RICHMOND, Va. – VCU won the Holiday on the Hardwood Classic it hosted with a convincing 78-65 win over New Hampshire. That’s the good part, although it was hardly surprising since they have a good team and were at home. But while the Rams look like a contender in the Colonial Athletic Association as conference play beckons, they are not without their concerns, and that was made clear after Thursday’s game.
The Rams certainly weren’t a perfect team before it, but their loss at UAB before Christmas has clearly had the effect of exposing a concern. This team has good depth and a veteran presence, as evidenced by the coaching staff’s desire to get freshmen in the game more but the inability to do so simply because they’re playing behind good veterans. But they haven’t always finished games well, and while it didn’t cost them against New Hampshire as they had a comfortable lead, the game didn’t end the way you would expect a convincing win to.
With a little over three minutes left and the game in hand, both teams went deep into their bench to ride out the game. Within a minute, New Hampshire had cut the lead to 15, and during a timeout head coach Shaka Smart sent in his entire starting lineup save for Brandon Rozzell, who may as well be a starter.
“I thought with that group in, New Hampshire was able to make a run, they made some shots and we missed some shots,” Smart said. “The best way to play more is to play better when you’re in.”
Just over a week earlier, the Rams blew a 13-point lead at UAB, a game in which they still led by nine with about five minutes to play. That was fresh in their minds since it was their last game before Christmas, and the end of Thursday’s game added to it. The Rams weren’t in danger of losing the game, but one gets the sense Smart wanted to send a message.
“I will say that we have to improve from a leadership standpoint, so that when we have leads, they grow instead of shrink,” said Smart. “I really think it all comes down to leadership.”
Leadership was a common theme in Smart’s post-game comments. The Rams are a veteran team, with players who have won plenty of games. One would naturally look to upperclassmen for that, especially seniors. The elder statesmen have not quite given them what they need, a little surprising because Joey Rodriguez is very competitive and seemed to have the personality for it.
“Joey provided good leadership at times,” said Smart. “My challenge to him is to be consistent with it.”
It’s not just Rodriguez, although as the point guard and with his competitiveness, one would first look to him. Smart felt that at times other seniors have done the same, but have been like Rodriguez. Now that they are seniors, there should be that extra urgency to win, and regarding leadership from them, Smart simply said, “I want more.”
The players seem to have heard the coach’s post-game message, because they were talking about closing out games as well on both nights. Rodriguez drove home to Florida from Birmingham for the Christmas break, and talked about how it felt like an even longer drive than it already was. “To that point, you think about games that you could have won, and (the UAB) game really hurt,” Rodriguez said.
Added junior Bradford Burgess: “Coach was saying that in conference play, we’ve got to step on the gas the whole game, and we can’t let up at any time. We’re just trying to focus on that.”
CAA play starts now for the Rams, with a road date in Atlanta with Georgia State on Monday to start off. Drexel, another team that projects to contend based on non-conference showing, visits on Wednesday. CAA teams are more familiar with VCU, which adds another element of challenge to what lies ahead for them.
With the non-conference showing a mixed bag of sorts from an NCAA Tournament perspective, how the Rams’ case for an at-large will shape up is unknown. The win over UCLA in the NIT Season Tip-Off could have some value late in the season, while the win at Wake Forest isn’t likely to have much since the Demon Deacons look like the worst team in the ACC. Losses at South Florida and Richmond may end up looking like missed opportunities, the latter more so than the former. In light of that, the Rams will need to beat a couple of top teams in the CAA (such as Old Dominion or Drexel) en route to a good record, and a BracketBusters win won’t hurt, either. VCU should be in good position to get a television game in that event, and they will be on the road.
“You’re going to have to do terrific in the league,” said Smart, who noted that they always have the goal of winning the CAA and leaving nothing to chance. “The great thing about our league is that there are a lot of opportunities.”
A lot of opportunities for wins, and a lot of opportunities to see if the issue of closing out games and the larger issue of leadership is addressed.
