Diamond D: Theus just wants his teammates to be happy

Quinn Casteel
Assistant Sports Editor
Commonwealth Times’ Sports Twitter

When Darius Theus committed to VCU in 2009 he knew that Eric Maynor, VCU’s all-time leading scorer, was departing for the NBA and would leave behind some big shoes to fill. What he didn’t know was that Joey Rodriguez would not only fill those shoes, but lead the program to its most historic postseason run ever.

But now, after two years of waiting patiently, Theus is the one taking over the ship, and he is making the most of his opportunity. The junior point guard was handed the reins by Shaka Smart at the beginning of the season and has embraced the starting role with confidence and swagger, leading the 10th youngest team in the nation to a promising 5-3 start.

“Anybody that comes into college and you’re playing behind somebody, you want more minutes, but you’ve got to be patient,” said Theus. “And at the beginning of this season Coach Smart told me, ‘It’s your time.’”

Before the season began, Theus and Bradford Burgess were the only two players that Smart was willing to endorse as starters for the regular season – everything else was up for grabs. Burgess has started every game of his career since he was a freshman, but for Theus to be given that vow of confidence without ever being a full-time starter was a big statement by Smart.

However, the confidence Smart has displayed in Theus isn’t something that just began this year when he made him the starting point guard. It actually began long before either of them arrived at VCU.

While Smart was still an assistant coach at Florida and Theus was attending Norcom High School in Portsmouth, Va., the two already had a relationship. Smart had been talking to Theus about coming to play for him at Florida when he got the job at VCU, and Theus knew right away what he wanted to do at that point.

“Me and Coach Smart had a great relationship before he even came to VCU,” said Theus. “But as soon as he got here, he called me and I said I wanted to make VCU home.”

Smart had a great relationship with Rodriguez publicly as well, but what makes his relationship with Theus different is that he was a member of his first recruiting class. Smart and Theus came to VCU together, and after two years they are finally leading the team together, on and off the court.

“We talk about everything,” said Theus. “School work, family, family things – Coach Smart is a great coach. He’s not just a coach on the court, he’s a great guy off the court, and he really tries to help us.”

For years now, the point guard position at VCU has been a sacred one. Whoever steps in as the starter has a great deal of responsibility both as a leader and a player. And while Maynor and Rodriguez took that to a new level becoming celebrities on a national platform, Theus has earned the same amount of respect from his coaches and teammates.

“Darius has always been a guy that just has a knack for getting guys open, and he gets us good shots,” said shooting guard Troy Daniels, who is having his best season as the team’s second-leading scorer at 10.25 points per game. “And once we start knocking them down, we make him look good.”

Theus plays a style of point guard that shooters like Daniels love because all he wants to do is run the offense and let the people around him take the shots.

“I can score, but I’ve got to be a point guard,” said Theus. “When you’ve got so many great players around you, it’s just easier to run the show and get them shots.”

He takes a great deal of pride in being an unselfish player and always putting the players around him ahead of himself.

“Just seeing how happy your teammates can be, that’s the biggest part of the game for me,” Theus said.

Lately, Theus’ teammates have been happy campers as the offense has caught fire in the past five games, four of which have been wins for the Rams. In that span Theus is averaging five assists per game and has cut down on costly turnovers, which have been his weakness in the past. In the team’s first eight games this year, he is averaging 32 minutes, nearly nine points per game and is playing with an efficiency that his younger teammates admire.

He has taken the two freshman point guards, Briante Weber and Teddy Okereafor, under his wing this season just as Rodriguez did when he was their age.

“It’s been very fun having freshmen that can come in and play,” said Theus. “Me and Briante have been close; we’re from the same area so I really took him under my wing and let him know that ‘You’re a great player.’ And Teddy’s a great player – I work with him every day on being a leader because leadership starts with talking.”

Theus has been eager to help the underclassmen because he went through the same period of growth not long ago, playing behind Rodriguez and it paid off for him. Theus said Rodriguez and Maynor were his two biggest mentors.

“Joey actually took the time to teach me to be a point guard,” said Theus. “He taught me how to make plays, when to pass the ball and how to control your turnovers throughout a game.”

Theus has a quiet and cool personality when he’s in the public eye which leads a lot of people to believe he isn’t a vocal leader, which is simply not the case. Daniels, Burgess and sophomores Rob Brandenberg and Juvonte Reddic all agree that he is an unquestioned leader, and Theus says that the confidence his teammates have in him is all the motivation he needs to play well.

Whether or not Theus is going to be the next historic VCU point guard is very unclear, but what is clear is that he has all the right traits and tools to be a great facilitator and a great leader for this year and beyond.