[Analysis/Opinion] Bound to rebound: Why rebuilding doesn’t mean mediocrity for men’s basketball

Quinn Casteel
Assistant Sports Editor

Commonwealth Times Sports’ Twitter

By definition, this is a rebuilding year for Shaka Smart and his Rams.

They lost three starters in Joey Rodriguez, Jamie Skeen and Ed Nixon, plus sixth-man sparkplug Brandon Rozzell who averaged more points per game than three of the actual starters. Throw in the departure of would-be senior Toby Veal, and last year’s squad seems pretty much dissolved.

Rodriguez may be the biggest loss because he has been the face of VCU hoops since the departure of Eric Maynor. His vocal and emotional leadership made him essentially a three-point-hitting, dime-dishing head coach out on the court. At postgame press conferences last season, it was spooky how much Rodriguez sounded like Smart.

But as great as Rodriguez, Skeen and the rest of the seniors were last season, it’s time to move on. And while rocky transitions are often the norm in college basketball, I don’t see this team falling into that trend. Smart and his coaching staff simply would not allow it. They are too prepared and too savvy to allow a rebuilding year to turn into a lost season.

Look at the point guard position for example.

Darius Theus was, at worst, a serviceable backup to Rodriguez last year, with clear potential to be a very good point guard down the road. But instead of just handing Theus the reins, Smart brought in Teddy Okereafor to challenge him for the job. Okereafor, a freshman from Christchurch high school, is a 6-foot-3-inch true point guard with lightning speed and unlimited athleticism. Add him to the mix and all of a sudden, life after Rodriguez doesn’t look so bad.

And Okereafor is just the beginning. Although they have yet to play a minute for VCU, Briante Weber and Treveon Graham could play a modified Juvonte Reddic role this season if they perform to the best of their abilities. Meanwhile, Reddic himself could be poised for a breakout year based on the rate he improved throughout his freshman season. His defensive IQ went way up as he became more comfortable with the system, and offensive production should come for him as well.

Outside of Bradford Burgess, VCU is on the short end when it comes to experience, but talent-wise this roster is through the roof.

I’m becoming a firm believer that talent outweighs experience when it comes to winning in college basketball. Maybe not when it comes to winning championships, but you can be a very good basketball team with young talent.

Look at Kentucky last season, or any team John Calipari has ever coached for that matter. Almost all of his best players were freshmen, and they were a very good team, especially down the stretch. Granted, a lot of Calipari’s freshmen were drafted as lottery picks later that year, but it’s a trend at major programs across the country; young talent is the wave of the future.

We’re seeing it not only at Kentucky, but programs such as Georgetown and North Carolina as well. Elite coaches like John Thompson III and Roy Williams are trusting freshman point guards and freshman big men to carry their teams.

VCU might not have the luxury of choosing from five-star prospects like they do, but let’s not forget this is a program that has produced two first-round picks in the past four NBA drafts.

And as young as VCU will be this season, they aren’t the only CAA team in a rebuilding stage.

George Mason is reeling right now.

Jim Larranaga was the man with the plan for that program. His bizarre and abrupt departure caught everyone by surprise.

Also, Charles Jenkins, last year’s CAA player of the year, graduated from Hofstra this summer. Meanwhile, Denzel Bowles and Frank Hassell, the conference’s two most feared bad boys, are gone as well.

Drexel is a popular pick to win the CAA this season because they were so young last year, but young talent will be the storyline to follow throughout the conference.

And although young rosters often equate to instability, with Smart under contract for the next eight seasons, VCU is as stable as can be.

—

Photo by: Kyle Laferriere