Districtballer

Hey Zips fans!I'm sure you guys are excited about your season as we are about ours down here in Richmond!Just came across an Akron tidbit connected to our season I thought I'd share. We're having our exhibition against D2 California (Pa.) against Shaka's college coach Bill Brown. He later got his first assistant coaching gig at Cal U before being hired by Coach Dambrot at Akron. As I was perusing the roster I saw another Akron connection. Steve Swiech! He was around when VCU and Akron played some of their earlier contests. He's shaped up to be a pretty good player for the Vulcans, leading the team in scoring with 12.2 ppg and 5.3 rpg and was 2nd-team all-conference in his league. He should be starting against us on November 3rd. Will let you guys know how the former Zip performs! Good luck to you guys as the season draws nigh! College basketball is HERE!

Here's our full off-season video training montage. It's kind of like the eye of the tiger Rocky montage. Sort of. The season is drawing closer folks!

Very nice! I'm sure that is a nice plus for Akron in recruiting!

On the other hand from some of the positive press (which I have admitted is probably overblown), this clearly shows how much the Rams will have to replace from last year. Navy's SID put this out and it shows that VCU is the 9th most inexperienced team in the country next year. We'll certainly be taking our fair share of lumps next year and playing this game away from home will also be a significant test for our young team.

VCU comes in at #52 and #3 in the CAA: http://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/2204

A final four team from the previous year not making the Top 50 the following season? I put Districtballer in my top 10 list -- of sandbaggers! We lost 4 of our top 5 scorers. The Final Four is probably the only reason we are ranked that high in all honesty. I do think there's a ton of potential and our young talent is pretty impressive. That said, inexperience is one of those inevitable obstacles to success that every youngster must grow past, unless you are an elite talent, and I won't pretend any of our freshman are in that category. We will have growing pains, as every young team does. 9 underclassmen in the rotation with 6 who haven't played in a real D1 game yet means our fans will have to be a little patient. It's not too different from Akron's situation if I had to guess, although it would seem you guys have some VERY impressive newcomers who may make an immediate impact.

I usually do this for most of our OOC opponents, but I definitely find it easier posting with you guys since we've played basically every year for the last 4 years or so. The level of familiarity with some of you makes it easy to update and I have taken in an interest in Zips basketball now that we've been exposed to each other so much. I won't pretend the Shaka connection didn't help that. It's usually the week of the game when I post on opposing boards but I enjoy some of the discourse here with some knowledgeable mid-major fans. I like to talk basketball with like-minded people and there are definitely some guys here I don't mind doing that with.

Our roster has been updated with updated for all our players up to this year and includes some video highlights of each returning player and introductory 'get to know' videos of each of our 4 freshmen and 2 red-shirt freshmen. It's a nice way to acquaint yourselves with a future opponent. The photos haven't been updated from last year because our photo shoot got delayed to Tuesday, so our returners have their old pictures from last year up and our freshmen don't have their pictures up yet. Other than that it's got pretty much everything you'd want to know. http://vcuathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2011-12/roster

Very true. The goal with these exercises is probably more team-building and mental than it is physical in nature. Those are intangibles that are tough to teach on the court. I think it's a cool thing that every team should do, and I hope Roo is right when he says it's common throughout college sports. It seems like a good way to forge unity, teamwork and mental toughness. I'm willing to bet Dambrot is no slouch with this stuff either. Those kids are working hard. You have to in order to be able to have the kind of success Akron's been having.

Haha ESPN picked up on it as well in addition to the CBS article: http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballn...-seal-treatmentThey'll be doing water exercises tomorrow in the James River. There should be a video feature on Hell Week coming out by VCUAthletics and I'll share that for your viewing pleasure. Here are some pictures of the exercises so far: Day 1: http://www.vcuathletics.com/sports/mbkb/20...otos/0001/indexDay 2: http://www.vcuathletics.com/sports/mbkb/20...otos/0002/indexWe're going to be pretty good according to people who would know. Better than maybe I was expecting. Our game should be a good one!Here's Day 3 of the water exercises: http://vcuathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2011-1...otos/0004/index...and here's a 9 minute video piece on the overall 3-day SEAL 'Hell Week': I have no doubt this team may not be the most talented, but they are certainly one of the most fit and toughest squads out there.Hate to break it to ya, but almost every team in America does that or something similar. Hell, I did it at DII NAIA.Fair enough. I haven't seen many national articles on other schools doing it, but that's probably just us being the flavor of the month. Regardless, our superior fitness/toughness level was on full display this past March when we ran off a bunch of BCS teams. A lot of those squads looked like middle-aged guys at a YMCA by the end of the game.

