A YOUTUBE SALUTE TO SOUTH FLORIDA ALUM HULK HOGAN

Oh, did VCU President Dr. Michael Rao go to South Florida too? That’s nice. He’s a swell guy, but this is a serious tribute about the University of South Florida’s favorite son, Terry Bollea. You may know him as Hulk Hogan. Hulk attended, but did not graduate from South Florida in the mid-70s.

Hulk Hogan might be the most famous pro wrestler…make that, the most famous wrestler of any kind, ever.  Quick quiz: Who is Bruce Baumgartner? If you answered, “Captain Kangaroo” or “The fifth Beatle”, you would be wrong. Baumgartner won 13 Olympic and World Championship wrestling medals. Ever heard of him? Me neither. He could be my gardener for all I know.

Hulk Hogan? You’d let him emcee your wedding if he asked.

Hogan rose to fame as the face of the WWF (now WWE) in the early 80s and remained THE name in the industry for two decades. Then, as his star began to fade, he reinvented himself with the strangely consuming “Hogan Knows Best”, a reality show the featured Hogan, his wife (now ex) Linda, aspiring pop artist daughter Brooke and reckless son Nick. It didn’t matter that the show amplified the family’s underlying dysfunction, the show made Hulk a household name for a whole new generation.

SOUTH FLORIDA PREVIEW

Juvonte Reddic, a 6-foot-9 forward, is averaging 8.3 points and 5.0 rebounds this season.

RICHMOND, Va. – Shaka Smart views tonight’s game with South Florida (7:30 p.m., Verizon Wireless Arena) as a big matchup in more ways than one.

It’s VCU’s first home game in 19 days and the Rams are 3-3 after a brutal five-game stretch that included a stop at 13^th-ranked Alabama Sunday. A sellout crowd is expected and a win could energize the team and the fan base moving forward.

VCU has shown positive signs of late. The Rams were sharp in a 68-45 rout at Western Kentucky, as well as about 30 minutes of their 72-64 loss to Alabama. Another solid performance against a Big East opponent would cement the idea that VCU’s youthful squad is ready to compete for a championship this year.

But when he talked about Wednesday’s contest with the Bulls (5-2), he was thinking on a more literal sense. South Florida may be one of the biggest, longest teams the Rams face this season. Four of USF’s top four scorers are 6-foot-7 or taller, although 6-foot-10, 243-pound starting center Augustus Gilchrist has been listed as questionable for tonight’s game. Gilchrist averages 11.6 points and 6.8 rebounds.

The length of Gilchrist, Ron Anderson Jr. (6-8, 237), Toarlyn Fitzpatrick (6-8, 243) and Victor Rudd (6-7, 221) could post issues for VCU. Recently, the Rams have been using a starting lineup that features 6-foot-6 Bradford Burgess at power forward.

South Florida’s length bothered the VCU in a 60-59 overtime loss in Tampa, Fla. last season. In that game, the Rams were outrebounded by 10. The Bulls grabbed 19 offensive rebounds. Although this year’s team features six newcomers, the Rams haven’t forgotten about last year’s flat performance, which saw VCU dig an 18-point first-half hole.

FLASHBACK: KENNY HARRIS RALLIES VCU PAST SOUTH FLORIDA

South Florida may not register much with younger VCU fans, but in the early 90′s, the Rams and Bulls were Metro Conference rivals. On Feb. 20, 1993, that series produced the greatest comeback in school history.

VCU trailed by 26 points with 10 minutes remaining when junior guard Kenny Harris, a Petersburg native and University of North Carolina transfer, went off. Harris pumped in 26 points in the remainder of regulation and overtime to spur the Rams to a 95-91 victory in overtime.Even viewed through today’s lens, that win is one of the greatest and VCU history.

 

POTHOLES IN THE ROAD NOW YIELD SMOOTHER RIDE LATER

Shaka Smart believes VCU's recent five-game road trip was good for the Rams.

RICHMOND, Va. – During their recent five-game road swing, the VCU basketball team spent roughly four nights at home over a two-week period. When you consider the schedule included games with Seton Hall, Georgia Tech and at 13^th-ranked Alabama, it’s no surprise Coach Shaka Smart and his players are happy to be home, prepping for Wednesday’s game with South Florida at the Verizon Wireless Arena.

