Charles Rhodes is an American professional basketball player for the Shiga Lakestars of the B.League. Coming out of high school, Charles was heavily recruited by perennial basketball powerhouses like Oklahoma, Mississippi State, Alabama, and Arkansas. Rhodes committed early on in his senior year to Mississippi State and had a solid season leading Lanier High School to a state runner up finish that year by averaging 18.4ppg, 12.1rpg, and 2.7bpg.
College
As a freshman at Mississippi State University, Rhodes was used sparingly due to minor off court incidents like showing late for practices and missing a team flight to a game. Playing time was also in short supply due to senior All AmericanLawrence Roberts starting ahead of Rhodes. Through these setbacks, Rhodes made 16 appearances and averaged 2.9ppg and 1.9rpg in 6.5 minutes per game. At the end of the season, Rhodes declared his intention to transfer out of MSU, but after meetings with head coach Rick Stansbury, Rhodes ended up staying. Rhodes' sophomore campaign fared much better than his first. Due to the team being quite young, Rhodes started in 25 game and was called upon to be a team leader. He responded by co-leading the team in scoring with 13.8ppg and leading the team with 7.1rpg. The increased production led to post season recognition from the AP as well as the SEC Coaches by being voted Second Team All SEC by both groups. Entering his junior year, Rhodes was tabbed as a preseason second team ALL SEC player as well as the preseason defensive player of the year in the SEC. Again starting in 25 games, Rhodes averaged 13.7ppg and 6.2rpg through the season. Injuring his wrist in a non-conference game against Charlotte, Rhodes sat out the next game and struggled to regain his form through the following four games. Once the SEC season rolled around, Rhodes was healthy and averaged 15.4ppg in conference games. Offense always being the strong art of his game, Rhodes scored over 20 points seven times through the season. He also compiled two double doubles over the season. With the help of Rhodes, the Bulldogs fought their way to the NIT semi-finals only to lose on a last second shot to the eventual champions West Virginia. Once again, Rhodes was named to the postseason Second Team ALL-SEC by the coaches. Following his junior year, Rhodes declared for the 2007 NBA Draft. Choosing not to hire an agent allowed Rhodes to test the waters without leaving school for good. Though he was not invited to the NBA predraft workouts in Orlando, and no teams invited him for private workouts, Rhodes stayed in the draft until the last possible day. Rhodes released this official statement after withdrawing:
"I have officially withdrawn my name from the 2007 NBA Draft by faxing the required paperwork to the NBA office. The NBA put this policy in place to allow underclassmen like myself to test the draft waters, and I simply took advantage of the opportunity. I now have a better perspective on the areas of my game that I need to work on in order to improve my status for next year's draft. I'm now looking forward to getting back to work and helping my teammates compete for another championship. At the same time, it has always been a goal of mine to earn my degree from Mississippi State, and I'm in a position to accomplish that goal this coming May with another solid year in the classroom."
In his final year, Rhodes looks to break the 1000 point barrier needing only 87 more points to do so. By returning for his senior year, Rhodes will be half of one of the most dangerous inside-out teams in the conference, with Jamont Gordon being the other part. Having only made it to the NCAA tournament one time, during his freshman year, he has said that it is a personal goal to help lead the Bulldogs back to the tournament.
