VCU: First Four to Final Four

Beating the Goliaths

The single greatest run to the Final Four in NCAA history. 11 seeded VCU, thanks to the introduction of the First Four games, became the first team ever to make it to the Final Four by winning five games. Of those five wins only one, their Sweet Sixteen matchup against 10th seeded Florida State, was the only close one. In beating USC (by 13), Georgetown (by 18), Purdue (by 18), Florida State (by 1 in OT), and Kansas (by 10) VCU of the Colonial Athletic Association defeated members of 5 of the 6 power conferences: Pac-10, Big East, Big Ten, ACC, and Big 12 respectively. It is too bad that the Rams could not play an SEC team in the Final Four, then maybe they would have won. But fellow mid major Butler gave the Rams all they could handle in a 70-62 win for the Bulldogs (a score that really does not represent how close the game truly was).

In Gym Range

“In Gym Range,” it’s a term we usually hear about Jimmer Fredette to describe his ability to make a 3 pointer from seemingly anywhere on the court. But it is not often we can use that term to refer to an entire team. The Rams were living by the 3 point line throughout this tournament and their shooting did not cool down until their Final Four game. That did not stop VCU, however, from setting an NCAA tournament record with 61 made 3 pointers. Much of that can be credited to Brandon Rozzell, who through the first 5 games went 17-38 (44.7%), including six 3s against Georgetown in the second round. However, Rozzell’s hot streak, along with VCU’s run, came to an end when he went 0 for 3 from deep against Butler.

The Tale of the Transfer

It’s an interesting story for those VCU Rams. Their two leaders, senior guard Joey Rodriguez and senior forward Jamie Skeen, are connected through the transfer that occurred and almost occurred.

After former VCU coach Anthony Grant left for the Alabama job after the 2009 season, Rodriguez heavily considered transferring schools. He had had a great relationship with Grant and was struck by the coach’s move. After much thought and consideration, however, Rodriguez decided to stay and give new hire Shaka Smart a chance. Good decision. Rodriguez became the floor general of this team in the tournament and distributed the ball phenomenally. He was a pass first point guard who enjoyed setting up his teammates for easy buckets more than scoring his own. Credit Joey for the Rams NCAA 3s record because thanks to him and his ability to get into the paint he was able to get the defense to collapse on him, giving him the opportunity to kick the ball out to the 3 point line where his teammates received and converted open shots.

The other player, Jamie Skeen, came to VCU in the opposite fashion. After 2 seasons at Wake Forrest, Skeen decided to transfer to VCU. His decision came with great criticism from his friends and family. Who could blame them? Skeen was going from the ACC to the CAA where the competition was clearly not as great. Skeen  showed himself in the tournament as the team’s go to scorer and proved that he can handle the load of carrying a team. He was such a great player to watch because he has such a great all around game. Much like a poor man’s Derrick Williams (see the article “Arizona’s Derrick Williams in the NCAA Tournament”), Skeen can do a little bit of everything. At 6-9, he can step out to the 3 point line and drain them with ease, he can bang bodies in the post while shooting just as well over either shoulder, or he can put the ball on the floor and drive into the lane. He may not be as highly touted as other prospects, but his play against the boys of the power conferences definitely puts him on the NBA radar.

94 Feet Basketball

Want to see a basketball team truly use all 94 feet of the basketball court to the fullest of its ability? Watch VCU. Full credit goes to coach Shaka Smart for creating and implementing a system on both ends of the court that his entire team bought in to.

On defense, the Rams played a full court press trap throughout the tournament that gave opponents fits and caused plenty of turnovers. As the opposing guard brought the ball up the court, guarded heavily by his VCU defender (usually Rodriguez), he would be quickly met by a second defender somewhere around the middle of the backcourt. This would cause the guard to pick up his dribble as his teammates scrambled to get into an open position to receive a pass fast enough to beat the 10-second back court violation. In turn, this would cause errant passes that either sailed out of bounds or were deflected by VCU. This stifling defense was able to throw teams off balance as they saw pressure they had not experienced in past games.

On the other side of the ball, I have never seen a college basketball team get the ball up court after a made basket as fast as I saw VCU do it. Reminiscent of  Mike D’Antoni’s 7-seconds or less offense in Phoenix, the Rams did not dilly-dally after their opponents scored. They would quickly inbound the ball and run up court as the other team was still jogging towards the defensive end. These pushes led to easy layups and open 3s which the Rams made throughout the tournament. If a team wanted to stop this fast break, they needed to instantly switch from an offensive to defensive stand because any gap between the two would lead to VCU just running right by them.