2011-2012 VCU Rams Basketball Preview

VCU Rams - Colonial Athletic Association

2010-11: 28-12, 12-6

2010-11 postseason: NCAA

Coach: Shaka Smart (55-21 at VCU, 55-21 overall)

VCU was the latest CAA team to make an improbable run to the Final Four. Coach Shaka Smart opted to stick around despite offers from “bigger” schools and this is a team that lost some talent, but has enough coming back to make another run to the NCAA Tournament. The key returnee is Bradford Burgess. The 6-6 wing spent much of last season at the power forward spot, but should be back at his natural small forward position this year. Burgess pretty much does everything for the Rams. Last year he averaged 14.3 points, connected on 43.4 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc and grabbed 6.3 rebounds. As the lone senior on the roster, he will also be the leader on and off the floor.

Who’s Out:

There are some big losses from last year’s Final Four squad. Point guard Joey Rodriguez started all 40 games and dished out 5.2 assists per contest. He even added 10.4 points per game. Fellow starting guard Ed Nixon is also gone. Nixon was more of the glue guy and rarely put up huge numbers, but he will certainly be missed. Super sixth man Brandon Rozzell actually ranked third on the squad in scoring with 11.5 points per game and his outside shooting ability, especially coming in off the bench will be sorely missed. The team’s leading scorer and rebounder, forward Jamie Skeen, is also gone. On a team that generally ran a four guard lineup, Skeen did a superb job keeping up with the guards, scoring on the inside and creating space for the shooters. Toby Veal was one of the few forwards who could play some quality minutes when the VCU needed a bigger lineup on the floor.

Who’s In:

Coach Smart is building this program the right way. There are no quick fixes among the newcomers. Everybody coming in is either a freshman or a redshirt freshman and some of them will need to contribute right away. Point guard Teddy Okereafor will battle for a starting job. At the least, he will have to play some minutes off of the bench. Shooting guard Briante Weber could be a star sooner or later, but for now he has to earn his way up the pecking order on the wing. Unlike Weber, who is more of a shooting guard, Treveon Graham has the strength to play at the small forward position. However, it is 6-7 wing Reco McCarter who will likely be Burgess’ primary backup at the three spot. The frontcourt adds a couple big guys who will be right in the mix for quality minutes in a wide open frontcourt. Jarred Guest needs to add some strength, but Heath Houston added that strength last season while redshirting. Both should earn minutes off the bench, but Houston is a little more prepared right now.

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Who to Watch:

There may be some battles for minutes with the newcomers, but VCU returns a team of talented players who were down the bench a little bit last season. Junior Darius Theus spent the last two years learning behind Rodriguez. Theus is mostly a true point guard and will not do a ton of scoring. That should not be a bad thing as long as the rest of the team can help out in the scoring department. Rob Brandenberg is one of those guys who need to step up. When given minutes as a freshman, Brandenberg proved to be a capable player and his year in the system should give him a nice boost heading into his sophomore season. He was mostly a shooter as a freshman, but he can get to the basket and he should be more aggressive now that he is in a starting role. Troy Daniels will have to battle it out with the newcomers for minutes off of the bench, especially with Burgess moving to the wing.

Final Projection:

Juvonte Reddic and D.J. Haley should step into full-time starting roles in the frontcourt. Those two combined for 23 starts last season, so they are not completely inexperienced players. When Coach Smart needed more size in the starting lineup, he called on those two. Now the question becomes, can they play more minutes and stay productive and is there enough frontcourt depth to keep Burgess at the three spot? Reddic is the better scorer of those two, but Haley is a seven-footer who is still a pretty raw player. If Haley can start, grab some boards and play some defense, he will be doing enough. David Hinton, a 6-9 junior, is another option at the five spot and, ideally, will be the main backup for Haley, allowing the freshmen to spend time at the four spot behind Reddic. There are a lot of questions about this group, but this is a young team that is full of potential. Coach Smart has done a good job picking up players that fit into his system and it is hard to argue against some of these lesser known players who were roleplayers last year. This year they will be starters and stars.

Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA

Projected Starting Five:

Darius Theus, Junior, Guard, 3.0 points per game
Rob Brandenberg, Sophomore, Guard, 4.9 points per game
Bradford Burgess, Senior, Guard, 14.3 points per game
Juvonte Reddic, Sophomore, Forward, 3.5 points per game
D.J. Haley, Sophomore, Center, 1.1 points per game

By Joel Welser courtesy of www.CollegeSportsMadness.com
CollegeSports-fans.com Senior Basketball Writer

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