OLE MISS
Rebs' Eddie in top shape for game tonight
Who: Ole Miss (7-4) vs. Virginia Commonwealth (4-4).
Much was expected of Tommie Eddie last year, and while his averages were good, the volume wasn't sufficient for the Ole Miss basketball team.
This year, the bruising 6-foot-7, 245-pounder from Brooklyn, N.Y., has been much more productive because he's in much better shape.
Eddie shot a more than respectable 53.6 percent last year, his first after transferring from Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College. This season, the percentage has shot up to 69.2 percent, including a 9-of-11 shooting night against UT-Martin on Dec. 21.
"He's taking really good shots. He's not forcing anything," Ole Miss coach Rod Barnes said Tuesday from Richmond, Va., where the Rebels were headed to a shootaround before tonight's game against Virginia Commonwealth. "When he gets a good look, he's taking it.
"The other thing is two or three times a game because he's lost weight, he's beating guys down the floor and giving us an opportunity to get an easy basket in transition."
He's able to get into the flow of games easier this year because he's now able to play eight or more minutes at a stretch as opposed to just the three or four he managed last year.
In a Nov. 19 game against Tennessee Tech, Eddie made all eight shots he took. He now leads the team averaging 12.8 points per game and still has to face the grind of the Southeastern Conference schedule, but the school record of 63.8 percent, set by Marcus Hicks in 1999, could be in jeopardy.
The Rebels will face VCU at Alltel Pavilion in Richmond, a place where the Rams have been tough to beat. They've lost only 11 times in 76 games there, and just five times out of conferences.
The trend has continued this year, with VCU sporting a perfect record at home to balance losses in all four road games. The quality of opposition has played into that contrast, with losses at No. 5 Wake Forest and UAB.
Junior forward Nick George, from Manchester, England, leads the Rams at 14.1 points per game. Guards B.A. Walker (13.0) and Alexander Harper (11.1) also average double-digits.
Like Ole Miss, VCU rebounds by committee with nobody topping five boards a game.
The Rebels will be without senior forward Charles Rhodes, who has a contagious viral infection. Sophomore Bam Doyne should play with a thigh bruise that's bothered him the past couple of days.
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Who will heed Capel's role call?
George is the Rams' leading candidate to be team's go-to guy
For the past several seasons, there was never a doubt who Virginia Commonwealth would turn to when the game was on the line: Domonic Jones or Willie Taylor.
Neither of them is around any more, and the Rams are in the process of finding someone they can call their go-to guy.
"As much as players want more responsibility, when that responsibility is given to them, sometimes it takes them a while to get used to what that entails," VCU coach Jeff Capel said.
"Domonic really had that for about two years prior to his senior year. His sophomore year, he was our best player. His junior year, he and Willie Taylor were our best players. [Jones] experienced it in high school. Being the guy. Then last year, Domonic and Troy [Godwin] were our best players with the experience they had and the confidence they gave us.
"Any time you lose players like that, it's going to take a while [to find replacements]."
Through VCU's first eight games, no one has taken over the go-to role, but several Rams have emerged as candidates heading into tonight's 7:30 tipoff against Mississippi (7-4) at the Siegel Center.
Wing Nick George, who leads the Rams (4-4) in scoring (14.1 ppg), appears to be the frontrunner, although guards B.A. Walker and Alexander Harper have proved to be late-game threats. Swingman Michael Doles likely would be in the mix if the senior hadn't been slowed by a bout with mononucleosis and a sprained ankle.
"I think we have some guys who can do that for us," said Capel, quickly adding that "Nick George is our best player. We understand that. He's shown that in practice and in games. But the thing we as coaches have to do is help Nick with that, because that's new territory for Nick. He's never been the best player on any team he's been on, and that goes back to high school.
"Since he's been here, he's always had Domonic and Troy, so he's never been asked to be the best player on the team. With Nick expanding his game and getting better, we're asking more of him and he's given us more. But we need more from him."
George, a 6-6 junior, admits it has been a period of adjustment.
"My first two years at VCU, I was playing behind Willie Taylor and then Troy Godwin," George said. "I was always used to taking a secondary role to make those guys better. I was never the one they ran plays for. If I was open, I would be ready to shoot and rebound. That kind of stuff. This year, I guess I have been pushed into the forefront a little more.
"But I worked hard over the summer. I knew what to expect coming into the season. I learned from guys like Domonic and Troy, as far as being a leader. It's definitely been a little different, but I think I'm doing a good job so far. I'm enjoying it."
George twisted his left ankle in last Wednesday's loss at Iona, but the native of Manchester, England, says he's recovered enough to be in the starting lineup tonight.
"I don't really see myself as the main one, because we've got a whole bunch of guys who can do it," George said.
The Rams have two nonconference games left before the Colonial Athletic Association season begins in earnest next week, and Capel hopes to pin down that role by then.
"If I had to say we have a go-to player, I would certainly say it's Nick George," Capel said. "But one of the things I like about our team is we have other guys who can step up."
