Quote from Coach Smart

[YouveBeenRammed]

I found this very interesting and could not help but to read into it. I just want to get some reaction on it. I'll be the first to say that we are absolutely going to miss Larry on the defensive end, his presence alone was enough to alter a shot. However, I feel that on the offensive end he created a lot of "turnovers" by his ridiculous shot selection and trying to do waaaaaay more than he was actually capable of. With that being said this Shaka quote can be found on Litos' blog:

On losing all conference player Larry Sanders but being predicted higher this year: “Yes, but we have an all conference player in Joey Rodriguez. That’s one of the great things about college basketball. You gain and lose players every year. Sometimes losing guys is a good thing. What we realize is that it’s about five guys on the floor and 14 players as a group.

Discuss and have fun with it!

 

[Mercury]

 

[L72boy]

I found this very interesting and could not help but to read into it. I just want to get some reaction on it. I'll be the first to say that we are absolutely going to miss Larry on the defensive end, his presence alone was enough to alter a shot. However, I feel that on the offensive end he created a lot of "turnovers" by his ridiculous shot selection and trying to do waaaaaay more than he was actually capable of. With that being said this Shaka quote can be found on Litos' blog:

On losing all conference player Larry Sanders but being predicted higher this year: “Yes, but we have an all conference player in Joey Rodriguez. That’s one of the great things about college basketball. You gain and lose players every year. Sometimes losing guys is a good thing. What we realize is that it’s about five guys on the floor and 14 players as a group.

Discuss and have fun with it!

Saintil, Grayson, Gavin, and Sanders are all gone. They were not good for VCU! Why is that so hard to understand. Listen to Joey say, "all these freshman have no ego's" and you read between the lines. This years team is a "TEAM".

 

[MarcusNation]

HA!

 

[Natty]

I'm sorry, but I see ZERO benefit from losing Larry Sanders. He lead the team in points (14.4), rebounds (9), and blocked shot (2.6)... Also lead all our bigs in field goal percentage at 53% (while shooting more shots). CAA defensive player of the year, altered TONS of shots on a defense that looked very questionable at times...drafted by guys who I assume know more about basketball than you, me, or anyone on our coaching staff.

Larry's always been a standup guy, I don't buy him being a distraction or any of that talk... That said, I do think we'll be a better team, but it's not because we lost Larry Sanders. It's because we are loaded with senior guards (and a superb junior) who can flat out score, and have a year of Smart's system under their belt.

 

[major ram]

Coach Smart is recruiting kids that buy into the system. I like what i am hearing and the interview with the Three Amigos (E-Nix , J-Rod and B-Roz) is an extension of the Smart quote. C'mon November...time to hoop it up

 

[VCUFTW]

I'm sorry, but I see ZERO benefit from losing Larry Sanders. He lead the team in points (14.4), rebounds (9), and blocked shot (2.6)... Also lead all our bigs in field goal percentage at 53% (while shooting more shots). CAA defensive player of the year, altered TONS of shots on a defense that looked very questionable at times...drafted by guys who I assume know more about basketball than you, me, or anyone on our coaching staff.

Larry's always been a standup guy, I don't buy him being a distraction or any of that talk... That said, I do think we'll be a better team, but it's not because we lost Larry Sanders. It's because we are loaded with senior guards (and a superb junior) who can flat out score, and have a year of Smart's system under their belt.

I am a huge Larry fan and supporter (posse member since 08') and I do agree with you that his presence on the defensive end will be missed. But at the same time, his lack of leadership and composure LOST at least one key game for us last year. He was an outstanding player and wore the VCU jersey well for the most part but he will be one less distraction this year in our goal of a CAA title and tourney berth.

 

[VCUbusinessgrad]

drafted by guys who I assume know more about basketball than you, me, or anyone on our coaching staff.

I'm not weighing in on the Sanders debate. But I will take exception to the statement above. Drafted by guys that know more about talent evaluation? Sure. Drafted by guys that know more about basketball than anyone on our staff? I don't think so. Just because you spend years as a collegiate coach at either the D-III, D-II or D-I level does'nt mean that you know any less than an NBA coach when it comes to basketball knowledge. Consider also that our guys probably know "our" system better than the coach of the Bucks.

 

[JacksonWard31]

TEAM! Finally.

 

[RamJamFan]

I don't take it as Shaka being negative toward Larry as much as positive about future chemistry of this coming year, anchored by another first team preseason selection in Joey.

If Grayson/Saintil/Gavin would have left and Larry had come back for his senior year I would be suprised to hear Shaka wouldn't be all smiles...even if Larry was inconsistent or offensively undisciplined [part of which was Larry still learning].

