Burgess breaks shooting slump in win over Towson

Jim Swing
Sports Editor
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Bradford Burgess was one of the first players to exit the floor a little over midway through the second half. With the game well in hand and just less than eight and a half minutes remaining on the clock, VCU’s lone senior was done for the night.

Yet, after the final buzzer had sounded on the Rams 66-43 win over Towson Wednesday night, Burgess was the last player to leave the court.

He stuck around to give fans high-fives as he neared his way down the wide-open tunnel on the way to the locker rooms. Burgess had just gone 8-of-15 from the field and 6-for-11 from deep for 22 points, shaking off an exhausting shooting slump that lasted nearly an entire month.

“It felt good,” said Burgess sitting in the postgame press conference. “It feels good to be back in here. It just felt good. It was a good night.”

Prior to Wednesday night’s game, Burgess had missed 53 of his last 76 shots dating back to Jan. 12. The same guy who was No. 1 on every opponent’s scouting report was seemingly becoming a non-factor scoring-wise, yet the Rams were on their second lengthy winning streak of the season.

“He’s a team guy to the core, and he’s all about winning,” VCU head coach Shaka Smart said. “But at the same time, anyone that takes themselves serious as a player is not going to be completely happy when they’re not playing their best, and I think it’s bothered Brad some when he’s not been able to shoot the ball as well or play quite as well as he wants to play.”

Against Towson, Burgess’ jumper had a different swagger to it. He stepped into his shot and used his legs more than in previous games, where his shot appeared lackadaisical and effortless.

“Probably just shot preparation,” Burgess said. “I was not being ready enough my other games with my shots and not getting enough legs into it and just staying aggressive.”

In one sense, Burgess took over in place of junior marksmen Troy Daniels, the Rams foremost three-point shooter. Daniels went 0-for-4 from long range while Burgess stepped in and shot just over 54 percent from deep territory.

Perhaps it was his very own teammates that sparked Burgess into one of his hottest shooting night in over two months. Point guard Darius Theus continually preached in his absence at press conferences that Burgess would get on a roll sooner rather than later.

“Every game they were just staying in my ear telling me to just stay aggressive and keep shooting,” Burgess said. “And like we said, one day it’s going to come, and I guess today was the day.”

Burgess’ 22-point output at the expense of Towson was just his third 20-point effort of the season. He’s been long-regarded as one of the better shooters to don a VCU jersey and now, with the clock ticking down on his college career and just two games left to play in the comfy Siegel Center confines, Burgess is heating up at the most opportune time.

“Games are counting down. I don’t have many left playing in here,” Burgess said. “I don’t have many opportunities left in a VCU uniform so I’m just trying to take advantage of every moment.”