Rebs' Eddie in top shape for game tonight
Who: Ole Miss (7-4) vs. Virginia Commonwealth (4-4).
Much was expected of Tommie Eddie last year, and while his averages were good, the volume wasn't sufficient for the Ole Miss basketball team.
This year, the bruising 6-foot-7, 245-pounder from Brooklyn, N.Y., has been much more productive because he's in much better shape.
Eddie shot a more than respectable 53.6 percent last year, his first after transferring from Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College. This season, the percentage has shot up to 69.2 percent, including a 9-of-11 shooting night against UT-Martin on Dec. 21.
"He's taking really good shots. He's not forcing anything," Ole Miss coach Rod Barnes said Tuesday from Richmond, Va., where the Rebels were headed to a shootaround before tonight's game against Virginia Commonwealth. "When he gets a good look, he's taking it.
"The other thing is two or three times a game because he's lost weight, he's beating guys down the floor and giving us an opportunity to get an easy basket in transition."
He's able to get into the flow of games easier this year because he's now able to play eight or more minutes at a stretch as opposed to just the three or four he managed last year.
In a Nov. 19 game against Tennessee Tech, Eddie made all eight shots he took. He now leads the team averaging 12.8 points per game and still has to face the grind of the Southeastern Conference schedule, but the school record of 63.8 percent, set by Marcus Hicks in 1999, could be in jeopardy.
The Rebels will face VCU at Alltel Pavilion in Richmond, a place where the Rams have been tough to beat. They've lost only 11 times in 76 games there, and just five times out of conferences.
The trend has continued this year, with VCU sporting a perfect record at home to balance losses in all four road games. The quality of opposition has played into that contrast, with losses at No. 5 Wake Forest and UAB.
Junior forward Nick George, from Manchester, England, leads the Rams at 14.1 points per game. Guards B.A. Walker (13.0) and Alexander Harper (11.1) also average double-digits.
Like Ole Miss, VCU rebounds by committee with nobody topping five boards a game.
The Rebels will be without senior forward Charles Rhodes, who has a contagious viral infection. Sophomore Bam Doyne should play with a thigh bruise that's bothered him the past couple of days.
=======
Who will heed Capel's role call?
George is the Rams' leading candidate to be team's go-to guy
For the past several seasons, there was never a doubt who Virginia Commonwealth would turn to when the game was on the line: Domonic Jones or Willie Taylor.
Neither of them is around any more, and the Rams are in the process of finding someone they can call their go-to guy.
"As much as players want more responsibility, when that responsibility is given to them, sometimes it takes them a while to get used to what that entails," VCU coach Jeff Capel said.
"Domonic really had that for about two years prior to his senior year. His sophomore year, he was our best player. His junior year, he and Willie Taylor were our best players. [Jones] experienced it in high school. Being the guy. Then last year, Domonic and Troy [Godwin] were our best players with the experience they had and the confidence they gave us.
"Any time you lose players like that, it's going to take a while [to find replacements]."
Through VCU's first eight games, no one has taken over the go-to role, but several Rams have emerged as candidates heading into tonight's 7:30 tipoff against Mississippi (7-4) at the Siegel Center.
Wing Nick George, who leads the Rams (4-4) in scoring (14.1 ppg), appears to be the frontrunner, although guards B.A. Walker and Alexander Harper have proved to be late-game threats. Swingman Michael Doles likely would be in the mix if the senior hadn't been slowed by a bout with mononucleosis and a sprained ankle.
"I think we have some guys who can do that for us," said Capel, quickly adding that "Nick George is our best player. We understand that. He's shown that in practice and in games. But the thing we as coaches have to do is help Nick with that, because that's new territory for Nick. He's never been the best player on any team he's been on, and that goes back to high school.
"Since he's been here, he's always had Domonic and Troy, so he's never been asked to be the best player on the team. With Nick expanding his game and getting better, we're asking more of him and he's given us more. But we need more from him."
George, a 6-6 junior, admits it has been a period of adjustment.
"My first two years at VCU, I was playing behind Willie Taylor and then Troy Godwin," George said. "I was always used to taking a secondary role to make those guys better. I was never the one they ran plays for. If I was open, I would be ready to shoot and rebound. That kind of stuff. This year, I guess I have been pushed into the forefront a little more.
"But I worked hard over the summer. I knew what to expect coming into the season. I learned from guys like Domonic and Troy, as far as being a leader. It's definitely been a little different, but I think I'm doing a good job so far. I'm enjoying it."
George twisted his left ankle in last Wednesday's loss at Iona, but the native of Manchester, England, says he's recovered enough to be in the starting lineup tonight.
"I don't really see myself as the main one, because we've got a whole bunch of guys who can do it," George said.
The Rams have two nonconference games left before the Colonial Athletic Association season begins in earnest next week, and Capel hopes to pin down that role by then.
"If I had to say we have a go-to player, I would certainly say it's Nick George," Capel said. "But one of the things I like about our team is we have other guys who can step up."
