Travis Daniels was feeling it.

Off to a fast start, piling up basket after basket, Daniels looked to the Mississippi State men’s basketball team’s bench and saw his teammates smiling and laughing, enjoying what turned out to be a 25-point win against St. Louis in a game Daniels scored a career-high 21 points.

The next night, it was gone.

At the Corpus Christi Coastal Challenge in Corpus Christi, Texas, Daniels, a junior small forward, enjoyed his best game as a Bulldog in the semifinals, spearheading a 75-50 win against St. Louis by shooting well, and, more importantly, showing an aggressive streak.

In a 61-52 loss to TCU in the championship game, Daniels attempted only five shots and was a far less aggressive player.

Naturally, MSU coach Rick Ray needs the take-charge version of Daniels to show up more often.

“We just have to continue harping on him to be an aggressive basketball player,” said Ray, whose team is 5-2 entering its game at 3 p.m. Saturday at Oregon State (5-2). “Travis so wants to be part of the team and so wants people to like him he doesn’t want him taking shots or not passing to have an ill effect on what people think about him.

“People like Travis regardless. We need him to be selfish.”

Be more selfish. It’s a command any basketball player would love to hear, and it’s one most basketball players never hear. But Daniels is different.

Physically gifted at 6-foot-8, 215 pounds and blessed with a smooth skills, Daniels has rarely been asked to exert his will onto a team. After contributing for two years at Shelton State Community College in Alabama and a year off while sitting out at MSU, that’s the situation Daniels finds himself in as he attempts to adjust to his surroundings and become the player Ray wants to see every night.

About his two-game stint at Corpus Christi, Daniels agreed with his coach.

“I played that way at first,” Daniels said of his five-shot showing in the loss against TCU. “I was getting to the free-throw line. But I eased up in the flow of the game, I think we all did.

“In that St. Louis game, I was more confident. I wanted to come out playing hard and started taking shots. They were going in. It didn’t happen like that against TCU.”

Ray hopes Daniels can be the player who is capable of taking over a game Saturday, when MSU will try to snap an 18-game road losing streak.

“As coaches, we need to make sure we are putting Travis into a situation where he has to be selfish,” Ray said. “We have to design plays and draw up sets that allow him to score within the flow of our offense.”

Daniels had 13 points and nine rebounds in MSU’s last game, a road loss at Tulane.

“He’s so versatile,” MSU guard Fred Thomas said. “He brings so much to offense and defense. Guys have a lot of trouble guarding him.”

Daniels is averaging 8.6 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. Respectable numbers, yes, but Ray wants more, so does Daniels.

“I want to bring it every game,” Daniels said. “When I’m on, when my shot is going in, I feel like the team is better. Everybody is smiling, the bench is into it. I just have to continue getting better.”

For Daniels, that means becoming closer with his teammates. After sitting out last season due to academic issues, Daniels is still learning his new teammates. It’s a process he hopes will help him and the Bulldogs improve.

“I’m still getting to know everybody, how they play,” Daniels said. “When me and (Thomas) are playing well, it’s a great feeling. Now (Shooting guard Craig Sword) is coming back, so I have to get to know him, his tendencies. I feel like I’m a freshman because it’s my first year, and it’s all about learning.”

Follow Dispatch sports writer Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat