Despite late-game woes, Burgess remains VCU’s go-to guy without question
Jim Swing
Sports Editor
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Bradford Burgess didn’t take kindly to missing 29 of his previous 36 shots. First he went 2-of-6 from the field at Hofstra, and then he one-upped himself by shooting a measly 1-for-15 against Georgia State. For VCU’s lone senior, it wasn’t a good look.
So Sunday night against Drexel, Burgess came out firing almost immediately, taking three of the Rams’ first five shots of the game. Having clearly put his woeful shooting performance against the Panthers behind him, Burgess went 4-for-7 from long range in the first half with 12 points.
But he wasn’t as polished in the second half however, shooting a cold 3-of-10 from the field including missing the mark on three crucial shots in the final three minutes of the game.
“Didn’t have as much of a shooting night as I wanted to,” Burgess said. “Just going out and being more aggressive, just got to be tougher when the team needs it, got to be stronger taking the ball into the lane just determined to make plays. I’ve got to get better at that and it’s costing us.”
Despite recent woes, Burgess remains VCU’s go-to guy at all times. He’s the same guy that put up 19 points at Akron and crafted the game-winning play in the final seconds by twisting his way though the lane and scooping the ball to Darius Theus for the go-ahead layup. Not to mention he’s the same guy that dashed to the lane for the eventual game-winning layup against Florida State in the Sweet 16 as a junior surrounded by a senior-laden team.
“He’s going to have to continue to learn to go make those plays because he’s the guy for us,” head coach Shaka Smart said. “And we like that he has the ball in his hands a lot of times in critical plays.”
Burgess had his best shooting night in over two weeks Sunday, finishing 7-for-19 with 19 points. Regardless of his struggles late in the game, that’s a good sign of response for VCU’s unquestioned leader.
“He’s a great player and I think plays will go his way down the stretch in the future,” Smart said. “We’re always going to believe in Brad and continue to put him in those positions.”