Bradford Burgess says the road has its advantages, however.

“It’s actually kind of fun being on the road, you know, no school, seeing various cities,” Burgess said.

Burgess was joking, of course. Maybe he wasn’t. Honestly, if you substitute the word “school” for “work/office”, those are precisely the same reasons I like being on the road too.

In all seriousness, the schedule may have been daunting, but an extended road trip may have been just what this VCU team needed. Burgess is the lone senior for the Rams, the the 10^th-youngest team in the country this season. An early challenge could be seen as a chance to bring this group, which includes six freshmen and four sophomores, closer together.  There are few environments the Rams will see this season more difficult to play in than Alabama’s Coleman Coliseum.

“It’s good,” VCU Head Coach Shaka Smart said of the Rams’ recent road trip. “Anytime you’re taken out of your comfort zone and you’re forced to grow and learn about yourselves.”

VCU emerged from the trip with a 2-3 record (3-3 overall), and while that’s about three more losses than Smart would prefer, there are signs of progress. The Rams have played their best ball of the season in their last two contests, a 68-45 win at Western Kentucky on Nov. 23 and a 72-64 loss at No. 13 Alabama Sunday night.

Progress is rarely, if ever, linear. Positive growth is often offset by the occasional setback. But that doesn’t make the emergence of freshman Briante Weber, the progress of forwards Juvonte Reddic and D.J. Haley or the comfort level of sophomore Rob Brandenberg any less real.

There are still problems to fix. VCU is shooting 37 percent for the season and the Rams have been outrebounded in four of their six games. But, are the Rams a better team now than they were in a 63-57 win over Saint Francis (Pa.) on opening night?

“Definitely,” Burgess says. “We’re together probably 22 hours out of the day, just having the opportunity to build character with each other, just hanging out together. Being on the court it’s the same thing, knowing each other and what we like to do. It helps us be successful.”

The Rams will play four out of their next five games at home over the next three weeks. It’s their hope that the lessons they learned the last two weeks will serve them well when they meet teams like South Florida, Richmond and UAB, schools that beat the Rams a year ago, all before Christmas.

“It’s great to be home,” Smart said. “We’re excited to be playing in the Siegel Center tomorrow night. We learned a lot about ourselves over the last five games away from home.”

SOUTH FLORIDA COACH STAN HEATH ON VCU

VIDEO OF THE DAY

I’m not even a Tim Tebow fan, but this was good for a quick laugh. Anybody want to photoshop Eric Maynor’s or Shaka Smart’s head in his place?

VCU-’BAMA HIGHLIGHTS

BURGESS, HINTON EYE MEETING WITH FORMER COACH, ‘BAMA SUNDAY

Alabama Coach Anthony Grant was 76-25 in three seasons with VCU from 2006-09. He led the Rams to two NCAA appearances.

Bradford Burgess and David Hinton admit it’ll be strange Sunday when they look over to the opposing sideline and see former VCU Coach Anthony Grant. Emotions are sure to run high when the Rams visit Grant and his new team, 13^th-ranked Alabama, Sunday night at 9 p.m. (ESPNU) in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

“It’ll definitely be weird at first,” Burgess said. “I have to get over the emotions and realize it’s just another basketball game. It’s going to come down to being able to settle in.”

Both players chose to become Rams largely based on the relationship they built with the coach during the recruiting process. Burgess started every game for Grant as a freshman in 2008-09, while Hinton, a recruited walk-on, redshirted that season.

Grant left the Rams for Alabama shortly after the completion of the 2008-09 season. At the time, Grant was walking away from one of the most successful three-year stretches in school history. From 2006-09, the Rams were 76-25 with two Colonial Athletic Association Championships, two NCAA appearances and one program-changing victory over Duke in the 2007 NCAA Tournament.

JEOPARDY LIKE A BOSS

Do you want a coach who is going to run the ball up the gut in the final minutes while clinging to a six-point lead or do you want this guy? I know who I’m rolling with.

BONUS

CHARLESTON CLASSIC HIGHLIGHTS

I didn’t realize the CAA was throwing these highlight melts together or else I would’ve posted them earlier. Looks like only Seton Hall and Georgia Tech are available at the moment. Sorry, I’d rather leave you with the good stuff from Western Kentucky too, but maybe we’ll get that later.