After playing on the Junior Varsity squad as a sophomore, he helped spur a resurgence in the St. Mary’s Ryken High School program that has seen little success in the past playing in one of the deepest high school leagues in the nation. The WCAC (Washington Catholic Athletic Conference) boasts such national high school programs as DeMatha, Gonzaga, Bishop McNamara, Bishop O’Connell, St. John’s, and Archbishop Carroll High School. St. Mary’s Ryken is a relatively diminutive program by WCAC standards, but Graham made the daily 60-mile trek from his home in Bowie to Leonardstown, MD to play for the Knights. After moving up from the JV squad last season, Graham exploded onto the scene averaging 18.3 ppg and 10.4 rebounds a game (the first Knights’ player to average a double-double since West Virginia’s John Flowers). His efforts helped the Knights’ reach school-records with 18 overall wins as well as 10 conference wins in the WCAC. His impact was well-noted by those on the DC hoops scene as he garnered first-team WCAC honors and honorable mention All-Met honors as a junior.

On the AAU circuit, Treveon joined Michael Beasley’s Triple Threat AAU program and turned heads, being named the Most Outstanding Prospect at Hoop Group Elite Camp Session 2 as well as the Bob Gibbons All-Tournament team (he averaged 20.3 ppg during the event). While he is not known on the national level as much as he is locally, he’s got plenty of game and should turn more heads during his senior campaign. St. Mary’s Ryken Head Coach Dave Tallman agrees:

“He’s very excited about VCU,” said Dave Tallman, Graham’s high school coach. “He’s a special player. He’s a scorer. Anything from 15-feet in is like a lay-up for him. He was our best 3-point shooter last season.

Tallman said Graham had offers from Northeastern and Delaware and that Clemson, Boston College and Cincinnati had started recruiting him. “The fact that VCU has had two first-round NBA picks the past two years didn’t hurt,” Tallman said.

(photo via www.thebaynet.com)

In a recent interview with Scout.com’s Dave Telep, Treveon’s mother Katrina agreed with the coaching staff’s (especially Assistant Michael Jones’) persistence as being a big factor in Graham’s commitment:

“They came in early,” Graham said. “They showed more interest than anyone and to me and my son, we felt that my son was a priority to them. VCU always considered him their No. 1 recruit. My son is shy and they made him feel comfortable.

VCU committed a lot of summer resources on Graham as one member of the staff was in attendance every game he played in July. “They’ve been to practically all of his games this summer. They’ve been recruiting him hard. The other schools, we heard from them here and there. We felt that they really, really wanted him.”

Treveon Graham joins combo guards Pierria’ Henry and Briante Weber in the 2011 recruiting class. VCU has 1 more scholarship to give and will likely target a big man either through the JUCO or high school ranks. Congratulations to Coach Shaka Smart and the VCU coaching staff and a hearty welcome on behalf of the Ram Nation to Treveon Graham!

RICHMOND, Va. – In less than 17 months on the job, Virginia Commonwealth University men’s basketball Head Coach Shaka Smart has tallied 27 wins and brought in one of the most highly-touted recruiting classes in years.

For his outstanding work and dedication to excellence, Smart was granted a two-year extension by VCU’s Director of Athletics Norwood Teague.

“The job Coach Smart and his staff has done in a short period of time is remarkable,” Teague said. “In just over a year, they’ve had 27 wins in their first season and done just an unbelievable job on the recruiting trail. We’re fortunate to be able to have this group of men leading our program and look forward to many more years together.”

“I’m extremely appreciative to the support shown to my wife and I by Dr. Rao, Norwood Teague and the entire VCU community,” Smart commented. “I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to coach and mentor such a fine group of young men and I couldn’t be more excited about our future as a program.”

In his first season, Smart led the Black & Gold to a 27-9 record, one win shy of the school record. The win total was also the highest in the nation among first year head coaches at the Division I level. The Rams reached the postseason for the fifth straight year and brought home with the College Basketball Invitational Championship, thanks to a perfect 5-0 mark. Four of those victories came against teams with at least 20 wins.

Off the court, the Madison, Wisc. native signed in one of the nation’s top “mid-major” recruiting classes, according to numerous scouting websites, including ESPN.com and Scout.com. All six newcomers for the Black & Gold were receiving attention from high-major schools before signing on to join Smart and the Rams.

Smart will be looking to add to his win total when VCU opens its 2010-11 regular season on Nov. 12 against the Spartans of UNC Greensboro at the Verizon Wireless Arena at the Stuart C. Siegel Center.

