DANIELS AIMS TO OPEN NBA EYES

VCU senior Troy Daniels will work out for NBA scouts May 22-23 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

RICHMOND, Va. – Troy Daniels made a career out of connecting on long shots. So what’s one more?

Daniels has been invited to an NBA workout May 22-23 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. Representatives from all 30 NBA teams are expected to attend.

“It’s time to get a job now. This is a lot different than college,” Daniels said Thursday. “It’s a great feeling. “It’s something that you dream about when you’re younger and it’s finally coming true now.”

Despite his sharpshooting credentials – Daniels ranks second in school history in 3-pointers (251) and owns the top two single season marks – the senior from Roanoke, Va. likely faces an uphill battle. He’s currently not expected to be drafted and is not listed among the top 100 NBA prospects by NBADraftExpress.com, NBADraft.net or CBS Sports’ Jeff Goodman.

But Daniels, who will graduate from VCU Saturday with a degree in criminal justice, says that won’t be a deterrent. He’s says he’s been working out twice a day, fine-tuning his skills and hopes to grab the attention of scouts and executives in Brooklyn. He’s also recently worked out with former Ram Eric Maynor of the Portland Trail Blazers, who typically spends much of his offseason in Richmond.

RAMS IN THE PROS: SANDERS SURGES

Former Ram Larry Sanders (center) is averaging 8.0 points, 8.4 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game this season.

It looks like Larry Sanders is starting to figure out this NBA thing.

The 24-year-old former VCU star and current Milwaukee Buck is enjoying a breakout season. Selected 15^th overall in the 2010 NBA Draft, Sanders is beginning to deliver on the promise Milwaukee saw on film and in workouts.

Through a quarter of the season, the 6-foot-11, 235-pound center was averaging career-highs of 8.0 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. Sanders is shooting 54 percent from the floor, and as of this writing, his 3.0 blocks per game average was tied for the league lead.

Last season, Sanders averaged just 3.6 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. But a strong preseason and training camp earned him increased playing time from Bucks’ Coach Scott Skiles. Sanders responded with 10 points and seven rebounds in an opening-night victory over the Boston Celtics.

On Nov. 30, Sanders recorded his first career triple-double with 10 points, 12 rebounds and 10 blocked shots in a loss at Minnesota. His 10 blocks tied the franchise record, set by Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Abdul-Jabbar later took to Twitter to congratulate Sanders.

Congratulations @larrysanders of the Milwaukee Bucks for tying my single-game franchise record 10 blocked shots. Great job!

— Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (@kaj33) December 5, 2012

Sanders followed with 18 points, 16 rebounds and five blocks against the Celtics the next night.

DANIELS, HAVOC GO ‘FAIRLEIGH RIDICULOUS’ IN WIN

Senior Troy Daniels (pictured right, shooting) set a VCU single-game record with nine 3-pointers Saturday.

RICHMOND, Va. – In a few days, we’ll close the book on 2012 and turn the page to a new year with new hopes, new goals and new dreams. But they might have to drag Troy Daniels into 2013 kicking and screaming.

Daniels capped his torrid December by stroking a school-record nine 3-pointers and scoring a career-high 27 points in Saturday’s 96-67 win over Fairleigh Dickinson. After a pedestrian 4-of-10 start from beyond the arc, Daniels kicked into high gear, hitting five of his last six, including four straight in the final three minutes, to break Bo Jones’ 13-year-old VCU single-game mark. Daniels originally tied the record with eight triples Dec. 7 at Old Dominion.

This month has been, by far, the best of Daniels’ career. In his last five games, Daniels has averaged 19.9 points and shot .500 (30-of-60) from 3-point range. Daniels has scored at least 24 points in three of those contests.

It hasn’t been so much the flipping of a switch that has turned Daniels into a “must-watch” shooter the last five games as it has been the result of a cumulative effort. It’s been hours at Franklin Street Gym late at night with Assistant Coach Jeremy Ballard, loads of film study, and pep talks with Coach Shaka Smart. Sooner or later, the dam was going to break and allow the river that is Daniels’ sweet shooting stroke to flow freely. It appears we’ve reached that point.

“I’m happy for Troy,” Smart said Saturday. “He’s a guy that’s put a lot of extra work in, a lot of extra hours where it was just him and a manager in the gym and it’s paying off for him.”

NO SURPRISES: LONGWOOD NOTEBOOK

Senior Troy Daniels hit seven 3-pointers and finished with a career-high 25 points in Friday’s win.

RICHMOND, Va. – The Rams can move onto their holiday break with clear heads. VCU did what it was supposed to do in Friday’s 93-56 throttling of Longwood. There were no surprises, just a comfortable win where the Rams played to their ability.

The Rams kept the pedal to the medal, stomping out any fears of a lackluster performance and/or an overlooked opponent. In recent years, despite lesser opponents, that hasn’t always been the case in VCU’s last game before Christmas.

