Who will be the starting five come opening night? Shaka Smart stays quiet

1

On the eve of the first day of practice, Shaka Smart wasn’t giving much away.

As of right now, Shaka Smart says Bradford Burgess is the only guaranteed starter.

Jim Swing
Sports Editor
Commonwealth Times’ Sports Twitter

On the eve of the first day of practice, Shaka Smart wasn’t giving much away.

We asked him if D.J. Haley could potentially be the starting center after he got the nod in 11 games last season.

“I don’t know we’ll see, we start practice tomorrow,” Smart said with a smile. “There’s a good chance for that. He started the last nine games for us last year and did some good things for us at the end of the year, but he’s got to earn it.”

And Haley won’t be the only one.

As of right now, the only name Smart promises will be called over the loudspeaker opening night would come as no surprise.

“The only guy that I can guarantee you will start on Nov. 11 is Bradford Burgess,” Smart said. “From there, the rest of it is up for grabs.”

In his three years at VCU, Burgess has started and played in all 110 games. He’s only the second player in the program’s history to begin his career with 100 or more starts, according to the athletic department’s website.

This season, Burgess will look to set the record for most consecutive starts in VCU history, currently held by Michael Brown, who played and started every game from 1982-86.

So with that we ask: Who’s your starting five?

1 thought on “Who will be the starting five come opening night? Shaka Smart stays quiet

Leave a Reply