CH2K8: Anthony Grant Career

[Balldog]

I'm going to take a different approach and tag along on Anthony Grant's coaching career. I had a hard time picking a young up and coming coach but think Grant is a good fit for my style.

I'll be playing with 18 minute halves on All-American for now, might switch to MOP at some point.

edit: I'm using some update 2007-2008 rosters with modified recruiting priorities that are supposed to make recruiting harder.

I also edited Kelvin Sampson, so he will retire after this season

[Balldog]

Anthony Grant, Coaching Profile

Head Coach at Virginia Commonwealth
Career Record: 28-7 (2nd year)
Age: 41
Overall: B+
Offense: B
Defense: B+
Teaching: B+
Scouting: B
Charisma: B+
Discipline: B

[Balldog]

2007-2008 Roster and Coaching Staff

Point Guards
#3 Eric Maynor, Jr (6-2, 165 lbs)
84 Ovr, easily our best player overall and the best player in the conference. He is one of the quickest point guards in the country, along with a great ball handler and passer. He can score in bunches too.

#12 Joey Rodriguez, Fr (5-10, 160 lbs)
67 Ovr, quite a gap between him and Maynor but he will be able to provide a break for Maynor when needed. He isn't much of a threat offensively, he is quick but a below average ball handler and passer.

#5 Brandon Rozzell, Fr (6-2, 170 lbs)
61 Ovr, Rozzell is likely to redshirt this season. He has a chance to be a decent scorer some day. He is not very quick for a point guard and he is a poor passer. Might move to shooting guard.

Shooting Guards
#24 Jamal Shuler, Sr (6-3, 180 lbs)
76 Ovr, a nice compliment to Maynor. He has a deadly shot from medium range and deep. Otherwise he is an average player.

#50 Ed Nixon, Fr (6-3, 190 lbs)
65 Ovr, he can jump out of the gym. A lot of upside but he is pretty raw at the moment.

#32 Mark Brown, Fr (6-4, 200 lbs)
62 Ovr, he will likely redshirt or see minimal action. He is slow for a shooting guard, might consider moving to small forward.

Small Forwards
#15 Michael Anderson, Sr (6-7, 190 lbs)
68 Ovr, a nice player who can do a little bit of everything. A little on the slow side for a small forward but his length will make up for it.

#42 TJ Gwynn, So (6-4, 190 lbs)
67 Ovr, will push Anderson for the starting spot. He is a better athlete but a bit undersized. Great vertical!

#23 Lance Kearse, Fr (6-6, 225 lbs)
66 Ovr, he will spend most of his time at power forward. He is a good post player, no offense from perimeter.

#21 Franck Ndongo, So (6-7, 215 lbs)
60 Ovr, Ndongo is the odd man out...he won't see the court other than garbage time.

Power Forwards
#2 Wil Fameni, Sr (6-7, 240 lbs)
71 Ovr, will play center. Good post defense, below average offensively. A liability on the boards.

#1 Larry Sanders, Fr (6-9, 210 lbs)
67 Ovr, Sanders has a lot of potential and he will get a lot of minutes. A big time shot blocker with limited offensive ability.

#11 Kiril Pishcalnikov, So (6-8, 240 lbs)
57 Ovr, he sucks.

Assistant Coaches
Niemer Mendoza, 47 years old. B- Overall
Len Ruffin, 35 years old. B- Overall (Great scout)

Starting Lineup
PG - Eric Maynor, Jr
SG - Jamal Shuler, Sr
SF - Michael Anderson, Sr
PF - Larry Sanders, Fr
C - Wil Fameni, Sr

[Balldog]

[Balldog]

Next up we play in the Palm Tree Shootout, hosted by South Florida

First Round Matchups
Temple vs Providence
Coll. of Charleston vs #21 Arkansas
Houston vs Virginia Commonwealth
Marist vs Miami (FL)

[Balldog]

VCU (1-0) vs Houston (1-0)

Houston wants to run up and down the floor for 40 minutes, if we can control tempo we feel pretty good about winning this one. The Cougars are lead by two standout guards, Lanny Smith (77 Ovr) and Rob McKiver (83 Ovr).

