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.

YOUR DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO VCU BASKETBALL FIRST PITCHES

Over the years, as VCU Basketball has gained steam, so too have requests to have Rams throw out first pitches at baseball games. I’m still waiting on first puck drop calls. I know a spike is coming soon. Anyway, here we examine each Rams’ performance on the diamond.

Shaka Smart (Chicago Cubs, 2011)

Shaka Smart isn’t a large man by any means, but that didn’t stop guys like Billy Wagner from bringing the heat. Unfortunately for Smart, it kind of did. No matter, Smart has pretty good form here as he paints the inside corner. Good snap on the arm. I think he’s falling away to the left a bit, but that’s something the coaching staff can correct during side sessions.
Bonus/demerits: Bonuses for throwing from the rubber, throwing to a VCU guy (Sean Marshall), being at Wrigley Field, the custom jersey (is he wearing No. 91? Channeling Dennis Rodman?), and singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.”

ICYMI: TROY DANIELS WINS COLLEGE SLAM 3-POINT CONTEST

First round vs. Sherwood Brown (Dunk City U.S.A.)

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Semifinals: (Daniels at 2:25 mark)

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Semifinals part 2 (Daniels does not shoot in his segment)

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Final Round vs. Jordan Hulls (Indiana)

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Champion’s Final vs. Women’s Winner

HAVOC UNRAVELS AKRON, DEMANDS ENCORES

Juvonte Reddic wore out Akron inside Thursday night to the tune of 21 points in the Rams’ 88-42 rout.

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – If VCU was trying to get Michigan’s attention Thursday – not just the team, but the entire state – it did a terrific job of shining a light on itself.

In a rout for the ages, fifth-seeded VCU hammered 12^th-seeded Akron 88-42 at The Palace of Auburn Hills in the NCAA Tournament Round of 64 in one of the most lob-sided games you’ll see in March. It was the largest margin of victory in a 5/12 game NCAA Tournament history and was the most one-sided NCAA loss by a MAC team in conference history.

Afterwards, Akron Coach Keith Dambrot could do little but accept a reality colder than the Michigan winter: that the Zips had no answer for VCU.

“This is a big-boy game,” he said. “You’ve got to take your butt-whuppin’ sometimes.”

And it was. With VCU’s Havoc defense churning out turnovers, the Rams attacked Akron’s defense – ranked second in the MAC in points allowed and first in field goal defense – with ease. Despite a decided size advantage inside, including 7-foot center Zeke Marshall, Akron could not keep the Rams out of the paint or away from the rim. The Rams got 21 points from forward Juvonte Reddic in 23 minutes and scored 40 points in the paint in all.

“Zeke Marshall’s a great shot blocker, but the last thing you want to do when a team has size or shot-blocking ability is over-respect them,” said VCU Coach Shaka Smart. “You want to go at them. If they block shots, they block some shots. It’s not the end of the world. But you want to make sure you get in the paint. You put pressure on their defense.”

Last season, VCU slipped past Akron in a 76-75 overtime barnburner. Dambrot said he watched the tape of that close loss three times this week and came away convinced the Zips could compete with the Rams. But they could not.

VCU-AKRON RAPID REACTION: VCU 88, AKRON 42

Overview: VCU absolutely pummeled the 12th-seeded Zips Thursday night at The Palace of Auburn Hills, 88-42. Akron took a 6-4 lead in the first half, and then the Rams put Akron to sleep, staging a 17-3 run to grab a 21-9 lead with 13:16 left. VCU never looked back.

The Rams did as they wished on the offensive end all night. Despite Akron’s sizeable front line of Zeke Marshall and Demetrius Treadwell, VCU took the ball hard to the rim early and often. When they weren’t getting into the paint, the Rams were watching Troy Daniels bomb away from three. Daniels scored 23 points in just 21 minutes of play and hit 6-of-11 threes on the night.

Akron, playing without suspended starting point guard Alex Abreu and reserve guard Deja Ibitayo, were unable to defend VCU’s quicker, more athletic guards or protect the basketball.

