Shriners Children's Charleston Classic

Wolfpack Ram said:
His problem the last three games is he is a wild card on the floor regarding containing his emotions. The refs should have ejected him in the Seton Hall game. I know Coach Odom said he has a lot of alpha dog in him, but he is the Chihuahua that thinks he is a Doberman. It's not a good look.
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What did he actually do that should have gotten him ejected? I have seen him be chirpy, maybe even a bit chippy, but didn't see (tv) what would merit expulsion. I assume he must be deserving at least somewhat, or else I'd expect coach to put up more of a fight in defending him.
 
artRAMinMN said:
What did he actually do that should have gotten him ejected? I have seen him be chirpy, maybe even a bit chippy, but didn't see (tv) what would merit expulsion. I assume he must be deserving at least somewhat, or else I'd expect coach to put up more of a fight in defending him.
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When he was called for a foul, and it was often, he would start jumping all over the court and question the call. To the point he almost had to be refrained. He was also kind of out of control on loose balls, not giving up to the point the refs had to intervene. He is way too emotional on the court and needs to be dialed back a few notches. If he pulls that crap in conference play, he's going to get a bulls eye on his back by the refs just like he has in Charleston, and that's a whole lot more games than 3 games in an MTE.
 
artRAMinMN said:
What did he actually do that should have gotten him ejected? I have seen him be chirpy, maybe even a bit chippy, but didn't see (tv) what would merit expulsion. I assume he must be deserving at least somewhat, or else I'd expect coach to put up more of a fight in defending him.
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The neat thing about these small arena MTE's is you see a lot more of what's actually happening on the court because you are so close to the action. Charleston's arena has different levels of general admission tickets, but once you are inside, nobody checks what section you are sitting in. The lower level bowl is on top of the court. We bought cheaper upper level tickets and have been sitting lower level courtside 10 rows back. The arena only seats around 5,000.
 
Wolfpack Ram said:
His problem the last three games is he is a wild card on the floor regarding containing his emotions. The refs should have ejected him in the Seton Hall game. I know Coach Odom said he has a lot of alpha dog in him, but he is the Chihuahua that thinks he is a Doberman. It's not a good look.
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I think the bigger question with Russell is what is Phil's role now that Zeb has returned - ball gets a little sticky in Zeb's hands, in the games Zeb was injured the ball seemed to be a little hotter and Russell has more of a role in creating. and Odom is making effort to give Jennings lots of opportunity too

I want to Pay attention to this in the Miami game and the next 3 home games (vs those cupcakes Ga So, Penn and EC st) to see how Russell role is integrated into the new rotation -

Phil has good scoring chops and point guard skills at SE Mo and UT Arlington (15ppg, 36% 3pt fg% and nearly 5 assists/game), he needs 25-28 mpg for VCU to be its best IMO

and yes he needs to control his emotions better in year 5 ( he seemed to move in the right direction at UTArlington reducing his technicals from 11 in 22-23 year at SE Miss) Hopefully the bench time in the last two games has his attention

all this Dawg talk is silly - just play tough D (don't need all the chirping) be that pesky guard that is constantly in your face on D and frustrates you like Vince W does with Memphis

I have to admit I thought we would have only 1 or 2 losses when we began conference play - while still possible it is highly unlikely and the losses will probably be 3 or 4 when we finish OOC - still not bad but not a resume that will have us safely on the non bubble side of the equation in March without a 14-4 or 15-5 conference record (or better)
 
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share the ball said:
I think the bigger question with Russell is what is Phil's role now that Zeb has returned - ball gets a little sticky in Zeb's hands, in the games Zeb was injured the ball seemed to be a little hotter and Russell has more of a role in creating. and Odom is making effort to give Jennings lots of opportunity too

I want to Pay attention to this in the Miami game and the next 3 home games (vs those cupcakes Ga So, Penn and EC st) to see how Russell role is integrated into the new rotation -
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FYI - Russell's problems started the game before Zeb returned. I don't think Zeb's return is the issue. Russell had 4 fouls and 2 points vs. Loyola Maryland before Zeb's return. In the last three games he has only scored 8 points and is 2-10 from the field and 2-9 from the three point line. Add in 12 fouls and he really should not be getting the minutes that he has gotten in those three games.
 
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Wolfpack Ram said:
I am also in Charleston for the tournament and here are some of my thoughts, which have probably already been shared.

Russell and Fermin have been total busts in this tournament. Fermin has been an absolute no show in this tournament and Russell has turned into a big time head case on the court. He should have been ejected in the Seton Hall game due to his actions on the court. All Russell has done is piss off the refs to the point they are looking for something to call against Russell. Coach Odom needs to reel him in big time!

