The Free Press, Mankato, MN

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November 18, 2009

MSU’s Hodges called into active duty

Freshman point guard being asked to report on Jan. 3

By Chad Courrier

MANKATO — Cameron Hodges realizes he has a commitment to the United States military, but he’d like the chance to play basketball and graduate from Minnesota State before he has to serve.

“I want to get my diploma, and then I’ll do what they want,” said Hodges, who is in his first year at Minnesota State.

Hodges, a guard on the Mavericks’ men’s basketball team, found out Sunday night, after Minnesota State’s season-opening victory over Monmouth College, that he had been called into active duty and should report to Fort Benning in Georgia on Jan. 3, 2010. His mother had brought his mail to the game, and he opened the letter after the game.

“I thought it was a mistake,” he said.

Hodges joined the National Guard after graduating from Robbinsdale Armstrong, and he served 2 1/2 years before asking the Guard for an early discharge so he could attend Minneapolis Community & Technical College, where he also continued his basketball career.

“They said they were discharging me,” Hodges said. “I hadn’t thought about the military at all.”

As it turned out, he was not discharged, and he said that his commitment of three years of active duty, plus five years of Individual Ready Reserve, takes him through 2014. He and coach Matt Margenthaler have been working with Lt. Col. Joel Stephenson, a professor of military science and Army ROTC Department director at Minnesota State, to push back his reporting date until after he’s graduated from Minnesota State.

“I was absolutely blown away when I heard about it,” Margenthaler said. “He understands that he signed a contract and he has a duty to fulfill. His dream is to be a college graduate so we’re helping him to accomplish that.”

Hodges, Margenthaler and Stephenson all wrote letters that were forwarded to the Army Human Resources Command. That paperwork will be reviewed, but a decision on Hodges’ future might be a month away.

“Cameron is a fantastic, upstanding, wonderful individual,” Stephenson said. “Most of the people called up for IRR aren’t trying to shirk their duty or slough it off on somebody else, but he has a fleeting opportunity here to get his education and play basketball on a full scholarship.

“But I told Cameron there are no guarantees. Plenty of people have been activated while they were in college.”

Margenthaler said he’s seen a change in Hodges’ personality. During Sunday’s game, he was on the court, having fun, but at this week’s practices, he’s been more quiet.

“You can tell that he’s got a lot on his mind,” Margenthaler said. “It’d be crazy to think he doesn’t. This is real-life stuff. In a couple months, he could be in Afghanistan, defending our country.”

Hodges said he hasn’t even told his family about the call-up, but after a practice earlier this week, he admitted that he’s not sure how to react.

“Sometimes, I think ‘what am I doing playing basketball when I should be spending time with my family?’ “ he said. “If I have to go, I’ll never play basketball again. My career would be over.”

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