Out of the jungle: VCU emerges from Norfolk with vital victory

Adam Stern
Sports Editor
Commonwealth Times Sports’ Twitter

As tip-off approached Saturday afternoon and nearly 8,500 wild, frenetic fans cheered fiercely, the mood in VCU’s matchup against bitter rival Old Dominion had truly transcended from basketball game to battle.

And as the game wore on, it was as if the Ted Constant Convocation Center – full, frenzied, ferocious – had transformed from gymnasium into jungle.

There were the towering, tree-sized big-men who wrestled like lions for every loose ball and shot. There was the incessant, almost insect-like buzzing of noise that turned to near deafening levels every time the Monarchs attained an iota of momentum. There were senior forward Jamie Skeen’s long-soaring, high-arching three-pointers that had so much hang time they seemed to be connected to a swinging rope.

And to cap it all off, there was senior point guard Joey Rodriguez’ dagger of a three-pointer with two minutes remaining that, after effectively ending ODU’s chances of winning the game, saw him run over towards the vicinity of the Monarch’s bench and pound his chest as he exclaimed with emotion in a Tarzan-like moment.

As the precious final seconds of the game ticked off the clock, the Rams’ victory assured, the jungle finally turned back to gymnasium.

By the time the buzzer sounded, the majority of fans were on their way out of the arena; for the most part, only a black and yellow clad contingent remained. VCU retained their spot atop the CAA and saw their winning streak swell to six with their 59-50 win over ODU.

“I thought it was a really gutsy effort by our guys,” second-year head coach Shaka Smart said. “I thought we battled hard for 40 minutes, didn’t shoot particularly well, but our defense carried us through, led by our seniors.”

And leading was the key. When VCU’s guards struggled to find any hint of an open shot in the second half because of ODU’s aggressive zone defense, Skeen stepped behind the arc and knocked down two treys, afterward hitting a smooth backwards jog back down court like any silky shooter would. When the game was teeter-tottering back and forth, with baskets as hard as ever to come by, Rodriguez broke free of his relentless defender enough to get a brief, open look from downtown and canned it.

“Big time players make big time shots,” second-year head coach Shaka Smart said.

Skeen, who earlier in the day tweeted “Great day ahead of me,” took his big shots in stride.

“I was wide open; it wasn’t a tough 3-point shot,” Skeen said. “I mean I know I can hit threes … I’m a college player, so I should be able to.”

Skeen’s teammates at the forward position had a major part to play themselves. With such an emphasis placed on keeping the Wake Forest transfer out of foul trouble, as well as keeping ODU star big-man Frank Hassell from dominating the game, Smart employed a constant stream of subs in the front court positions.

“You have to,” Smart said, in reference to his constant subbing to counteract Hassell. “They call him “the Tank,” and he is a tank; he’s an all league player.”

For his part, Hassell spoke as if the move had worked, at least to some extent.

“They was hitting us before we hit them … they were ready,” Hassell said. “Every time I turned around, a new face was guarding me, and I couldn’t get as deep as I wanted to.”

He couldn’t Saturday, but he’ll get another bite at the apple when ODU travels to Richmond for another Saturday showdown on Feb 12. And when that day comes, you can bet “the Tank” will be ready to re-enter the jungle for battle.

“I’ve played (VCU) nine times in my career,” Hassell said. “I can’t wait for the 10th.”

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Photo by: Chris Conway