What’s up guys! As much as I love talking shit back and forth this time I am here to talk bball...
First, congrats on the season so far. I know you guys were picked 4th preseason and us 7th(preseason polls mean nothing but still). I really think we both finish in the top 4 and hopefully get to meet later in the tournament like the old days.
Second, a lot of vcu fans just don't know what vcu team we are going to get. It felt good to finally go on the road(Duq) and pull off a big win after losing a big lead again. vcu has been up double digits against ODU, Davidson, and Rhode Island but they get in some horrible funks and don't score for 4-5 minutes at a time. Sure we are at home this time but overall this offense can be descent or just awful. Now to the players.
Evans/Jenkins/Vann- Those 3 are what makes the offense run. Sure Silva is the best inside player we have and he should be touching the ball as much as possible but those 3 are keys for the offense. If they are shooting at least descent, we can beat anyone. However if they are just throwing up 3s, then it could be a long day. If you guys can force our guards/wings to not drive and dish and just settle for 3s, it could be a long day for vcu. Jenkins is really our only good 3point shooter and he is streaky. He could have a game where he makes 4-8 or a game where he goes 1-8. Evans is of course our leader but he is the same. Makes some awesome passes/shots and then comes down and turns the ball over off his own leg or shoots a long NBA 3 that doesn't come close. Vann is kind of the biggest piece for vcu to be successful. Guy is our best driver, and all around guy but he is the same. He has games where he is our best player then he has a game where he just looks out of place and tries to drive into 3 guys.
Silva- Our best player and he keeps getting better. Think a key for you guys is to double him when he gets the ball down low and force him to throw it outside or take a longer shot that he isn't use to. May even want to foul him some since he shoots like Shaq used to from the free throw line.
I would bore you with all the other players but I am sure some of you guys don't care or have checked out already. I hope for a good game and I think since we are at home we pull this one out. I am a homer so of course I am going to say that and hope we murder you guys by 20. See you Saturday!
Thanks for the analysis! What you said reflects what most of us have inferred from the stats. I think your breakdown may also remind ourselves a lot of our time.
Kier/Greene/Otis - can all go 4-8 from 3 or 1-6. All have been much better at taking care of the basketball and all shoot FT's close to 90%.
Reuter starts at the 5 and can go for 15 and 5, or lay a complete egg. Not very athletic, but he is capable offensively and has developed into an excellent passer out of the post to our cutting guards.
The main difference I see between us is that I think we are a much more talented and capable team from 3, and we have more options off the bench if our starters are cold.
Calixte - sophomore big man who splits minutes with Reuter, but is better defensively and at rebounding and is ok offensively. Terrible FT shooter so he typically has to come out late in games.
Miller - burned his RS after we lost 2 starters and he quickly stole the starting spot at the 4. 6'6 athletic wing who can hit 3's and block shots.
Boyd - 6'4 strong guard, probably our most consistent 3 pt shooter but his impact has seemed to dip recently with the emergence of our freshmen.
Hartwell - solid backup true freshman PG, good for 1 big 3 a game and commits very few turnovers when relieving Otis.
JDS - true freshman SG who came in with high scoring expectations, has been showing more and more consistency from 3 as of late. Turning into a scoring spark off the bench.
AJ - fan favorite highlight reel, 6'7 pogo stick who can hit 3's and is legitimately one of the best shot blockers in the country (going by blocks per minutes played), but has dealt with a broken nose and possible illness/doghouse issues. Real wildcard where no one knows if he will play a single minute, or play 20+ and be the difference maker.
We have consistently played as well on the road as we should at home. While our 3 pt shooting and TO's have been more steady in conference play, there is still the possibility of us going entirely cold from 3 (see our game vs Davidson) and/or having too many sloppy TO's.
My expectation is that the game will be a defensive battle, but our 3pt shooting will put us slightly ahead, and our FT shooting will keep us there at the end.
