In the final regular-season game of his sophomore season against Maine, forward Willie Rodriguez played like Binghamton’s leader. With 24 points, nine rebounds and a pair of blocks, the second-year starter led the Bearcats (8-21, 5-11 America East) in all three categories. But if you were to ask Rodriguez where he fits in on the team for yourself, he’d claim to be a work in progress.
“I’m still learning how to [lead],” Rodriguez said. “I’m sure if you asked [BU head coach Tommy] Dempsey he’d say I’m not a very vocal guy, but I’m still working on it. Trying to get better, trying to get the team better, trying make this playoff run.”
Against the Black Bears (8-21, 4-12 AE) on Saturday, the Bearcats did more than just try — they broke through. Following up an 80-79 loss to UMBC on Wednesday, Binghamton posted its third consecutive 70-plus-point game to top Maine, 78-66, and capture the fifth seed in the AE Tournament. Rodriguez, who only shot 2-for-12 in last week’s loss against the Retrievers (7-24, 3-13 AE), avenged his performance with a 10-for-17 clip from the field to end the regular season.
“I think he was disappointed by the way he played Wednesday,” Dempsey said. “He knew he didn’t have a good game and he was determined to come out and get it right today.”
But for Rodriguez, getting it right doesn’t stop when the game clock hits zero. Along with being the team’s leading scorer this season with an average 15.0 points per game, the sophomore has made a name for himself off of the court. Supplementing his quiet nature with a thundering work ethic, Rodriguez’s attitude has not only paid off for him this season, but has also proven to be contagious among his teammates.
“They see someone like me coming in and getting workouts and that leads to other people getting workouts in and pretty much the whole team getting better,” Rodriguez said. “[Sophomore forward] Bobby [Ahearn]’s come on lately. He’s playing really well, so everything’s going good.”
On the floor for only 17 minutes against Maine, Ahearn poured in 10 points for BU. Junior guard Marlon Beck also hit double figures for the Bearcats, scoring 14 points of his own. With the 2015-16 regular season in the backdrop for Binghamton, the Bearcats are now poised to enter the postseason with their highest seeding since 2009, but just a 5-11 record in conference play.
“I’d say it’s a bittersweet feeling,” Rodriguez said about 2015-16. “The season didn’t go the way that we wanted it to, but at the end of the day it’s all about the conference tournament.”
BU is set to take on fourth-seeded New Hampshire in the quarterfinal round on Wednesday, a squad that has topped BU twice in 2016 and that Rodriguez has found mixed results against. In his first meeting with the Wildcats (18-11, 11-5 AE) on January 9, Rodriguez led all scorers with 20 points and 11 rebounds. But in BU’s last meeting with New Hampshire on February 6, Rodriguez was drawn into foul trouble early, only seeing the floor for 19 minutes. Back for a third shot at UNH on Wednesday, Rodriguez will continue his journey as a leader for BU with a mission as straightforward as his style.
“Bring home the [AE] championship,” Rodriguez said. “We got to go one game at a time.”