WINNING THE CHARLIE SHEEN WAY

Winning.

I’ll admit, I’m mesmerized by all this Charlie Sheen stuff. Like, normally I despise all this People Magazine fodder, but I can’t help myself this time. It’s that car crash from which you can’t turn away. The man is on fire. Sure, this will all probably end badly, but ole’ Charlie is making it a fun ride.

You don’t really know the movie stars you watch. You see the characters they portray and you believe that gives you a snippet of who they are. Charlie Sheen proves that isn’t even remotely true. Be honest. If you watched Major League or Platoon or Two and a Half Men, you honestly had no idea he was this crazy. I feel blindsided by all of this. Charlie Sheen is crazier than the love child of the shaved head version of Brittany Spears and Randy Quaid.

QUEEN OF THE COURT
You could argue that Courtney Hurt is doing more winning than Charlie Sheen. In Sunday’s 62-56 win over William & Mary, Hurt broke VCU’s single-season scoring record. Hurt’s 622 points have eclipsed the mark of 618, set by D’Andra Moss and Cyndy Wilks. Hurt, who is averaging 23.0 points per game and 13.0 rebounds, is on pace to set school marks in both of those categories this season.

VCU SINGLE SEASON SCORING
1-Courtney Hurt (2010-11) 622
T2-D’Andra Moss (2009-10) 618
T2-Cyndy Wilks (2003-04) 618
4-Anna Pavlikhina (1991-92) 598
5-Brenda Smith (1986-87) 560

A LONG WEEK AHEAD

In exactly seven days, VCU will open play in the CAA Tournament against either Drexel, James Madison or, if something crazy happens, Towson. But the Rams will likely dedicate more time looking within themselves than working out the tiebreaker scenarios and first round CAA Tournament games that will decide their quarterfinal opponent.

After the Rams’ 72-69 loss to James Madison Saturday at the Verizon Wireless Arena at the Siegel Center – VCU’s fourth straight conference defeat – the Black and Gold clearly has some soul searching to do.

Troubling themes that have plagued this team throughout the regular season reared their ugly heads again Saturday, namely, defense and rebounding. Additionally, a team that once prided itself on its ability to score in bunches from beyond the 3-point arc has gone surprisingly cold from long range of late. VCU was 9-of-27 from three on Saturday, including 2-of-11 in the second half. The Rams had two 3-point opportunities in the final 10 seconds against JMU and couldn’t get either to fall.

The Rams were outrebounded, 36-30 and were outscored in the paint, 42-18. VCU limited All-CAA forward Denzel Bowles to just 14 points, but was burned repeatedly in the second half by the quickness of James Madison point guard Devon Moore, who drove with impunity during one particularly frustrating stretch for VCU in the middle of the second. Moore finished with 18 points and five assists.

After losing four of five games, the Rams don’t exactly have the momentum they’d prefer on their way into the CAA Tournament.

“We fought hard, but you can’t give a team forty something points in the first half and second half our shots weren’t falling,” said senior point guard Joey Rodriguez, who finished with six points and 10 assists. “It’s the same stuff over and over again. Same stuff from Drexel, same stuff from ODU, same stuff from Mason. It’s the same things that keep shooting us in the foot. In basketball, you can’t have two or three guys doing the right thing, but then if the other two aren’t doing it, it’s going to hurt you because there’s five people on the court. We’ve just got to get everybody on the same page and move forward.”

In terms of CAA seeding, VCU’s loss doesn’t change much. The Rams had a chance to move from the fourth to the third seed with a win and a Hofstra loss, but otherwise, not much could’ve changed. VCU will still get a first round bye in the tournament, but as losers of three straight conference games heading into Saturday, a win over JMU clearly would’ve provided a shot in the arm. Instead, Rams’ Coach Shaka Smart will need to find a way for this team to relocate its swagger.

“As far as going into the CAA Tournament. Yeah, it would be terrific to go in on a winning streak, but the reality is we’re not on a winning streak. The reality is that we’ve lost our last two and if we want to advance – now, we certainly can advance and we have a team that’s capable of doing the right things to compete for a championship – but we’ve got to do better than we did today.”

NOTES

• VCU will be the No. 4 seed in the CAA Tournament and play the winner of the No. 5 vs. No. 12 seed on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at the Richmond Coliseum. The winner advances to play top-seeded George Mason at 12 p.m. on Sunday.
• Saturday marked VCU’s fourth straight sellout at the Verizon Wireless Arena, the first time that’s happened. The four sellouts also tie a Siegel Center record. Barring a string of sparsely attended postseason games, VCU will shatter the previous Siegel Center attendance mark of 6,169 per game, set in 2007-08. VCU is averaging 6,645 in 14 home dates this season.
• Joey Rodriguez dished out 10 assists Saturday, his third double-digit assist of the season.
• Freshman Rob Brandenberg, who has been nursing a bruised quad, made a four-minute appearance during the first half Saturday, but did not return. Brandenberg has only played seven minutes in the last three games combined.

