Selfless play shows Rams have found identity

Quinn Casteel
Assistant Sports Editor
Commonwealth Times Sports’ Twitter

ANALYSIS 

WASHINGTON — The play went like this: Briante Weber drove through the lane with purpose, drawing three George Washington defenders. Instead of throwing up a shot in hopes of drawing a foul, he kicked the ball out to a wide-open Darius Theus, who buried a dagger of a three-pointer from the corner.

The three was Theus’ second of the game, but more importantly it put VCU back up by nine with just over four minutes remaining, which allowed them enough breathing room to where the last two minutes didn’t turn into a free-throw contest.

Momentum-wise, it was the most important play of the game after George Washington sparked a comeback and pulled within six late in the second half, despite trailing by 17 at halftime. Although it was just one of many big plays for VCU on Sunday afternoon, it was indicative of something bigger.

The selflessness that Weber showed when he made the extra pass shows how far this young team has come in such a short time.

To start, look at the identities of the players involved. Weber is an ultra-talented freshman who flies high and wears diamonds in his ears. Theus is a soft-spoken point guard who doesn’t like to take a lot of outside shots. Common logic would suggest the high flier goes for the spectacular finish and the passing-oriented point guard heads back on defense.

But when Shaka Smart is your coach, your individual identity goes out the window, and the team’s identity becomes the only thing that matters. And as young as this team is, Sunday’s game showed that they are well on their way to establishing that identity once again.

And having identity is everything – when a team has identity, it means they know what they do well and they know what their weaknesses are. They have a system and they stick by it. And that’s exactly what the Rams are doing.

A lot of people wondered if VCU’s lack of experience and depth would cost them this season, but they have shown that depth is actually its strength. Smart said after the game that there is a “blurred line” between the starters and the bench, and the numbers would agree.

The Rams had 21 points off the bench against the Colonials as Smart continues to shuffle through different lineups. Weber, DJ Haley, Rob Brandenberg and Troy Daniels have all been in and out of the starting lineup as the team continues to mesh together. Smart alters the lineup partially to reward aggressive play or punish poor play, but it also makes a statement that it’s about the team, not just five players.

Sunday’s game revealed a lot about the 2011-2012 Rams, who have been doubted and questioned, being the 10th youngest team in the nation. But Smart’s team has answered those questions by establishing identity, which starts with establishing roles.

Finding the right role for a player is difficult, and getting a player to accept his role can be even harder, but Smart makes it look easy. On Sunday it seemed every player knew his role and was comfortable with it, regardless of how unglamorous it may be.

If the Rams are to make the NCAA Tournament once again this season, they will need to stay within those roles for the rest of the season, starting when they host Richmond on Friday night.