Who are you Roo-ting for now?

[Z.I.P.]

We gotta bring Shaka back home to Hawaii! This IS where he was born isn't it?

Shaka brah!!

[Dr Z]

Kentucky Ale never tasted so good....

Congrats to VCU and Shaka D World. Great games late last night. Both were timed where you got to see a great deal of both if you wanted.

[johnnyzip84]

Kentucky Ale never tasted so good....

[Dave in Green]

Go Butler! Two years in a row to the Final Four. Who would have thought they could have repeated this feat with Gordon Hayward leaving early for the NBA? Absolutely amazing, and a great message to the Zips about what's possible.

[Dave in Green]

And now VCU makes the semifinals.

The bad news is that VCU will play Butler in a semifinal, so we lose the possibility of two mid-majors playing for the national championship.

The good news is that we are guaranteed to have a mid-major playing in the national championship game for the second straight season.

Gotta love college basketball.

[MDZip]

We gotta bring Shaka back home to Hawaii! This IS where he was born isn't it?

Shaka brah!!

Thought he grew up in Kenya?

[MDZip]

Would be pretty cool to see VCU beat Kentucky in the final which would mean that in this tournament they would have beaten each of the BCS conferences (plus the Horizon) and won 7 games to do it. This is a pretty damn impressive list.

USC - Pac-10

Georgetown - Big East

Purdue - Big 10

Florida St - ACC

Kansas - Big 12

Butler - Horizon

Kentucky - SEC

I also wouldn't mind Butler winning it since they were so close last year (would remind me a bit of a story I saw on a soccer team recently)

[Dr Z]

This is a pretty damn impressive list.

That is awesome. I was thinking yesterday I wanted to go back and see who offered their players and how many stars they got from rivals. But I'm lazy, so I'll just post this image from VCU's campus.

[Hilltopper]

This is a pretty damn impressive list.

That is awesome. I was thinking yesterday I wanted to go back and see who offered their players and how many stars they got from rivals. But I'm lazy, so I'll just post this image from VCU's campus.

Thats actually at the River Walk entrance to the Alamo Dome, but it's still damn funny!

[Districtballer]

This is a pretty damn impressive list.

That is awesome. I was thinking yesterday I wanted to go back and see who offered their players and how many stars they got from rivals. But I'm lazy, so I'll just post this image from VCU's campus.

Thats actually at the River Walk entrance to the Alamo Dome, but it's still damn funny!

Actually that is in Richmond. We have our own canal walk. It's from the city-wide rally we had for both VCU and Richmond when both programs advanced to the Sweet Sixteen. The sign is awesome though!

It's been awhile Zips fans, congratulations on the MAC championship! It looks like Zeke has come along and made strides from last year, glad to see it. Shaka always speaks glowingly of Coach Dambrot and his time in Akron. I believe he recruited the McKnight brothers to Akron for those of you who may be newer Zips' fans and are unaware of his contributions to your program.

As for recruiting stuff, I'm the guy who writes on recruiting at VCURamNation.com which is our message board site. We've had some pretty good mid-major recruits, but nothing of the top 100 variety like Zeke Marshall. Our recruits are typically a mix of 2 and 3-star guys but we tend to recruit the 3rd and 4th options on BCS coaching staffs' lists as our 1st option. It tends to work out nicely for us as we have gotten some pretty good players that have been on display in the NCAA tournament the last few weeks. The one exception is Jamie Skeen who was named the Most Outstanding Player of the southwest regional yesterday. He was a 4-star recruit and Mr. Basketball in the state of North Carolina his senior season. He committed to Wake Forest and played 2 seasons before transferring to VCU. He has panned out great for us obviously and looks to be getting NBA looks, hopefully making it 3 straight 1st-round NBA draft picks from VCU in the last 3 years. His stock has risen from virtually unnoticed to being projected as a 2nd rounder by ESPN. Hopefully he makes his case in the Final Four that he can go higher.

Joey Rodriguez was a 3-star scout/rivals guy (#37 PG/#24 PG) in the Class of 2007, Ed Nixon was a 3 star scout/rivals guy, Brandon Rozzell was the State Player of the Year at Virginia's highest classification (3A) but was not heavily scouted and given the 'we haven't looked at him' 2-star rating. Brad Burgess was a consensus 3-star Rivals/Scout recruit (#35 SF on Scout) in the Class of 2008. Those are our starters and 6th man. Outside of Skeen (who didn't initially commit to VCU out of high school), only Nixon received BCS offers as Georgia, Penn State, and Virginia Tech offered.

Our current underclassmen however are a different story (all of whom Shaka recruited). He's a stud flat out on the recruiting trail.

