LITOS ON THE CAA

[ramathon74]

http://www.caahoops.com/2010/08/havoc-2-0-and-other-fun-stuff-to-get-you-ready/

Has ODU 1ST and VCU next, Joey as the key with a strong year from Brad. Not much (actually nothing) on the freshmen.

...2nd: VCU

What Matters: Sybil. Specifically, Joey Rodriguez’s ability to portray the legendary Sally Field role. VCU is going to need different things from him this season: leadership, shooting, playmaking, defense. It’s going to be different every night and we won’t know until the under 12 media timeout. J-Rod must do everything well, just not on the same night.

It’s Good If: Brad Burgess brings it every night. Burgess put 30 on Drexel and 22 on Towson and had three double-doubles. However he also had one point against Hofstra and two points against Mason and The Pugs.

It’s Not Good If: The Rams play 25 seconds of defense. They are talented enough to beat half the conference playing average defense. The problem: that makes for a nice 11-7 season, and that’s not going to cut it. VCU must grind defensively for the entire shot clock.

Look Out For: Jamie Skeen. You run a play for a post player, only one guy is getting the ball. Are you giving it to Skeen, or first round NBA draft pick Larry Sanders? Note: in VCUs CBI title-clincher over St. Louis, while Sanders sat with foul trouble, Skeen scored 16 points and grabbed six rebounds.

One Stat: Brandon Rozzell shot 48.3% at home, and 29.8% on the road.

Shaka Smart: “It’s Havoc 2.0. We’re going to press more and get after it more, but we’ve got to play better halfcourt defense. That’s a huge point of emphasis.”

In Summary: Appropriately for this rivalry: “see ODU and change Lee to Sanders.” It’s obvious that Sanders lost respect for the college game, and that took a toll. The Rams are in that 2nd-5th spot in my mind, and don’t underestimate the impact of Shaka Smart with a year under his belt, and the VCU players with a year under Smart.

.....

 

[vcu70]

I can't believe he said Larry lost respect for the college game!

 

[BigShotBrad]

I'm a huge Larry fan but I think you could tell that he lost interest in playing the game the right way last year. Shaka definitely did not have the firm hand of Anthony Grant and Larry suffered and the team suffered a little as a result. Larry basically did whatever he wanted for a time period last year (i.e. shooting 3 pointers, not playing much defense, etc.), things that he would not have done with Grant as the coach because he would've found himself on the bench. I don't know if Larry lost respect for the college game but he was definitely not the same kind of player last year though he still had a great year and by the end of the year I think Shaka finally got through to him that he needs to affect the game by rebounding, blocking shots and running the floor.

 

[mglitos]

I can't believe he said Larry lost respect for the college game!

I can't believe that is something that is questioned. I'm very proud of Larry and his progress, proud of his draft placement, proud that he is representing VCU well, and proud that he is a good kid who is seeing success. But it's clear he had moved on during the season last year, and I absolutely believe that was a detriment to the team.

Rammy--nothing about the freshmen because I like to see them play first. I do hear very good things, and there is a "possibility" they are written about in the full article.

 

[DCRAM]

I can't believe he said Larry lost respect for the college game!

I'd say he did...it looked that way more than a few occasions towards the end of the season

 

[Wolfpack Ram]

I can't believe he said Larry lost respect for the college game!

I can't believe that is something that is questioned. I'm very proud of Larry and his progress, proud of his draft placement, proud that he is representing VCU well, and proud that he is a good kid who is seeing success. But it's clear he had moved on during the season last year, and I absolutely believe that was a detriment to the team.

Rammy--nothing about the freshmen because I like to see them play first. I do hear very good things, and there is a "possibility" they are written about in the full article.

Mike, you are dead on and that's why we played in the CBIT! If Larry had played like he did in Legas, we are not playing in the CBIT - we're in the NCAA or NIT!!!

So, on a personal note - are the Nuggets loaded this year? I need help on my team - no overtime wins after a last second shot to go to over time!!! You need to come to the good side this year!