[Balldog]

Results from Rd 1 of the Palm Tree Shootout

Temple 73, Providence 56
College of Charleston 81, Arkansas 76
Houston 66, VCU 53
Miami (FL) 70, Marist 58

We play Marist in the losers bracket next. They are 0-2 with losses to Delaware and Miami. They lead by senior SF Louie McCroskey (79 Ovr) he is averaging 13.5 ppg, 9.0 rpg, and 4.5 apg They like to slow down the game like we do, so this should be a low scoring game.

[Balldog]

Marist (0-2) vs VCU (1-1)

Before the game I decide to throw Rodriguez in the starting lineup and move Maynor to the 2-guard. Shuler to the 3, Anderson to 4 and Sanders to the bench. This should allow Maynor to play more minutes since he doesn't have to deal with man press situations and it provide better flexibility on defense. Plus it should make him more effective on offense.

I put Maynor on McCroskey since he is by far our best defender.



Arkansas beats Providence, so we now play the Razorbacks in the consolation bracket finals.

[Radii]

reading! I like the boxscores, nice.

[Balldog]

VCU (2-1) vs Arkansas (2-1)

Patrick Beverly, one of their best players, is out for over a month with a broken wrist. That should help out chances, Sonny Weems (84 Ovr, SF) will be the focus of our defense. They want to run us out of the gym, we need to control tempo or we will get blown out.



Up next we play Elon, we should be able to get back on track against them!

[Balldog]

I decided to bump up to MOP, I just like the way the game feels on MOP for some reason. Its a more intense game for me even though sometimes teams that I should beat on will compete but it is possible to win in blowouts too.

[Balldog]

Elon 60, Virginia Commonwealth 61
1 2 T Final ELON (1-2) 26 34 60 VCU (2-2) 36 25 61	7:15 PM November 24, 2007 Stuart C. Siegel Center Richmond, Va

We survive an upset bid by Elon, perhaps the biggest play was on a 2 on 1 fast break Eric Maynor drew a charge with just under 2:00 to play. We forced a deep 3 from Monty Sanders with 0:02 to play that rang off the back of the rim.

Maynor lead the way with 17 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists. Michael Anderson was the only other Ram to score in double digits - he had 11 points and 7 rebounds. Ed Nixon had a nice game off the bench with 9 points.

Elon was lead by Sanders with 17 points. Their freshman center Daniel Watts had 10 points, 16 rebounds, and 3 blocks.

Up next we go on the road to play Hampton (3-2). They are lead by Rashad West (SG - 15.2 ppg, 44% from 3) and Michael Freeman (PF - 10.4 ppg, 10.2 rpg). They like to run and press with a high pressure defense.

[Balldog]

Virginia Commonwealth 58, Hampton 69
1 2 T Final VCU (3-2) 28 30 58 HAMP (3-2) 29 40 69	7:15 PM November 29, 2007 Convocation Center Hampton, VA

A tough loss to a good Hampton team, we shut down Rashad West holding him to just 5 points but their bigs dominated. Michael Freeman had 12 points, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks and Matthew Pilgrim had 16 points and 12 rebounds.

We were within striking distance all game, but they opened up the lead about halfway through the 2nd half. We were able to get it down to 4 on three occassions but we couldn't get a key stop to cut the lead further.

Eric Maynor continues to be our only consistent scorer, he had 20 points. Jamal Shuler continues to struggle as he scored 9 points on 3 of 15 shooting. Wil Fameni had 13 points and 8 rebounds. Ed Nixon had 7 points off the bench. Joey Rodriguez struggled with their pressure, he had 0 points, 1 assist and 5 turnovers.

We really need someone to step it up to help Maynor but we can't seem to find any volunteers.

Up next is an underachieving Maryland (2-2) team on the road. James Gist is an animal and we don't really have an answer for him down low. Greivis Vasquez is going to sit this one out with an achilles injury.

[Balldog]

Virginia Commonwealth 61, Maryland 76
1 2 OT T Final VCU (3-3) 27 34 61 MD (2-2) 31 45 76	2:00 PM December 2, 2007 Comcast Center College Park, MD

We held our own for the first half before TJ Gwynn fouled Landon Milbourne on a half court prayer. Milbourne hit 2 of 3 from the line but then he was on the finishing end of an alley oop on their first possession of the 2nd half. That sparked a Maryland run that gave them some distance and we couldn't recover. Wil Fameni was in foul trouble most of the 2nd half and they were able to exploit Michael Anderson in the post.

