Without a doubt, the best player on the floor tonight was...

[VCUBeatsduke]

No doubt a true team win last night.....lots of great players and plays. And congrats to the coaching staff - nice work. Coach Shaka - we hope you have a long career at VCU.

But Joey was the man!

VCUBeatsduke

 

[Sometimes]

Is this when I get to say, "I told you so"?

 

[districtballer]

With Larry, most of the fouls called on him were legit. He sells the incredulous "Are you kidding me?" look pretty well, but everytime you leave your feet your going to get called if you make contact with the opposing player. Add that to the fact that players are purposely trying to make contact with Larry once he's in the air and it's easy to see Larry in foul trouble last night. C.J. Reed did it multiple times trying to get Larry out of the game so he could drive the lane and did so successfully. Larry has to recognize what the other team is trying to do and hold his ground. He is more effective simply standing straight with his arms in the air than most big men are at the apex of their jump due to his length. Teams are game-planning to take him out of the equation before the opening tip, and he has to realize that.

Other than that, I thought all around we had a great game and showed that we are far from a one-man team. That said, Bethune-Cookman was a horrible team with faded (already uniforms) and a worse head coach. We will not beat Oklahoma playing like that. I'm sure Shaka will go to the drawing board and have the team working hard to meet the next challenge in Western Michigan. We can't look past them to the Sooners.

 

[vcubanana]

Is this when I get to say, "I told you so"?

You gotta wait til the big games. He always tends to shy away and seem a lil out of it during those. Lets see if he comes to play next weekend Sometimes. Then you're free to fire away.

 

[Sometimes]

Is this when I get to say, "I told you so"?

You gotta wait til the big games. He always tends to shy away and seem a lil out of it during those. Lets see if he comes to play next weekend Sometimes. Then you're free to fire away.

Fair enough. I'll wait till after the OU game.

 

[VCUBeatsduke]

With Larry, most of the fouls called on him were legit. He sells the incredulous "Are you kidding me?" look pretty well, but everytime you leave your feet your going to get called if you make contact with the opposing player. Add that to the fact that players are purposely trying to make contact with Larry once he's in the air and it's easy to see Larry in foul trouble last night. C.J. Reed did it multiple times trying to get Larry out of the game so he could drive the lane and did so successfully. Larry has to recognize what the other team is trying to do and hold his ground. He is more effective simply standing straight with his arms in the air than most big men are at the apex of their jump due to his length. Teams are game-planning to take him out of the equation before the opening tip, and he has to realize that.

Other than that, I thought all around we had a great game and showed that we are far from a one-man team. That said, Bethune-Cookman was a horrible team with faded (already uniforms) and a worse head coach. We will not beat Oklahoma playing like that. I'm sure Shaka will go to the drawing board and have the team working hard to meet the next challenge in Western Michigan. We can't look past them to the Sooners.

Nice analysis DB. So what did you think of the rooks?

VCUBeatsduke

 

[districtballer]

Theus is going to be the most important player in this class when it's all said and done. The kid has leader written all over him. He made some rookie mistakes, most notably getting picked in the backcourt. He has to be more cognizant of his surroundings, but his game IQ is very high for a freshman. He's smooth, calm, and collected like a recent NBA player out of our program. His change of direction is also very similar. His crossover left his defender in the dust on more than one occasion and what's more impressive is that it was from a standstill. He doesn't force anything and the game seems to come very naturally to him. His shot mechanics need work, but he can hit the 3 at a decent clip already. Shots are all about repetition, even if your form is unorthodox, if you get enough reps in, you can be a good shooter. That's how Eric became so deadly over his 4 years from the outside.

Daniels I believe will be the best scorer out of this class. The kid has a knack for getting the ball in the basket. He has a smooth mid-range game and has already shown a feathery 3 point touch. He took the ball inside a couple of times last night and looked good doing so. I like him as a 2 guard in our program. He will blossom into a very potent offensive weapon in the days to come. If it weren't for the glut of 2 guards already ahead of him, I think you'd see a lot more from Daniels early on. He'll had to bide his time a bit, but he will be an impact player for us.

Grayson is the youngest and least physically mature of the bunch. As a 17 year old freshman, he's younger than most everyone on the floor. He's also faster than everyone on the floor more often that not. He brings a different look at point guard as a flashy and quick speedster. That said, I feel like Theus moves faster with the ball, or maybe it's just because he's deceptively quick with his change of direction. Either way, it will take Grayson some time before he cracks the regular rotation. He needs to put on some bulk and spend more time learning how to run the offense. He is solid on the defensive end with his lateral quickness and his arms are always active and in motion on defense, which is all you can ask for when playing your man straight up.

 

[ram4life]

El matador J Rod was the man tonight and he can still play better. Gavin is looking to get out of his slump, this cat can shoot. Burgess was on his game as well and showed some toughness. TJ hustled but did not rebound well. Larry was not needed offensively as the threes were falling but as usual his defensive presence continues to change the other teams inside presence. Theus and Daniels are steady, Grayson played like a freshman. Krill and Nixon contributed when needed although Nixon looked hurt. Rozell had some outstanding assist and played solid defense. Overall our rebounding needs to improve and we had too many turnovers.

How can Gavin have a slump when he has play only one game this year?

 

[VCUBeatsduke]

Theus is going to be the most important player in this class when it's all said and done. The kid has leader written all over him. He made some rookie mistakes, most notably getting picked in the backcourt. He has to be more cognizant of his surroundings, but his game IQ is very high for a freshman. He's smooth, calm, and collected like a recent NBA player out of our program. His change of direction is also very similar. His crossover left his defender in the dust on more than one occasion and what's more impressive is that it was from a standstill. He doesn't force anything and the game seems to come very naturally to him. His shot mechanics need work, but he can hit the 3 at a decent clip already. Shots are all about repetition, even if your form is unorthodox, if you get enough reps in, you can be a good shooter. That's how Eric became so deadly over his 4 years from the outside.

Daniels I believe will be the best scorer out of this class. The kid has a knack for getting the ball in the basket. He has a smooth mid-range game and has already shown a feathery 3 point touch. He took the ball inside a couple of times last night and looked good doing so. I like him as a 2 guard in our program. He will blossom into a very potent offensive weapon in the days to come. If it weren't for the glut of 2 guards already ahead of him, I think you'd see a lot more from Daniels early on. He'll had to bide his time a bit, but he will be an impact player for us.

Grayson is the youngest and least physically mature of the bunch. As a 17 year old freshman, he's younger than most everyone on the floor. He's also faster than everyone on the floor more often that not. He brings a different look at point guard as a flashy and quick speedster. That said, I feel like Theus moves faster with the ball, or maybe it's just because he's deceptively quick with his change of direction. Either way, it will take Grayson some time before he cracks the regular rotation. He needs to put on some bulk and spend more time learning how to run the offense. He is solid on the defensive end with his lateral quickness and his arms are always active and in motion on defense, which is all you can ask for when playing your man straight up.

DB:

Awesome analysis - its hard to argue your points.

VCUBeatsduke