Here is a profile of each of our freshmen (scouting grades/stars, videos, articles, offers etc.): http://theramrecruitingreport.blogspot.com...01_archive.html

They include all except Heath Houston who decommitted from Auburn when Jeff Lebo was fired and signed with VCU in the late signing period. He is redshirting this season along with Reco McCarter who is probably the highest touted recruit of the bunch boasting offers from Clemson, NC State, Virginia Tech, Oklahoma, and Georgia. We are very excited for the future here.

Of course, the Final Four is this weekend as well, so we've still got ball to play yet before thinking about the future! Hope that info helps though!

[johnnyzip84]

Actually that is in Richmond. We have our own canal walk. It's from the city-wide rally we had for both VCU and Richmond when both programs advanced to the Sweet Sixteen. The sign is awesome though!

It's been awhile Zips fans, congratulations on the MAC championship! It looks like Zeke has come along and made strides from last year, glad to see it. Shaka always speaks glowingly of Coach Dambrot and his time in Akron. I believe he recruited the McKnight brothers to Akron for those of you who may be newer Zips' fans and are unaware of his contributions to your program.

As for recruiting stuff, I'm the guy who writes on recruiting at VCURamNation.com which is our message board site. We've had some pretty good mid-major recruits, but nothing of the top 100 variety like Zeke Marshall. Our recruits are typically a mix of 2 and 3-star guys but we tend to recruit the 3rd and 4th options on BCS coaching staffs' lists as our 1st option. It tends to work out nicely for us as we have gotten some pretty good players that have been on display in the NCAA tournament the last few weeks. The one exception is Jamie Skeen who was named the Most Outstanding Player of the southwest regional yesterday. He was a 4-star recruit and Mr. Basketball in the state of North Carolina his senior season. He committed to Wake Forest and played 2 seasons before transferring to VCU. He has panned out great for us obviously and looks to be getting NBA looks, hopefully making it 3 straight 1st-round NBA draft picks from VCU in the last 3 years. His stock has risen from virtually unnoticed to being projected as a 2nd rounder by ESPN. Hopefully he makes his case in the Final Four that he can go higher.

Joey Rodriguez was a 3-star scout/rivals guy (#37 PG/#24 PG) in the Class of 2007, Ed Nixon was a 3 star scout/rivals guy, Brandon Rozzell was the State Player of the Year at Virginia's highest classification (3A) but was not heavily scouted and given the 'we haven't looked at him' 2-star rating. Brad Burgess was a consensus 3-star Rivals/Scout recruit (#35 SF on Scout) in the Class of 2008. Those are our starters and 6th man. Outside of Skeen (who didn't initially commit to VCU out of high school), only Nixon received BCS offers as Georgia, Penn State, and Virginia Tech offered.

Our current underclassmen however are a different story (all of whom Shaka recruited). He's a stud flat out on the recruiting trail.

Here is a profile of each of our freshmen (scouting grades/stars, videos, articles, offers etc.): http://theramrecruitingreport.blogspot.com...01_archive.html

They include all except Heath Houston who decommitted from Auburn when Jeff Lebo was fired and signed with VCU in the late signing period. He is redshirting this season along with Reco McCarter who is probably the highest touted recruit of the bunch boasting offers from Clemson, NC State, Virginia Tech, Oklahoma, and Georgia. We are very excited for the future here.

Of course, the Final Four is this weekend as well, so we've still got ball to play yet before thinking about the future! Hope that info helps though!

Thanks for stopping by again, as most of us really appreciate your insight. Of course we can't be blamed for rooting for VCU through green colored (with envy) glasses. Heck I even have Kentucky winning it all in my bracket, but I'l sacrifice a few bucks if it means the Zips get to host the defending champs next year Here's hoping the Rams have two more outstanding games left in them and Shaka decides to stick around for a while!

[Dave in Green]

Districtballer, you have to be in heaven right now. What an amazingly impressive run VCU is on. I'm sure that almost every member of ZipsNation.org is behind you all the way. The first mid-major to win an NCAA National Championship in basketball will have a special place in the history books.

[Dr Z]

Thanks Districtballer. Good luck. I misinterpreted "hot item on campus" when referring to the banner. Here is a source from the Richmond Times Dispatch on the banner.

SI: Bubble to Final Four - VCU

[Districtballer]

Districtballer, you have to be in heaven right now. What an amazingly impressive run VCU is on. I'm sure that almost every member of ZipsNation.org is behind you all the way. The first mid-major to win an NCAA National Championship in basketball will have a special place in the history books.

It really is an amazing story. From a team that no one thought should be included in the NCAA's, a team that Jay Bilas, Dick Vitale, Digger Phelps etc. ripped into for hours on Selection Sunday, to this. From the First Four to the Final Four. It's an insane story. I hope they make a movie about it, especially if we end up winning the whole thing.

Heaven is probably a good word to describe my feelings about now, what's better is that we're not done yet! Also looks like Shaka will be staying at VCU according to people that I know close to the situation. We have the opportunity to build on some pretty massive momentum generated by this season.

