Denver Nuggets players expressed shock to learn that teammate Julius Hodge had been shot three times early Saturday and relief that the news wasn’t worse.
“We all were sad and hurting inside our hearts when we found out about what happened last night,” forward Ruben Patterson said Saturday morning.
“But we’ve just got to worry about tonight. But we know he’s OK, and he’s going to be in our prayers.”
Added center Marcus Camby: “The young guy has been through so much during his first year as a rookie. Definitely a learning experience.”
At least seven of the Nuggets visited Hodge in the hospital.
“He’s doing real good,” said forward Carmelo Anthony. “Of course, when they first hear, a lot of people are going to put extras on it (make a big deal of it). But he’s all right.”
Patterson added: “He’s got to be lucky. I mean, it’s a blessing because he told me a bullet went past his head. He’s just lucky. He said he ducked down. It’s a blessing. Whoever did it, God will get him back.”
Patterson said Hodge didn’t know who shot at him.
“No idea. It’s sad because we’re human. (Even though) we have status, we should be able to go out and have a good time without somebody hating on us or doing something to us.”
Earlier in the day – before the Nuggets took on the Golden State Warriors and won 95-92 – players said they worried about their teammate.
Forward Kenyon Martin said the pain in his left knee did not weigh on him as much in light of Hodge’s scare.
“I’ve just got tendinitis,” Martin said. “There’s something else going on. That man got shot. It is what it is. You’ve just got to count your blessings and try to move on from this.”
At Saturday’s game, players wrote Hodge’s number – 32 – or his name on their sneakers and headbands.
Coach George Karl, who talked to Hodge on Saturday, called him “a good guy, good kid.”
Nuggets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe received an early- morning phone call alerting him to the situation. Asked about the Nuggets’ ability to focus on basketball, Vandeweghe replied: “It was a surprise, and obviously your first thought was Julius and making sure he’s OK. Once we found that out, then the rest we could deal with.”
Martin expressed surprise that such a violent act would take place in a city with a relatively peaceful reputation.
“People are stupid, man. People are idiots,” he said.
“It’s unfortunate, man, that something like that would happen to one of your teammates in a city like Denver. If it can happen here, it can happen everywhere.”
Staff writer Adam Thompson can be reached at 303-820-5447 or athompson@denverpost.com.