SENIOR DAY LIVE BLOG

We’ll be blogging live from the JMU-VCU game Saturday at noon. Click HERE or HERE or HERE to follow the live blog. Go Rams.

SENIOR SALUTE

It’s hard to believe it’s already been four years. This is the first VCU class I’ve been able to follow from signing day to senior day, so excuse me if I’m a bit melodramatic. But it’s hardly familiarity that leads me to feel this way. It’s also the nearly 100 victories, a 22-game home winning streak, the Oklahoma upset, the 2009 CAA Championship, the near-miss in the NCAA Tournament against UCLA, the NIT at Madison Square Garden and more Wachovia 3-point t-shirts than I can count. Here’s a few of my thoughts on VCU’s four seniors.

JOEY RODRIGUEZ
In the moments following Rodriguez’s two free throws that gave VCU a 68-67 win at Wichita State with .8 seconds left, amidst an impossibly chaotic environment, I received a text that read something like this:

“That Joseph Rodriguez is a fine young man with impressive intestinal fortitude. It’s quite remarkable.”

Okay, so I may or may not have edited that for the Disney set and the soccer moms, but those free throws, and the “constitution” necessary to make them, say a boatload about Rodriguez’s career at VCU.

Raise your hand if in 2007 you thought that Rodriguez would finish in the top five on VCU’s career lists for assists, steals and 3-pointers. Yeah, that’s what I thought.

Much of his success has been a product of his ability to remain cool under fire. Rodriguez fully admits to reading the critiques of internet armchair quarterbacks, allowing them to fuel his own desire.

He’s been a joy to watch from my perspective because Rodriguez plays with reckless abandon, because he’s not afraid physical or mental abuse and seems to revel in his teammates’ success. Earlier this season, he set a school-record with 17 assists in a game, and it looked like the most fun he’d had as a Ram.

ONE QUOTE TO RULE THEM ALL

Sorry I haven’t written anything on last night’s game. It was a one-day up and back to Philly and we got back at 2 a.m. Plus, my new laptop has arrived (it’s fly), and I’m trying to get files transferred and what not.

You’ve already all been updated at this point on last night’s 64-60 loss to Drexel, so I’ll spare you the play-by-play. If you didn’t watch the game, this quote will probably tell you all you need to know anyway.

“We rebounded well for 37, 38 minutes, but it’s not good enough. It’s a 40-minute game.” — Shaka Smart

And there it is, folks.

When the schedule was laid out in front of us a few weeks back, we knew this was going to be a particularly difficult stretch, and it has been. All you can do at this point is learn from it and move forward. This team isn’t invincible. It can’t out-talent other teams the way that some have in the past. VCU is capable of beating any team in this league, but also capable of losing to any of them. The margin for error this season is razor thin.

My one “silver lining” performance from last night was undoubtedly D.J. Haley. The freshman seven-footer had three points, three rebounds and five blocked shots in 16 minutes. He is progressing, and that’s really nice to see.

VIDEO OF THE DAY

ARE WE WHO WE THOUGHT WE WERE?

VCU-DREXEL LIVE BLOG

VCU’s hopes for an at-large bid, once thought dashed, still have some life. The Rams’ 68-67 win at Wichita State has thrust VCU back into the conversation. Joe Lunardi’s “Bracketology” has the Rams as one of the last four teams out of the NCAA Tournament. So, VCU is still on the outside looking in, but has a fighter’s chance.

If VCU wants this discussion to make it to this weekend, it’ll have to win tonight at Drexel, a potential RPI booster. The Dragons are ranked in the low 70′s currently. VCU narrowly escaped Drexel, 52-48, this year at the Siegel Center. In their last visit to Drexel’s Daskalakis Athletic Center (The DAC, for short), the Rams dropped a 75-72 decision in a game that went down to the wire. Bradford Burgess scored a career-high 30 in that game.

Things you should know: No. 1, the Dragons are tough at home (11-2 this season). DU’s home losses this year are to Hofstra and James Madison. No. 2, it will be Senior Night at the DAC, i.e., packed house, lots of emotion. No. 3, Drexel crashes the boards (+9.5 rebounding margin). VCU has to keep it close on the glass, and/or hit 3-pointers and force turnovers. If the Rams can hit shots and get easy buckets in transition, they’ll win. If not, it’ll be a dogfight.