Haha ESPN picked up on it as well in addition to the CBS article: http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballn...-seal-treatmentThey'll be doing water exercises tomorrow in the James River. There should be a video feature on Hell Week coming out by VCUAthletics and I'll share that for your viewing pleasure. Here are some pictures of the exercises so far: Day 1: http://www.vcuathletics.com/sports/mbkb/20...otos/0001/indexDay 2: http://www.vcuathletics.com/sports/mbkb/20...otos/0002/indexWe're going to be pretty good according to people who would know. Better than maybe I was expecting. Our game should be a good one!Here's Day 3 of the water exercises: http://vcuathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2011-1...otos/0004/index...and here's a 9 minute video piece on the overall 3-day SEAL 'Hell Week': I have no doubt this team may not be the most talented, but they are certainly one of the most fit and toughest squads out there.

ESPN put out an article on some national sleepers this year and Marshall and Detroit both made that list: http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball...lege-basketball

FWIW, Lindy's came out with their 2011-2012 college basketball preview and put out a top 40 preseason national ranking. Mississipi St. (30), Marshall (34), and VCU (39) made the list.

Marshall's going to be good this year. They are the favorite in C-USA over Memphis this season. Losing that game is a definite possibility. It'll be easier to beat VCU than it will be to beat Marshall next year. I think they would take us to be perfectly honest. I agree, no way you lose to YSU and I do think VCU is beatable this year with so much turnover. It seems the preseason pubs are giving us top 50 love, but until the young talent pans out on the court it's just hype. We have one proven piece in Brad Burgess and the rest are a bunch of guys who showed great promise and a lot of upside, but that's it. I'll be able to better say once I see them play in a real game against other D1 teams. For now, I say we lose the Akron game. When you have 10 freshmen/sophomores, that's the safe bet. The fan in me says we beat you, the reasonable objective part says probably not. Cleveland St. loses Norris Cole but return some nice pieces they had around him. It remains to be seen if they can win without him though. I saw them play Old Dominion in the Bracketbuster and I think he went off for something like 40 and they still got blown out. Their whole game revolved around him. I can see you guys pulling that out. Detroit has a takeover type of guy in Ray McCallum and a solid big who transferred from Indiana in Eli Holman. Depending on McCallum, you may or not win that game. If he's on, you probably lose. That's speaks more to the talent that McCallum is then anything about Akron. He's damn good. That's a toss-up in my mind because without him, they are very beatable. I agree that that the WVU game is likely a loss. I could see you guys going 10-2 with losses to West Virginia and Marshall next year. It's really not that much of a stretch in my mind.

Haha ESPN picked up on it as well in addition to the CBS article: http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballn...-seal-treatmentThey'll be doing water exercises tomorrow in the James River. There should be a video feature on Hell Week coming out by VCUAthletics and I'll share that for your viewing pleasure. Here are some pictures of the exercises so far: Day 1: http://www.vcuathletics.com/sports/mbkb/20...otos/0001/indexDay 2: http://www.vcuathletics.com/sports/mbkb/20...otos/0002/indexWe're going to be pretty good according to people who would know. Better than maybe I was expecting. Our game should be a good one!

http://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/2143Can't State comes in at #64 on this list. There's some bulletin board material for your guys for sure!

We're still too blissfully overjoyed to have even been in a position to play for a spot in the national title game to think of the experience as painful. It's my greatest sports experience bar none. I can understand the 'helping out the local team' angle and the point about it not affecting RPI is very valid. In that sense, I guess it's extra preparation without having any risk of a hit to the resume. An extra exhibition game that you will almost definitely win and counts toward your win total without adversely affecting your NCAA resume. Interesting, but I can see how it has some merits.

I just hope those same people who disrespect us will take the time to watch us play in the NCAA Basketball Tournament next March. A week before that, they can watch us win the MAC Championship on ESPN.That's certainly one way to shut up people who disrespect. If it doesn't happen, just don't be surprised if the analysts are talking down Akron because you played Hiram if you're on the bubble.

This looks like a pretty challenging schedule to me. Outside of the major programs, there is YSU so the fans will have fun. CSU is a good program and it should be a fun game to attend. Detroit has history as a good program. We have MTSU for a trip down memory lane in Tennessee. We all know what VCU can do. WVU is a good program....too bad it is on a weeknight so not many will get to see the Zips play in a really good college arena. Three road games in a row to start January will provide a good challenge as well."Challenging" is the word I would use to describe this schedule. Some say it isn't any good because of Hiram and JC...everyone plays those types of cupcakes and two games don't make an entire schedule weak.I wasn't speaking so much to the overall schedule (which looks fine and actually stronger than you've had in a while), as much as I was referring to scheduling non D1's in the regular season. That is not something everyone does. D1 transitional teams do that and weaker D1 squads, of which the Zips are neither. I'm sure Dambrot could have gotten a sub 300+ RPI squad that the Zips could beat on just as easily. It's one thing to want national recognition and respect for your achievements, but IMO you set yourself up to be disrespected when you play squads like that. Your home slate stinks...but there are some very good road games on the slate and an opportunity to build a decent resume should you win them.

