Insider: Rhymes time comes as sub

It was not easy for Grand Canyon junior guard/forward J.J. Rhymes last season, when he went a redshirt season without playing a game for the first time since picking up the sport as a Phoenix kid.

This Lopes season, Rhymes is navigating new basketball territory agains as he comes off the bench for the first time but he is seeking take hold of the sixth man role like a loose ball.

In a season with a shorter GCU bench, Rhymes' impact will be essential and he already made steps forward in a home loss to Illinois on Tuesday, when he tallied nine points and three rebounds. The former junior college All-American and national champion will try to build on that for his first Division I road game at San Diego State on Wednesday night.

"I'm getting there," Rhymes said. "It's an adjustment for me. It's my first time being that plug-in guy. At the end of the day, it's fine with me and I love the role. The most I can do now is embrace it. I have to get in there and do my thing and help this team win."

Sixth men must bring energy instantly as they enter games when starters' levels are starting to fade. Rhymes showed some of that Tuesday, scoring on his first offensive play. Rhymes read where freshman point guard and former Shadow Mountain High School teammate Jovan Blacksher Jr. was driving into his defender and stepped into open space to receive Blacksher's interior pass and score.

On the ensuing defensive possession, Rhymes lost control of a rebound but dived on the hardwood to try to retrieve it. It was still a mixed bag of results with times where he lost a dribble or moved on a screen but other times when he forced turnovers by sealing the baseline or stripping the ball.

Rhymes' best sequence came when he took a foul from Illinois' 7-foot, 290-pound Kofi Cockburn that turned him sideways in the air but still scored for a 3-point play. On the next trip, he drew another driving foul but missed the free throws.

"That's what J.J. does," GCU head coach Dan Majerle said. "He attacks the basket. That's what he's done his whole career in high school and junior college. He's got to be better at being engaged when he first gets in there and then taking care of the basketball."

Rhymes, also a two-year high school teammate of GCU teammate Carlos Johnson, is accustomed to winning (167-31 in high school and junior college combined) and scoring (No. 7 on the Hutchinson Community College career scoring list) but his focus is elsewhere for the Lopes.

"My worries are rebounding, playing hard, playing defense and any other extra teams for my team," Rhymes said. "I know my offense is going to come for me. I'm going to do the little things for my team.

"I have to raise the energy. Personally, I feel like I haven't done a great job at that but I need to do a great job at that."

Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.

Grand Canyon University Athletics

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Jovan Blacksher Jr.

Carlos Johnson

J.J. Rhymes

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