanted us to be. Maplewood is blessed to have guys like Bo. He is great athlete, student and ambassador for the school.”
Maplewood will take on Sullivan East at 11:30 today in the quarterfinals of the Class AA state tournament. The individual awards are great in Hodges’ mind but now he is looking for something bigger.
“I am happy about this award but I would trade it in a minute for a gold ball,” said Hodges. “We would be the first to do it at Maplewood and the first in a long time for metro boys. Ending my high school career on that note would be great. I am not satisfied. We have work to do.”