That was the point...it's not on their schedule because, for them, it's an exhibition. It's on the Zips' schedule because it's real. (This is the same situation as the Millikin game last season.)Oh, I get it now, teams that aren't on your schedule are exhibition games. Does that mean Hiram also has exhibition games with KY, UCLA, and tOSU? I'm admittedly an outsider, but I've seen this a number of years now and it is puzzling to me. Why does KD schedule non-D1 opponents during the regular season? It would seem like win-padding to most MAC fans I bet, although I don't have a dog in the fight. You would hope with as far as KD has brought the program that you would be beyond having to play teams like this in the regular season. I get that a number of you guys think the RPI means nothing and there is just generally a conspiracy against mids to shaft us with whatever statistics speak against us. That said, there is no reason to be scheduling non-D1's in a D1 regular season when you're a pretty decent D1 program. Exhibition games are totally understandable, and not uncommon at all, but this is eyebrow-raising to be completely honest.

The offseason projections? That's nothing more than a way optimistic opinion of a couple of dreaming Zips fans. Don't you go pinning that statement up in the VCU locker room to inspire your team to bring their top game to Akron to put these pretenders in their place. The Zips will be lucky to do a little better than last season, so you can tell your team to relax and consider the trip to Akron to be a vacation. Sorry, if you followed our tournament run, you'll see our guys thrive off of bulletin board material. I won't be able to let that one go. Akron around new year's is hardly a vacation destination. Akron on December 29th sounds like a business trip to me, and our boys will be all business.I hope for your sake the dreaming Zips fans are right. There is nothing like winning a NCAA tournament game. It's fun as heck.

Don't blame him. Having to face off against your mentor, win or lose, is tough. I highly doubt either coach enjoys having to do that, although I can understand Dambrot being more willing with much more to gain than Shaka does from a continued series. We've certainly played our fair share of games with Akron already though. Regionally, neither team holds much appeal for the home fan base. We can get games with teams just as good who our fan base is also familiar with, as I'm sure Akron is also able to do (although looking at that home slate, maybe not). Either way, if the offseason projections are true and Akron's squad is Sweet 16 caliber with top-tier talent itching to join the program, I don't see Akron basketball hurting any from this. It has been good getting to know some of the fine fans here though. Nothing like a good, informed mid-major fan in my mind, and you've got a couple of good ones here.

Good to see the Zips pull it out against a semi-decent opponent. The scores don't really matter, close or not. You guys should see this trip pay dividends by the conference schedule for sure. I'm sure Keith has a lot that he can take from these last couple of days.

Our 2011-2012 roster just went up the other day. For those of you who like to scout your opponent (like me), have at it! 2 Briante Weber --- G --- Fr.--- 6'3--- 160 5 Teddy Okereafor --- G --- Fr.--- 6'3--- 190 10 Darius Theus --- G --- Fr.--- 6'3--- 200 11 Rob Brandenberg--- G--- So.--- 6'2--- 180 15 Juvonte Reddic --- F ---So. ---6'9 --- 235 20 Brad Burgess --- G/F--- Sr. ---6'6 --- 225 21 Treveon Graham --- G ---Fr. ---6'5 --- 215 23 Jarred Guest ---F --- Fr. ---6'8 --- 210 24 Heath Houston --- F---R-Fr.---6'8 ---230 25 Reco McCarter ---G---R-Fr.---6'7 ---190 30 Troy Daniels ---G --- Jr. ---6'4 --- 200 33 DJ Haley --- F --- So.---7'0 --- 250 34 David Hinton ----F---R-Jr.---6'9 --- 235 It seems like we have a number of similarities. The team is young with 6 freshmen (2 of them who redshirted). We are a pretty tall squad with our shortest player at 6'2 in Rob Brandenberg. We have 5 forwards over 6'8 and a 7-foot, 250-pounder. We have 3 guards above 6'5 in Treveon Graham, Reco McCarter, and Brad Burgess. We are built to press with long and very athletic types. Most of our guys have pretty long wingspans (ie. Rob is 6'2 but has a 6'7 wingspan) which allow them to play taller than their heights. We have 10 underclassmen on this squad and will be as young as ever, but maybe more talented than we've ever been before. All of these players with the exception of Brad Burgess are now players that Shaka Smart recruited to VCU. It will be interesting to see how he fares with his own players running his preferred system. FWIW, TheHoopsReport.com is doing it's preseason top 68 team countdown. VCU just came up at #47 and the write-up on the Rams can be viewed here: http://thehoopsreport.com/article.aspx?id=781 Quite frankly a little shocked that we are ranked in the top 50 in the preseason since we lost so much from last year. I'll chalk it up to Final Four respect. I do think we have the talent to be there at the end of the season, I just didn't think preseason publications would give us that kind of credit. Hopefully they are right. Would be nice for you guys to get a top 50 RPI opponent in the JAR this season.

I agree with this. You graduate a bunch of seniors and have a lot of unknowns coming in. Obviously those of you close to the program have a better idea than those outside of it, but to expect national publications to expect you to make a huge leap given what you've lost from the team that you had last year is unrealistic. Preseason rankings are for losers anyway. It's the one at the end of the season that matters. You guys have a shot at making some noise and if you do, everyone is going to know who you are, ranked or not.