With Darius McGhee not putting on the Liberty red, white, and blue this year for the first time in what feels like forever, head coach Ritchie McKay will turn to a familiar and trusted face to lead his team into the 2023-24 season – Kyle Rode.
When the 6’7″ 220 pound forward opted to utilize his COVID year of eligibility and return for a fifth and final year this upcoming season, it immediately elevated the baseline for what this Flames team can and will be in the program’s first year in Conference USA.
“Grateful to be back,” said Rode. “It’s been cool to get another year and be back with our guys. Super excited what these next few months are going to bring and glad to play in front of Flames Nation again.”
Rode is coming off a season where he started all 36 games and earned ASUN second-team all-conference honors for a second year in a row and was also named the ASUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year. He finished second on the team with 10.9 points per game and was also second on the team in assists at 3.5 per game to go along with 3.5 rebounds per game, good for fourth on the team.
The native of Lexington, Kentucky scored a season high 23 points in the ASUN title game at Kennesaw State on March 5 and became the 31st member of the 1,000 point scoring club in program history.
Rode is one of the key catalysts that is looking to help assimilate five newcomers to the Liberty roster. Transfers Kaden Metheny and Zander Yates, as well as incoming freshmen Curtis Blair III, Jaylen Davis, and Kai Yu are all new to the team and attempting to learn the system, most notably the Packline defense.
“I think because he’s so selfless, guys respect him,” said Coach McKay of Rode as the team opened practice earlier this week. “He certainly accelerates the new guys’ transitioning in our program, but I also think he models for our guys what that extra rep should look like or that non-social media attention pursuit should be.”
Rode entered the program as the highest rated recruit in school history and has mostly lived up to the hype. Despite playing in McGhee’s shadow the past four seasons, Rode has twice been named to an all-conference team and also been named to the ASUN all-tournament team.
Rode has seen his scoring increase in each of his seasons with the Flames, from 7.4 points per night as a true freshman to averaging double figures for the first time in his career last season. With McGhee’s 22.8 points and 17.3 field goal attempts per game gone, expect Rode to step into some of that spotlight on offense.
McKay and sophomore point guard Colin Porter have both said that the fifth year senior has gotten better during the offseason. As the Flames move into Conference USA, Rode has the potential to become a first team all conference performer in his final collegiate season.
They don’t get much more experienced than Rode is either. Entering this season, he has already started 102 games in his career. McKay has frequently mentioned him as a team leader and he has become a virtual coach on the court.
Liberty has also seen tremendous success with Rode on the court, as well. He’s been a part of some of the best basketball teams in school history. Rode has played on four of the five best team finishes in the KenPom rankings in school history.
During his career, Rode and the Flames have amassed an overall record of 102-30, 51-12 in conference play, and 9-2 in conference tournaments. Rode has been a part of two conference championship teams and the first team in program history to ever reach the postseason NIT.
Going up against the toughest competition Liberty has ever seen at the conference level this coming year in CUSA, Rode is hopeful to go out on top and help lead the Flames to another championship season.
The good news is he won’t have to do it alone. The Flames are expected to have a balanced scoring attack led by Rode, Porter and Metheny. Shiloh Robinson, Joseph Venzant, Brody Peebles, and Zach Cleveland return to form a strong nucleus that should set this team up for success once again.
“He’s such a unicorn,” said McKay of Rode. “I don’t want to say he’s generational but he is. He’s got an expectation of himself that is really high. I think he infects the rest of our program with that same boundary. I think he’s a gifted leader.”
