To make noise on the basketball court there doesn’t have to be yelling.

Eastern freshman George Tandy prefers the sound of a hand slapping off the ball after an attempted shot or the sound of a rim still shaking after a thunderous dunk.

“George is a soft-spoken guy at first,” said freshman guard Bil Duany. “He’s a little reserved.”

But nothing about the 6-foot-8 forward’s play is quiet.

“He makes big plays with big impact,” Duany said.

And coaches around the Ohio Valley Conference took notice.

Tandy, the OVC’s Freshman of the Year, cracked the Panther starting line-up midway through the season and helped anchor the team’s front court for the duration of the year.

Tandy said he didn’t expect to win the award but never never doubted his ability.

And Panther fans got to see his ability in one of the year’s most memorable plays at Lantz Arena – Tandy’s one-handed dunk over Murray State sophomore forward Shawn Witherspoon.

Tandy said he sometimes knows when a dunk is coming, but that dunk wasn’t one of those times.

“Sometimes, you just kind of jump, and whatever happens, happens,” Tandy said. “That’s what that dunk was like.”

Dunking is just one advantage of Tandy’s 7-foot wingspan.

Tandy also likes to send opponents messages on the other side of the floor by slapping shots right back at them.

Tandy blocked 42 shots last season, the second highest total an Eastern freshman has ever recorded. In OVC games, he averaged 1.69 blocks per game, second in the league.

“(Blocking a shot) gives your team momentum,” he said, “and maybe the other guy will think twice before he comes in on you again.”

Tandy said his favorite basketball player, the Minnesota Timberwolves’ forward Kevin Garnett, is a great shot blocker – to go along with a good jump shot and an array of all-around skills.

And if people described him in a similar way someday, Tandy wouldn’t mind, he said as a smile crept onto his face.

“That’d be fantastic.”