Maryland was lead by Eric Hayes who finished with 15 points and 4 assists. James Gist had 12 points (all in the 2nd half) and 6 rebounds.

Jamal Shuler broke out of his shooting slump, but he had just 12 points (4/6 FG) and 5 rebounds. Eric Maynor struggled from the field, shooting 4 of 16 scoring 13 points. The most encouraging performance was from Larry Sanders, the freshman had 9 points (3/3 FG), 5 rebounds, and 2 blocks.

Up next is a bad William & Mary (1-3) team in our conference opener. They are lead by Nathan Mann, a senior PG, who is averaging 13 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. They almost upset #1 Georgetown, losing 71-70 in OT back in November.

[Balldog]

VCU gets first commitment

Rhet Ibekwe, a 6'7" 228 lbs PF from Roanoke, VA has signed with the Rams. He is a 3-star recruit, rated #227 nationally and #33 by position. He is an athletic forward with range and a solid low post defender and rebounder.

[Balldog]

William & Mary 65, Virginia Commonwealth 73
1 2 OT T Final W&M (1-3) 29 36 65 VCU (3-4) 37 36 73	7:00 PM December 5, 2007 Stuart C. Siegel Center Richmond, Va

We open the game with a 12-0 run and never look back. They closed the gap to 6 a couple of times but it never got any closer. We were able to extend the lead to 16 with about 2 minutes to play then slept through the final 2.

Eric Maynor lead the way with 23 points on 8 of 16 shooting. Jamal Shuler had 18 points on 7 of 10 shooting, including 4 of 6 from 3. Larry Sanders had another nice game off the bench with 11 points.

We were able to hold Nathan Mann in check for the first half but he ended up with 17 points on 7 of 9 shooting. Athletically they just couldn't match up with us.

Up next we play Richmond (5-4) at home, they are lead by center Dan Geriot. He is averaging 11.6 points per game and 6.3 rebounds per game. We have an athletic advantage again, that should give us the edge.

[Balldog]

Richmond 67, Virginia Commonwealth 74
1 2 OT T Final RICH (5-4) 30 37 67 VCU (4-4) 38 36 74	12:00 PM December , 2007 Stuart C. Siegel Center Richmond, Va

A great shooting night for both teams as Richmond shot 55% from the field, including 8 of 11 from 3. We shot just under 50% but shot 11 of 19 from 3. Eric Maynor sprained his ankle early in the 2nd half but returned to hit two clutch jumpers to seal the victory. One from the baseline about 12 feet out, a fadeaway jumper over a bigger defender. The other was a 3 as the shot clock expired with just over 1 minute to play to seal the victory.

Maynor finished with 20 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists. Jamal Shuler added 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. Michael Anderson scored 9 points to go along with 6 rebounds. And Ed Nixon scored a career high 13 points off the bench.

The Spiders were lead by freshman point guard Kevin Anderson, he had 24 points, 10 assists, and 5 rebounds...all career highs. We held Dan Geriot in check, he finished with 6 points. Ryan Butler added 19 points.

[Balldog]

VCU gets another commitment

Daon Foster, a 6'5" 224 lbs small forward, from Chapel Hill, NC has signed with the Rams. He is a 3-star recruit, rated #165 nationally and #41 by position. He is a great athlete with great shooting ability, he has a lot of upside.

[Balldog]

Longwood 73, Virginia Commonwealth 83
1 2 OT T Final LONG (1-11) 35 38 73 VCU (6-4) 35 48 83	12:30 PM December 15, 2007 Stuart C. Siegel Center Richmond, Va

A suprising battle from Longwood, the game felt like we were in control but we just couldn't put them away. They actually lead by 8 with about 12 minutes to play. Luckily we dominated the boards to a 35-17 advantage.

Eric Maynor lead the way again with 19 points and 5 rebounds. Joey Rodriguez had his best game with 7 points and 7 assists, he was able to get to the lane anytime he wanted. Larry Sanders had a monster game off the bench with 15 points and 11 rebounds.

The Lancers were lead by Ryan Bogan (18 points) and Kirk Williams (21 points).

Up next we head out to Illinois to play Bradley (4-7), they are a rough season but have managed to give Michigan State their only loss. They also beat Wright State (7-2) and lost to Butler by 2. Daniel Ruffen, Sr. PG, leads the way for the Braves. He is averaging 10 points and 6 assists a game. Jeremy Crouch, Sr. SG, is also having a good year with 12 points while shooting 47% from 3.

