UPDATE FROM "THE BIGS: TRIO OF FORMER RAMS PLAYING MAJOR ROLES

TIDBITS ON JOEY:

· Heart and soul of the Rams, coming off a career-year at the point guard spot
· Has shown the ability to play both the shooting guard and point guard positions in his three years with the Black & Gold
· Earned Second-Team All-CAA honors in 2009-10

RODRIGUEZ’s TIME AT VCU:

· Has not missed a game over his three seasons (102 games played) despite having a countless number of nagging injuries
· Coming off a junior year where he led the CAA in assists per game (5.8) and steals per game (1.9). His assists per game average ranked 15th in the country.
· Became only the second Ram and sixth CAA player to eclipse 200 assists last year when he dished out 208. He also only turned the ball over 98 times for a 2.12 assist-to-turnover ratio.
 · Along with dishing out assists, Rodriguez possesses the ability to knock down long-range jumpers, posting 142 three-pointers in his first three seasons, ranking in the top-10 in school history.
· His quickness on the defensive end has led to 176 career steals, including two games in which he tied a school record with seven steals (2/9/08 at Delaware and 2/2/08vs. Towson). In his 102 career games, he has registered a steal in 93 of those contests.
· Durability is not in question as Rodriguez has averaged over 31 minutes per game over the past two seasons for the Black & Gold
 · Aggressiveness on the offensive end resulted in 118 free-throw attempts, more than his first two years combined. His trips to the charity stripe were nearly always a success as Rodriguez is a 79.5% free-throw shooter
· Rodriguez has been able to torch opponents on the offensive end, tallying nine 20-point plus performances over the past two seasons, seven of which have come against CAA opponents

PRIOR TO VCU:

· Accolades and recognition were something that Rodriguez got used to during his four years at Lake Howell, where he earned First-Team All-State honors his senior year and three straight appearances on the First-Team All-County squad.
· Rodriguez finished as Lake Howell’s all-time leader in assists and also helped the Silverhawks to a 31-3 mark during his senior year, the best mark in school history.
· Unfortunately for teammate Ed Nixon, Rodriguez will always have bragging rights, after his Lake Howell squad defeated Nixon’s Lakewood team to win the Florida 5-A State Championship in 2007.
· Rodriguez played with the Florida Rams AAU program.

GETTING TO KNOW JOEY:

· Son of Joe and Annette Rodriguez
· Majoring in Criminal Justice
· Born on June 20, 1988
· Often referred to as “Boo Boo”, but also goes by the less popular “J-Rod.”
· Also played many years of baseball in the Sunshine State and listed that as the sport he would be playing if not for basketball.
· One of his favorite activities off the court is going to the movies.