Our guard situation, who gets the minutes?

[Natty]

Seems as though we have a lot of talent in the backcourt this year with our returning seniors as well as Theus and Daniels showing flashes of what they could do this past season.

Is there even room for one of our sophomores or even freshman guards to break out? And what do you all expect from Troy and Darius this year?

I think with Darius you gotta see increased minutes as he appears to be our point guard of the future. Big body, great crossover, but how do you take minutes away from Joey as our top returning scorer and the CAA's leading assist man?

I've heard Troy is the most talented shooter on the team, but we already had Brandon and Ed competing for minutes this past season. While I expect us to play small every now and then, I'm just wondering who breaks through that log jam at the 2. Ed brings superior D, unmatched athleticism, and even a nice touch from long range...while Brandon can score in bunches and really finished strong last year.

It's just going to be very interesting to see what happens in the backcourt this year....was curious to see how you all think it's gonna pan out.

 

[VRam]

You could throw a blanket over them.

 

[Mercury]

Who ever works the hardest and shows up

 

[ViCtorioUs]

Gawd, this is an awful, awful situation for Coach Smart. I can just imagine the teeth gnashing, the hand wringing, the caterwauling. What a dilemma. How will he ever determine who is playing the best, practicing the hardest or meshing with the team? And to make it worse this is a guard oriented league!

We have run a three guard scheme for the past several years. I would be shocked if Joey doesn't play the most minutes of anyone on the squad. This is his team, he will run the show, but he can also slide over into a two guard position. I can see Darius spelling him at the point a lot. If Ed starts then I see Roz as instant offense or vice versa. Whatever the defense dictates. I see Ed spelling Big Shot. Certainly Daniels will see many minutes this season. The rooks will have to be squeezed in gently.

This is a great situation to have and I am sure Shaka relishes the task. It is unlikely that a rook is going to squeeze these guys out of a starting role. If they are disgruntled at that, then they are in the wrong program.

 

[mwalvlior]

if darius continues his development i agree we could see Joey is allowed to play off the ball as a spot up shooter like when he was on the court with E.

 

[vcu_dan]

Gawd, this is an awful, awful situation for Coach Smart. I can just imagine the teeth gnashing, the hand wringing, the caterwauling. What a dilemma. How will he ever determine who is playing the best, practicing the hardest or meshing with the team? And to make it worse this is a guard oriented league!

well coach smart is a really good coach and can handle all the stress.

I

SMART

 

[VRam]

Yeah, maybe more concerning is who will replace our most recent first round draft pick and his scoring, rebounding, blocked shots and defense.

 

[ViCtorioUs]

Yeah, maybe more concerning is who will replace our most recent first round draft pick and his scoring, rebounding, blocked shots and defense.

Uhhhhhhhh, yeah. What he said.

 

[Wolfpack Ram]

Yeah, maybe more concerning is who will replace our most recent first round draft pick and his scoring, rebounding, blocked shots and defense.

Based on Larry's college performance last year, not to be confused with his pro performance so far, I think VCU will have no problem replacing Larry's minutes with what has arrived this summer. VCU has not been this deep in the front court in a long time. With Skeen and Toby Veal down low, the rest of the newcomers down low is gravy.

 

[VRam]

Skeen didn't exactly light the world on fire last year and that was with Larry getting double and triple teamed. I haven't seen Veal play, but he didn't even come close to Larry numbers playing in junior college. Not to mention that the shot blocking and intimidation factor we had for three years is pretty much gone.

 

[bighorn]

VCU has not been this deep in the front court in a long time. With Skeen and Toby Veal down low, the rest of the newcomers down low is gravy.

Wolfpack, you're under-selling Long Larry's intimidation factor on defense. It was Sanders - the watch dog - that enabled the Rams to press full-floor, relentlessly, with little fear of being taxed. Concerned Rams' fans must wonder if Smart's pressure tactics will be as effective, minus the NBA's 15th overall draft pick.

VRam, you're right about Veal's numbers - modest, to say the least. However, to his credit, he was on an extremely talented and deep team, with many sharing in statistical accolades. From what I can tell, sight unseen, I'd compare him to Josh Clark or Torrace Archie, from Rams' past.

As for recruiting, two names of interest are Matt Gorski (listed at 6-10 or 6-11, about 220 lbs) from Cosby High in Chesterfield County and 6-7, powerfully built Sharron Johnson (grew up in Jackson Ward, 1/2 mile from VCU) - now of Moberly, Mo., Junior College. His mom still lives in Richmond.