Overall, the Rams put together a masterful shooting performance, knocking down 54 (35-of-65) of their attempts. VCU also forced 22 turnovers via its trademark Havoc full-court press and outscored Akron 34-7 off turnovers.

Senior Juvonte Reddic scored 21 points in 19 minutes and became the 32nd Ram to score 1,000 career points with a bucket midway through the first half. Rob Brandenberg added 14.

Turning point: Given the lobsided nature of this one, you could probably say tip-off, but with 18:28 remaining, Juvonte Reddic sparked the Rams with back-to-back buckets, including a right-handed slam. Moments later, Reddic, gliding up the floor in transition, threw down a two-handed coast-to-coast jam that made it 12-6. It was pretty much over at that point.

Player of the game: Daniels, who made Bill Raftery swoon with his series of 3-pointers that put the game out of reach.

Key stat: Akron turnovers (22) versus VCU turnovers (7). Hard to beat a team when you’re minus 15 in turnover margin.

Miscellaneous: The victory was the Rams’ largest margin of victory in the NCAA Tournament. The previous high of 18 came in VCU’s back-to-back drubbings of Georgetown and Purdue in the 2011 NCAA second and third rounds.

VCU won a tournament game for the third straight season under Coach Shaka Smart. That has happened once previously in school history (1983-85).

The Rams’ win was also the largest margin of defeat for a MAC school. The previous record was 32.

What’s next: Fourth-seeded Michigan, which will be playing in front of a pro-Wolverines crowd on Saturday. Michigan overcame a slow start to handle South Dakota State 71-56 Thursday behind 21 points apiece from Glenn Robinson III and Tim Hardaway Jr. The Wolverines have a stable of talented guards and have recorded the lowest offensive turnover percentage in the country this season. VCU leads the nation in defensive turnovers percentage. The winner heads to the Sweet 16 in Dallas next week.

TROY DANIELS FORTIFIES LEGACY, SENDS RAMS TO A-10 TITLE GAME

Senior Troy Daniels knocked down 6-of-9 threes Saturday and finished with 20 points.

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Shaka Smart tried to warn us. Troy Daniels is a stone-cold gunner from beyond the 3-point arc.

Those aren’t Smart’s actual words. He said something more like, “Troy Daniels is the best shooter I’ve ever coached,” many, many times during the senior’s career. But I like my version better. Because on Saturday, Daniels answered the call for the Rams in one of, if not the biggest spots in his career, so I used more interesting adjectives.

Behind the Roanoke senior’s 20 points – most importantly his 6-of-9 three-point shooting – VCU withstood UMass and secured a 71-62 win in the Atlantic 10 Tournament semifinals Saturday night at Barclays Center.

The victory sends VCU, playing in its inaugural season in the A-10, to a Championship Game match-up with 16th-ranked Saint Louis on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Daniels’ lights-out shooting was the kind of performance that showed everybody why Smart was comfortable placing such a strong label on his senior during his career.

“He’s just a great shooter,” Smart said of Daniels, who has hit 240 career 3-pointers. “He’s the best shooter I’ve ever coached. He’s always been terrific in practice, but his first couple of years he had a hard time playing with the confidence to go out and shoot the ball in. Today he did, and all year he has and that’s why he’s one of the top single-season 3-point shooter in Atlantic 10 history.

“We need him to make threes because that’s a big part of what we do. I think it fits in well with our style of play and our guys do a nice job of finding him.”

RAMS’ YOUTH, BENCH HELP DELIVER A-10 QUARTERFINAL WIN

Freshman Melvin Johnson (12 points) was one of several of VCU’s young reserves who were key Thursday.

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – There was freshman Justin Tuoyo, all alone on the right wing. He’d barely played the last month and had missed 12 of his previous 14 three-pointers this season. From behind my position, a Saint Joseph’s fan, who had apparently done some advance scouting, shouted, “He can’t shoot a three, let him shoot it.”

Tuoyo promptly sized up the three and canned it.

Instead of hesitating or letting nerves overcome him on a big stage, the Atlantic 10 Tournament quarterfinals, Tuoyo stuck to the aggressive, attacking principles that Rams’ Coach Shaka Smart preaches.

