VCU Rams Update

Rodney the Ram

What a week for the Rams! 2 victorious road games against some decent competition, in Georgia State (6-17; don’t let the record fool you), and Delaware (10-13). I expected VCU to go into Georgia and make them our bitches (like we did against Towson a week ago) but they put up a fight; exploiting our weaknesses and neutralizing Eric Maynor. Other than other freshman standout, Lance Sanders double-double, we couldn’t rebound worth a damn, which hurt us in second chance points. Maynor shot poorly and our insurance policy, Jamal Schuler, played like crap. This game went into overtime but pulled out the 65-60 win.

Notable Stats:
Eric Maynor (jr)- 6-14, 12 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists
Jamal Schuler (sr)- 5 points, 4 rebounds
Lance Sanders (fr)- 10 points, 11 rebounds
Lance Kearse (fr)- 7 points, 4 rebounds (off the bench)

The Saturday game was a shootout. Delaware, who is a damn fine shooting team, managed 39 points in the first half. Hell, Maryland and Miami couldn’t even do that! But we matched them point for point and FINALLY, Maynor found his groove in his shot and his pass/rebound game. Maynor and Shueler dropped 20+ each. VCU has never really been a 2nd half team, or at least not when I attended, but they put down 43 in the Second and came away with the win, 83-73.

Notable Stats:
Eric Maynor (jr)- 8-16, 21 points, 7 rebounds, 10 assists
Jamal Schuler (sr)- 21 points, 6 rebounds
Joey Rodriguez (fr)- 8 points, 4 assists
Lance Kearse (fr)- 9 points (Off the bench)

I did notice one thing this past weekend, well 2. First. VCU is never televised, which is beyond a travesty. 2nd, our freshman class is really stepping up. 2 made it to the ranks of starter and my favorite, Lance Kearse, is playing like a man-beast off the bench. THAT, and Coach Anthony Grant has ensured this team that we will have some good incoming freshmen next season, with SG Bradford Burgess from Benedictine High School, and PF Terrance Saintil from Monsignor Edward Pace High School. It Puts a tear in my eye just thinking about it. VCU is now ranked #6 in the mid-major poll.

VCU Rams Update

VCU vs George Mason (1/24/08)

Well, we didnt exactly have the best of weeks but in Ram defense, we played a solid George Mason team on the road. Hell, it wasnt even close. They ran away with the game beating us (63-51). One thing was proven however; if Eric Maynor struggles, Jamal Shuler picks up the slack. Maynor shot 4-10 for 12 points, 5 boards, and 2 assists; All below his season averages. Jamal Shuler decided to dominate once again with 21 points. In the long run, we couldnt keep up with that talented Mason team which evens out the season head to head record at(1-1). This loss brought us from #5 in the Mid-Major polls to #6. Needless to say, Im still very happy.

Saturday the Rams decided to take that loss out on an unsuspecting Towson Tiger squad, kicking them in the face (63-42). Again, Maynor struggled but this time, Man-Child Freshman Lance Kearse helped Shuler pick up the slack, scoring 11 points and grabbing 5 boards all off the bench. There is a side story here. While at the Mandalay Bay, Jack Gonzo asked what my thoughts were on the game, whether or not to play a parlay with that 16 point spread. To me, a 16 pt spread is a risk. I told him VCU never really blows teams out, no matter how good or bad they are. The Rams play VERY consistant basketball with very few high scoring spurts while making very few mistakes. Well, I was wrong and Gonzo didnt take the bet. VCU won by 19 and he ended up losing his parlay by making a bet on another team. Sorry man!!

Back to VCU (15-5), it looks like we have a pretty easily schedule to conclude the season. We have Georgia State and Delaware on the road this week and that should make for some great basketball.

VCU Rams Update

Life is very good in Richmond right now. The VCU Rams continue to exceed expectations and impress on the road. We are currently riding a 7 game winning streak, winning on the road, and Saturday took down a hardcore CAA rival in Old Dominion University. My brother went to ODU so we have an in house rivalry. Last night made me sweat alittle. Hofstra; who has 2 solid bigmen and are a 3-Pt machine, ran the score up on us early. But I noticed one thing. When Eric Maynor (Jr) has an off day, Jamal Schuler (Sr) and Lance Kearse (F) step up. We ultimatly dominated the game in the second half and proved our place atop the CAA standings.

Next week we will have some tough games. We have Drexel on Saturday and George Mason on Tuesday. Did I mention a red hot George Mason?? They have a kid who set an NCAA record by draining 10 3-pts in a row. Im not so much worried about Drexel, but they have been known to upset good CAA teams.

What made the VCU vs ODU win special was that Shane and I played alittle pool, drank a beer, and enjoyed not only the Rams victory over the Monarchs, but the Maryland upset over UNC.

VCU Rams Update

It will always annoy me that we will NEVER have a football team, but at least for right now I can be proud to chear on my alumni basketball team. Just a quick update for you LSWTF folk........

We are 9-4 and ranked #10 in the mid-major polls right now, but really we should be 11-2 but we tend to underestimate teams on the road. Our 2 moron losses came to Hampton (6-6 but first place in the MEAC) and JMU (9-4). Hampton was a gimmie win that we blew but misanticipated. I talked to my boss about that loss and he gave me a good explanation as to why we lost. Teams typically do not take black colleges seriously. Mid-Majors and Majors see them as the AAA of college basketball. I couldnt agree more, Not only did we lose, we lost BIGTIME (64-55), Hell, we lost to Miami (FL) (69-63) and Arkanas (18 ranked) (70-60) and they are great teams. Hopefully coach Grant will learn from that crucial error. Our other loss, JMU really pissed me off (62-61). They have been our bitch for the past dozen years or so. I guess the sun shines on a dogs bee-hind every so often. However, Our biggest wins include the upset over Maryland (85-76) on the road, Richmond (School rival), and Houston.

Needless to say, Man-Beast-Child Eric Maynor is the teams catalyst for success. He is simply amazing and could be a potential NBA draft pick in 2009. He is certainly putting up NBA worthy stats 33.3minutes/game 19.1ppg 3.6rpg 5.2apg and he is only a Junior. G*d forbid if he were to enter this years NBA draft, according to ESPN.com, he would go late 1st round or early 2nd.