Players Christian Fermin is a VCU Ram!

Fermin (and Luke) weren't a focus of the offense and a lot of the rebounds went to the gaurds. I'm not sure what people expected from him. The team got it done.
 
It was said before, and should be said again...a player starting and staying with a school for 4 straight seasons...in THIS day and age??

That is commendable as H e L L and should held in extremely high regard from the fan bases that claim to truly love and support their cherished programs.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Keyshawn Curry was our last 4 year player. And yes, I know Fats may join that club as well and mores the better, I say.....Heck, even Zeb could get a 4th VCU year....we'll just ignore that little Michigan holiday he took down by the base of the thumb.

This is gonna be a special year for a great number of things, and Christian Fermin's Senior Year is gonna be one of them
 
Half-baked Mcbride said:
It was said before, and should be said again...a player starting and staying with a school for 4 straight seasons...in THIS day and age??

That is commendable as H e L L and should held in extremely high regard from the fan bases that claim to truly love and support their cherished programs.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Keyshawn Curry was our last 4 year player. And yes, I know Fats may join that club as well and mores the better, I say.....Heck, even Zeb could get a 4th VCU year....we'll just ignore that little Michigan holiday he took down by the base of the thumb.

This is gonna be a special year for a great number of things, and Christian Fermin's Senior Year is gonna be one of them
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Curry and Vince graduated the same season so they would be our last two I believe.
 
TampaKAP said:
So devils advocate because I debate with myself regarding Ferm and his role in rebounding. Tap backs were a huge part of the Odom philosophy. Send guards and wings to crash was also a huge part of the philosophy. Maybe just maybe Odom wanted the ball in the hands of good passers and good decision makers as quick as possible. Luke is an apex rebounder, Ferm is not. I am thinking Ferm was more doing what he was coached but he coached that way because of unsure hands
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It's really not that complicated. Rebounding is basically doing two things: 1) find your man and shield him from being able to grab the rebound (boxing out); 2) grab the rebound. That fact people are saying the coach instructs Fermin to only do half of what is a primary responsibility for a center and leave the rebound up for grabs for a guard to grab it is wild to me.

The truly proficient rebounders go after boards within and outside of their area. The problem is Fermin doesn't aggressively go after rebounds within his rebounding area much less outside of it. Hearing folks think that's being done intentionally doesn't make sense to me. But hey, maybe I'm just old school. Maybe in today's game centers aren't suppose to rebound, point guards aren't suppose to pass, shooting guards aren't suppose to shoot.
 
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Half-baked Mcbride said:
It was said before, and should be said again...a player starting and staying with a school for 4 straight seasons...in THIS day and age??

That is commendable as H e L L and should held in extremely high regard from the fan bases that claim to truly love and support their cherished programs.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Keyshawn Curry was our last 4 year player. And yes, I know Fats may join that club as well and mores the better, I say.....Heck, even Zeb could get a 4th VCU year....we'll just ignore that little Michigan holiday he took down by the base of the thumb.

This is gonna be a special year for a great number of things, and Christian Fermin's Senior Year is gonna be one of them
Click to expand...
Great post and so true. Ferm has been incredibly loyal to this program and is working hard. In the age of the portal and staying through not one but two coaching changes is commendable. He loves VCU and will be a valued member of the team this year.
 
Mistachill said:
It's really not that complicated. Rebounding is basically doing two things: 1) find your man and shield him from being able to grab the rebound (boxing out); 2) grab the rebound. That fact people are saying the coach instructs Fermin to only do half of what is a primary responsibility for a center and leave the rebound up for grabs for a guard to grab it is wild to me.

The truly proficient rebounders go after boards within and outside of their area. The problem is Fermin doesn't aggressively go after rebounds within his rebounding area much less outside of it. Hearing folks think that's being done intentionally doesn't make sense to me. But hey, maybe I'm just old school. Maybe in today's game centers aren't suppose to rebound, point guards aren't suppose to pass, shooting guards aren't suppose to shoot.
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I don’t disagree with what you state. Again, my post was just to play devils advocate, not to state facts. At the same time, on numerous occasions RO spoke about guys having roles in his rebounding scheme. He spoke of tappers, crushers, nail guys etc. I was not in practice but from watching summer practice clips and actual games, it was clear that every player was not trying to grab every rebound.
At the same time, yes Ferm lacks aggression
 
Half-baked Mcbride said:
It was said before, and should be said again...a player starting and staying with a school for 4 straight seasons...in THIS day and age??

That is commendable as H e L L and should held in extremely high regard from the fan bases that claim to truly love and support their cherished programs.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Keyshawn Curry was our last 4 year player. And yes, I know Fats may join that club as well and mores the better, I say.....Heck, even Zeb could get a 4th VCU year....we'll just ignore that little Michigan holiday he took down by the base of the thumb.

This is gonna be a special year for a great number of things, and Christian Fermin's Senior Year is gonna be one of them
Click to expand...

This is where I'm at with it too.. Fermin had some frustrating moments for us this season, and he had a few great moments. That aside, he is obviously an admirable young man with a ton of positive energy to spread around, and he loves being at VCU. He deserves our support. He's the one out there putting in the work every day for this team. He's on our side.

