RTD: VCU Rams in right place to make hoops history

[RAMified]

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/coll ... ar-939847/

"When you're 20 years old, you don't always approach things the right way," [director of basketball operations for UH and a former Phi Slama Jama player Michael] Young said. "We didn't realize N.C. State was a good ballclub. If they hadn't been, they wouldn't have been in the Final Four.

"That's what I see in this VCU team. It's not by mistake they're here. Teams have to respect them or they're going to get beat. VCU has already shown that."

"I love watching them," Young said. "They play up-tempo. They're in your face, full of energy, and they play well together. They're scrappy. They have a little bit of everything.

"They play hard. They play like they have nothing to lose. And when a team plays like that, they are dangerous."

 

[duncanlamb]

I was just thinking about the 1968 matchup in the Astrodome by the Big E and Lew Alcindor. The game that launched the exponential interest in College BB. I found this. there are some wonderful insights on what players experience playing basketball in Football dome stadium.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9e31mA5clAg

 

[BradRamFan]

I'm not getting the "nothing to lose" reference that keeps getting heaped on my Rams. Why are we the only team with "nothing to lose"? Doesn't matter if other teams have made it this far before.....this is a new year and a new dance for everyone. Are you telling me that a loss to Kansas wouldn't have meant a lot because we have "nothing to lose"? We have as much to lose as the three other teams in the final four. Saying we have "nothing to lose" makes us sound inferior to all the other teams. We are not a Cinderella, we are not pretenders....we are the real deal...and we will not lose because we have "nothing to lose" but we will win because we are winners.

 

[vcubanana]

I'm not getting the "nothing to lose" reference that keeps getting heaped on my Rams. Why are we the only team with "nothing to lose"? Doesn't matter if other teams have made it this far before.....this is a new year and a new dance for everyone. Are you telling me that a loss to Kansas wouldn't have meant a lot because we have "nothing to lose"? We have as much to lose as the three other teams in the final four. Saying we have "nothing to lose" makes us sound inferior to all the other teams. We are not a Cinderella, we are not pretenders....we are the real deal...and we will not lose because we have "nothing to lose" but we will win because we are winners.

Couldn't have said it better myself Brad.

 

[VRam]

I think the "experts" confuse "nothing to lose" with "playing to win." We've been playing to win, not playing "not to lose." We have guys who want to take big shots on the perimeter. Players on the teams we've played have been very reluctant to take the same shots. The foreign guy on FSU was afraid to shoot for most of the game, then at the end he takes a three from the corner and hits the top of the backboard. The perimeter players for Kansas were awful and had that deer in the headlights look. None of our guys have that look.

 

[VCU Finance 2008]

I think the "experts" confuse "nothing to lose" with "playing to win." We've been playing to win, not playing "not to lose." We have guys who want to take big shots on the perimeter. Players on the teams we've played have been very reluctant to take the same shots. The foreign guy on FSU was afraid to shoot for most of the game, then at the end he takes a three from the corner and hits the top of the backboard. The perimeter players for Kansas were awful and had that deer in the headlights look. None of our guys have that look.

Absolutely, no one expects us to win, so we are going out there and taking it to the heavyweights. Everyone of these teams has the exact same thing to lose. Sure Kentucky and UConn have won national championships, but that doesn't mean anything to the guys who are currently playing for them.