ODU's Iliadis has found his touch after shooting slump

Trian Iliadis planned to see a doctor over Christmas break. He and "Dr. Dish," a basketball shooting machine housed at the Old Dominion practice gym, were going to log some quality holiday time.

It seemed a natural remedy for a player suffering through one of the worst shooting slumps of his career. Iliadis, who for much of his tenure has been the team's designated 3-point sniper, missed 20 of 23 over a six-game stretch.

He couldn't buy one. But rather than lock himself in the gym, coach Blaine Taylor had another idea for how Iliadis might get his stroke back.

"I said, 'You need to do quite the opposite,' " Taylor said. "You need to take a few days and get off your wheels."

A little down time served Iliadis well. Over the last three games, he's averaged 17.3 points and has shot 10 of 23 (43 percent) from 3-point range. He's coming off a career-high 22-point performance against James Madison, and, heading into tonight's game against George Mason, is playing the best ball of his career - and not just because he's found his shooting touch, Taylor said.

"You're seeing a better all-around basketball player," he said.

In the past, if Iliadis wasn't shooting well, he often wasn't contributing. This season, even when the shots haven't been falling, he's found other ways to fill up a box score.

The 6-foot-3 Iliadis leads the team in minutes played, at 31.7, and is the only Monarch with more assists (34) than turnovers (26). He's had four games with five or more rebounds and is second on the team in steals.

While he's still called upon to provide an offensive spark, he's also become a calming influence, a sort of glue-guy who fits everything together.

"He fits with different combinations of players and strategies," Taylor said. "I can't think of any strategies on the court that don't work with Trian out there.

"He's got a good head for the game, and has been very reliable, so he's probably had to handle more minutes than is really reasonable to expect."

All those minutes began catching up with Iliadis prior to the break. With tendonitis in his knees flaring up, he played a season-low 19 against VMI on Dec. 22.

Even with his knees aching, he told Taylor of his plans to work though the holiday break.

"He told me not to worry about it," Iliadis said. "I took the break off, and it really helped my knees."

It was his first break in months. Iliadis had the busiest summer of any Monarch, shuttling between his native Australia and China to play in the World University Games.

While the basketball was high-level, the food was not exactly P.F. Chang's. Iliadis forced himself to eat but dropped weight during the games.

He returned to Norfolk as school was starting and dove into preseason workouts. The combination of having no break and playing a bigger role for the Monarchs this year took its toll.

By late November, he was slumping. After hitting 3 of 5 3-point attempts vs. Kentucky on Nov. 20, Iliadis went 1 for 10 in his next two games. He went 0 for 7 in consecutive games vs. Central Florida and Richmond.

Iliadis had more bounce against Missouri, coming up with three steals to go with 15 points. He played with "swagger" at JMU, Taylor said.

"Even the missed shots didn't faze me much," Iliadis said. "I was just trying to be aggressive."

For the rest of the Monarchs, playing with an aggressive Iliadis has meant learning when to get him the ball coming off screens. Iliadis curls off so quickly sometimes that players had been getting him the ball too soon.

"Holding the ball for an extra second lets him get his feet set," guard Kent Bazemore said.

Taylor said he hopes to reduce Iliadis' minutes as the season goes on, stressing quality over quantity. Iliadis said the addition of Richard Ross and Donte Hill at the semester break has taken some of the pressure to do so much off his shoulders.

"I'm just playing my game now," he said. "Taking what the defense gives me."

Ed Miller, (757) 446-2372, ed.miller@pilotonline.com