CASTEEL: Exhibition against California (Pa.) more than just a ‘cupcake’
Quinn Casteel takes a look at what VCU can take out of its exhibition with California (Pa.) Thursday night.
VCU has the 10th youngest team in the nation, but has the player with the most career starts in senior Bradford Burgess.
- VCU has the 10th youngest team in the nation, but has the player with the most career starts in senior Bradford Burgess.
Quinn Casteel
Assistant Sports Editor
ANALYSIS/OPINION
Commonwealth Times’ Sports Twitter
Division II California (Pa.) may not be in the same weight class as VCU, but the fact that they are an opponent willing to fight is all that matters for the Rams.
The two teams will face off at the Siegel Center Thursday night in an exhibition game, VCU’s last tune-up before the season opener against St. Francis (Pa.).
For more experienced teams a game like this is essentially a cakewalk, where the most important thing is that no one gets hurt. But with so many players clawing for playing time and so few with actual experience, VCU could definitely use a few more of these before it starts counting.
Including the two redshirt freshmen, VCU has nine underclassmen on the roster of 13 players. Bradford Burgess, the team’s lone senior, is the only player who Shaka Smart says has earned a spot in the starting lineup: The other four slots are up for grabs, unless Darius Theus has snuck onto the list as well. Therefore, the most important thing in Thursday’s matchup is not the opponent or the final score, but finding the right starting five for the regular season opener.
Secondary to that will be finding out which of the newcomers should start earning minutes right away. Smart already has an idea of that, but seeing how comfortable the freshmen look under the lights will be important as well. Siegel Center’s bright lights and the rowdy fans could cause more anxiety for the newcomers than the opposition, as Smart noted after the open practice last Sunday.
“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. “We got to play a scrimmage against another team, but that was not in front of anybody. Now it’s against another team, in front of fans, on our home floor, and there’s bound to be some nerves there for everybody but particularly for our new guys.”
That being said, Smart is by no means taking the opponent lightly. In fact he was adamant that it might be a closer game than most people are expecting, and Smart knows the program at California (Pa.) better than anyone.
“I used to coach there,” said Smart. “They have a nice team. Coach Brown is a father figure for me. He’s a mentor. They’ve played a lot of Division I teams through the years, and they’ve won their share of games. I’ll never forget, about five or six years ago I was recruiting up in Baltimore, and I turn on the radio, and it was Maryland against Cal (Pa.) – Maryland ended up winning by three, but that’s what’s real with these guys.”
The Coach Brown that Smart was referring to is Bill Brown, California’s head coach. He gave Smart his first coaching job, and the two are still very close friends. Expect Brown’s team to come out ready to play. He’ll want to beat Smart, and the players will be excited to face a team that they watched in the Final Four just a few months ago.
Don’t expect California to push for an epic upset as they did against Maryland, as a double-digit win is still the most likely scenario.
Thursday’s exhibition game will be like an NFL preseason finale where one team still hasn’t decided its starting quarterback. Except in VCU’s case, it’s not just the quarterbacks fighting for jobs. It’s the running back, wide receivers and offensive line too.
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Photos by: Kyle LaFerriere
