Head coach Shaka Smart and the VCU Rams finished last season 26-9 and 12-4 in the Atlantic 10. They made it to the Atlantic 10 Conference championship game but lost to St. Joseph’s and then in the NCAA tournament lost to the No. 12 seed, Stephen F. Austin, 77-75 in overtime.
VCU, which is known for its great fan base and havoc defense, is in a peculiar position. They are in the position of needing to win the Atlantic 10 Conference title and making a deep run in the tournament, but can they do it?
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That is the question at hand. The Rams and Smart know for them to make any noise this season in the Atlantic 10, they need to bring the havoc on both sides of the ball including on defense.
Last season, VCU was led in scoring by junior Treveon Graham and senior Juvonte Reddic. Graham, who will be a senior this season, averaged 15.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game.
On the other hand, Reddic, the 6-foot-9 big man from Winston-Salem, N.C., averaged 11.8 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.
With the likes of Reddic gone, someone else will have to step up and play next to Graham. The next person in line could be junior guard Melvin Johnson.
Johnson as a sophomore averaged 10.4 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 22.4 minutes per game. But don’t think Johnson will do it all by himself; expect senior guard Briante Weber to help out as well.
The senior should be able to bring consistency and leadership to the floor as last season he played nearly 29 minutes per game while scoring 9.4 points, grabbing 4.1 rebounds and dishing out 3.9 assists.
Another thing that will help the Rams is that Weber shot 44.9 percent from the field but he needs to work on his 3-point shooting, as he shot 24.4 percent.
Finally, what VCU is known for is their havoc defense. Expect them to lose no intensity with their havoc defense without Juvonte Reddic.
Reddic, who was a force in the paint, will be missed as he had 1.2 blocks per game. But not to worry, sophomore forward Mo Alie-Cox should be able to fill that void left by Reddic.
As a freshman, Alie-Cox had 1.4 blocks in 14.4 minutes per game. He should provide a big body in the post and on the wing as he is 6-foot-6 and 250 pounds.
As I said before, VCU is known for their defense. It’s all about ball pressure when you talk about the havoc defense.
As a team, their defense was just phenomenal. Last season, they only allowed 65.2 points per game, which was 54th best in the nation.
Not too shabby.
Then in terms of blocks per game, they had 4.2, which was 104th best in the nation. Finally, when it came to steals, they were first in nation with 11.3 steals per game.
That is the havoc defense at its best.
When you steal the ball 11.3 times a game, you are getting yourself on offense extra possessions to either increase your lead or to make a comeback. You never know when those steals can win you a game.
This upcoming season, I expect nothing less from the VCU Rams in terms of wins and how far they can advance into the NCAA tournament. There is no reason why they should not be able to win the Atlantic 10 Conference and advance to the Sweet 16.
But the only way they can do this is if they stick to their bread and butter, which is bringing the havoc every single game.