Charles Rhodes

Charles Rhodes (born June 25, 1985) is an American professional basketball player for the Shiga Lakestars of the B.League . Coming out of high school, Charles was heavily recruited by perennial basketball powerhouses like Oklahoma, Mississippi State, Alabama, and Arkansas. Rhodes committed early on in his senior year to Mississippi State and had a solid season leading Lanier High School to a state runner up finish that year by averaging 18.4ppg, 12.1rpg, and 2.7bpg. College As a freshman at Mississippi State University, Rhodes was used sparingly due to minor off court incidents like showing late for practices and missing a team flight to a game. Playing time was also in short supply due to senior All American Lawrence Roberts starting ahead of Rhodes. Through these setbacks, Rhodes made 16 appearances and averaged 2.9ppg and 1.9rpg in 6.5 minutes per game. At the end of the season, Rhodes declared his intention to transfer out of MSU, but after meetings with head coach Rick Stansbury, Rhodes ended up staying. Rhodes' sophomore campaign fared much better than his first. Due to the team being quite young, Rhodes started in 25 game and was called upon to be a team leader. He responded by co-leading the team in scoring with 13.8ppg and leading the team with 7.1rpg. The increased production led to post season recognition from the AP as well as the SEC Coaches by being voted Second Team All SEC by both groups. Entering his junior year, Rhodes was tabbed as a preseason second team ALL SEC player as well as the preseason defensive player of the year in the SEC. Again starting in 25 games, Rhodes averaged 13.7ppg and 6.2rpg through the season. Injuring his wrist in a non-conference game against Charlotte, Rhodes sat out the next game and struggled to regain his form through the following four games. Once the SEC season rolled around, Rhodes was healthy and averaged 15.4ppg in conference games. Offense always being the strong art of his game, Rhodes scored over 20 points seven times through the season. He also compiled two double doubles over the season (against University of Tennessee and West Virginia University). With the help of Rhodes, the Bulldogs fought their way to the NIT semi-finals only to lose on a last second shot to the eventual champions West Virginia. Once again, Rhodes was named to the postseason Second Team ALL-SEC by the coaches.