Former Recruits and Players

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rammad90

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bighornn said:
walk-on ..... however, in about 2001, VCU had Orlov, Nesterov, L.F., and Shtam .... "The Ramsians."
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Nesterov was 6'8 and could shoot it. We didnt know how to use him. LF blossomed. The other two were well they were the other two.
 
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rammad90

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bighornn said:
Considered a "point forward," the 6-8'ish Mobley started 23 of 30 games in 2018-19, averaging 4.2 points and 2.5 boards for a 25-8 Rams' edition. Most often, players transfer due to lack of playing time. That wasn't the case with Mobley who logged 20 minutes per game as a sophomore. That said, some might imagine his reason for departure being something other than on-court opportunities. Regarding the race issue, it would be difficult not to recognize that in Rams' lore. Along with Florida State and Western Kentucky, the Rams were first southeastern school to start an all-Black lineup. That was 1971. Since then VCU has become perhaps the Blackest program in the USA, and also one of the most successful. Since moving to Siegel Center nearly a quarter century ago, only white scholarship players to join program have been Mobley and three Russians, Kirill Pishchalnikov, Denis Orlov and Konstantin Nesterov. Arriving soon is the kid from Hartford. L.F. and Matt Treadwell had become Rams before The Stu opened. Even Stevie Wonder might have noticed that.
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Bighorn it wasnt that the fan based noticed. Its their reactions and instant love for the non-Russian white players that was so noticeable. As to Treadwell had his foot not exploded on him he was skilled enough to play in the NBA.
 
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rammad90

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mrgeode said:
Maybe so. I'd like to think the fan base wanted to see him do well because he was a member of the team, full stop, but you're probably right about there being some element of "we got us a white boy now".

The reason he wasn't the best fit had nothing to do with his ethnicity, though. Khris Lane was the slowest player I've ever seen at VCU. Pat Connaughton had the best max effort vertical at the NBA combine in 2015. Yuta Watanabe parleyed his athleticism and defense into an NBA contract. Jose Alvarado did the same thing - and, closer to home, Joey Rodriguez was the starting point guard on a Final Four team despite being like 5'8".
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Thanks for at least acknowledging the "we got us a white boy now" attitude. I agree his not being a fit had nothing to do with ethnicity.
 
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Ramaholic

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LQuarles said:
Shriver will be more of a fit than Mobley ever was.
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I dont think Shriver will be a good fit. Kid is not fit and he is making a huge jump in competition with a program that thrives on fitness and fast pace. And I am one that doesn't think the fan base celebrates "white boys". We celebrate and cheer for success. People were disappointed with Mobley bc he was highly recruited and supposedly had a good bball IQ. Few were that jaded when he left. No one cared when that white kid Emmerson ? (cant even remember his name) walked on and then walked off. But we loved Torey and Hinton bc they had heart. Many people really questioned the Shriver signing bc he never played at this level and looks out of shape (to a degree). I would say the majority of fans would rather have had a better rated recruit, regardless of race. His whiteness never entered discussion when the team announced his arrival.
I want the best players being recruited and the best players playing and I hope they all do well in life after college. IDGAF about what race they are.
 
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bighornn

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The VCU extended family might have an Olympian in waiting .... Britton Wilson, daughter of former Ram Vince, won the NCAA 400 hurdles in Eugene in a sizzling 53.86 for Arkansas ... she's certainly a contender for the '24 Summer Games in Paris ... Vince was a very talented player but had the misfortune of coming along during the Sonny Smith error, err era. He was best friends with the late Chris Cheeks. Following Britton's victory on Saturday, the TV camera showed her getting a loving hug from her proud papa.
 
LQuarles

LQuarles

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Ramaholic said:
I dont think Shriver will be a good fit. Kid is not fit and he is making a huge jump in competition with a program that thrives on fitness and fast pace. And I am one that doesn't think the fan base celebrates "white boys". We celebrate and cheer for success. People were disappointed with Mobley bc he was highly recruited and supposedly had a good bball IQ. Few were that jaded when he left. No one cared when that white kid Emmerson ? (cant even remember his name) walked on and then walked off. But we loved Torey and Hinton bc they had heart. Many people really questioned the Shriver signing bc he never played at this level and looks out of shape (to a degree). I would say the majority of fans would rather have had a better rated recruit, regardless of race. His whiteness never entered discussion when the team announced his arrival.
I want the best players being recruited and the best players playing and I hope they all do well in life after college. IDGAF about what race they are.
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Shriver will be fine. He has plenty of time to get in shape by November. He has sneaky good athleticism, size, and of course his shooting. His competition jump won't matter.
 
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duncanlamb

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LQuarles said:
Then why did Jamal Brunt go after him?
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To get me wrong, I want Shriver to be an upgrade but the empirical evidence suggests otherwise.


To be sure, Sean's attitude turned for the worst when he realized his minutes were getting cut in lieu of better options on the team. He let that adversely effect of every facet of his game including conditioning.

However, at his best, he was a key contributor to the first Rhoades NCAA team. Just remember, Rhoades, at one point, had enough confidence in Sean's defensively abilities to assign him to head of the press on a team that was top 5 defensive efficiency in '18-19.


I concede Shriver's 3 pt shooting %(2nd in the transfer portal) but it was against the worst league in division 1 basketball. His assessment was based his 5 game stretch at the end of the year against the worst teams of that league. When Hartford finally played against a quality team (Baylor), they got stomped by 24.

Anyway It really doesn't matter if he is better than mobley.

The real question is he better than tsonhis. Tshonis was came to vcu as leading 3 shooter in the pac 10? Tshonis scored 29 pts against Oregon, a sweet 16 team with Chris Duarte. He was a 3* all-state first team in Washington. His other offers recruited by USC and Arizona st. He is a better shooter and a better athlete than Shriver, yet he is gone.

There were still better wings available in the transfer portal when we signed Shriver.

I can actually think of a few '22's which were still available at the time of Shriver which were a just as fundamentally sound and a better fit for vcu.
 
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