Former Recruits and Players

We only won 1 NIT game at home with a guy who is starting for the Memphis Grizzlies, the A10 POY and DPOY, a guy starting at Baylor, a guy leading scoring at FSU and two guys on the bench who are dropping 50 pt games at LBSU and breaking 3 pt records at Asheville.

It's actually insane how much that team underachieved.
Blowing that ugly game vs UConn in Atlantis was a killer. The margins are so thin for teams not in the P5. VCU was a 3 seed in the NIT in 2021-2022 which means we were roughly 9-12 spots away from the bubble. A win vs UConn and not having a complete dud vs Richmond in the A10 Quarters could have changed all of that.
 
Jamir was my favorite player from last year's team. I know he was coming off an injury, but it always felt like he was underutilized. I saw an NBA player in him.
When Jamir came back from his injury, he did not play well in the OOC. He had visions of driving to the basket and scoring whenever he drove it. Never thought about kicking it out or passing inside. Didn't matter if he had an open lane to the basket or all 5 opposing players were draped all over him.....he was going to shoot the ball. And the opposition knew that. Jamir was constantly driving into a forest of collapsing opposition players. That was the reason he was benched and replaced with Kern.
He did end up learning his lesson. Along with a more developed team during conference play, Jamir ended up being a much better distributor when the opposition collapsed on him, preventing him from shooting a good shot. I think the benching helped him become a better player.....although, he was certainly a very talented player before he even took to the Rams court.
Hope he does get into the NBA. That would be the 3rd MR recruit to make it to the NBA.
 
When Jamir came back from his injury, he did not play well in the OOC. He had visions of driving to the basket and scoring whenever he drove it. Never thought about kicking it out or passing inside. Didn't matter if he had an open lane to the basket or all 5 opposing players were draped all over him.....he was going to shoot the ball. And the opposition knew that. Jamir was constantly driving into a forest of collapsing opposition players. That was the reason he was benched and replaced with Kern.
He did end up learning his lesson. Along with a more developed team during conference play, Jamir ended up being a much better distributor when the opposition collapsed on him, preventing him from shooting a good shot. I think the benching helped him become a better player.....although, he was certainly a very talented player before he even took to the Rams court.
Hope he does get into the NBA. That would be the 3rd MR recruit to make it to the NBA.
Jayden Nunn might get there too. He's on a lot of draft radars right now.
 
MBJ with 39 tonight on 14-21 shooting. Wow. Guess he likes Greensboro and playing teams like Citadel.
Or maybe he's the best player on the team..... and/or the coach & his teammates run plays that give him a higher chance to succeed.

Sure, the level of competition might be lower.... but I think it's also a case of, hes one of the best players on the team, if not the best.... and the coach & his teammates run plays to get him open and give him a higher chance to succeed.

I liked him a lot here at VCU.... the problem was.... I don't think we utilized him according to his strengths & I don't think he put him in a lot of situations to succeed consistently. Mike Jones & co. are doing just that. And MBJ's confidence is through the roof right now at UNC-G because of that.
 
I liked him a lot here at VCU.... the problem was.... I don't think we utilized him according to his strengths & I don't think he put him in a lot of situations to succeed consistently. Mike Jones & co. are doing just that. And MBJ's confidence is through the roof right now at UNC-G because of that.
He was also only a freshman & sophomore player for our team. He has had 2 additional years playing at the college level. Had he stayed at VCU I think we would have been much more productive his final 2 years, just like many, many other college level players. In fact, you could see his development during his final year here, especially during the 2nd part/conference portion of the season.
 
you could see his development during his final year here, especially during the 2nd part/conference portion of the season.
Personally I felt like he was underutilized in his sophomore season. The staff stuck with Ward and others while Mikeal contributed in his 10 minutes per game. I feel like he was shooting over 50% from the field. He was $ but got spotty minutes.
 
He was also only a freshman & sophomore player for our team. He has had 2 additional years playing at the college level. Had he stayed at VCU I think we would have been much more productive his final 2 years, just like many, many other college level players. In fact, you could see his development during his final year here, especially during the 2nd part/conference portion of the season.
It really doesn't matter, because he clearly didn't like Richmond and/or VCU.
 
He was also only a freshman & sophomore player for our team. He has had 2 additional years playing at the college level. Had he stayed at VCU I think we would have been much more productive his final 2 years, just like many, many other college level players. In fact, you could see his development during his final year here, especially during the 2nd part/conference portion of the season.

Had he stayed he would have just wasted another year getting minimal minutes under Rhoades. Even if he stayed here and balled out he would have left when Rhoades did. I'm fine with trading one year of MBJ for one year of Brandon Johns. Worked for both parties.
 
Or maybe he's the best player on the team..... and/or the coach & his teammates run plays that give him a higher chance to succeed.

Sure, the level of competition might be lower.... but I think it's also a case of, hes one of the best players on the team, if not the best.... and the coach & his teammates run plays to get him open and give him a higher chance to succeed.

I liked him a lot here at VCU.... the problem was.... I don't think we utilized him according to his strengths & I don't think he put him in a lot of situations to succeed consistently. Mike Jones & co. are doing just that. And MBJ's confidence is through the roof right now at UNC-G because of that.
Yeah, I agree. He wasnt the. best player at his position. Just like Josh Banks it didnt work out. Doesnt mean he cannot play.

Oh by the way anyone see the progress that Nick Kern is making?
 
Yeah, I agree. He wasnt the. best player at his position. Just like Josh Banks it didnt work out. Doesnt mean he cannot play.

Oh by the way anyone see the progress that Nick Kern is making?

Kern can ball... just needs to be given the chance to show it. And he's one of those players you gotta take the bad with the good because of how he plays. One game, he might turn the ball over a lot... another game he might be in foul trouble.

But he's a good, hardworking kid.... and if you give him a chance & put him in position to succeed... he is gonna do just that.

Kid plays with a lot of heart & passion & leaves it all out on the court.

That's why I said, he was prob gonna be the player I missed most from last years squad. Imagine if we had him right now..... hes got that Dawg Mentality we need right now.
 
Personally I felt like he was underutilized in his sophomore season. The staff stuck with Ward and others while Mikeal contributed in his 10 minutes per game. I feel like he was shooting over 50% from the field. He was $ but got spotty minutes.
It may have obvious he was going to transfer he wasn’t going to stick around, so why play a guy. If he just didn’t like it here, his attitude may not have been great.

A person can also get an idea in their head and it’s hard to get out. For a coach you can adjust 2x. For Mike Rhoades 3x.

But yeah, he was productive. Per 40 mins he was VCUs second best score and rebounder as a sophomore. Good, tough, efficient player with a nose for the ball. That translates to any team and “system”. He’s better than anybody VCU has right now by a long shot.
 
... the problem was.... I don't think we utilized him according to his strengths & I don't think he put him in a lot of situations to succeed consistently.
He most definitely was ulilized his first 2 years. Offensively, opponents knew he was going to use a shot fake everytime he drove the ball the lane. So opponents sagged off in the lane and clogged the middle.. The end result was always he would get his shot blocked, the ball stripped for a turnover or would get called for an offensive charge.

He finally came around at the end if his 2nd year
and started utilizing his 15 footer in the lane against zone defenses

He's a much better player now. I would not be surprised if ends up in the transfer portal back at Penn State as a grad transfer.
 
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