Last time out, Ed Nixon harassed Drexel leading scorer Chris Fouch (15.3 ppg) into a 5-of-19 shooting performance. The Rams need another effort like that from Nixon (and others) tonight.

STOLEN FROM THE GAME NOTES

• VCU has won seven of its last eight road games. A win tonight would tie the Rams’ record of seven CAA road wins, set in 2006-07 and 2007-08.
• Joey Rodriguez needs three 3-pointers to become just the second Ram with 200 in his career. B.A. Walker, the “Bachelor of Arcs”, hit 269 from 2003-07.
• Old Dominion is ranked first in the nation in rebounding margin, while Drexel is third and Wichita State if fifth. The Rams got mauled on the boards by ODU and were even (36-36) with the Shockers. Which team will show up tonight is anybody’s guess.
• When the Rams win this season, Rodriguez shoots  40 percent. When VCU losses, that mark dips to 24 percent.
• VCU has four players (Rodriguez, Theus, Nixon and Burgess) ranked in the top 15 in the CAA in steals per game.
• VCU is 16-2 this season when scoring 70 points or more.
• Drexel’s Sammie Givens is the only CAA player averaging a double-double.
• VCU is 5-2 all-time at the DAC.

THE LINKS!

• Rams focus on staying in contention for post-season (Richmond Times-Dispatch).
• Rooting interests on the Road to Richmond (CAAHoops.com).
• Is this the best Burger in America? (Shine).

CAA ARENAS: THE BOTTOM FLOOR FOUR

The best college basketball arenas serve as extensions of the program itself. How can you think about Duke without Cameron Indoor Stadium? What about Kansas and Fog Allen Field House or Kentucky and Rupp Arena?

The building in which teams play can enhance or detract from the experience of watching that team. In my opinion, the two sports in which this is most apparent are Major League Baseball and college basketball.

I’m a bit of a stadium junkie myself. I still look fondly upon the days I spent at the cavernous Cleveland Municipal Stadium while I was growing up. Every time I walk into a new stadium or arena, I get excited. In that vein, I’ve decided to rank all 12 Colonial Athletic Association arenas, from worst to first. I’m going to break it into three parts, starting with today’s “bottom four”.

These aren’t necessarily the best or worst arenas on the surface. Let’s be honest, if Loyola played at Cameron Indoor, they’d be getting it ready for the wrecking ball. Instead, these are ranked based on which buildings I’d most like to watch a game. There are a lot of factors: aesthetics, atmosphere, size and some intangibles. Additionally, I’ll admit that winning skews this a bit, given its impact on fan interest and atmosphere. But I’ve been to Trask when it’s full and when it’s empty, so I know what it can offer.

Feel free to debate. I’m sure not everybody will agree. You’ll also notice I’ve included some commentary from CAAHoops.com blogger Mike Litos, a well-traveled veteran of “The Association”.

12-TOWSON CENTER ARENA
Opened: 1976
Capacity: 4,500

The skinny: Towson last reached the NCAA Tournament in 1991 and hasn’t posted a winning record since the 1995-96 season. The Towson Center is a big reason why. The arena itself is woefully outdated and uninviting. The lighting is poor. The crowds are nonexistent. Logistically, it’s not a terrible set-up, but the Towson Center, in many ways, looks and feels like a high school gymnasium with a nice logo at center court (I do like the logo). In fact, the best news about the Towson Center is that it’s going buh bye. Towson recently unveiled plans for a new building and will break ground in May. Tiger Arena is scheduled to open on Aug. 1, 2013. It can’t happen soon enough.
Mike Litos on the Towson Center: “They are building a new gym for a reason.”

TOOOOSDAY

THE LINKS!

• The worst sports franchises of our generation (BallHyped.com). Somehow, the L.A. Clippers aren’t No. 1.
• NCAA to cite Calhoun (ESPN.com).
• CAA, not ACC, leading state college basketball (DailyPress.com).
• Towson prepares for Loyola as questions on Kennedy’s future linger (Baltimore Sun). I know it’s a couple of days late, but you’ve got to give Pat Kennedy credit for pretending to be optimistic in the face of a 4-23 season (0-16 in the CAA).
• Bucs coach praises Peterson. Award waiting? (Wilmington Star News). If I still had a vote, I’m really unsure which CAA coach I’d use it on this season, but I’d give Buzz Peterson a serious look. I wasn’t sure this team was going to win five games this year.

