Bighorns Performer of the Week(end)

Mo Charlo had 4 steals against Idaho on Saturday night

There’s a number of reasons why I like going to Reno Bighorns basketball games. Besides having the family friendly atmosphere, you experience a certain feel for the game that you don’t get so much at NBA games (unless you are sitting courtside, of course) or watching the game on your couch.

I could go on and on about how much I like to hear Coach Muss complain to the refs and how much I enjoy Bruno and the guys with cowbells try and throw off an opposing player’s free throw attempt. The one thing that I love seeing above everything else, though, is hustle and passion. I like seeing players fight for offensive rebounds and play hard nosed D every time they step out onto the court. This is why this award goes to Mo Cha Cha Charlo.

Although the stat line for this weekend might not show it (26 points, 14 rebounds in two games), Charlo made smart decisions and was the catalyst for many of the Bighorns fast break opportunities. Only one rebound shy of a double-double on Saturday, he also had 4 steals and 1 block. 4 out of the 9 rebounds he collected were on the offensive end. It definitely helps your team when you have a player crashing the boards to get second chance opportunities.

On Sunday, Charlo had another solid line of 16 points, 5 boards, 5 dimes, 2 steals, and 1 block. Oh, young fella also didn’t turn it over once in 44 minutes of play. While the Bighorns lost that game, Charlo was attacking and making the plays to set up other teammates. More importantly, he led the team by example. On one play, Charlo deflected a pass while defending a much heavier Antoine Walker in the post. After the ball went out of bounds, Mo looked at the older Walker and the other Stampede players and shook his head as if to say “not gonna get any easy passes while I’m here.” It put a smile on my face. Subtle yet very clear.

Mo is a true competitor and I like him in the starting lineup. He let’s his game speak for itself and never takes a play off. If I was Coach Muss, Charlo would definitely stay in the starting lineup, especially with play maker Jeremy Lin heading back to the Golden State Warriors and Aaron Miles possibly heading on to greener pastures. Don’t be surprised to see Charlo get the green light to shoot more if any Bighorns players get called up in the next couple of weeks.

Congrats Mo. I don’t understand why the announcer thinks your middle name is “Cha Cha” but hey, doesn’t bother you, doesn’t bother me.