Men’s basketball welcomes tough but similar opponent

Zachary Holden
Staff Writer

When VCU welcomes the Massachusetts Minutemen on Thursday evening, they’ll be in for a conference game unlike their previous nine.

Massachusetts has a style of play that surely won’t catch VCU off guard.

“They like to play up-tempo just like we do,” said senior Darius Theus. “We like it; (it’s) our style of play and tempo. We’re looking forward to it.”

The Minutemen are second in the Atlantic 10, right behind VCU, in scoring offense averaging 72.3 points per game. They also lead the conference with 15.2 assists per game. Their ability to score from virtually anywhere on the court is what makes them such a dangerous foe.

“We need to limit their scoring opportunities. It’ll be interesting because they’ve got a lot of guys who can score in different ways,” said VCU head coach Shaka Smart. “I don’t have an official count, but I’d guess they lead the conference in dunks; they have some high flyers on their team.”

Junior Chaz Williams is a focal point in the Minutemen’s success. He’s averaging 17.1 points per game, 6.7 assists, and 2.2 steals in just under 38 minutes per game — all of which are top five in A-10 individual rankings.

The Rams know Williams is the player they will have to shut down if they want to stay atop the A-10 standings.

“We’ve got to be real lockdown on defense,” Theus said. “With Chaz Williams being preseason player of the year, my teammates (and I) have got to come out and focus on him.”

“He’s a dynamic point guard. He’s as quick and fast and low to the ground as anyone in the country,” Smart said. “He certainly presents challenges to our full court pressure, but we’re excited to see what we can do against Chaz and his teammates.”

The teammates Smart is referring to include sophomore Cady Lalanne and senior Terrell Vinson.

Lalanne — a towering 6-foot-9 — averages 10.9 points per game and 8.8 rebounds per game while shooting a conference-best 61.3 percent from the field. Vinson averages 13.2 points per game and shoots 40 percent from beyond the arc.

“Terrell Vinson is playing at an extremely high level right now,” Smart said. “He’ll be a tremendous challenge for us because he’s 6-foot-7, 220 pounds and he plays mostly on the perimeter.”

Height is something Massachusetts isn’t short on. Of their 13 players, 10 are 6-foot-5 or taller. They are averaging 5.6 blocks per game and hauling in 24.7 defensive rebounds, second and fourth best in the conference respectively.

Theus and his teammates know that with the Minutemen’s size advantage, it’s going to be an aggressive and physical game.

“(They’re) a very tall team, so we’ve got our work cut out for us,” Theus said.

Winning this game will likely come down to the Rams doing what they do best.

“We just need to make sure that first of all, we understand personnel and what guys on their team are good at and what we need to try to limit,” Smart said. “Then just as importantly, (we need to) play VCU basketball and our style aggressively. I think when we do that, we’re able to defend anybody.”