Issue date: 2/27/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Jim Moldenhauer Alex Rubin has made the most of his minutes filling in for Dom Johnson.

As Alex Rubin walked to the bench late in the second half of ISU's 54-46 win over Wright State on Sunday night, he could hear his name being chanted by many of the 6,089 fans in attendance at Redbird Arena.

Not a bad sound for a freshman who admitted he'd begun to have some doubts about ever seeing the court again this season.

"It was really cool. I've never experienced anything like that before," Rubin said. "I was just out there playing hard and I was grateful that the fans appreciated it."

Rubin, who went 12 straight games without playing a single minute, has gotten a chance to re-prove himself in the 'Birds' past three contests as ISU Coach Tim Jankovich has been forced to go deeper into his bench while senior guard Dom Johnson recovers from a tonsillectomy.

Against Wright State, who entered Sunday's BracketBuster game on an 11-game winning streak, Rubin scored a career-high seven points in 10 minutes while also extending his streak of games without a turnover to seven.

What may have endeared him to the Redbird Arena crowd more than anything, though, was his hustle back on defense to break up a Raider layup and his willingness to be flattened in order to draw a charge.

"For him to come out and play like he did, making a couple of hustle plays, it shows his character," senior forward Anthony Slack said following the game.

"He doesn't get as much playing time as he wants, but when he comes in, he handles his business pretty well."

Jankovich said that even during the 45-day stretch where Rubin didn't make it into a game, he still looked like a player that averaged 30 minutes a game every day at practice.

So when Johnson became ill two weeks ago, the first-year Redbird coach wasn't all that worried about plugging his only freshman into the rotation.

"I told him how much I appreciate the fact that he's ready. He could've been not even close to ready if he'd had a different approach," Jankovich said.

"[His playing time] wasn't by default. He's earned the situation because of his hard work and I'm so happy for him. I know he's got to feel great."

With Johnson now healthy enough to rejoin his teammates on the ISU bench, Rubin has picked up another mentor. But Johnson's advice to his fellow guard hasn't been too complicated.

"I've told him to stay positive, stay focused and just play hard. Compete mentally. Even though you're a freshman, you don't need to go out and rush anything," Johnson said.

"We all believe in him and everyone has faith in him."

ISU (20-8, 11-5) will play their final home game of the regular season tonight against Creighton (19-8, 9-7).

The Redbirds' five seniors will be honored before the 7:05 p.m. tipoff.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools