1/9 | VCU | 2:00PM (CBSSN)

[Obadiah]

Wnen Fatts and Sheppard are both "on", this team is at its peak. But this was a match-up win since VCU doesn't play zone. Is it that simple. No.

[LoveThoseRams]

I cannot wait to read there board tonight it’s gonna bring happiness to my face

Every time we beat them I read their game thread and I am disgusted at their web site. There are more ads than content on each page. They have full screen ads you are forced to view. It’s disgraceful.

Then I return back here to a fast, clean ad-free site. It’s made possible by the generosity of the KeaneyBlue community. Thank you!

Thanks for bringing this up...the ads are awful and it prompted me to make a donation!
Everyone should look at the VCU Board and go make a donation to the Keaney Blue site.

Thanks for all you do ATP

[Roz]

This was a match-up win. VCU is probably the better team but their style of play is one that we can be successful against. There will be weaker teams whose style of play (zone defense, half-court offense, inside scoring) will give us trouble.

Yeah Davidson

[Jersey77]

Wnen Fatts and Sheppard are both "on", this team is at its peak. But this was a match-up win since VCU doesn't play zone. Is it that simple. No.

Zone defense is our Achilles Heel

[rhodyruckus]

We dominated that game. Wasn’t a time while watching that I felt we were losing control. Still...reading the board after the game, it read like we were losing. Very strange.

Great game by everyone. Offense looked good, defense looked good. Cox rotation was gold. Still need to reduce the turnovers. Nice win.

Huh? It was tied 40-40 at half. Second half was obviously different.

I agree with your point though: there are some games I can smell out not to stay in the game thread, because the attitude will stink and suck.

[SandorClegane]

We dominated that game. Wasn’t a time while watching that I felt we were losing control. Still...reading the board after the game, it read like we were losing. Very strange.

Great game by everyone. Offense looked good, defense looked good. Cox rotation was gold. Still need to reduce the turnovers. Nice win.

Huh? It was tied 40-40 at half. Second half was obviously different.

I agree with your point though: there are some games I can smell out not to stay in the game thread, because the attitude will stink and suck.

Even when VCU went on runs, we still looked like the better team.

Sheppard is a stud by the way. For those people who arent sold in him, get on board. His play is going to dictate how we do this year.

[NYGFan_Section208]

I'm a Carey fan, but I'm thinking, don't your teammates have to be giving you a ration on the way home for taking four shots and having four shots get swatted? I mean, there has to be some good fun creativity around that, like, 'filling up the stat sheet for both teams' kinda stuff, right?

[rambone 78]

I'm going to ask the NCAA if they can ban zone defenses.

If so, we could be good.

This is not a serious post, by the way.

But it would still be great!

[SandorClegane]

I'm going to ask the NCAA if they can ban zone defenses.

If so, we could be good.

This is not a serious post, by the way.

But it would still be great!

Never underestimate the NCAA for dumb actions.

Who knows though ... maybe we’ve found our stroke from the outside. When was the last time we shot 57% in a game from long range?

[luke]

If they are able to continue hitting threes a zone defense against them won't work at all . Outside shooting is the death of zone defenses and used to stop penetration . They had to gain confidence today . Here's hoping we will see improved outside shooing the rest of the way . I think the addition of Betrand to the starting lineup was genius .He not only helped with their shooting , he helped with the ball handling as well . He was very impressive today.

[JimSidd]

I think Cox needs to hire a hypnotist who would tell the players before each game that they are playing VCU.

As others have stated, VCU’s style is perfect for Rhody.

The turnaround in the rebounding stats since the first four or five games has been excellent. I had said back then that the guards were going to have to help out, and they certainly have.

Even though he didn’t stuff the stat sheet, I really like the way Martin played. I like how he almost never leaves his feet on ball fakes. Mehkel needs to learn that lesson.

[reef]

Really nice win for URI that I didn’t see coming

Need this consistency from Shep every game and we will win a lot of games

[Seawrightspostgame]

Good win! We always beat VCU bc we are a bigger better version of what ppl think they are. Have to put the pedal down now and string some wins together.

I feel like the uri team is obviously trying very hard to get better btw. I like their effort.

[Rhode_Island_Red]

I'm going to ask the NCAA if they can ban zone defenses.

If so, we could be good.

This is not a serious post, by the way.

But it would still be great!

The NBA tried for decades and finally gave up.

[section(105)]

......yeah, and just at add to the already tough jobs of college refs would the the turn over for “illegal defense” cal.......how would Syracuse survive...., not serious post btw......

[Billyboy78]

We dominated that game. Wasn’t a time while watching that I felt we were losing control. Still...reading the board after the game, it read like we were losing. Very strange.

Great game by everyone. Offense looked good, defense looked good. Cox rotation was gold. Still need to reduce the turnovers. Nice win.

Huh? It was tied 40-40 at half. Second half was obviously different.

I agree with your point though: there are some games I can smell out not to stay in the game thread, because the attitude will stink and suck.

Even when VCU went on runs, we still looked like the better team.

Sheppard is a stud by the way. For those people who arent sold in him, get on board. His play is going to dictate how we do this year.

Sheppard does a lot of things well. He needs to take better care of the ball and make better decisions. The offense should be getting him open looks rather than him creating his own or creating for others.

[Rhody72]

The dynamics created by Betrand's presence is creating better shooting opportunities for Sheppard. That said, he has to stop taking long treys early in the offense. Just take good shots. Stop forcing passes and just play within his limits. I believe that he is showing that he is a good shooter now that the rust is dissipating.

Ish had a very bad first half against VCU. For a freshman, such play will usually linger. I was impressed that he was able to straighten things out and have a good second half. As his body develops, he will become a force.

This may have been Walker's worse game. Those two early fouls destroyed him. VCU came out and tried to intimidate us down low, and Walker got the worst of it. It may have been better if Harris had started this game in place of Mahkel to provide additional physical presence inside.

VCU couldn't maintain their intensity against wave after wave of fresh URI bodies so their intimidation subsided as the game proceeded.

[steveystuds06]

Carey is awful. Cannot for the life of me understand why he gets so many minutes.

Because no one else has done anything to earn his minutes. It feels like there’s so much playing time up for grabs if 1 or 2 guys could step up

Do you honestly think Carey has outplayed Ish? I'm not saying we need to bench Carey the entire game but to say that no one has stepped up when Ish has stepped up MULTIPLE times in LIMITED minutes is ridiculous to me. Carey has a ton of potential. He is a solid finisher around the hoop and rebounds well for a guard. He had arguably the best block all season a few games back and I feel he has the tools to be a fantastic defender in this league. Carey should still play 15 minutes a game. Ish should play more...

Ish played great on both ends against San Fran, Wisconsin, and Western Kentucky...He was our best player in the one game he played over 16 minutes (Seton Hall). After a tough first half with missed free throws and some freshman mistakes, he was the best player off the bench in the second half against VCU. He's earned more minutes...

I have provided some stats to back this up, but the eye test has shown me that Ish currently makes a bigger impact than Carey. If that changes, I'll admit it, but so far, Ish has been better.

Minutes
Carey- 21 (4th)
Ish- 14.8 (Last)

Pts, Assists, Rebs
Carey-6.5, 0.8, 3.5
Ish-5.9, 0.6, 1.5

FG%
Ish-60% (2nd)
Carey-43% (8th)

3pt%
Ish- 42% (3rd)
Carey-0% (Last)

FT%
Ish- 71% (5th)
Carey- 61% (7th)

Turnovers
Carey 2.0 (4th)
Ish 1.0 (7th)

Player Efficiency Rating
Ish-15.2 (3rd)
Carey- 8.2 (Last)

BPM
Ish- 2.6 (7th)
Carey- -1.7 (Last)

Defensive Rating
Ish- 104.2 (1st)
Carey- 99.9 (4th)

Offensive Rating
Ish- 119.1 (2nd)
Carey- 80.7 (Last)

[Rhody_NYCT]

I'm not saying that Ish is not worthy of PT, because he is...but how can you rush to judgement on any of the new players?? Calm down. They have played a grand total of 11 games! The cream will rise to the top. Chemistry is still missing but there's lots of talent on this team.

[Rhody72]

I'm not saying that Ish is not worthy of PT, because he is...but how can you rush to judgement on any of the new players?? Calm down. They have played a grand total of 11 games! The cream will rise to the top. Chemistry is still missing but there's lots of talent on this team.

There is not as much talent on this team as there is athleticism. Ish is one with talent and he's only a freshman. If after 11 games the cream hasn't risen to the top, then you will have to wait until next year.

[reef]

Carey is awful. Cannot for the life of me understand why he gets so many minutes.

Because no one else has done anything to earn his minutes. It feels like there’s so much playing time up for grabs if 1 or 2 guys could step up

Do you honestly think Carey has outplayed Ish? I'm not saying we need to bench Carey the entire game but to say that no one has stepped up when Ish has stepped up MULTIPLE times in LIMITED minutes is ridiculous to me. Carey has a ton of potential. He is a solid finisher around the hoop and rebounds well for a guard. He had arguably the best block all season a few games back and I feel he has the tools to be a fantastic defender in this league. Carey should still play 15 minutes a game. Ish should play more...

Ish played great on both ends against San Fran, Wisconsin, and Western Kentucky...He was our best player in the one game he played over 16 minutes (Seton Hall). After a tough first half with missed free throws and some freshman mistakes, he was the best player off the bench in the second half against VCU. He's earned more minutes...

I have provided some stats to back this up, but the eye test has shown me that Ish currently makes a bigger impact than Carey. If that changes, I'll admit it, but so far, Ish has been better.

Minutes
Carey- 21 (4th)
Ish- 14.8 (Last)

Pts, Assists, Rebs
Carey-6.5, 0.8, 3.5
Ish-5.9, 0.6, 1.5

FG%
Ish-60% (2nd)
Carey-43% (8th)

3pt%
Ish- 42% (3rd)
Carey-0% (Last)

FT%
Ish- 71% (5th)
Carey- 61% (7th)

Turnovers
Carey 2.0 (4th)
Ish 1.0 (7th)

Player Efficiency Rating
Ish-15.2 (3rd)
Carey- 8.2 (Last)

BPM
Ish- 2.6 (7th)
Carey- -1.7 (Last)

Defensive Rating
Ish- 104.2 (1st)
Carey- 99.9 (4th)

Offensive Rating
Ish- 119.1 (2nd)
Carey- 80.7 (Last)

I am with you play Ish more and Carey less

[ramster]

I'm a Carey fan, but I'm thinking, don't your teammates have to be giving you a ration on the way home for taking four shots and having four shots get swatted? I mean, there has to be some good fun creativity around that, like, 'filling up the stat sheet for both teams' kinda stuff, right?

Not very good for one’s FG% or for one’s confidence to take 4 shots in a game and have each one rejected. 2 of the blocks came on the same possession.
VCU is tough inside as they had 11 blocks in the game.

[ramster]

Fatts had zero assists for the 1st time this year.
Last year he had only one game with no assists and it was vs VCU
His Sophomore year he had only one game and that was also vs VCU

Makes you wonder if VCU tries to overplay Fatts to prevent assist making and it backfired on them?

For sure VCU is doing something wrong when they play us.

[ramster]

Our top 3FG 40% club kept up their strong performance going 5-8 collectively:

• Sheppard went 2-4 now 19-43 = 44.2%

• Johnson went 1-1 now 15-34 = 44.1%

• Leggett didn’t have an attempt 3-7 = 42.9%

• Betrand went 2-3 upped to 7-17 = 41.2% to join the club

[PeteRI]

Our top 3FG 40% club kept up their strong performance going 5-8 collectively:

• Sheppard went 2-4 now 19-43 = 44.2%

• Johnson went 1-1 now 15-34 = 44.1%

• Leggett didn’t have an attempt 3-7 = 42.9%

• Betrand went 2-3 upped to 7-17 = 41.2% to join the club

2 of those 4 are starters. That's how you beat a zone.

[NYGFan_Section208]

Fatts had zero assists for the 1st time this year.
Last year he had only one game with no assists and it was vs VCU
His Sophomore year he had only one game and that was also vs VCU

Makes you wonder if VCU tries to overplay Fatts to prevent assist making and it backfired on them?

For sure VCU is doing something wrong when they play us.

Lends more credence to a post I read on their board about the cpoach always doing the same thing, never mixing it up. If we win every game I could care less if Fatts gets another assist all year

[ngriff]

Fatts had zero assists for the 1st time this year.
Last year he had only one game with no assists and it was vs VCU
His Sophomore year he had only one game and that was also vs VCU

Makes you wonder if VCU tries to overplay Fatts to prevent assist making and it backfired on them?

For sure VCU is doing something wrong when they play us.

Lends more credence to a post I read on their board about the cpoach always doing the same thing, never mixing it up. If we win every game I could care less if Fatts gets another assist all year

Obviously there gameplan is not working for them as we have won the last 9 out of 10 meetings against VCU

[steveystuds06]

THIS IS WHAT WE ARE CAPABLE OF!!!!

You guys can keep quoting and @‘ing me, I’m not going anywhere! GO RHODY! Keep the momentum!

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[Blue Man]

THIS IS WHAT WE ARE CAPABLE OF!!!!

You guys can keep quoting and @‘ing me, I’m not going anywhere! GO RHODY! Keep the momentum!

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In good times and in bad...nothing worse than a poster who’s only here when it’s good or it’s bad.

If you’re a fan you’re a fan all time time.

[steveystuds06]

THIS IS WHAT WE ARE CAPABLE OF!!!!

You guys can keep quoting and @‘ing me, I’m not going anywhere! GO RHODY! Keep the momentum!

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[theblueram]

THIS IS WHAT WE ARE CAPABLE OF!!!!

You guys can keep quoting and @‘ing me, I’m not going anywhere! GO RHODY! Keep the momentum!

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I for one did not question he would be gone soon enough.