“Overall our schedule presents a wide variety of challenging opponents,” Head Coach Shaka Smart said. “We’ll have the chance to test ourselves in extremely hostile environments and against various styles of play. This early set of games in November and December will tell us quite a bit about ourselves heading into CAA play.”

Wake Forest, Cornell and Richmond highlight the possible seven postseason qualifiers that the Black & Gold could face during the 2010-11 campaign. The trio combined for 75 wins last season and all made trips to the NCAA Tournament. Wofford and Winthrop also made trips to the “Big Dance” to put a possible five tournament teams on the Rams’ slate.

“The opportunity to play several NCAA Tournament caliber teams will go a long way towards preparing us to reach our own NCAA aspirations,” Smart said.

UAB and South Florida round out the postseason squads that VCU will match-up against with both schools posting 20+ wins and earning a bid to the NIT.

Smart and his Rams will open up the season with the annual U.S. Army Downtown Showdown exhibition contest against Division II powerhouse Virginia Union on November 5th.

Mike Dement and the Spartans of UNC Greensboro visit the Verizon Wireless Arena at the Stuart C. Siegel Center to kick off the 2010-11 regular season on Friday, November 12th. Dement has tallied over 320 wins in his 24 seasons on the sidelines.

The Rams then head to Winston-Salem, N.C. to participate in the Preseason NIT with a four-team pod including Winthrop, Hampton and the host school, Wake Forest. VCU will take on Winthrop in the first round, and play either Wake Forest or Hampton in the second game. The Demon Deacons are a tough out on their home court, posting a 30-2 in non-conference games over the past four seasons.

With two wins in Winston-Salem, VCU would travel to Madison Square Garden for two games against opponents that could include national powers Tennessee, Villanova and UCLA. If the Rams do not advance to New York City, VCU will have the possibility of hosting two preseason NIT games in the comforts of the Siegel Center.

“We are pleased to be a part of such a prestigious early season tournament,” Smart commented. “I like that our team has the opportunity to advance to Madison Square Garden if we play well enough in our first two games in the tournament.”

The Black & Gold will face stiff competition on the road with contests at South Florida (Dec. 1st), Richmond (Dec. 11th), UAB (Dec. 21st) and the ESPNU BracketsBusters on the docket. The Bulls went 20-13 last year with home wins over Pittsburgh, UCONN, Cincinnati and Virginia. Reigning A-10 Player of the Year Kevin Anderson will lead the Spiders who are coming off a record-setting 26-9 campaign and trip to the NCAA Tournament. UAB represents another formidable road foe after posting a 25-9 mark last year. Head Coach Mike Davis has led the Blazers to a 34-2 mark in home non-conference games over the past five years.

At home in December will be two very intriguing opponents for Rams fans with in-state rival VMI (Dec. 8th) and new-look Tulane (Dec. 18th) visiting the Siegel Center. The Keydets have boasted the nation’s most prolific offense over the past four years and are returning their top six scorers, while Ed Conroy will be trying to rebuild the Green Wave into a powerhouse in Conference USA, as he did with The Citadel, where he posted the school’s second-ever 20-win season last year.

Smart and his crew will be opening up a new trend at the Verizon Wireless Arena with a Christmas tournament, which features Wofford, Cornell and New Hampshire this year.

VCU will open the tournament against a very talented Wofford squad that went 26-9 last year and nearly pulled an upset of Wisconsin in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Big Red became the story of the NCAA Tournament after posting a 29-5 record and making a run to the Sweet 16 last year. New Hampshire returns its top four scorers from a year ago and will be picked among the top teams in the America East.

As always final non-conference game will come in late February when the Black & Gold hit the road for the ESPNU BracketBusters. Game date, time and opponent will all be announced during the first week of February.

The conference portion of the VCU schedule is set to be announced by early September.

RICHMOND, Va. – We’ve seen him rebound, we’ve seen him throw down some dunks, we’ve seen him block shots, but on Tuesday night the Richmond area will get to see something new from former Ram Larry Sanders, throwing a baseball.

Sanders will be a special guest of the Richmond Flying Squirrels on Tuesday night at The Diamond when they host the Reading Phillies in a 7:05 p.m. contest. He will be on hand to throw out the first pitch as well as being available for autographs for his beloved fans.

“The city of Richmond and the VCU community are major reasons why I got this great opportunity in the NBA,” Sanders said. “This was just an opportunity that was presented to me and I couldn’t pass up a chance to thank so many of those fans that supported me during my time at VCU.”

Sanders became the second straight Ram to be drafted in the first round of the NBA Draft when the Milwaukee Bucks selected the Fort Pierce, Fla. native with the 15^th pick. He excelled in the week long summer league and looks to be a major contributor to the Bucks this season.

