RTD: VCU wastes no time getting up to speed in win over VUU

[districtballer]

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/s...etball/article/VCUB06_20091106-002806/304046/

The Rams played fast and pressured the ball constantly under former coach Anthony Grant. They're playing at warp speed and pressuring the ball at every opportunity under Smart.

"We've got a word for it: havoc," Rams forward Larry Sanders said. "We want to get the opposition in a state of mind where they don't know what's going on."

Still, Smart found plenty of areas that need improvement before the Rams open their season next Friday against Bethune-Cookman. VCU gave up some easy baskets, was just 7 of 25 on 3-pointers, had 15 turnovers and tired some in the second half.

"I've learned that we can be a very, very good team if we shore some things up," Smart said. "We've got some great pieces. . . . When things are going well, it's a terrific dynamic. I learned that our press can be very effective.

"On the flip side, I think we've got to get way better in terms of playing hard. We've got to dive on the floor for balls. We've got to do a better job of blocking out. Our halfcourt defense needs to be better. We need to pressure the ball. I could keep going, but I'll stop there."

Also there's a great slideshow of the game including Darius Theus' father holding up a sign for his son's first game as a Ram.

http://static.mgnetwork.com/rtd/slideshows/20091106_vcu/index.html

 

[mwalvlior]

did B-Roz pay someone either at RTD or the photgrapher cause he got lots of pics in there.

 

[ram4life]

Great pictures! I didn't know that xjohnx worked for the Times-Dispatch!

 

[Natty]

My favorite line of that article...

The Rams played fast and pressured the ball constantly under former coach Anthony Grant. They're playing at warp speed and pressuring the ball at every opportunity under Smart.

 

[vcu_dan]

I'm fond on shaka's pic....
<-------------------
<-------------------
<-------------------

 

[BradRamFan]

7 of 25 on 3-pointers

I do not like that number 25 at all.

I remember the days of "live by the 3, die by the 3" very well and I sure as heck don't want to relive those days.

We need to trim that down to about 15. If we are hitting them, that is one thing...go ahead and shoot them . But if not, then we need to get the ball inside or at least inside the arc.

25 three point attempts tells me that either we are not looking for a good shot, are unable to get it inside the arc or we can/don't have anyone in the low post to get it to (besides Larry).

Hopefully when Skeen and Santil are eligible/injury free we will be better able to get it inside. But look at TJ...all his shots (and he made them) were inside. To be honest, the only person I see as being able to get it inside (as a guard) at this point is Ed, who can slash and dash. But he will need to finish.

That is what made us so darn good when we had Dom and then when we had Eric. We hit from the three, we hit from the low post, we hit from inside the arc with pullup jumpers and the short drop shot. Need some people to step up!

 

[vcu_dan]

7 of 25 on 3-pointers

I do not like that number 25 at all.

I remember the days of "live by the 3, die by the 3" very well and I sure as heck don't want to relive those days.

We need to trim that down to about 15. If we are hitting them, that is one thing...go ahead and shoot them . But if not, then we need to get the ball inside or at least inside the arc.

25 three point attempts tells me that either we are not looking for a good shot, are unable to get it inside the arc or we can/don't have anyone in the low post to get it to (besides Larry).

Hopefully when Skeen and Santil are eligible/injury free we will be better able to get it inside. But look at TJ...all his shots (and he made them) were inside. To be honest, the only person I see as being able to get it inside (as a guard) at this point is Ed, who can slash and dash. But he will need to finish.

That is what made us so darn good when we had Dom and then when we had Eric. We hit from the three, we hit from the low post, we hit from inside the arc with pullup jumpers and the short drop shot. Need some people to step up!

while I agree somewhat...it was an exhibition and towards the end we had 12 guards in the game and so all they did was just jacked up 3's. And a side note...last year we averaged shooting almost 18 3's a game and shot them with a near 37% accuracy.

 

[Rambunctious]

The problem might be less with the total # of 3s shot and more with the pace of play period. I am curious to know what % of our attempts were 3s and how that stacks up with last year's ratio. We probably jacked up more shots than we have in 2 years.

 

[vcubanana]

The problem might be less with the total # of 3s shot and more with the pace of play period. I am curious to know what % of our attempts were 3s and how that stacks up with last year's ratio. We probably jacked up more shots than we have in 2 years.

Possibly also the opening night excitement. They'll fall.

 

[Blackmagic804]

25 three point attempts tells me that either we are not looking for a good shot, are unable to get it inside the arc or we can/don't have anyone in the low post to get it to (besides Larry).

Although that was a lot of attempts, I think they were good looks (WIDE open looks), they just didn't fall. With the defensive focus on Larry, other teams are going to pack it in and make us hit those 3's. Did anyone notice how easy the ball moved around the perimeter?