About Mat Shelton

VCU School of the Arts (BFA '07) and Center for Sport Leadership (M.Ed. '10) alumnus, Mat has followed VCU basketball since the Sunbelt days when he'd attend games with his father. Worked as a graduate assistant in the VCU Sports Information Department for the '09-'10 season, but has covered VCU basketball for VCURamNation.com since 2007. mshelton@vcuramnation.com @MatShelton

Underrated Brandenberg a valuable piece for the Rams

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This is a video of VCU guard, Rob Brandenberg, working out this spring: Odds are that’s one of the first times you’ve heard anything about the rising senior this summer. Brandenberg has been one of the least talked about players, floating below the radar that seems to only catch leading scorers Treveon Graham and Juvonte Reddic as well as the new faces set to hit the court this upcoming season. Lost in the hype is the fact VCU returns a [...]

A quick look at next season’s non-conference slate (so far…)

VCU looks to extend their 3-game winning streak against a rebuilding ODU Monarchs squad.

Next year’s non-conference schedule has yet to be completed, but let’s take a quick look at the match-ups we know we can look forward to. Home Games East Tennessee State (Atlantic Sun) 10-22, 275 RPI -This one could get ugly. The Rams blasted the Buccaneers by 51 points last season on the road, so the spread should be an interesting one in ETSU’s return game at the Siegel Center. Good news for the Bucs is Troy Daniels won’t be around [...]

Revisiting the 2007 recruiting class

Half of VCU's 2007 class played all four years at VCU, but finished as ESPY winners.

VCU fans will have a number of new faces to learn this season, a whopping seven new players having a shot to see their first D1 game action–eight including walk-on, Torey Burston. Jordan Burgess, a 2012 top-100 player ruled ineligible this past season, will get his first shot a the rims his brother, Bradford Burgess, found so friendly in his four years as a Ram. He’s joined by fellow 2012 ineligible, Mo Alie-Cox, a 6’6 260 Rivals 2-star from Middleburg, [...]

VCU roster update (catching you up with all the changes)

FSU transfer, Terrance Shannon, will provide muscle alongside Juvonte Reddic in next season's front court

In a season VCU was set to lose just three players to graduation (Daniels, Hinton and Theus), the Rams ended up doubling that at six. The first departure news came the day before the Atlantic 10 tournament, when junior center, DJ Haley, decided to bring an abrupt end to his playing days on Broad St. Following the season, news broke that sophomore point guard, Teddy Okereafor, would transfer to Rider. Then just this week, it was reported that freshman center, [...]

Daniels headed to Brooklyn for shot at NBA

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VCU 3-point star, Troy Daniels, will get another shot at the rims of Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, this time as an NBA hopeful working out for all 30 NBA teams in the buildup to the 2013 NBA Draft. Daniels hit a VCU record 124 3-pointers this season, then followed that effort with a primetime College Slam 3-Point Championship title on ESPN. The Roanoke native’s 3-point prowess punched his ticket to the event alongside 40-plus other college players. “It’s really humbling for me [...]

Davidson officially joins new look Atlantic 10

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Just when you thought you had a grasp on who was playing in VCU’s new conference, realignment went and added some new teams on us all. Prior to VCU’s inclusion into the Atlantic 10 conference, the league was set to lose Temple to the “Big East” (their half now called the “American Athletic Conference”) and Charlotte to CUSA. Added to those loses are a Butler program we barely got to know (off to the other half of the Big East, [...]