I also agree with some of the other posters speculating that he looked a bit less effective than he could possibly be due to the way our system was designed. He didn't inspire a ton of confidence in his offensive game when he got the ball down there, true, but maybe he wasn't getting the practice on that aspect of his game. I'm not sure we can teach him to be stronger on the ball, rebound better, or convince him to dunk over dudes, but I guess I'll hold out hope. Let's not overlook the fact that we need Fermin. We need some more classically built bigs that can run, and he fits that mold. I'm happy to have him.
 
I just want to see Ferm be more aggressive and when he gets the ball close to the hoop go up and towards the rim…initiate an active aggressive move to the basket and not some soft jumper or baby hook. Go try to dunk everything and make them foul you.
 
I was pretty vocal in my frustration with Ferm last year. Especially during in game threads.

Having met him several times he is a clearly a smart, kind stand up guy. He also is most certainly and a dying breed when it comes to his commitment to the school and not just to himself or the coach.

My hope for him this year:
1-he works on his aggressiveness specifically with rebounds and protecting the ball from would be tie ups, knock aways, and steals.
2-he works to build hand strength, being ready to receive passes, and handling them when they come.
3-he finishes with more dunks at the rim instead of settling for 2-3 ft. bunnies that end up being misses more often than necessary.
4-he holds screens longer before rolling off and towards basket
5-keeps sealing for guards- he did a nice job here last year.
6- be more decisive with ball at the top of the key (he often looked uncertain, unconfident, and eager to get the ball out of his hands asap causing stress and risk of TO’s ( or maybe just not handle the ball up there unless absolutely necessary and only to return it to a guard that picked up their dribble)

This all said I’m glad he’s back for his Sr year in whatever capacity he can help our team and will cheer him on hoping for more success this year.
 
carner0 said:
This is where I'm at with it too.. Fermin had some frustrating moments for us this season, and he had a few great moments. That aside, he is obviously an admirable young man with a ton of positive energy to spread around, and he loves being at VCU. He deserves our support. He's the one out there putting in the work every day for this team. He's on our side.

I also agree with some of the other posters speculating that he looked a bit less effective than he could possibly be due to the way our system was designed. He didn't inspire a ton of confidence in his offensive game when he got the ball down there, true, but maybe he wasn't getting the practice on that aspect of his game. I'm not sure we can teach him to be stronger on the ball, rebound better, or convince him to dunk over dudes, but I guess I'll hold out hope. Let's not overlook the fact that we need Fermin. We need some more classically built bigs that can run, and he fits that mold. I'm happy to have him.
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IMO most great rebounders have a couple of things in common. Height is only one of them and not necessarily the most important. Think about Charles Barkley as being the prototype. Big glutes are the key to creating space first between yourself and others. Then hand and arm strength to hold onto the ball. What we see as fans is the arms but what is going on below the waist is critical. I loved to rebound for my meager height but when I played against players with powerful legs and glutes I would find myself totally out of position. Fermin is tall but light below and therefore is liable to be slightly out of position. Given his height taping the ball to someone else may be a legit option. Both he and Luke and others did that well last year and I noticed other teams doing the same. I know we all would like him to develop lots of hand strength but probably not going to happen. Of course then there is the aggression of someone like Rodman who contradicts everything I just said. GO RAMS!
 
Half-baked Mcbride said:
It was said before, and should be said again...a player starting and staying with a school for 4 straight seasons...in THIS day and age??

That is commendable as H e L L and should held in extremely high regard from the fan bases that claim to truly love and support their cherished programs.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Keyshawn Curry was our last 4 year player. And yes, I know Fats may join that club as well and mores the better, I say.....Heck, even Zeb could get a 4th VCU year....we'll just ignore that little Michigan holiday he took down by the base of the thumb.

This is gonna be a special year for a great number of things, and Christian Fermin's Senior Year is gonna be one of them
Click to expand...
Bravo! He is very well respected and loved by the VCU fan base. Fantastic news!
 
Dr Joe said:
IMO most great rebounders have a couple of things in common. Height is only one of them and not necessarily the most important. Think about Charles Barkley as being the prototype. Big glutes are the key to creating space first between yourself and others. Then hand and arm strength to hold onto the ball. What we see as fans is the arms but what is going on below the waist is critical. I loved to rebound for my meager height but when I played against players with powerful legs and glutes I would find myself totally out of position. Fermin is tall but light below and therefore is liable to be slightly out of position. Given his height taping the ball to someone else may be a legit option. Both he and Luke and others did that well last year and I noticed other teams doing the same. I know we all would like him to develop lots of hand strength but probably not going to happen. Of course then there is the aggression of someone like Rodman who contradicts everything I just said. GO RAMS!
Click to expand...
The A10's leading rebounder is Raphael Castro who is listed as (depending on what site you reference and whether you believe it) somewhere between 6"10/6'11" and 215-220 lbs. Fermin is listed on the VCU website at 6-10 235lb. Look at the images below and tell me there's a dramatic difference in their size or physical attributes. The biggest key to rebounding is your desire to do it.
castro.jpg
fermin3.jpg
 
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