Gorski, a Cosby rising senior, is linked to VPI, UVa, Pittsburgh, NC State, G-town, JMU and VCU, based on what I've seen. I'm guessing there's not a hair-cut's difference between Gorski's height and Californian Haley's. Gorski's brother, Nick, started for Cosby last season as a 6-7'ish freshman and may be a better down-the-road prospect than Matt.

Johnson, who originally signed with Oke State, averaged 22.5 points this past season as a Moberly frosh. He was always listed as a 4-star recruit while at Mount Zion in Durham. Johnson is currently playing in the Tri-Cities Summer league at John Marshall.

 

[VRam]

Wolfpack, you're under-selling Long Larry's intimidation factor on defense. It was Sanders - the watch dog - that enabled the Rams to press full-floor, relentlessly, with little fear of being taxed. Concerned Rams' fans must wonder if Smart's pressure tactics will be as effective, minus the NBA's 15th overall draft pick.

I haven't seen some of the new guys play, but do any of them have 7'6" wingspans and run like a deer? I would bet that our entire team this season won't have 90 blocked shots (and don't forget all the altered shots and guys turning and retreating from the lane) like Larry had last year (next was Burgess with 13; Skeen had 11). I remember pre-Larry, posters' biggest complaints were about how easily the oppositions' guards got into the lane. We didn't hear any of that the last three seasons.

In addition to the athleticism and intimidation factor, Larry was a two time CAA Defensive POY, First Team All CAA and our leading scorer and rebounder. We could count on 15 and 9 just about every night from a defensive specialist. Yeah, he should be easy to replace. Guys like him are a dime a dozen.

 

[Rambunctious]

I thought this was a thread about guards?

Joey will be great, again. Besides Joey, I expect Ed to be the most valuable guard...regardless of who technically gets the most minutes. Here's why:

- Showed the biggest leap in offensive potential between Soph. and Jr. year. Showed he could finish and hit the long ball. If he shows the same level of offensive improvement after this off-season he could be a big weapon for us

- Is tall/long compared to our other guard options and is arguably the best athlete on the team. This equals rebounding and defense.

- Has shown increased maturity and confidence each year. Ready to shine as a Sr. leader.

My two cents only. Other opinions welcome.

 

[Mercury]

Wolfpack, you're under-selling Long Larry's intimidation factor on defense. It was Sanders - the watch dog - that enabled the Rams to press full-floor, relentlessly, with little fear of being taxed. Concerned Rams' fans must wonder if Smart's pressure tactics will be as effective, minus the NBA's 15th overall draft pick.

I haven't seen some of the new guys play, but do any of them have 7'6" wingspans and run like a deer? I would bet that our entire team this season won't have 90 blocked shots (and don't forget all the altered shots and guys turning and retreating from the lane) like Larry had last year (next was Burgess with 13; Skeen had 11). I remember pre-Larry, posters' biggest complaints were about how easily the oppositions' guards got into the lane. We didn't hear any of that the last three seasons.

In addition to the athleticism and intimidation factor, Larry was a two time CAA Defensive POY, First Team All CAA and our leading scorer and rebounder. We could count on 15 and 9 just about every night from a defensive specialist. Yeah, he should be easy to replace. Guys like him are a dime a dozen.

I'm guessing DJ Haley will be the closest thing to replacing Larry(size wise). Guys are going to have to play better on ball defense because they wont have the safety net they are used to back there.

 

[buckwheat]

I thought this was a thread about guards?

Joey will be great, again. Besides Joey, I expect Ed to be the most valuable guard...regardless of who technically gets the most minutes. Here's why:

- Showed the biggest leap in offensive potential between Soph. and Jr. year. Showed he could finish and hit the long ball. If he shows the same level of offensive improvement after this off-season he could be a big weapon for us

- Is tall/long compared to our other guard options and is arguably the best athlete on the team. This equals rebounding and defense.

- Has shown increased maturity and confidence each year. Ready to shine as a Sr. leader.

My two cents only. Other opinions welcome.

i agree with what you've said about nixon. i can't wait to see this kid play as a senior. next to rodriguez, he could very well be our most valuable player because of what he brings on both ends of the floor. i was one of those people ready to write him off after his sophomore season, but he really proved me wrong last year.

with such young (and unknown) guys down low, nixon and burgess will really need to help out with the rebounding load. i think they will.

i tell ya, i'm not usually one to get overly hyped going into a season, but man o man do i like this backcourt. rozzell and burgess remind me of the walker/pellot-rosa combo. very much so, actually. throw a do-it-all wingman like nixon in there, as well as a senior point guard leader who can score and dish, and this is the best backcourt in the CAA.