R.I.P. LAPTOP

I’m going to channel my inner Harry Doyle here. In case you haven’t noticed, and judging from the hits, you haven’t, I haven’t been updating the blog as much the last week. It’s mostly because, after four years of diligent service, it appears my Dell laptop has come to the end of its road.

It’s been a good ride. We’ve been to Cancun, Puerto Rico, Reno, Las Vegas, Tuscon, Denver, Boston, New York, Buffalo and everywhere in between. It saw the beginning of this blog (and all its previous forms) and has helped my pen hundreds of features. Sure, it was as cumbersome as lugging around a lawn gnome on the road, but that big screen was clutch in the office. Sure, she’d lost a step, but she was comfortable. Well, no more.

So, in the meantime, I’m working on a used laptop with a strange, constant buzzing sound emanating from it. Woo.

BRACKETBUSTERS
By now, unless you’ve been living under a Chrysler, you’re well aware of VCU’s 68-67 win over Wichita State in the ESPN BracketBusters. Great win for the Rams in a great environment. The crowd was so insane, apparently, that after Rodriguez hit those two free throws with .8 seconds left, Scott Day texted me to tell me that Joey has “nerves” of steel.

HUSTLE AND FLOW

RICHMOND, Va. – If Beth Cunningham has cracked the code on Old Dominion, she’s not telling. But after VCU’s thorough beating of the Lady Monarchs, 74-53, Thursday night at the Verizon Wireless Arena, it was clear that this once lobsided series had entered a new phase.

The Rams (15-9, 10-4 CAA) capitalized on 15 ODU turnovers to build a 10-point halftime lead and were never seriously threatened the rest of the way. The victory gives VCU it’s first regular season sweep of the Lady Monarchs (17-8, 11-3 CAA) since the 1972-73 season. The Rams are just the second team in CAA history to sweep ODU in the regular season, matching James Madison’s 2008-09 squad.

After decades of ODU dominance in the series, VCU has managed to turn the tide. The Rams have won four of five from the Lady Monarchs. Additionally, VCU’s last two losses to ODU have come by a total of three points. It’s VCU’s largest margin of victory in the series since the 1972-73 season.

ODU’s shadow over the CAA is huge. The Lady Monarchs once won 17 straight league titles. So, if the Rams have discovered the formula for beating Old Dominion, they could probably make a mint if they could bottle and sell it.

It’s a win that also earned the Black and Gold some breathing room on Delaware for one of the Colonial Athletic Association’s top four seeds for the conference tournament. VCU’s win, coupled withe Blue Hens’ loss to George Mason on Thursday, gives the Rams a two-game lead on Delaware with four league games to play. The Rams and Blue Hens meet Feb. 24 in Newark, Del.

Under the direction of Wendy Larry, Old Dominion has traditionally fielded deep, athletic squads. But on Thursday, VCU made the Lady Monarchs look stunningly ordinary.

Playing in front of a season-high “Pink Out” crowd of more than 1,300, the Rams looked energized.VCU won nearly every “hustle stat”, pounding ODU on the glass, 49-34, while forcing 21 turnovers. VCU had 21 offensive rebounds and outscored the Lady Monarchs, 21-8 on second-chance points.

Junior star Courtney Hurt lived up to her billing, delivering 27 points and 19 rebounds for her 20th double-double of the season. The Rams also recieved outstanding complimentary performances from juniors Andrea Barbour (17 points, 5 rebounds) and Jennifer Lane (9 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds).

OTHER NOTES

• You know what the scary thing is about the CAA this year? The scary thing is that Courtney Hurt, who is averaging 23.2 points and 13.1 rebounds per game this season, might be considered by some as the third-best player in this league behind Dawn Evans and Elena Delle Donne.
• VCU is really, really good when it gets solid contributions from players like Jennifer Lane, Chelsea Snyder, Robyn Parks and Jacqueline Brewer, as it did last night. Hurt is going to put up numbers, but if the Rams can rebound, defend and hit a couple of key buckets around her, they can be very, very good.
• Eric Maynor, VCU grad and current member of the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder, was at the game Thursday. Maynor spent much of the game signing autographs and taking photos with fans. He left with about five minutes in the game and the Rams ahead by a comfortable margin.
• If you need any further proof that every game counts, VCU’s inexplicable loss to Towson earlier this year continues to haunt them. The Rams are currently fourth in the CAA at 10-4, behind 11-3 UNC Wilmington and 11-3 ODU, as well as 13-1 James Madison. If the Rams had beaten Towson, they’d be second, since VCU owns tiebreakers with both the Lady Monarchs and the Seahawks. Towson slipped to 2-12 in CAA action on Thursday.