At the time the bucket didn’t seem terribly significant. It gave the Rams a 64-47 lead with 8:11 remaining. But Saint Joseph’s, namely Carl Jones (29 points) and Langston Galloway (25 points), wouldn’t quit and managed to whittle the final margin to 82-79.

After the game, Smart was quick to remind Tuoyo of that bucket.

“I told him in the locker room after the game, I know it’s just one shot, but I don’t know if you noticed, but we won by three, and you hit a three,” Smart said. “So we needed every basket, and I think overall, just the contribution that he made in 14 minutes says a lot about his future.”

SENIOR TRIBUTE VIDEO

VCU SENIORS BY THE NUMBERS

RICHMOND, Va. – The final act of VCU’s 2013 senior class of Darius Theus, Troy Daniels and David Hinton hasn’t been written, but what they’ve accomplished so far has already been unforgettable.

Theus and Daniels were Coach Shaka Smart’s first VCU recruits, and they’ve both turned out to be home runs. While Hinton was a redshirt freshman on the roster the year before Smart’s arrival, he’s blossomed into a steady contributor the last four seasons. All three have been party to a slew of memory makers.

This group of veterans has helped to usher in a new “Golden Age” of VCU hoops in Richmond. Under their watch, the Rams have won more than 75 percent of their games. While the magnificent run to the Final Four in 2011 will stand tallest on this group’s list of accomplishments, fans can reflect on a countless number of heart-stopping moments from this trio’s careers.

For Theus, I’ll remember stellar bench performance in the Rams’ upset of Florida State in the 2011 Sweet 16, not to mention his MVP performance in the 2012 CAA Championship Game. Meanwhile, none of us will soon forget Daniels’ three-game stretch this year when he hit 27 three-pointers, including 11 (11!!) at East Tennessee State. In addition, do the Rams squeak out a three-point win over Wichita State in the NCAA Tournament last March without Hinton’s two charges? Doubtful.

Let’s take this opportunity to appreciate VCU’s seniors by the numbers:

1,577 combined points by the 2013 senior class
.759 winning percentage in four seasons
432 career assists for Darius Theus, sixth in school history
227 career steals for Theus, third-most all-time
107 Wins, second-most all-time for a VCU senior class
103 three-pointers for Troy Daniels this year, a school record
11 three-pointers hit by Daniels vs. ETSU on Jan. 2, a school record
10 career-high in assists for Theus in a win over Saint Joseph’s
8 NCAA Tournament games, second-most in VCU history
7 Wins versus teams ranked in the AP Top 25
6 NCAA Tournament wins, most all-time
4 seasons with 20 or more wins
2 charges taken by David Hinton vs. Wichita State in NCAA Tournament
1 Final Four appearance

RAMS LOOSE, SHARP IN TUNE-UP FOR STRETCH RUN

Juvonte Reddic finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds Saturday.

RICHMOND, Va. – If Saturday night’s 84-57 win over George Washington is any indication, VCU is ready for its stretch run. It was the Rams’ final game before a pressure-packed five-bout gauntlet to close out the regular season, and VCU looked a lot like the team that was blowing opponents off the Siegel Center floor earlier this year.

It was a perfect storm for VCU (21-5, 9-2 A-10), really. It was Havoc meets the Peach Fuzz Boys. The Rams’ relentless defensive pressure, combined with George Washington’s inexperience, gestated into 25 Colonials’ turnovers. VCU was more than happy to trade those miscues in for 27 points, an advantage that proved insurmountable.

George Washington, in the second year of Mike Lonergan’s rebuilding project, started four freshmen Saturday night. Those four rookies combined for 17 turnovers, including eight from Joe McDonald. After that, there were few stats that mattered. The pace and tone of the game were squarely in VCU’s favor, and from there, it was a day at the races.

Junior Juvonte Reddic found open space all evening and made his first seven field goal attempts, five of them highlight-quality dunks. On the Rams’ first offensive possession of the game, Reddic used a back screen to get free and caught a high-arching lob from Darius Theus with his right hand and threw it down for a thunderous slam. It was a play that set the tone for night.