Daniels gets pick-me-up game
If Virginia Commonwealth's Troy Daniels needed a game to restore confidence, he got it Wednesday.
The streaky 3-point shooter drilled 5 of 9 treys and scored 17 points in a 69-46 victory over South Florida. The junior guard had made just 3 of 13 from behind the arc in the three previous games as his playing time dwindled.
Daniels is shooting 36 percent on 3-pointers.
"His confidence was wavering a little bit," VCU coach Shaka Smart said. "But his teammates and his coaches the past few days have really been emphasizing that we believe in him and that when he's open, we want him to shoot the ball. He rewarded us by going 5 for 9.
"What it does is it really opens things up offensively for us. We've had our stretches this year where we've struggled to score. But when we can get him in there and the scoreboard is moving by 3s, then it certainly makes things easier."
VCU (4-3) plays George Washington on Sunday in the BB&T Classic at the Verizon Center in Washington.
Smart takes note of sellouts
Smart paid homage to another sellout crowd at the Siegel Center after the Rams' victory over South Florida.
VCU has sold out a school-record six consecutive games at the Siegel Center and will make it seven next week against Richmond. UNCW set the Colonial Athletic Association record with nine consecutive sellouts in 2002.
"I told the guys that we need to stop and think just how fortunate we are to play and coach at a place where seemingly every night now it's a packed house," Smart said. "The fans gave us terrific energy. We played far from perfect (Wednesday), but our energy was very, very good. A lot of that was due to the crowd."
The Rams have had 27 sellouts since the Siegel Center opened in 1999. They are 21-6 in those games. Twenty have come in the past six seasons.
Hinton gets surprise playing time
Junior forward David Hinton played just two minutes in the first six games. Smart, though, inserted him briefly in the first half and again early in the second half against South Florida.
Smart wanted to give big men Juvonte Reddic and D.J. Haley a break and still maintain a physical presence against the Bulls. Hinton is 6-foot-9, 235 pounds.
"I thought he gave us a lift just in terms of doing what we asked him to do," Smart said.
"Even the foul he had (in the first half), which was a blockout (on a rebound), he was doing what we asked him to do. It was just maybe a little overzealous. That's one thing you're going to get from David. He's going to really try to execute the plan."
Hinton got in again after the game was decided. His only stat was two fouls in three minutes.
"I told the guys in the locker room afterward (that Wednesday) it was David Hinton. The next night it might be someone else," Smart said. "We're going to need all of our guys on our bench at some point this year."
Tim Pearrell
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