Smart uses open practice to calm nerves for new players The Commonwealth Times

Quinn Casteel
Assistant Sports Editor
Commonwealth Times’ Sports Twitter

The men’s basketball team held an open practice at the Siegel Center on Sunday afternoon, the first time the public has had a chance to see the 2011-2012 Rams in uniform.

They ran a variety of drills designed to showcase what they do in practice on a daily basis in what was a relatively light workout for the fans. VCU fans got to see the four freshmen on the court for the first time ever, as well as the two players who were redshirted last season.

open 1 — Smart introduced each player to the crowd, adding his thoughts on their progress and value to the team. The open practice came less than a week before VCU takes on California (Pa.) in an exhibition Nov. 3.

Head coach Shaka Smart said the practice was mostly for the fans, but also to help calm the nerves for those players who have yet to perform in front of the black-and-gold faithful. He said that Sunday’s practice and the exhibition on Thursday will be pivotal in getting rid of those nerves.

“It’s exciting to me because we’ll get a chance to come out on the court in front of some fans and show what we can do against another team,” said Smart on Thursday’s upcoming exhibition against Division III California (Pa.). “One of the reasons we did today is some of those new guys were nervous just being out there in front of the people who were out there today. Every time you can take the floor and learn it’s just basketball, I can go out there and do my thing.”

Smart said he is excited about the progression he has seen to this point, but they still have a long way to go. At the same time, they are about where any team would be on Oct. 30. And this time of year, with the regular season fast approaching and just two weeks of formal practice under their belts, the most valuable resource is time.

“There’s no substitute for time,” said Smart. “But what you can do to expedite the maturation process is put guys in a variety of positions where they’re challenged and they have to grow. We tried to do that all preseason long with the stuff we do in the weight room, the stuff we do on the court in workouts, the Navy SEAL training that we did and the different positions that we put our guys in.”

Among those players putting in their share of time in preparation for the season is sophomore DJ Haley, who is hoping to take over as the starting center. Haley bulked up in the offseason in hopes of being the dominant force in the middle for the Rams that they have lacked the past couple seasons.

“DJ Haley has made a huge jump in terms of how hard he plays around the basket,” said Smart. “And he’s still got a ways to go in terms of being nasty. You know, I wish we did have a Dennis Rodman type of guy. I bet most coaches do.”

Haley, who has been criticized for being soft as a 7-footer, has strived to shed that reputation by working hard throughout the offseason.

“I’ve just really been getting after it over the summertime,” said Haley. “I worked on my weak hand, my post moves and my aggressiveness. I just knew that it was time to step up. It was time to go to work, and my teammates are expecting a lot out of me, and I want to make sure I do well for them. I’ve just been coming in and bringing it every day.”

For the freshmen, the learning curve is steep but still a short track because of how young the roster is. With nine underclassmen on the team, more than a few of the newcomers will be called upon early in the season.

“When you’re a freshman, you just don’t know what you don’t know,” said Smart. “But it’s a very exciting group of young guys.”