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This season has been a weird one for me so far. For the first time since becoming a Ram fan, I am not living in Richmond. For the first time in three years, I don't have season tickets in the C section. For the first time since I started to follow this program, I am not able to attend the games, nor do I even know a breathing soul in my new city that could care at all about what a mid-major program from Richmond, Virginia is accomplishing on the court.
That all being said, this has also provided me with a fresh perspective on VCU basketball. I have been forced to watch virtually every game via an online stream, or listen to internet radio broadcasts, and I have been forced to scour the box scores for indications of exactly what happened in the game. I have watched every game entirely sober, since VCU basketball is now an almost intellectual hobby for me instead of a social one. And, because of all of that, I have an important prediction:
We will win the next 15 games in a row.
We have now lost only two games. WMU, I believe, should be considered an anomaly and an early season learning opportunity. Our players learned a lot from that game, and I believe our new head coach has learned even more. W&M is turning out to be a pretty good team, and there is nothing embarrassing about losing by 1 point, on the road, early in the season to a conference opponent, in a noon game, against a team that just beat a perpetual ACC powerhouse.
We currently have 7 different players all on the verge of averaging double digits per game – in fact, 7 of them already average at least 8.1 pts per game – and our star player, Larry Sanders, is becoming more and more consistent with every game, even if he hasn’t completely blown the roof off the building in a game yet.
Joey is proving to be learning how to balance his assists and shot attempts and currently sits near the top of our conference in both total assists as well as steals.
Bradford may have had his worst game of his collegiate career against W&M, but he has proven in every game up to that point that he very well might be our second leading scorer this season, and is doing so with ruthless efficiency and shot selection.
Ed Nixon is a complete revelation, and many of us are very glad that he is finally living up to the potential we have seen in him for a long time. He might end up being our MVP for the entire season if he continues to play and progress at the rate he has been.
Jay will continue to knock the rust off, Brandon is playing with the intensity we have all come to expect of him, TJ is the leader all of us knew he could be this season, and while none of our freshman have contributed remarkably to a game yet, they have all shown flashes of the players they very well could be in just a few months.
Skeen and Saintil are unknowns, but there are two important things to be said: 1. Skeen was an ACC caliber starter: he’ll do well for us. 2. Saintil always showed traces of potential greatness in the limited minutes Grant allowed him to play, and Smart is a coach that reiterates over and over again that he gives the players freedom. Have you seen what that has done for Ed so far this season? Grant never had faith in Ed, and it showed in his play. Terrance is ready to get back into the game, and coach has complete faith in letting him play, so we could see a remarkably improved player there as well.
The only real disappointment of the season so far has been KP, but we all know that he possesses incredibly hustle and drive, and I’m certain he’ll continue to contribute.
Long story short, look at our schedule, and look at how our players are progressing in their game. It is very likely in my opinion that we are about to embark on a 15 game winning streak. No game scares me until we play GMU in their house towards the end of the season, once their guys have grown and matured a lot.
VCU will be 20-2 by then. Book it.
That all being said, this has also provided me with a fresh perspective on VCU basketball. I have been forced to watch virtually every game via an online stream, or listen to internet radio broadcasts, and I have been forced to scour the box scores for indications of exactly what happened in the game. I have watched every game entirely sober, since VCU basketball is now an almost intellectual hobby for me instead of a social one. And, because of all of that, I have an important prediction:
We will win the next 15 games in a row.
We have now lost only two games. WMU, I believe, should be considered an anomaly and an early season learning opportunity. Our players learned a lot from that game, and I believe our new head coach has learned even more. W&M is turning out to be a pretty good team, and there is nothing embarrassing about losing by 1 point, on the road, early in the season to a conference opponent, in a noon game, against a team that just beat a perpetual ACC powerhouse.
We currently have 7 different players all on the verge of averaging double digits per game – in fact, 7 of them already average at least 8.1 pts per game – and our star player, Larry Sanders, is becoming more and more consistent with every game, even if he hasn’t completely blown the roof off the building in a game yet.
Joey is proving to be learning how to balance his assists and shot attempts and currently sits near the top of our conference in both total assists as well as steals.
Bradford may have had his worst game of his collegiate career against W&M, but he has proven in every game up to that point that he very well might be our second leading scorer this season, and is doing so with ruthless efficiency and shot selection.
Ed Nixon is a complete revelation, and many of us are very glad that he is finally living up to the potential we have seen in him for a long time. He might end up being our MVP for the entire season if he continues to play and progress at the rate he has been.
Jay will continue to knock the rust off, Brandon is playing with the intensity we have all come to expect of him, TJ is the leader all of us knew he could be this season, and while none of our freshman have contributed remarkably to a game yet, they have all shown flashes of the players they very well could be in just a few months.
Skeen and Saintil are unknowns, but there are two important things to be said: 1. Skeen was an ACC caliber starter: he’ll do well for us. 2. Saintil always showed traces of potential greatness in the limited minutes Grant allowed him to play, and Smart is a coach that reiterates over and over again that he gives the players freedom. Have you seen what that has done for Ed so far this season? Grant never had faith in Ed, and it showed in his play. Terrance is ready to get back into the game, and coach has complete faith in letting him play, so we could see a remarkably improved player there as well.
The only real disappointment of the season so far has been KP, but we all know that he possesses incredibly hustle and drive, and I’m certain he’ll continue to contribute.
Long story short, look at our schedule, and look at how our players are progressing in their game. It is very likely in my opinion that we are about to embark on a 15 game winning streak. No game scares me until we play GMU in their house towards the end of the season, once their guys have grown and matured a lot.
VCU will be 20-2 by then. Book it.
If this does happen, you sir deserve all the credit.