Due to Fermin not showing up in Charleston, Coach Odom has had to play Bamgboye way too much. Bamgboye is constantly playing out of position and can't hold on to the ball when it is passed to him. The stats for the Nevada game only show him having one turnover, but he lost the ball multiple times when it was passed to him. In the second half of the Nevada game you could actually see fear in his eyes as the level of competition was way over his head. He's just a freshman and he was thrown into the wolves den due to Fermin's horrible play.

Bamisile threw two passes to Row C in the stands against Nevada. Nothing else needs to be said.

VCU has zero inside game on both offense and defense. Their three point defense also has gone south. As much as I hate to say it, VCU desperately misses Tobi in the paint.

Regarding Belle, like Fermin, it doesn't appear he has taken that next step to his game.

Team wise, this VCU clearly has a problem holding onto leads. That does not bode well for this team going forward.

Positive Notes: Zeb Jackson has looked really good since returning. Jackson, Shulga and Clark are pretty much carrying this team right now.

Regarding tomorrow's game against Miami, right now I have no confidence that this current VCU team can jump out to a lead, hold the lead and win the game. At least the City of Charleston and surrounding area has made for an enjoyable trip.
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What in the world was going on with Joe’s passes way up into the stands?!?? That was ridiculous.
 
I made Orlando trip last year but had to watch Charleston games on tv:
* Compared to this time last year I was anticipating a bigger jump up in play between Fermin, Belle and Fats. Year is young but time for big boy progress.
* Where has Clark been in Charleston; is all ok with Jack?
* We have a major backcourt
* We have a mid-major and shallow front court
* Clark & four guard lineup has not proven ready for prime time but will work against the majority of our weaker OOC games
* Seems elementary, but our coaches need to teach our bigs to be better screeners, and to stand still already when screening.
* This team has a ton more upside potential than last year. How well we progress will depend on our players over 6’7”. Our front court woes cost us two games that we should have won. Belle and Bam gave our backcourt enough help to make some difference today.
* We are one front court injury away from being forced into four guard lineup. I don’t see that winning the A10.
* With front court progress, and taking better care of ball and shot selection last 7 min of games, we can become a major handful for anybody.

Excited about this team—major backcourt depth—but we’re one big in foul trouble and we’ll be finding the scenery changing quickly. We knew this prior to Charleston and now we experienced it. Go Rams!
 
I’m always disappointed when we lose, especially when we could have/should have won. Jack Clark had a poor tournament, along with most of our bigs. But Clark for sure will make major strides, and Fermin/Bam will incrementally improve and turn into late game assets too. This staff and talent (player talent) too high, even if front court thin, not to improve. Now let’s learn and make the next step. Today’s win will show well come March. If we stay healthy and grow—and I truly believe this staff will refine this team—this can be a great year!

WORDS OF WISDOM
“You have within you, right now, everything you need to deal with whatever the world can throw at you.”
BRIAN TRACY
(Canadian-American Tracy is motivational speaker and author of over 80 books)
 
RamJamFan said:
I made Orlando trip last year but had to watch Charleston games on tv:
* Compared to this time last year I was anticipating a bigger jump up in play between Fermin, Belle and Fats. Year is young but time for big boy progress.
* Where has Clark been in Charleston; is all ok with Jack?
* We have a major backcourt
* We have a mid-major and shallow front court
* Clark & four guard lineup has not proven ready for prime time but will work against the majority of our weaker OOC games
* Seems elementary, but our coaches need to teach our bigs to be better screeners, and to stand still already when screening.
* This team has a ton more upside potential than last year. How well we progress will depend on our players over 6’7”. Our front court woes cost us two games that we should have won. Belle and Bam gave our backcourt enough help to make some difference today.
* We are one front court injury away from being forced into four guard lineup. I don’t see that winning the A10.
* With front court progress, and taking better care of ball and shot selection last 7 min of games, we can become a major handful for anybody.

Excited about this team—major backcourt depth—but we’re one big in foul trouble and we’ll be finding the scenery changing quickly. We knew this prior to Charleston and now we experienced it. Go Rams!
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The stats may not show it, but Clark had an ok tournament. He averaged 6 rpg and had 7 assists, 2 blocks and 1 steal.
 
Yeah I was LTTG but we should rejoycing! Not wanting to be cheap or petty!

So much like last years Orlando. First game close loss second half lead, second game close loss second half lead and third. We are unlucky AF.
 
All things considered, I do understand we just faced 3 teams that were far different than our first 4 teams.
Over the course of the last 4 days where there was little time to prep for the next, I do believe this team matured as a team. Likewise, several of the players made advancements, and all that will pay off in the coming days/weeks/months.
 
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