Daniels rises to challenge from coach in win over Georgia State
Troy Daniels gets back on track for men’s basketball
Troy Daniels is second all-time in 3-pointers made in VCU Basketball history with 251. CT File Photo
Quinn Casteel
Assistant Sports Editor
If there’s one thing we know about Troy Daniels, it’s that he likes to shoot three pointers – and if he has a clear head, said three pointers will be going in.
Daniels’ three-point game was on full display against Georgia State (14-8 overall, 6-5 CAA) on Saturday afternoon as VCU’s (18-5 overall, 9-2 CAA) premier shooter lit up the Panthers, going 5-of-12 from beyond the arc in the Rams’ 59-58 win in Atlanta. All of his team-high 15 points game on three-point shots, but his performance was not one-dimensional. He also had eight rebounds and two assists in what was one of his more complete efforts of the season.
Shaka Smart said after the Towson game that he did not think Daniels had his head in the right place, and that if he was only focused on his three-point shooting, he was selling himself short.
As a result, Daniels only saw 12 minutes of playing time as VCU beat Towson by 25 points. Daniels started the game and went 1-of-4 from three before being pulled for the remainder of the night.
Against Georgia State however, Smart allowed Daniels to put the Towson game behind him by giving him the starting nod once again. Daniels showed that he took the punishment to heart and played with a vigor that gave VCU the added energy they needed to escape Atlanta with a hard-fought road win.
Daniels sat just eight minutes on Saturday afternoon and will likely continue to see a lot of minutes if he plays a multi-dimensional game as he did against the Panthers. At 9.7 ppg Daniels is third on the team in scoring, and he leads the CAA in three pointers made with 60.
As Saturday showed, Smart’s decision to sit Daniels early against Towson was little more than a wakeup call. Twelve three-point attempts from Daniels against Georgia State revealed that he still has the “neon-green light” that Smart gave him at the beginning of the season, and if he continues to shoot the way he has, it will help VCU find its way on the right side of more close games this season.
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| Photos by Chris Conway | |
