Daniels finds confidence in shot, especially at home

Jim Swing
Sports Editor
Commonwealth Times’ Sports Twitter

Remember how loud the Siegel Center would get when Brandon Rozzell knocked down one of his signature 3-pointers, which usually served as a back-breaker that would nearly bring the building down? It got loud.

But Rozzell has graduated, and now there’s a new guy that has taken over the job: junior shooting guard Troy Daniels. He doesn’t want to mold his career around that of Rozzell’s but his ability to shoot the deep ball carries a lot of similarities, especially at the Siegel Center.

“It’s just the mindset, it’s more mental more than anything,” Daniels said. “It’s no difference in the ball or the rim, it’s still basketball.

“Coming into the Siegel Center, the fans really get me hyped to make shots.”

Through eight games Daniels has canned 21 treys, 10, which have come in the two games played on VCU’s home floor. Luckily for Daniels, the Rams’ two opponents – St. Francis (Pa.) and South Florida elected to play a lot of zone defense, which opened up a plethora of open looks on the wing.

“Sometimes, we’ve played a lot of zone [defense] which has shown in a lot of our home games,” Daniels said. “So hopefully teams keep playing zone.”

Daniels’ 41.6 three-point shooting percentage at home doesn’t match up to his 33.3 percentage on the road, but still, some of his teammates have taken a lighter approach.

“We said we’re going to have to pack up the home court and bring it down,” senior Bradford Burgess said jokingly.

Two of Daniels’ best shooting performances have come in the last two games against South Florida and George Washington, which he shot a combined 8-of-16 from beyond the arc.

Prior to the start of the season head coach Shaka Smart said Daniels’ confidence in his shot would be a concern. Now eight games into the season and a matchup with cross-town rival Richmond looming Friday night, Daniels has faith in his shot.

“Confidence is there, the guys are keeping me in the realm of making shots and keeping me enthusiastic,” Daniels said. “So we should be ready coming into the game.”