[Balldog]

Virginia Commonwealth 64, Bradley 53
1 2 OT T Final VCU (7-4) 36 28 64 BRAD (4-8) 27 26 53	1:00 PM December 22, 2007 Carver Arena Peoria, IL

The game was tied at 26 then we went on a 10-1 run to end the half and never looked back. We stretched the lead to 18 points before pulling the starters and they got it a little closer but this one was never in doubt after the first half.

The bad news is Larry Sanders left the game with strained hamstring late, he will be day to day for the next 3 weeks.

Eric Maynor again led us in scoring with 16 points, he added 4 assists. Wil Fameni had a great game with 15 points and 7 rebounds, he went 7-7 from the field. An overall good team effort, especially on defense. They shot just 36% for the game.

We harrassed Daniel Ruffin all game long, he ended up with 8 points and 6 turnovers. Jeremy Crouch led them in scoring with 11 points.

We have eleven days off before our next game against James Madison (9-2).

[Balldog]

Colonial Athletic Conference Preview

Current Standings
George Mason, 1-0 (8-3)
Towson, 1-0 (5-6)
Old Dominion, 1-0 (7-6)
James Madison, 1-0 (9-2)
VCU, 1-0 (7-4)
Hofstra, 1-0 (4-6)
Delaware, 0-1 (5-5)
UNC Wilmington, 0-1 (5-7)
Drexel, 0-1 (8-5)
Georgia St, 0-1 (4-7)
Northeastern, 0-1 (3-8)
William & Mary, 0-1 (4-5)

Leaders
PPG - F. Elegar, DREX (17.9); E. Maynor, VCU (17.3); A. Agudio, HOF (16.9)
RPG - V. Kuljanian, UNCW (9.8); F. Elegar, DREX (9.4); W. Thomas, GMU (7.4)
APG - B. Johnson, DEL (6.3); C. Williams, TOW (6.0); B. Johnson, ODU (5.2)

[Balldog]

Virginia Commonwealth 87, James Madison 72
1 2 OT T Final VCU (8-4) 42 45 87 JMU (9-3) 30 42 72	7:00 PM January 2, 2007 Convocation Center Harrisonburg, VA

After a slow start we took off on a 10-0 run to get some separation and never looked back. We were on fire from downtown hitting 12 threes in the game. Five Rams scored in double figures - Jamal Shuler (17), Eric Maynor (16), Wil Fameni (13), Lance Kearse (11, career high), and Joey Rodriguez (10). Rodriguez and Maynor both added 5 assists, while Fameni grabbed 7 rebounds. Larry Sanders did not play, he is still recovering from his hamstring injury.

James Madison was lead by Kyle Swanston, 22 points. The Dukes recovered nicely from their shooting woes, shooting just 30% in the first half but finishing the game at 45%. They benefited from shooting 21 free throws to our 9 but other than that we simply dominated this one.

Up next we travel to UNC Wilmington, they are 6-7 on the year and 1-1 in the conference. They are rated a 76 overall, led by senior center Vladimir Kuljanian (13.4 ppg and 9.7 rpg) and senior guard TJ Carter (11.9 ppg).

[Balldog]

Colonial Athletic Conference Early Signing Period Recap

Delaware
No signings

Drexel
Senque Camara, SF
6'5" 199 lbs from Brooklyn, NY
3-Star Recruit, Rank: #117

Kerwin Beck, C
7'0" 231 lbs from Bronx, NY
3-Star Recruit, Rank: #136

Kirby Jackette, SF
6'6" 210 lbs from Worcester, MA
3-Star Recruit, Rank: N/A JUCO

George Mason
Halston Warner, PG
5'7" 162 lbs from Washington, DC
3-Star Recruit, Rank: #115

Rell Laws, SF
6'6" 210 lbs from Washington, DC
3-Star Recruit, Rank: #116

Iker Kragel, C
6'9" 222 lbs from New York, NY
3-Star Recruit, Rank: #440

Emanuel Sims, PG
6'1" 176 lbs from Baltimore, MD
2-Star Recruit, Rank: #554

Georgia State
Dusty Jack, PF
6'7" 210 lbs from Atlanta, GA
3-Star Recruit, Rank: #390

