Ram Madness!

Free tuition, books, parking and iPod nanos
were awarded to select students via a raffle Friday
night at the Stuart C. Siegel Center, where a
crowd of about 2,500 gathered in anticipation of
this basketball season following last year’s team’s
unprecedented performance.

Before the rally, the line to enter the building
stretched from the main entrance on Broad Street
and bent north up Harrison Street. The first
1,500 students were guaranteed a free T-shirt
and food.

Head coach James Finley’s volleyball squad
was the first group of the night to be introduced.
The team was fresh off a victory in straight games
over conference rival UNC Wilmington earlier
in the evening.

The crowd used gold paper to make airplanes,
on which they wrote their name, and floated
them toward goals – pizza boxes laid out on the
court. The floor became speckled with gold, and
those who landed their plane in a box earned
a prize.

President Eugene P. Trani and Athletic Director
Norwood Teague were on hand to present rings
to members of the 2006-2007 Colonial Athletic
Association championship team, which won a
school-record 28 games.

Former players Matt Coward and Jesse Pellot-
Rosa, who are completing degrees at VCU but
are not NCAA eligible, reunited with the team
for the ceremony. Making a surprise appearance
while taking a break from professional basketball
with the Artland Dragons in Germany was Calvin
Roland, bringing grins to the faces of his former
teammates.

B.A. Walker could not join the festivities,
having recently signed a contract to play for
Icelandic club Keflavik. James Eversley also
was absent after transferring to the University
of Charleston.

The newest banner was on display, joining
two other CAA championship banners hanging
on the east wall of the Alltel Pavilion.
A VCU banner that is hung at the Richmond
Coliseum during the CAA championship weekend
was unveiled with its first star, which represents
the number of wins the school has amassed in
the NCAA tournament.

The Rams, led by 2006-2007 CAA
Coach of the Year Anthony Grant, hope
to re-create the energy and excitement
from the postseason at the Coliseum
and in Buffalo, N.Y., for every home
game this season.

“I expect to see a lot of fans in here. In
fact, I expect to have a sellout crowd every
time we play,” said junior guard Eric
Maynor (Raeford, N.C./Westover).

An extended version of the video
montage first played March 19 at the
Siegel Center was shown, bringing fans
to their feet. The montage included clips
from throughout VCU’s postseason,
highlighted by late comeback wins over
George Mason and Duke orchestrated
by Maynor and the overtime loss to
Pittsburgh.

“(Watching that) makes me feel really
good,” said Maynor, a first-team All-CAA
guard. “But, like Coach Grant says, we’re
trying to put that in the past and move
ahead with the future.”

Fans caught a glimpse of the future
of the program, which included nine
new players.

Freshmen Myk Brown (Gainesville,
Fla./P.K. Yonge), Lance Kearse (Fort
Myers, Fla./Fort Myers), Ed Nixon
(St. Petersburg, Fla./Lakewood), Joey
Rodriguez (Oviedo, Fla./Lake Howell),
Brandon Rozzell (Richmond/Highland
Springs), Larry Sanders (Fort Pierce,
Fla./Port St. Lucie) and Gerard Smith
(Windermere, Fla./Timber Creek) were
all welcomed by the home crowd for
the first time, along with sophomore
Kirill Pishchalnikov (Maykop, Russia/
MGGTK AGU) and junior Terrell
Elliston (Bronx, N.Y./Polk Community
College).

The men finished last season with just
11 players on the roster, six of whom
are returning this season.

Beth Cunningham’s Lady Rams
also introduced several newcomers.
Freshmen Stacy Griffith (Fredericksburg/
Riverbend), Ebony Patterson
(Chesterfield/L.C. Bird) and Jessica
Taylor (Woodbridge/Woodbridge)
will combine with junior Radoslava
Bachvarova (Varna, Bulgaria/Daytona
Beach Community College) to replace
the graduated Michele Cosel and
Miranda Smith.

Each freshman executed her own
coordinated dance during player introductions
and threw more free shirts
to fans.

The Lady Rams are coming off a 17-13
season and second-round appearance in
the CAA tournament.

The men battle Virginia State Nov.
1 to open preseason play and first host
regular-season action Nov. 24 against
Elon. The women welcome Virginia
Union Nov. 2 for a preseason bout and
then have their regular-season home
opener Nov. 25 against Appalachian
State.