There was an exchange — sort of — between Virginia Commonwealth's Juvonte Reddic and a referee last week that expressed something about Reddic's continuing emergence as a person and a player.
Reddic keeps a poker face pretty much all the time. As the 6-foot-9, 235-pound sophomore forward was walking back onto the floor after a timeout against Northern Iowa, the official kept urging him to smile.
"I came up with a half smile," Reddic said.
That's quite a concession for a reserved guy who is learning to peek out from his shell — a process that seems intertwined with VCU coach Shaka Smart's unceasing demand that Reddic learn to play with his motor revving all the time.
Reddic is developing into quite a low-post and midrange presence for the Rams (23-6, 13-3), who travel to UNCW (9-18, 5-11) tonight. His hook shots and quick spin moves have warranted double-team attention from more and more teams.
Reddic has posted four double-doubles in his past nine games. He is averaging 10.4 points and ranks ninth in the Colonial Athletic Association in rebounds (6.8 per game), sixth in field-goal percentage (.517), fourth in offensive rebounds (3.1) and seventh in blocked shots (1.2).
Smart says Reddic can be "as good as he sets his mind on being," and yet he believes there's much more to come.
"With Juvonte we've really tried to emphasize playing harder and with more of a motor," Smart said. "But you can't just go tell guys, 'Hey, go play hard.' I wish it was that easy. It's not. … You have to get specific: 'In this specific situation, you need to set a ball screen and then sprint like your butt is on fire into the lane. In this specific situation, when the ball goes up, you need to defeat the block-out and get to the weak side and find a way to get to the ball.'
"He's gotten better and better at that, but he's got a long way to go. A lot of people have wanted to heap praise on him. For me, more than anyone on our team, he has a huge distance between where he is and where he can be. We're focused on getting him there."
Reddic didn't come naturally equipped. He's had a quiet and laid-back comfort zone since he was young, and those traits sometimes have been reflected in his play.
"In high school, I could coast through a game," he said.
Smart said Reddic had no idea how to make it through a conditioning workout or practice when he arrived. College was "a huge eye-opener," Reddic said, and he's had to learn to consistently work and play harder.
The poker face, he says, masks the fact he's having fun. Smart said every once in a while, if you watch closely, Reddic will "get fired up and yell at his teammates."
Like the smile, that's part of the process.
"Hopefully," Reddic said, "my butt will be on fire for an entire game."
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