One of the most physical players we have on this team is Kirill and Smart has pretty much buried him on the bench. Kirill sould have had the opportunity to get his 5 fouls against Northeastern last night. Maybe him being physical would have changed the tone of the game some. This guy started last year and now gets less playing time than Saintil. Go figure. Saintil is all about himself and is an absolute offensive liability. Yes, he made some point balnk shots last night, but also missed several at point blank range.
For me this a defining moment in Coach Smart's coaching ability. This team is spinning out of control with absolutely no dicipline and he and the coaching staff need to gain control ASAP. And, yes, it starts with Larry coming out of the locker room wearing a VCU jersey. Even Nixon was sitting on the bench during intros last night without his jersey on. Coach Smart needs to start walking the post game interview talk he's giving to Mike Elis and the press after every game. Over half of this team has had a ton of success at VCU in the past 2-3 years and I fear they now think that success is automatic. Grant was a diciplinarian and Capel was also to somewhat of a lesser degree. Shaka trying to be the players' coach is not going to work.
Regarding last night's game, after VCU went on a 20-4 run in the first half Coach Smart started in with mass substitutions. My son looked at me and said "Why is Coach Smart killing VCU's momentum with all of these substitutions?" I would like the answer to that question myself. VCU lost the momentum with those substitutions and the lead disapeared. We don't need another Blaine Taylor regarding substitution patterns. As many on these boards have said, Skeen should be getting at least 30 minutes per game. So should Sanders. Rozell is another player who sould be getting more minutes. He's the best shooter on the team. I would like to know if there is any corelation to VCU blowing double digit leads and Coach Smart's substitution patterns.
