Hellems Starting to Get His Groove Back

The sophomore forward looked more like himself Sunday for the first time since suffering a concussion at Wake Forest

Jericole Hellems didn't miss any games after suffering what was described as a "low grade concussion" two weekends ago at Wake Forest.

But his game was clearly missing.

After averaging 17.2 points and twice setting career highs in the three games before crashing hard to the floor of Joel Coliseum in a collision while chasing after a rebound, the sophomore forward combined for only five points in his first two games after the injury.

That includes a 1 for 9 shooting performance in Thursday's loss at Auburn.

Sunday, though, the sophomore forward looked more like himself on both ends of the court while contributing 13 points to the Wolfpack's 83-63 win against The Citadel.

 "Everybody's been telling me, coach (Kevin Keatts) has been telling me to keep working and just try and find your groove, not to worry about it," Hellems said. "We've got big-time players that can take care of things."

While Hellems was cleared to play physically by the Wolfpack's team doctors, he admits to feeling "just a little slow" during those first two games back from his scary fall.

He played a season-low 19 minutes off the bench against UNC Greensboro last Sunday, attempting only two shots -- making one -- while committing two turnovers. He was back in the starting lineup against No. 12 Auburn on Thursday, but he was clearly off while missing his first eight shots.

The 6-foot-7 St. Louis native looked much more comfortable while going 5 of 10 from the floor (1 of 3 from 3-point range) in Sunday's win against The Citadel. As encouraging as his performance was, coach Kevin Keatts still doesn't think he's all the way back.

“I thought he was good," Keatts said. "His condition is not what it needs to be. He still isn’t the guy who was playing well before he had the injury. He needs some rest, but he also needs some reps. 

"He has always been a guy that plays because he’s a rhythm guy, so I think he’s still a little bit out of sync. But it is good to see him get 13. I didn’t think he had 13.”

Hellems will have to wait until Thursday when the Wolfpack returns from its three-day Christmas break to start getting those reps in practice and another three days after that before the next game -- on Sunday against Appalachian State.

At least he'll go into the break feeling better about his game after seeing some shots finally start to fall against The Citadel.

Not that his confidence was wavering before that.

"Those shots are important, but it's still about my mindset and me telling myself that it's okay to miss shots," he said after Sunday's win. "Great players miss shots all the time.

"Shots not falling is just part of the game. I'm worried about the next game."