It'll be a nice opportunity for you guys too next year, since we're graduating 4 of our starters off of a Final Four squad this season. Good opportunity to pick up your first win in the series. I think we'll give you guys more than a fair fight though. Some of those underclassmen are pretty good. Looking forward to seeing how Zeke has progressed from his freshman year when he came into Richmond. He looked like he needed to put on a lot of weight and become more assertive in the post. He was going up against the #15 pick in the 2010 draft, but I still thought he could have been stronger to the hoop. I'm more than willing to bet that he's come along a lot in that regard.

[Dr Z]

Also looks like Shaka will be staying at VCU according to people that I know close to the situation.

I hope he stays. His stock will never be higher.

Vulcans Made Smart Choice

[Dr Z]

[GP1]

We gotta bring Shaka back home to Hawaii! This IS where he was born isn't it?

Shaka brah!!

Thought he grew up in Kenya?

30% of Republicans would probably believe it.

[UAZipster0305]

We gotta bring Shaka back home to Hawaii! This IS where he was born isn't it?

Shaka brah!!

Thought he grew up in Kenya?

30% of Republicans would probably believe it.

And if it's reported on Fox Noise, that number jumps to 80% of Republicans believing it.

[meatwad]

We gotta bring Shaka back home to Hawaii! This IS where he was born isn't it?

Shaka brah!!

Thought he grew up in Kenya?

30% of Republicans would probably believe it.

And if it's reported on Fox Noise, that number jumps to 80% of Republicans believing it.

I blame you, MDZip, for taking this one off topic.

[akronzips71]

We gotta bring Shaka back home to Hawaii! This IS where he was born isn't it?

Shaka brah!!

Thought he grew up in Kenya?

30% of Republicans would probably believe it.

And if it's reported on Fox Noise, that number jumps to 80% of Republicans believing it.

I believe it

[MDZip]

We gotta bring Shaka back home to Hawaii! This IS where he was born isn't it?

Shaka brah!!

Thought he grew up in Kenya?

30% of Republicans would probably believe it.

And if it's reported on Fox Noise, that number jumps to 80% of Republicans believing it.

I blame you, MDZip, for taking this one off topic.

Yeah, I'll take the hit on that one. Trying to stretch from Hawaii to Kenya/Kenyon might have been a little too much.

[Dave in Green]

Thanks to my dad being a semi-pro basketball player/coach, I've been following college basketball for more than half a century. The biggest upset I can recall in all the years I've been following college basketball was when Texas Western won the national title with a 72–65 victory over the Adolph Rupp-coached Kentucky Wildcats in the 1966 national championship game. It was the first time in NCAA championship history that a team started five black players, and Kentucky was the overwhelming favorite to beat them.

For little Butler to reach the national championship game for a second straight year after losing their top player to the NBA is the second greatest achievement I can recall next to Texas Western's win over Kentucky.

No Kentucky this time. But even if little Butler upsets mighty UConn, I'd still have to rank it 2nd all time. The Texas Western win over the Kentucky dynasty holds a mighty high place in sports history.

[zippy5]

Thanks to my dad being a semi-pro basketball player/coach, I've been following college basketball for more than half a century. The biggest upset I can recall in all the years I've been following college basketball was when Texas Western won the national title with a 72–65 victory over the Adolph Rupp-coached Kentucky Wildcats in the 1966 national championship game. It was the first time in NCAA championship history that a team started five black players, and Kentucky was the overwhelming favorite to beat them.

For little Butler to reach the national championship game for a second straight year after losing their top player to the NBA is the second greatest achievement I can recall next to Texas Western's win over Kentucky.

No Kentucky this time. But even if little Butler upsets mighty UConn, I'd still have to rank it 2nd all time. The Texas Western win over the Kentucky dynasty holds a mighty high place in sports history.

I wasn't around, but is have to say the citadel's win would be up there. go mid majors!

[GP1]

Thanks to my dad being a semi-pro basketball player/coach, I've been following college basketball for more than half a century. The biggest upset I can recall in all the years I've been following college basketball was when Texas Western won the national title with a 72–65 victory over the Adolph Rupp-coached Kentucky Wildcats in the 1966 national championship game. It was the first time in NCAA championship history that a team started five black players, and Kentucky was the overwhelming favorite to beat them.

For little Butler to reach the national championship game for a second straight year after losing their top player to the NBA is the second greatest achievement I can recall next to Texas Western's win over Kentucky.

No Kentucky this time. But even if little Butler upsets mighty UConn, I'd still have to rank it 2nd all time. The Texas Western win over the Kentucky dynasty holds a mighty high place in sports history.

Texas Western beating a bunch of slow footed white guys in 1966 was not an upset. They had better players. If Butler wins Monday, it will be because they have better players. Butler has a championship team in that they have guys who make key shots at key times. They actively win games instead of waiting for the other team to lose a game. Mid major or not, Butler is good.