The Future.

districtballer

districtballer

Elite Member
Joined
Apr 19, 2009
Posts
13,111
Likes
16,785
We've played some amazing ball in the last week and have won 3 NCAA games in 5 days after having only won 5 in the 30+ years before that. There's a lot going on now and we're rightfully excited. That said, there is something that has kind of flown under the radar although I'm sure we're all aware of it...

Our freshmen are playing AWESOME ball right now. DJ Haley, Rob Brandenberg, and Juvonte Reddic have played tremendously on the biggest stage in the country. None of them made the All-Rookie team, but I'm willing to bet that very few (if any) of those named would perform the way these 3 have. Our coaches have done a brilliant job bringing them along and they have worked hard and listened and been team players. I think props are in order!

It also makes next season look less like a rebuilding year and more like we might have something REALLY good going on here. 8-)
 
I'm with you, the future is bright.

how much of their success depends on coach smart staying? I think that is the major question.
 
It probably goes without saying that this run that we're putting together is going to help with recruiting as well! I know Mason didn't capitalize as well as it could have and I hope we don't make the same mistake! The freshmen playing well is a great thing to see as I see our team next year kind of like the George Mason team this year. Brad will have to carry us but the young sophomores/RS Freshmen will bring the punch. The future is bright 8-)
 
districtballer said:
We've played some amazing ball in the last week and have won 3 NCAA games in 5 days after having only won 5 in the 30+ years before that. There's a lot going on now and we're rightfully excited. That said, there is something that has kind of flown under the radar although I'm sure we're all aware of it...

Our freshmen are playing AWESOME ball right now. DJ Haley, Rob Brandenberg, and Juvonte Reddic have played tremendously on the biggest stage in the country. None of them made the All-Rookie team, but I'm willing to bet that very few (if any) of those named would perform the way these 3 have. Our coaches have done a brilliant job bringing them along and they have worked hard and listened and been team players. I think props are in order!

It also makes next season look less like a rebuilding year and more like we might have something REALLY good going on here. 8-)
Click to expand...

Well said!
 
We will have some weapons next year, an emerging Brad Burgess, a scintillating guard in Brandenberg, and two big men seemingly getting better at warp speed. Add Toby, Heath, Troy and Reco into the mix and an excellent incoming class. Yes, it looks good for us. My big question is will Darius give us the glue, the leadership, the ability to find the open man as well as be able to hit the outside shot when open. A tall order for a guy that has not shown us a lot this year.
 
Let Mason and ODU worry about the future. For VCU the future is now!
 
My take on Darius is that he's still over-thinking a bit. You can tell he's very cerebral in his approach to the point guard position. That's great, but I think he may be cautious to a fault at times. He seems to choreograph his passes and play tight a lot more than he doesn't. When he stops thinking and just plays, it seems like he looks much better. I could be 100% wrong but that's just my opinion. During the regular season you could see a pretty significant dropoff between Joey and Darius (which is to be expected when you're talking about a 4-year starter vs. a sophomore). These last couple of games Darius has looked solid, especially the Purdue game. He looked less like he was thinking and more like he was just playing.

I agree he has some work to do, but I think he can be more than serviceable next year. I will say he definitely has to work on that jumper as teams don't guard him on the perimeter since the book on him (so far) is that he can't shoot. If he can be more consistent in that regard to go along with his ability to turn the corner and finish, he will be a match-up problem for most teams we face. PG is probably the most important position on the floor, and I won't say we won't miss a beat without Joey, but I think Darius has the tools to be pretty good for us as the year progresses. I don't doubt that he will be working his butt off this summer.

Hey if Eric says he can play, he can play.
 
These freshmen are not just playing extremely well and efficient, they are play fearless. They play like the NCAA's is just another game and I'm sure the leadership has had a lot to do with it. This kind of play from the young guys is leading me to believe that these guys expect to be here and to continue to participate in this tournament.
 
One can not begin to place a value on the experience our freshmen are getting playing on the biggest stage in all of college basketball. I agree, they have played awesome. This certainly bodes well for the future.

While I don't have the numbers in front of me at the moment, based on my review of the boxscore the other day 50% of both our scoring and rebounding from the Purdue game return next year. In addition we will have two redshirt freshman, a freshman who had another year to mature, a prolific scoring incoming freshman, and of course additional signees. I also believe and the empirical evidence bears it out that JUCO players make great strides in the summer between their Junior and Senior years. They need this time to figure it out. I think Toby will be more of an impact player next season, especially defensively and on the boards.

The point is, we will certainly have some weapons in our arsenal.
 
I am really excited about our future. We likely will have a bit of a down year (well can't really blame them seeing that we'd be coming off at least a sweet 16 appearance), but we have some good young talent right now.

DJ Haley I hope works on his endurance over the summer, because i think he could be a big time frontcourt player for our team, but he needs to be able to play longer than 10 minutes a game. I would say its because smart isn't playing him as much, but i watched him after about 3 game minutes lumber back and forth down the court and not even make it in time. He just gets tired way too quickly, but the improvement he's made since the beginning of the season is very impressive.

Juvonte Reddic I have very high hopes for. The guy has a lot of talent and it's definitely apparent. I like the he showed some range in that purdue, making some shots from the top of the key. It was something i was worried about as the season progressed, but if he can hit those shots, he will be a very dangerous player. I think he will be our best frontcourt guy next year, and he and haley should make for a formidable duo down the road.

Rob Brandenberg I think will be an explosive guard for us. I think he will start over daniels, with daniels hopefully taking a brandon rozzell like role in our offense. The guy is a very solid defensive presence, and he can make big time shots as well. i think he will become our go to guy in clutch situations as some point down the line.

Reco McCarter and Heath Houston i hope to see give us some good depth next year, and maybe even become solid contributors by the end of the year. i really like them both as prospects and i think having them as depth is a nice luxury

Veal had a meh year, but he still gives us solid defense down low, and if he develops his offensive game over the summer, i could see him giving us quality minutes. We'll need him and burgess to step up as the senior leaders of our team.

Our freshman Briante Weber and Treveon Graham im not expecting a ton out of their first years, but hopefully one of them can be a 5 ppg player like brandenburg was and give us some good production from time to time. It would definitely help soften the blow to our backcourt with nixon, rozzell and rodriguez leaving

i still would like to pick up one or two more guys and see if we can add a bit more depth to our roster, and redshirt the guys we don't feel are ready yet.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketb ... onsidering

I would love to pick up one of this big men to add to our recruiting class, but any of these guys would be fine by me. Hopefully Shaka Smart sticks around, he's done a fantastic job for us so far and hopefully he will be convinced after the ncaa tournament that he can build a great program here.
 
We'll be fine even if he leaves, cause I have faith in this AD to find another quality replacement. Again.
 
Sometimes said:
We'll be fine even if he leaves, cause I have faith in this AD to find another quality replacement. Again.
Click to expand...

I agree with that we will find a good coach but shaka is almost unique. However, I think shaka is one of the unique coaches whose even keeled demeanor and confidence (even in pressure situations) translates to the the team. It could propel them to consistently realize their championship potential evey year!

The only other coach at the mid-major level with this quality is Brad Stevens...

Shaka has all the makings and qualities of becoming one of the great ones. He's got alot of John Wooden's qualities..
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top