Stephon Ravello, C
6'8" 216 lbs from Atlanta, GA
3-Star Recruit, Rank: N/A JUCO

Hofstra
Herb Burnett, SG
6'2" 178 lbs from Staten Island, NY
4-Star Recruit, Rank: N/A JUCO

James Madison
No Signings

Northeastern
Alfred Stallworth, SF
6'7" 199 lbs from Boston, MA
3-Star Recruit, Rank: N/A JUCO

Walt Jacobs, PF
6'8" 229 lbs from Queens, NY
2-Star Recruit, Rank: #469

Old Dominion
No signings

Towson
Eze Nash, C
6'10" 227 lbs from Baltimore, MD
3-Star Recruit, Rank: #441

Warren Tamir, C
6'10" 234 lbs from Reading, PA
3-Star Recruit, Rank: #442

Latece Archie, PG
6'0" 177 lbs from Baltimore, MD
2-Star Recruit, Rank: #764

UNC Wilmington
Taquan Kapono, SF
6'5" 219 lbs from Winston-Salem, NC
3-Star Recruit, Rank: #118

Virginia Commonwealth
Daon Foster, SF
6'5" 224 lbs from Chapel Hills, NC
3-Star Recruit, Rank: #165

Rhet Ibekwe, PF
6'7" 228 lbs from Roanoke, VA
3-Star Recruit, Rank: #227

William & Mary
Stalin Schmieder, PG
5'10" 158 lbs from Chesapeake, VA
2-Star Recruit, Rank: #601

Drexel, George Mason, UNC Wilmington, and VCU appear to have the best classes coming in. Depending on how good Burnett is for Hofstra, they could have a stud in the league to matchup with Maynor next year. We have an offer out to a big man from Florida who will solidify our class as the tops in the conference if we can get him to sign (IMO).

Marcellus Lhota, C
6'9" 255 lbs from Fort Lauderdale, FL
3-Star Recruit, Rank: #180
Top 3 - VCU, Charleston Southern, Florida Atlantic
He averaged 12.1 ppg and 18.9 rpg in the ABL this past summer, yes that is eighteen point nine rebounds per game. I've never seen anything like it before.

[Balldog]

Virginia Commonwealth 66, North Carolina-Wilmington 68
1 2 OT T Final VCU (8-5) 30 36 66 UNCW (7-7) 30 38 68	12:00 PM January 5, 2008 Trask Coliseum Wilmington, NC

The first half was dominated by the Seahawks, as Wil Fameni picked up 2 fouls in the first 1:30 of play. Vladimir Kuljanian was able to take advantage of an injured Larry Sanders for most of the first 20 minutes. The Seahawks built a 30-21 lead before Kuljanian picked up his 2nd foul of the half. The Rams ended the half with a 3-pointer from Eric Maynor to tie the game at 30 going into the half.

In the second half Kuljanian picked up his 3rd foul right away and the Rams started pounding it inside with Fameni but failed to pull away. With the Rams trailing 68-66 with 15 seconds to play and possession, they failed to setup a good look for Maynor and his runner in the lane was blocked by none other than Kuljanian as time expired.

The Rams were lead by Maynor, he scored 15 points to go along with 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Joey Rodriguez scored 13, Jamal Schuler added 10, and Sanders scored 10 points and 9 rebounds off the bench.

Kuljanian lead the way for the Seahawks with 23 points and 11 rebounds. T.J. Carter added 16 points.

Following the tough loss we get a nice 3-game home stand, opening with Georgia State (4-9, 0-3). They are lead by Leonard Mendez (Jr., SG) and Rashad Chase (Jr., PF). We need to be prepared as they can play when they decide to, they lost to Florida State 82-81 in OT earlier this season.

[Balldog]

Georgia State 67, Virginia Commonwealth 78
1 2 OT T Final GSU (4-10) 37 30 67 VCU (9-5) 35 43 78	7:30 PM January 9, 2008 Stuart C. Siegel Center Richmond, VA

Georgia State was able to give Virginia Commonwealth all they could handle for 35 minutes but Eric Maynor was just too much for the Panthers. Maynor had a career day with 34 points (13/17 FG), he stepped up to the challenge of Leonard Mendez who had 21 points for the Panthers. Maynor shot 5 of 6 from deep in an incredible effort to put his team on his back down the stretch. The Panthers lead 61-60 with just over 5 minutes to play then Maynor connected on back to back threes to give the Rams a 5 point lead and they never looked back.

