Ervin is unfazed by boos
STARKVILLE, Miss. — Mississippi State fans quickly went from cheering a basket by Charles Rhodes with 16: 12 left in the first half of Saturday’s game against Arkansas to booing before he attempted a free throw.
That’s because Arkansas senior guard Gary Ervin, who used to play for the Bulldogs, made his first appearance on the court at that point of the game.
Fans booed Ervin’s every move on the court, held up derogatory signs and screamed things at him unfit for in a family newspaper.
But all the attention didn’t seem to adversely affect Ervin, who played one of his better games of the season.
Mississippi State won 80-74, but Ervin scored a team-high 15 points and had 1 assist, 1 steal and no turnovers in 29 minutes off the bench.
“I thought Gary played well,” Arkansas Coach John Pelphrey said. “Any time you can play 29 minutes on the road and don’t turn it over, that’s good.”
Mississippi State Rick Stansbury also praised Ervin and said there are no hard feelings regarding the transfer three years ago.
“Gary played good. He’s a good kid,” Stansbury said. “Things just didn’t work for him here.”
Ervin also got a hostile response when he played at Mississippi State last season, and he went scoreless on 0-of-4 shooting from the field in the Razorbacks’ 84-60 loss.
On Saturday he shot 6 of 11, so maybe he was used to all the negative attention from the fans.
“It actually put a smile on my face,” Ervin said. “People said harsh things, but if you’re mad I left a place, that means you care about me.
“ I take it a positive way — ‘You must miss me. I must have brought something positive to the table.’”
Rhodes said he still considers Ervin a friend.
“He really stood out for the Razorbacks,” Rhodes said. “I’m proud of him. He’s good people.”
While Ervin played well Saturday, he couldn’t enjoy it afterward. “It doesn’t matter; we lost,” he said. “I’d take zero points and a W any time.”
Versatile Gordon Mississippi State junior guard Jamont Gordon, among the contenders for SEC Player of the Year, hit just 1 of 9 field goal attempts Saturday. But he finished with 9 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists “That tells you how good he is,” Arkansas Coach John Pelphrey said. “He can go 1 for 9 and still almost get a tripledouble.” Gordon said he tried to affect the game in ways other than his shooting. “I have a lot of versatility in my game,” he said. “I wasn’t shooting very well, but I still made hustle plays. I rebounded, and I tried to set up other people’s shots.”
Hot Rhodes Mississippi State senior forward Charles Rhodes scored 13 of the Bulldogs’ first 15 points. He hit 8 of his first 9 shots and had 19 points by halftime. The only thing that stopped him in the first half was drawing his second foul, which caused him to go to the bench with 5: 22 left in the half. “I was just on fire,” Rhodes said. “I knew those guys really couldn’t guard me, so I decided to take it to them.”
Rhodes’ sizzling first half included his first three-point basket of the season. He had been 0 of 3.
“Like I told Coach [Rick ] Stansbury, I’m very capable of hitting that shot,” Rhodes said with a smile. “But we’ve got so many good threepoint shooters, I don’t need to take too many.” Rhodes scored just five points in the second half, when he drew extra defensive attention from the Razorbacks. But his overall game was impressive, especially considering he was ill earlier this week and continues to have a sore left ankle. “I have so much tape around my ankle it’s like I’m wearing a cast,” Rhodes said. “The last few days, I’m taking five pills, I’m sweating and I can’t sleep at night. “ I don’t know what it is, but when I put on that uniform, it’s like I’m Superman.”
More Hunter Arkansas senior forward Vincent Hunter played a seasonhigh 16 minutes off the bench. He got the additional playing time because sophomore starter Michael Washington struggled on defense early in the game against Charles Rhodes and senior Charles Thomas fouled out while playing 22 minutes.
Hunter also fouled out and Washington finally got back in the game late, though he played only 12 minutes.
“I just thought Vincent was a better matchup for Charles Rhodes,” Arkansas Coach John Pelphrey said. “Vincent did a good job on him in Fayetteville [when Rhodes had 11 points in the Hogs’ 78-58 victory on Jan. 30 ] and I planned on playing him today.
“ I planned on playing Michael more than I did, but it was a defensive issue and Vincent has been playing well in practice.”
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