STARKVILLE, Miss. ? On the heels of participating in Friday’s DiGiorno College All-Star Game in San Antonio, Texas, Mississippi State’s all-SEC senior forward Charles Rhodes will next take his talents to Virginia to compete in next week’s Portsmouth Invitational Tournament.
Beginning on Wednesday (April 9) in Portsmouth, Va., the four-day, 12-game tournament annually features 64 of the nation’s top senior collegiate basketball standouts. In its 56th season of existence, this year’s Portsmouth Invitational Tournament will be held at Churchland High School. Noted as the nation’s oldest amateur basketball tournament, the P.I.T. is recognized by NBA and European scouts as the premier showcase for future professional players. The event is also the only tournament in which college seniors can compete and be evaluated by the National Basketball Association prior to the league’s pre-draft camp in Orlando.
The leading scorer (17.4 ppg) and rebounder (7.8 rpg) this season for coach Rick Stansbury’s 23-11 and SEC Western Division champion Bulldogs, Rhodes will play next week for the Holiday Inn-Portsmouth team. The 6-foot-8, 245-pound veteran will be teamed with Anthony King of Miami (Fla.), South Alabama’s Demetric Bennett, Bo McCalebb of New Orleans, North Carolina State’s Gavin Grant, Will Thomas of George Mason, Dayton’s Brian Roberts, and Alex Harris of UC-Santa Barbara. The Holiday Inn-Portsmouth squad begins competition on Wednesday evening by taking on the Tidewater Sealants squad, featuring Jamar Butler of NIT champion Ohio State and Xavier’s Josh Duncan.
Ranked among the SEC’s top 10 in scoring, rebounding, blocks (1.35 bpg) and field-goal percentage (.562) in 2007-08, Rhodes averaged 22.6 points and 9.2 rebounds an outing over his last nine contests this past year, including a career-high 34 points on 10-of-12 field goals and 14-of-18 free throws in the Bulldogs’ first-round NCAA Tournament victory over Oregon at the Little Rock-hosted South Regional.
A three-time all-SEC selection and two-time finalist for the Cellular South Howell Trophy, Rhodes has concluded his 110-game MSU career ranked 11th on both the school’s all-time scoring and rebounding charts with 1,451 career points and 691 career rebounds, respectively. The former Jackson Lanier High School product also owns Mississippi State’s all-time standard with 183 career dunks, including a school-record 68 slams as a senior.
Other Southeastern Conference senior standouts scheduled to compete in next week’s Portsmouth Invitational Tournament include Mykal Riley of Alabama, the Arkansas tandem of Sonny Weems and Darian Townes, Auburn’s Quan Prowell, the Kentucky duo of Joe Crawford and Ramel Bradley, Dwayne Curtis of Mississippi, and Tennessee’s Chris Lofton and JaJuan Smith.
Tickets for next week’s (April 9-12) Portsmouth Invitational Tournament are available through TicketMaster (757-671-8100) and the Willett Hall box office in Portsmouth (757-393-5460). Tickets can be purchased at $8 per night or $25 for all 12 games of the four-day tournament.