Jamal Schuler added 11 points, Wil Fameni had 10 points and 7 rebounds in support of Maynor's big day. For the Panthers, freshman Jihad Ali had a career high 3 three pointers in an eleven point effort but Mendez wasn't able to get much support from the rest of the team.

Up next for the Rams - the Hofstra Pride (4-9, 1-3) come to Richmond. This team is underachieving terribly, they are lead by CAA player of the year candidate Antonio Agudio (Sr., SG). Agudio leads the conference in scoring (20.0 ppg), he scored a career high 45 points earlier this week against UNC Wilmington in a 74-80 loss. The Pride started the season 3-1 but have lost 8 of their last 9.

[Balldog]

Hofstra 56, Virginia Commonwealth 61
1 2 OT T Final HOF (4-10) 27 29 56 VCU (10-5) 25 36 61	12:00 PM January 12, 2008 Stuart C. Siegel Center Richmond, VA

We survive an upset bid by Hofstra, they held the lead from their first possession until 1:29 to play in the second half when Wil Fameni hit a jump hook to give us the lead 55-54. Fameni also had a key block on the possession before and the possession after, he finished with 17 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 blocks.

Both teams struggled out of the gate, Hofstra shot just 31% in the first half but we only shot 34%. We shot a little better in the 2nd half but ended up 0 for 7 from three for the game which allowed them to hang around. Eric Maynor had a good day with 14 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds. Jamal Schuler added 12 points.

Hofstra was lead by Antonio Agudio with 17 points but he only shot 6 of 22 from the field, Maynor did a great job of harassing him. Charles Jenkins (Fr, SG) added 17 points and 5 rebounds as well.

This is a team I don't want to face in the conference tournament, just not a good matchup for us.

Up next we play Delaware (6-8, 1-4). The Fighting Blue Hens are lead by junior power forward Marc Egerson (10.8 ppg, 7.6 rpg). They haven't had much to talk about other than giving Old Dominion their only conference loss last week.

[kobe360x]

I'm following this

[Balldog]

Delaware 49, Virginia Commonwealth 60
1 2 OT T Final DEL (6-9) 28 21 49 VCU (11-5) 29 31 60	7:00 PM January 16, 2008 Stuart C. Siegel Center Richmond, VA

Its not often Eric Maynor doesn't provide at least double digits scoring but Delaware was able to hold him to just 8 points (3 of 12 shooting), a season low. However, we were able to Marc Egerson to a season low 2 points (0 of 5 shooting). In fairness, Egerson missed a good portion of the game due to foul trouble but when he was in we double teamed him often.

We survived another poor night offensively due to great defense again, we held Delaware to just 34% shooting from the field while shooting just 40% ourselves. In the first half we were able to make more free throws than field goals, making 11 of 17 attempts.

Their center, Jim Ledsome, was also in foul trouble most of the night which lead to Wil Fameni (12 pts, 12 reb) and Larry Sanders (11 pts, 5 reb, 2 blk) having their way with them down low.

Joey Rodriguez had perhaps his best game yet, with 11 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists. Jamal Schuler struggled with 9 points, shooting just 3 of 10 from the field. Ed Nixon provided a spark off the bench adding 6 points.

The win sets up a big game at Old Dominion (11-7, 5-1) who we are tied with for first place in the conference. They are lead by a veteran backcourt, Brandon Johnson (Sr., PG, 9 ppg, 5 apg) and Brian Henderson (Sr., SG, 11 ppg). They knocked off North Carolina at UNC 83-66 earlier this year, they also were a buzzer beater away from beating Georgetown.

[Balldog]

Uh oh, the dynasty manager site I was using has been taken down.

[Balldog]

Virginia Commonwealth 72, Old Dominion 49
1 2 OT T Final VCU (12-5) 38 34 72 ODU (11-8) 9 40 49	7:00 PM January 19, 2008 Ted Constant Convocation Center Norfolk, VA

I can't say I have ever experienced a half like the first half of this game, we played outstanding defense and they never got an open look. They shot just 13% from the field, only making 4 field goals in the half. During the second half they went on a 28-9 run to start but things settled down and we put them away.