As far as chemistry, don't most second year coaches have better chemistry compared to their first year?

 

[RamLifer]

I'm sorry, but I see ZERO benefit from losing Larry Sanders. He lead the team in points (14.4), rebounds (9), and blocked shot (2.6)... Also lead all our bigs in field goal percentage at 53% (while shooting more shots). CAA defensive player of the year, altered TONS of shots on a defense that looked very questionable at times...drafted by guys who I assume know more about basketball than you, me, or anyone on our coaching staff.

Larry's always been a standup guy, I don't buy him being a distraction or any of that talk... That said, I do think we'll be a better team, but it's not because we lost Larry Sanders. It's because we are loaded with senior guards (and a superb junior) who can flat out score, and have a year of Smart's system under their belt.

We will miss him on defense but on offense our team had no flow to it. Larry hurt the rhythm of our offense and I think we will be improved without him on the offensive end. Larry is best on offense when you toss it down low and ISO on him and with a team of shooters you need to keep feeding them the ball so they stay sharp. You saw this later in the year when coach played a lot of key game situations (where we were down) with Skeen in the game because he would mesh into the system better. This isn't a knock on Larry, its just that you had to feed him on offense and now we will be able to set our guards loose.

I do not buy into him being a distraction, that is ridiculous he got a lot of people excited about the season.

As far as chemistry, don't most second year coaches have better chemistry compared to their first year?

Anthony Grant begs to differ.

 

[BradRamFan]

Saintil, Grayson, Gavin, and Sanders are all gone. They were not good for VCU! Why is that so hard to understand. Listen to Joey say, "all these freshman have no ego's" and you read between the lines. This years team is a "TEAM".

I'll give you Saintil and Gavin but explain to me how Grayson was "not good for VCU"? Grayson seemed to always be supportive of the team even though he got little playing time.

And Larry was our go to inside guy...he will be sorely missed this season. Skeen will step it up but I think you will see that we will be a major perimeter team this year. I know of few teams that excel by being only a perimeter team. It showed last year when Larry was off his game and we lacked an inside presence. We began hoisting up 3's because we got pushed way out beyond the 3 point line by the opposition.

 

[major ram]

Grayson left because he was recruited over and he wasn't, and I hate to say it because I loved the kid's attitude, upper CAA level material-or wouldn't be VCU material once Smart realized the level he is recruiting at now-if that makes sense.

 

[Natty]

Did we not just lose Kirill and TJ as well? Those guys had TONS of experience, were solid players, and GREAT teammates. That's a whole lot of experience in the paint that we have to replace (...and love him or hate him, Terrance had some solid games down there as well, he was also a beast physically).

 

[YouveBeenRammed]

Did we not just lose Kirill and TJ as well? Those guys had TONS of experience, were solid players, and GREAT teammates. That's a whole lot of experience in the paint that we have to replace (...and love him or hate him, Terrance had some solid games down there as well, he was also a beast physically).

Kirill and TJ had some great experience and both filled some key roles for us last season. BUT, did it not seem like both were being phased out at the end of last season? In March of last season both averaged under 7.7 minutes per game (TJ 7.7 and Kirill 6.1 mpg). Both were increbibly helpful early in the season, but I don't think anyone could make a legitimate argument against the fact that they were being phased out. Additionally Larry avergaged about 27 minutes a game. I thought that seemed low for a player of his caliber, but then I realized he was in foul trouble often. Granted we were VERY deep last year with 10 players averaging close to 10 minutes a game. But for a start 27 minutes is a little low.

Anyway getting back to the point I think early in the season we may feel the loss of TJ and Kirill a little bit. But mid-season they will both be after thoughts (no offense to either guy, loved them both). We are going to miss Larry a bunch on the defensive end, we will need a defensive play maker to step up. And I'm with you I saw a TON of potential in Saintil (hated the attitude and distractions, but loved the footwork and hustle). Who can be that shot blocker, that defensive presence? Juvonte? Toby? Defense by committee? We'll see.

My beef with Larry was his incredibly head scratching decisions on the offensive end. How many times did we give up possession on a ridiculously ill advised shot on his behalf? A LOT! I'll be the first to say that he actually had a pretty decent jumper from about 10-15 feet when he was open. But he forced shots from there waaaaaaay too often. He mishandled dunks which would have been easier layups. I'm very curious to see this team without Larry in the lineup, I think as a whole, the team seemed to excel and build big leagues last year when he was not on the floor. He is a physical specimen and I wish him nothing but success in the NBA (hopefully he will makes us proud), but I feel at times he hurt this team more often then helping it particularly on offensive end.