Recruiting 22' 6'10 4* Composite Top 100 Christian Fermin commits to VCU.

[HBK]

Remember when some folks said Rhoades doesn't like playing big?

He didn’t like playing big, he couldn’t recruit bigs, he couldn’t recruit period, blah blah blah!! Frankly, I’m shocked we could find 13 guys who even want to play for Mike at VCU.

Now, after the first loss of the upcoming season, the same folks will be on here complaining about the coach. It makes for good comedy sometimes.

 

[rammad90]

I agree but i think the fact is that he will suprise alot of people at peach jam. The end result will be a 4* rating and top 100 ranking in at keast one of the 3 major recruiting outlets.

Sure but at the end fo the day none of that matters any more. Stars dont matter once we sign the player . In fact if I'm Mike I dont even want my kids star status to rise either when I am pursuing them and certainly after I sign them.

I do hope he continues to grow and play well.

 

[rammad90]

He didn’t like playing big, he couldn’t recruit bigs, he couldn’t recruit period, blah blah blah!! Frankly, I’m shocked we could find 13 guys who even want to play for Mike at VCU.

Now, after the first loss of the upcoming season, the same folks will be on here complain about the coach. It makes for good comedy sometimes.

John Thompson once said you can find a pretty girl on every corner. However, a good big man is hard to find.

The fact of the matters getting good players 6'9.5 and up is difficult. There just arent that many skilled big guys coming out. of HS. We've been lucky over the years in that we've done a decent job developing guys who weren't that highly ratted initially.

 

[duncanlamb]

In fact if I'm Mike I dont even want my kids star status to rise either when I am pursuing them and certainly after I sign them.

True dat...and mike does exactly that as evidence by the fact that he was pursuing fermins 2 months BEFORE he entered the top 150.

Mike and his staff know talent.

 

[Major Ram 2.0]

Looks like MR's old college is only 1hr 40 from Pocono Summit...MR mining his old turf?

 

[WI.Ram10]

Has probably been posted but here it is again. Moves really well, jumps quickly, seems to be controlled and uses his body well in the paint too. Hit shot is kind of funky looking but seems to work for him. All highlights I know. Can’t wait to watch some full games this summer at peach jam
https://247sports.com/Video/Christian-Fermin-Junior-Highlights-10397243/

 

[Thirstin4Burston]

Thanks for posting that commitment day video. Was cool to see the behind the scenes interactions, the young man and his family seem like a great fit for the VCU community.

On a side note, I want to say that Rhoades has won me over. It took me longer than others, I think I was really burnt by the way Shaka left and the rift during the Frank years but I have to say, Rhoades is doing the work, he's about it, I love the way he communicates with the players and Bones (and others) are living proof of what he's been able to accomplish. I think he he's positioned himself and the program back to where we deserve to be, recruiting top players, good young men to represent the school and city. Well done and welcome to Christian.

 

[WillWeaverRVA]

Thanks for posting that commitment day video. Was cool to see the behind the scenes interactions, the young man and his family seem like a great fit for the VCU community.

On a side note, I want to say that Rhoades has won me over. It took me longer than others, I think I was really burnt by the way Shaka left and the rift during the Frank years but I have to say, Rhoades is doing the work, he's about it, I love the way he communicates with the players and Bones (and others) are living proof of what he's been able to accomplish. I think he he's positioned himself and the program back to where we deserve to be, recruiting top players, good young men to represent the school and city. Well done and welcome to Christian.

Coach Rhoades finds high-level players who want to play here, and he does a really good job selling the program. He honestly does a better job of it than Shaka ever did.

 

[Ramdog]

Coach Rhoades finds high-level players who want to play here, and he does a really good job selling the program. He honestly does a better job of it than Shaka ever did.

Ah...ok

 

[SteveMM]

Coach Rhoades finds high-level players who want to play here, and he does a really good job selling the program. He honestly does a better job of it than Shaka ever did.

I may get blasted for this, but I feel like Shaka was just selling himself and his personality, which was significant. Coach Rhoades is doing a bit of that, but mainly he's selling VCU and the atmosphere he's built here.

 

[BradRamFan]

I may get blasted for this, but I feel like Shaka was just selling himself and his personality, which was significant. Coach Rhoades is doing a bit of that, but mainly he's selling VCU and the atmosphere he's built here.

Might be true. But he was the head coach who took us (along with very talented players) to the final four. To be truthful though, I think his biggest strength while here was the hiring of both Rhoades and Wade (for all the crap we give him). Together those three meshed and had great skill to move our program forward.

 

[share the ball]

Coach Rhoades finds high-level players who want to play here, and he does a really good job selling the program. He honestly does a better job of it than Shaka ever did.

my two cents is we probably need to get beyond comparisons of everyone to Shaka or ...... (try to enjoy the success of each coach individually)
I would suggest the measuring stick simply needs to be success of program over a 4 to 6 year period and did he keep the program away from any improprieties and filling the STU.
while it feels like the recruiting over the past 18-24 months is preparing VCU for a high level of success in the 21-24 timeframe, I worry about how easy it is for athletes to transfer from one school to another now and how it could impact a program like VCU that has (on paper) more depth in the 7th to 12th roster spots than most schools (even the P5s in my opinion)
Go Rams (and players STAY RAMS; the Richmond VA kind of course)

 

[VCU Heel]

Coach Rhoades finds high-level players who want to play here, and he does a really good job selling the program. He honestly does a better job of it than Shaka ever did.

Come on now. Shaka was signing top 100 players his last several years. And he never missed an NCAA Tournament after his first season. Rhoades is doing a great job and he’s definitely more accessible to fans than Shaka, but you shouldn’t forget the direction recruiting was heading those last few years under Shaka.

 

[duncanlamb]

Come on now. Shaka was signing top 100 players his last several years. And he never missed an NCAA Tournament after his first season. Rhoades is doing a great job and he’s definitely more accessible to fans than Shaka, but you shouldn’t forget the direction recruiting was heading those last few years under Shaka.

Did any of Shaka's vcu top 100's ever get drafted in the first round? Larry sanders doesnt count.

 

[VCU Heel]

Did any of Shaka's vcu top 100's ever get drafted in the first round? Larry sanders doesnt count.

So far, none of Rhoades recruits have either. And Rhoades has never had a consensus top 100 recruit.

Bones was a great pick up for Mike. I’ll give him credit. But it also needs to be understood that if that house fire doesn’t happen and Bones doesn’t break his leg, then he would have ended up at a high level P5 school.