When you compare production to minutes played, South Carolina’s best player Saturday afternoon in the 79-68 victory over Texas A&M at Colonial Life Arena might have been freshman Rakym ‘Rah’ Felder.
In just 16 minutes, Felder scored a team-high 19 points (equaling Duane Notice) on 6-8 shooting from the floor - including a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the arc - and 4-of-4 from the free throw line, grabbed four rebounds, dished out two assists as and made two steals.
Hence, whenever the ball was in Felder’s hands, you knew something good was about to happen.
“Shooting was the last thing he did in high school,” USC head coach Frank Martin said Monday during his weekly press conference at Colonial Life Arena. “Rah is a distributor. Rah is a guy trying to get the ball to other guys. In order to do that, you have to understand the team’s offensive concepts.
“You have to know where guys are at. When you hear me say he is playing with confidence through our structure, that’s what I’m talking about. He is so much better now than he was a month ago, it’s not even funny. Not from a shooting standpoint, but from an understanding standpoint.”
Felder matched his season highs in field goals and steals, and established a new high for free throw attempts.
Fearlessly shooting the basketball from long range, Felder has drained 11 3-pointers in the last four games, 14 in the last six.
“Hanging around with shooters like Duane, P.J. and Sin, I just found my rhythm and my confidence is at an all-time high right now,” Felder said Saturday after USC’s win over Texas A&M improved the Gamecocks to 2-0 in SEC play. “(Saturday) was like a dream come true. I used to dream of big-time games like this and playing at a good, big-time university. I’m just excited to be here.”
Overall, he is averaging 4.8 points per game and connecting on greater than 50 percent of his 3-point attempts (17-33). Over half his total points (82) have come from beyond the 3-point line (51).
Ironically, shooting (and making) the 3 wasn’t Felder’s forte in high school.
“When you watched him play in high school, shooting the 3 was the last thing he did,” Martin said.
Felder has been influenced by watching the work habits of older players like Sindarius Thornwell, Duane Notice and P.J. Dozier, Martin said.
“When Rah got here, he started going into the gym and shot a million balls rather than sit around playing video games,” Martin said. “Last year, he couldn’t shoot a 3 to help his team. So, he started shooting balls with guys like P.J. Then he saw all the other guys in there. He realized this is what you do in college. He’s learned to work on his game. He’s learned to go into the gym.”
As his production and playing have increased, so has Felder’s confidence in himself and his teammates.
“His confidence as an individual player is very good,” Martin said. “His confidence in his teammates is very good. Now that he has been able to practice and play basketball and go through our stuff, he is really starting to feel comfortable. Like all good players, when his mind is at peace, his decision-making is simpler. We’re starting to see that aggressiveness from him.”
In just 16 minutes, Felder scored a team-high 19 points (equaling Duane Notice) on 6-8 shooting from the floor - including a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the arc - and 4-of-4 from the free throw line, grabbed four rebounds, dished out two assists as and made two steals.
Hence, whenever the ball was in Felder’s hands, you knew something good was about to happen.
“Shooting was the last thing he did in high school,” USC head coach Frank Martin said Monday during his weekly press conference at Colonial Life Arena. “Rah is a distributor. Rah is a guy trying to get the ball to other guys. In order to do that, you have to understand the team’s offensive concepts.
“You have to know where guys are at. When you hear me say he is playing with confidence through our structure, that’s what I’m talking about. He is so much better now than he was a month ago, it’s not even funny. Not from a shooting standpoint, but from an understanding standpoint.”
Felder matched his season highs in field goals and steals, and established a new high for free throw attempts.
Fearlessly shooting the basketball from long range, Felder has drained 11 3-pointers in the last four games, 14 in the last six.
“Hanging around with shooters like Duane, P.J. and Sin, I just found my rhythm and my confidence is at an all-time high right now,” Felder said Saturday after USC’s win over Texas A&M improved the Gamecocks to 2-0 in SEC play. “(Saturday) was like a dream come true. I used to dream of big-time games like this and playing at a good, big-time university. I’m just excited to be here.”
Overall, he is averaging 4.8 points per game and connecting on greater than 50 percent of his 3-point attempts (17-33). Over half his total points (82) have come from beyond the 3-point line (51).
Ironically, shooting (and making) the 3 wasn’t Felder’s forte in high school.
“When you watched him play in high school, shooting the 3 was the last thing he did,” Martin said.
Felder has been influenced by watching the work habits of older players like Sindarius Thornwell, Duane Notice and P.J. Dozier, Martin said.
“When Rah got here, he started going into the gym and shot a million balls rather than sit around playing video games,” Martin said. “Last year, he couldn’t shoot a 3 to help his team. So, he started shooting balls with guys like P.J. Then he saw all the other guys in there. He realized this is what you do in college. He’s learned to work on his game. He’s learned to go into the gym.”
As his production and playing have increased, so has Felder’s confidence in himself and his teammates.
“His confidence as an individual player is very good,” Martin said. “His confidence in his teammates is very good. Now that he has been able to practice and play basketball and go through our stuff, he is really starting to feel comfortable. Like all good players, when his mind is at peace, his decision-making is simpler. We’re starting to see that aggressiveness from him.”
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