For more tickets, call the Richmond Flying Squirrels ticket office at 804-359-3866.

Once again, Sanders lead the Bucks with a game high of 17 points in a final Las Vegas Summer League matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers.  It was his second consecutive double-digit output, and Sanders’ highest total since dropping 22 this past Tuesday.

Larry finished the summer season with a 14-point scoring average, but it was on defense where the 2-time former CAA Defensive Player of the Year truly shined.

VCU fans watching at home saw the familiar shot blocking prowess that Sanders displayed in his three years with the Rams.  His 3.2 blocks per contest were tops among all players, including last year’s 2nd overall pick and shot-blocking sensation Hasheem Thabeet, as well as the NCAA’s all-time leading shot blocker and Miami Heat rookie, Jarvis Varnado.

“If I take that first game away I’d say maybe a B+, if I keep that first game I’d say maybe a C-”, Sanders graded himself on this week’s play.

Larry started the week with a serious case of the rookie nerves, trying to do too much and hitting only 4-of-15 shots in his first taste of NBA action.  He quickly settled down however going 9-14 the following evening and added 9 rebounds to go with his 22 points on the night.

Sanders then followed his offensive explosion with a dominating defensive effort — grabbing 13 boards to go along with 3 blocks and 4 steals in a summer league version of last years playoff series against the Atlanta Hawks.

The following night saw Sanders block a week high 5 shots in a loss to the Heat.  He added 14 points and 8 rebounds in the effort.

LS8’s 14 point average was tops among all Bucks players, but his versatility on both sides of the ball was what impressed most.  The rookie out of VCU averaged a team high 8.4 rebounds and ran the floor like a “Gazelle” to quote play-by-play man and ex-NBA forward, Denise Scott.

Larry will take the rest of his summer to prepare for the rigors of a full NBA season, some 77 games longer than this 5-day version that saw him break out onto the nation radar.

2010-11 MEN’S BASKETBALL SEASON TICKETS ON SALE NOW!

Season tickets for the 2010-11 VCU Men’s Basketball season are on sale now. Today is the perfect time to secure your seats! This season the men’s team will have 15 home games. Highlighting the home schedule are games against VMI, Tulane, George Mason, Old Dominion, and James Madison.

New this season – the Swaders Family Season Ticket Plan! This package includes two adult and two youth tickets to every home game – for the low price of $300! In addition, all Young Alumni receive a 50% discount off the regular price after joining the Ram Athletic Fund. For your convenience, a payment plan option is available to break up the total cost over four months.

Don’t miss out on all the great action at the Verizon Wireless Arena at the Siegel Center this year!

2010-11 Season Ticket Pricing
Reserved Season Ticket: $215
Faculty/Staff Ticket Package: $195
Baseline Ticket Package: $165
Young Alumni: $107.50*
NEW – Swaders Family Season Ticket Plan: $300
NEW – VIP Floor Season Ticket Plan: $500

***Season ticket renewals will be sent out the week of July 12.

Mini Plan packages will go on sale in September once the schedule is finalized. Single game tickets will go on sale on Monday, Oct. 18.

*Young Alumni receive 50% off regular price when joining the Ram Athletic Fund.

For more information on VCU Men’s Basketball Season Tickets, click here or contact the VCU Ticket Office at (804) 828-7267

AP

Sanders struggled in his first game going just 4-15 from the field but bounced back in a major way, just a rebound shy of a double-double and even hit 2-of-3 long range shots including what seemed to be an overtime forcing tre with 0.7 left in regulation.

Unfortunately for the Bucks the refs are currently in Summer League mode as well, as Sam Young sank a three pointer post-buzzer that was counted as the game winning bucket for the Grizzles.

Sanders added two assists, a steal, and cut his turnovers in half from yesterday’s 6 against the Dallas Mavericks. LS8 looked much more relaxed in tonight’s outing, hitting 9-of-14 shots from the field, most of which were of the jump shot variety but did manage to sneak in his first dunk of Summer League play.

The Bucks move to 0-2 and will next face the Atlanta Hawks this Wednesday at 8:30PM.

All Summer League games are shown on NBA TV.

Buck’s assistant coach Jim Boylan said he expects Sanders to see 25 to 28 minutes of play in today’s game.

Sanders will compete alongside Buck’s second round draft pick Keith “Tiny” Gallon.

The last time these two shared a court was during a 82-69 VCU victory as the Rams hosted Gallon’s Sooners squad coached by ex-VCU head coach Jeff Capel.

Joining the Buck’s is former Hofstra standout Antoine Agudio.  The former CAA sharpshooter has spent the past two season in the NBA’s D-League with the New Mexico Thunderbirds.