Ed Nixon led the way with 15 points and 4 assists off the bench, followed by Larry Sanders with 14 points and 7 rebounds off the bench. Wil Fameni had another double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Joey Rodriguez had a career high 8 assists, while Eric Maynor (8 pts) and Jamal Schuler (9 pts) both struggled from the field.

Old Dominion was lead by Abdi Libonde, the senior had 11 points off the bench (all in the 2nd half). We held Brandon Johnson and Brian Henderson to a combined 6 points.

That win puts us in first place tie with Towson at 6-1 in the conference with eleven games to play. We are also ranked #10 in the Mid Major Poll. George Mason (12) and Old Dominion (13) are the only other CAA teams ranked in the poll.

Our RPI is 82, we really have no quality wins so our only hope to make the tournament will be winning the conference tournament.

This week we play at Hofstra (4-12, 1-6) and Drexel (12-7, 4-3) at home. Hofstra have us all we could handle last time we met, so this should be a tough week.

[Balldog]

Recruiting Update

No real news as recruits cannot sign until after the season now but we are still the only team to offer Marcellus Lhota a scholarship but rumors have it Florida Atlantic and Charleston Southern are going to offer soon.

The only other senior we are currently recruiting is Rene Ager, a point guard from Washington DC. He is rated #307 overall and the #88 point guard, we are after him just in case Maynor turns pro. He currently has offers from William & Mary and Longwood.

[Balldog]

Hofstra 76, Virginia Commonwealth 71
1 2 OT T Final VCU (12-6) 31 31 9 71 HOF (5-12) 28 34 14 76	7:00 PM January 23, 2008 Mack Sports Complex Hempstead, NY

We found ourselves in a very familiar position against Hofstra, but this time we got burnt. Antonio Agudio had a big day for Hofstra with 26 points. Charles Jenkins added 19 points again. This time the two got a little more help from their teammates, especially down on the blocks where Darren Townes (10 pts, 11 reb)and Dane Johnson (9 pts, 11 reb) dominated in the post.

The result a thrilling OT finish, we had a chance to tie it at 74 but Jamal Schuler (14 pts) a wide open three with 0.9 seconds remaining. Eric Maynor finally broke out of his slump with 18 points, 7 assists, and 4 rebounds but it wasn't enough to escape Hempstead with a victory.

Elsewhere in the conference, Towson lost to Georgia State 75-71 and George Mason beat Old Dominion 54-52. Those results leave us in a 3 way tie with Towson and George Mason at 6-2 in conference play.

Up next we get Drexel (13-7, 5-3) at home.

[RealDeal]

Really like the format here.

[Balldog]

Drexel 63, Virginia Commonwealth 66
1 2 OT T Final DRX (13-8) 33 30 63 VCU (13-6) 33 33 66	12:00 PM January 26, 2008 Stuart C. Siegel Center Richmond, VA

Whew, we dodged another bullet here. Drexel had the ball with 15 seconds left and a good look from three but Larry Sanders came from behind and blocked the shot, the recovered the loose ball and Sanders blocked that shot as well. A big stop for the win!

The biggest news from the game was Joey Rodriguez, he sprained his knee in the opening minutes and later returned but was mostly ineffective. Rodriguez will be day-to-day for 14 days but will likely sit out until he is 100%.

Eric Maynor lead the way offensively with 18 points and 4 assists. Sanders had 13 points and 3 blocks off the bench. Wil Fameni (13 pts) and Jamal Schuler (11 pts) also played a key role. Conference Player of the Year candidate Frank Elegar lead Drexel with 17 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks.

The win sets up a big week ahead, we go to George Mason then get Towson at home. Both are tied with us for 1st place at 7-2. George Mason is lead by Will Thomas (Sr., PF, 12.7 ppg, 7.6 rpg) and Towson is lead by Junior Hairston (Jr., PF, 10.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg).

We've fallen to #21 in the Mid-Major Poll while George Mason has risen to #6. Western Kentucky is #1 with a 18-0 record, they are #7 in the Media Poll and the only undefeated team in the country.

[Balldog]

Err...lost to George Mason 60-54 then the damn game locked up on me. I'll have to sim and make sure I get a loss. I should've known something was up since the play by play guys weren't talking.

[Balldog]

Well this isn't good, I simmed the GMU game then went to play the Towson game and I once again get the freeze. So then I simmed ahead to next year to see if I could play out a game with no issue, again no commentators. Hmmm....fuk.