National Branding!

BigE

BigE

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Anybody and everybody who has an interest in college and NBA basketball were tuned into the draft and heard that VCU had the #20 draft choice. At that moment Virginia Commonwealth became a basketball school in the mind or players, coaches, and draft gurus throughout the nation.

The free pub is immeasurable and will make recruiting that much easier and will make the way for future potential draftees easier.
 
Central Arkansas had a lottery pick many years ago who later became a top 50 all-time NBA player (Scottie Pippen). Has anyone heard from Central Arkansas on any level since?

The pub is great, but lets not overstate it.

(didn't want to disappoint Sometimes ;) )
 
Mistachill said:
Central Arkansas had a lottery pick many years ago who later became a top 50 all-time NBA player (Scottie Pippen). Has anyone heard from Central Arkansas on any level since?

The pub is great, but lets not overstate it.

(didn't want to disappoint Sometimes ;) )
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Central Arkansas is a football school in the Southland Conference (apples and oranges)
 
Central Ark. went division 1 shortly after Scottie left. Yes we don't hear much from them, but they are on the major networks websites, ESPN scroll, and have a shot of the ncaa tourny every year. Its better than nothing. I also bet the Southland Conference has some regional tv.

As you can tell i'm a freak nut when it comes to mid major b ball. If you are D-1, I give a poop about you. They're others like me too.

VCU also has had a 40 year b ball program/tradition/success. They play in the CAA which is consistantly ranked 12-14 best conference. Wait til Larry goes lottery. Then folks will really know us.

Down the road I honestly see us in a bigger time conference. However, CAA or not, we have been getting a lot of national pub lately, and it ain't letting up.
 
Yeah, following it up with Larry in two years will help a lot.
 
JacksonWard31 said:
Central Ark. went division 1 shortly after Scottie left. Yes we don't hear much from them, but they are on the major networks websites, ESPN scroll, and have a shot of the ncaa tourny every year. Its better than nothing. I also bet the Southland Conference has some regional tv.

As you can tell i'm a freak nut when it comes to mid major b ball. If you are D-1, I give a poop about you. They're others like me too.

VCU also has had a 40 year b ball program/tradition/success. They play in the CAA which is consistantly ranked 12-14 best conference. Wait til Larry goes lottery. Then folks will really know us.

Down the road I honestly see us in a bigger time conference. However, CAA or not, we have been getting a lot of national pub lately, and it ain't letting up.
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maybe we will change conferences but again maybe not. If not that should not stop us from taking care of our business. UNLV, New Mexico State, Gonzaga, and most recently Memphis have exceeded thier conference ties into the national limelight.
 
Sometimes said:
INSERT OLD PEOPLE TELLING THIS HAS HAPPENED BEFORE, ETC. ;) :lol:
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some of the locals up here and I were talking about the Twolves ...well, they were talking and I was overhearing.... point guards were mentioned, and I of course had to drop Maynor's name into the mix. They were highly under informed about VCU, asking "when was the last VCU player drafted? Olden Polynice?" ...so I had to tell 'em about Henderson, Sherod, Harris, and Dark... plus the bunch drafted that didn't quite make it, including the actual last Ram taken prior to EM, Sherron Mills... seeing their faces when I told em Mills was picked by the wolves was fun.

so obviously we have a way to go, but I will say this... they knew Maynor was from VCU before I ever said a word


the big giant HUGE difference for PR and branding between the old 70s/80s days and now is a product of the medium we're all looking at right now, the Internet. Information is so much easier to dissiminate and access now, and people can proactively look for what they want and are not simply at the passive whim of editors or producers. I can remember not that long ago when finding info about VCU games in papers outside of Richmond was dicey... a minimal box score was the norm... and it wasn't usally all that much better even if you did get the RTD. With the net there's access to game feeds, replay highlight videos, stats, and places like this to talk about all of it. With Larry on the horizon (hopefully in '11 rather than '10) it should amplify some more.
 
Memo:

Barring a significant injury and presuming natural skill/physique development, Larry could very well declare for the draft and get drafted in Round 1 next year. Enjoy his junior year here. I'm betting it'll be his last.

6'10" 220 lbs right now w/ a 7'7" wing span, a high shot release, athletic, blocks shots, runs like a gazelle, etc. Another yr of weight gain and skill development, he could easily be gone.

He could be a Top 20 pick next yr.

Did you see all those quality "bigs" drafted last night??................ :roll:

Had he declared this yr, he quite possibly could've been a late first round pick.

Coordinated "bigs" w/ his length and mobility are very rare...............we have one. We are very lucky. He could very well be gone a yr from now.

Next yr, on draft night, I suspect they'll be talking about VCU producing back-to-back first round picks in 2009 and 2010.

Next yr, NBA teams will be drooling for bigs (after this yr's guard-heavy draft). Larry could be right there w/ Jarvis Varnado, Cole Aldrich, Greg Monroe, Solomon Alabi, John Henson, Jerome Jordan, Andrew Ogilvy, and JuJuan Johnson. I think Larry's wing span and standing reach are tops among this group (except for Varnado).

Bigs with Larry's length and mobility are always in great demand. If Larry has a solid junior yr (say 14, 10, and 4), I'm betting he's gone.
 
I saw a mock draft for next year that had Larry going 9th.

Not many quality big guys out there. Larry's gonna make some big cash down the road, however, I think he'll stay for four years.

All the talk of Larry's weight is pretty funny. Daye went early last night and he's only 190.
 
Kevin Garnett plays with the same type of frame but you can tell he's rediculously strong for his body composition. Larry might always be slim, but I think with another 15 lbs at least before his debut in the NBA he could easily post up quite well.
 
Larry still has a lot of developing to do. Although he could possibly be a 1st round pick after next year, I really do think an additional year of college basketball will increase his stock even higher. He is still learning the game. If he hangs around for his senior season and continues to progress, he could get some major national publicity his senior season. Probably more than Eric Maynor received his senior year. That would be a win/win for both Larry and VCU.
 
Wolfpack Ram said:
If he hangs around for his senior season and continues to progress, he could get some major national publicity his senior season. Probably more than Eric Maynor received his senior year.
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I don't see that happening unless we also make some noise in the tournament. Larry just improving isn't enough.
 
Sometimes said:
Wolfpack Ram said:
If he hangs around for his senior season and continues to progress, he could get some major national publicity his senior season. Probably more than Eric Maynor received his senior year.
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I don't see that happening unless we also make some noise in the tournament. Larry just improving isn't enough.
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Sure, but if he improves we could make noise in the tournament. Don't try to trick us with your riddles. It is amazing how the entire country focuses on college basketball for those few weeks. You have to put in the work all year and all season long, but that is where you showcase your talent. Expecially when you play for a mid major with limited national television exposure prior to March.

If Larry continues to improve his game at the same pace he has in his first two years (this seems realistic due to his relatively short basketball career) I think he will be a first rounder next year and the choice will be his to make. He could go and get paid, or he can stay and get his degree, add to his skill set, add bulk, and possibly get drafted higher the next year and earn more money over a 2 or 3 year period. These situations usually play out based on how the player feels about things and how he is advised by those around him. People might laugh at me for this and call me naive, but I have seen several interviews and articles about him where he has talked about art as much as basketball. It might be important to him to stay at VCU and finish up his degree. I have a feeling he is going to get paid either way, and the way he has improved so far he could have a tremendous amount of hype after a senior season.
 
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