But rather than look ahead to Christmas ham and family time, VCU took care of business. The Rams scored the first nine points of the game and were up 19 by halftime. Although Longwood shot 44 percent in the first half, the Rams also forced 13 turnovers.

Whatever flaws VCU had on the defensive end in the first half were cleared up in the second when the Rams used a 17-0 run over an eight-minute stretch to turn the game into a 76-40 laugher. From there, it was all academic.

Senior Darius Theus, who finished with five points, five steals and nine assists, said the Rams were able to block out potential distractions.

“I think it’s hard for a lot of teams, but I think coming in and being ready to play separates good teams from okay teams, and I feel out approach was real good tonight,” Theus said. “Even though guys are excited about going home and being with their family, we only had one thing in mind. That was getting this win tonight.”

WE WERE MERELY FRESHMEN

Larry Sanders averaged 4.9 points and 5.2 rebounds as a freshman in 2007-08

They say youth is wasted on the young. I just think those of us in the post-30 crowd hate that The Jersey Shore has taken over MTV. When I was a college freshman, I could run a sub-5:00 mile, sleep three hours a night and had great hair (true story). Of course, I didn’t know what I was doing half the time, and I didn’t care.  The experience, one painful lesson at a time, was all worth it. It made me better personally and professionally (at least, that’s what I’m going with).

There are six freshmen on this year’s VCU Men’s Basketball team. Statistically speaking, the Rams are the 10^th-youngest team in the country. They’re all great basketball players. They wouldn’t be here otherwise. But there are going to be mistakes, plenty of youthful mistakes. Enough to cause Shaka Smart to lose some of his hair…wait…let’s move on.

The point here is that these guys are all great talents, it’s just a matter of getting the best out of them. It’s going to take time. You’ll see it some nights and others you might shake your head. It’s rare to find a guy ahead of the curve, who can come in and dominate right away. Just like I didn’t come in and just dominate the blogging game. It took years of experience to be this awesome.

FORMER RAMS RETURN TO VCU FOR SUMMER WORKOUTS

ALL ABOARD THE CRAZY TRAIN

Pulled up to work and saw some lady selling parking (using two homemade signs) on a side street, literally three hours before today’s send-off pep rally. So, that’s where we’re at.

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any nuttier, we received our first interview request for Rodney the Ram today (true story).

The amount of media coverage VCU is getting right now is so off the charts. I know you guys are used to me throwing up links to features on VCU, but to be honest, the sheer bulk of clippings is mind-numbing. That’s why we have graduate assistants do it!

I didn’t look if these two items made that list, but here’s a couple VCU-centric items I thought you’d enjoy. First is a collection of things you might not have known or seen by Mike Litos. As usual, Jamie Skeen steals the show.

Additionally, WRIC here in Richmond did a nice piece on Chris “Pavarotti” Crowley, who will be making the trip to Houston.

Thirdish, but not necessarily related to all the craziness here on campus is a nod to former Ram Jamal Shuler, who is enjoying VCU’s Final Four run from across the pond in France. Shu is up for player of the week or month or something in the French League. If you understand French, you’ll be able to figure out what you’re voting for. I dropped out of French 3, so I have no idea. I know how to say, “I’m confused”, “Can I go to the bathroom” and “I don’t understand”. Either way, vote for Shu because he’s good people.

NINJA EDIT: Looks like we were on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon last night too. There’s some laughs in there, even if he takes some good-natured shots. Tell you what, as long as Jimmy promises not to make a sequel to Taxi, he can say anything he wants.

SHOCKING DEVELOPMENT

Our love/hate relationship with ESPNU BracketBusters continues. Today, we heart BracketBusters again. The Rams have been matched up with Wichita State on Friday, Feb. 18 at 7 p.m. (ESPN2). Naturally, we heard rumors all day about St. Mary’s, which would have been a coup, but this is the next best thing. More than one person has made the George Mason/Wichita State comparison since the game was announced. That year, Mason went on the road – and beat – Wichita State, a game that was seen as critical to the Patriots’ at-large bid that season. Mason went onto the Final Four, defeating Wichita State again along the way. I’m not saying that the Rams are going to the Final Four (although, we can all dream), but if VCU continues to play well, that Wichita State game could loom large on the Rams’ at-large resume.

BRACKETBUSTERS-RELATED LINKS

• Katz’s top-5 games for BracketBusters (ESPN.com).
• BracketBusters Matchups (ESPN.com).
• BracketBusters Matchups 2011 (MidMajority.com).
• Al Davis is (Bracket) Bustin’ Loose… (CAAHoops.com).
• VCU Draws Wichita State in BracketBusters (Richmond Times Dispatch)

VCU VIDEO OF THE DAY
Special thanks to VCURamNation.com for making this video known. Former Ram Jamal Shuler with a crazy bananas buzzer-beater in France.