By Jonah Bronstein
Rodney Pierce was good enough to go away. He shared the mindset of many Western New Yorkers, particularly those from the inner city. Basketball talent can be the ticket out of town.
Coming out of Hutch Tech five years ago as one of the 17th-most prolific scorer this area has ever seen, Pierce wasn’t aggressively recruited by the University at Buffalo, even though he had been a regular in summer pickup games at Alumni Arena and attended the same church on Buffalo’s East Side as Greg Witherspoon, the older brother of UB coach Reggie Witherspoon.
“There’s always that confusion for kids, particularly kids in this area, because if they achieve to a certain level, that opens a door for them, and that means they think they should leave,” Witherspoon said.
Pierce chose to attend Rider University, and averaged 5.1 points and 2.7 assists as a freshman. But he realized the grass wasn’t greener out of state, decided to transfer home.
After paying his own way while sitting out the 2006-07 season, Pierce has had a remarkable three-year career with the Bulls. Heading into tonight’s regular season home finale, he has 1,173 points in 89 games. His career scoring average (13.1) is the ninth-best in school history, and the third-highest since the program returned to Division I basketball in 1991.
“He’s a symbol that you can have a great college career here,” Witherspoon said.
Pierce would probably have more points if he played his natural position in his first season at UB. Trying to be a playmaking point guard as a sophomore, Pierce was the assists leader in 10 games and the high scorer just three times. By the end of the season, he had lost his starting spot to Niagara-Wheatfield graduate Byron Mulkey.
At the time, Witherspoon didn’t think Pierce had a reliable enough outside shot to play shooting guard.
“His strength was slashing and getting to the basket,” Witherspoon said. “He always had a great mid-range game. But what happened if you backed off him? He wasn’t consistent. But he took the challenge and answered that question. Now you can’t play off him, because he’ll make 3-point shots.”
Playing on the wing last year while Niagara Falls’ Greg Gamble ran the point, Pierce nearly doubled his scoring average from 7.6 to 14.3. He scored more than 20 points eight times, with the high watermark being a 28-point effort in a near upset of Final Four participant UConn.
This year, Pierce is scoring 18.9 points per game, while shooting 36.3 percent from 3-point range. He’s topped the 20-point barrier 12 times. As the primary backup to point guard John Boyer, he’s also averaging 3.3 assists.
All season long, Witherspoon has praised Pierce for his leadership role.
“He was quiet before. He’d defer. And he doesn’t defer anymore,” Witherspoon said. “He’s able to look guys in the face and say ‘It’s my fault.’ Which then means he’s able to look them in the face and say, ‘It was your fault.’ And his teammates trust him.”
