Mike Rodriguez puts his personal stamp on Saluki Basketball

CARBONDALE, Ill. — Last season, point guard Mike Rodriguez was new to Southern Illinois, adjusting to Division I basketball after transferring from Marshalltown Community College in Iowa. Now, as his senior season winds down, he's put his personal stamp on the program.

How big of an impact has Rodriguez had on SIU's offense? Consider these stats. He has either scored (110) or recorded an assist (120) on 31 percent of SIU's field goals. By comparison, All-Conference G Anthony Beane either scored or recorded an assist on 32 percent of SIU's field goals last year.

"I feel like this year, my whole personality is on this team," the 5-foot-10 senior said. "If I feel a certain way, I'm going to say it. It's just confidence. It's me being myself. This year, I get to be my total self."

Rodriguez has been a rock — starting every game during the last two years. He's SIU's leading scorer this season at 12.8 points per game, and has tallied 650 career points and 214 assists.

He said his junior college days toughened him for the challenges of playing in the Missouri Valley Conference.

"I think it just gave me a grit," the Boston, Mass., native said. "I feel like when I came out of high school, I wasn't ready for Division I ball. I was kind of soft, kind of timid from certain good players, but juco was like getting thrown in the fire."

Now the elder statesman of the Salukis' backcourt, Rodriguez emerged from that fire with wisdom to share with his younger teammates.

"I'm basically just sharing my experiences and being confident in whatever I'm saying," he said. "The young guys haven't been through college. They don't know the ups and downs, so I try to help them through that."

One teammate in particular he gives guidance to is freshman Aaron Cook, his backup at the point.

"Mike is like my big brother," Cook said. "He takes care of me, I take care of him, and we just get along like no other. I didn't know Mike coming in, and when I met him, I knew he would be a mentor for me, and that's what he's been."

Rodriguez echoed Cook's sentiment of the pair's brotherly relationship.

"I spend a lot of time with him," Rodriguez said. "And it's not necessarily only basketball. You've got to keep him confident through all the other stuff he's doing in life ... When he makes a mistake now, he knows what is really, really wrong, and what mistakes he can just play through. I just try to keep him confident."

In his senior year, Rodriguez has developed an aptitude for lobbing highlight reel alley-oop passes to a former rival. Junior Thik Bol started his college career at Iowa Western Community College, a conference rival of Marshalltown. Rodriguez prefers Bol — who had nine blocks against Rodriguez's Tigers in each game they faced each other — as a teammate rather than an opponent.

"I always remembered him, especially because he blocked my shot a couple times," Rodriguez said. "I had seen how many times he caught alley-oop dunks. I drive a lot, so if his man steps up, I just throw it up. It's just kind of perfect for me."

The two connected for a SportsCenter Top-10 play in the Dawgs' season-opener against Wright State, a lob off the backboard from Rodriguez to Bol, the first of many alley-oops that now pepper the pregame highlight videos at SIU Arena.

One such lob Rodriguez notes is one that came in the final minute and a half of the Salukis' 67-61 win at Loyola, a play that extended SIU's lead to five.

"He bails me out a lot," Rodriguez said. "I had a floater, but I saw Thik at the very last moment, and I kind of just threw it up there hoping that he'd get it, and he did, and that kind of won us the game, so I was excited."

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Anthony Beane

Thik Bol

Aaron Cook Jr.

Mike Rodriguez

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