Final Four revenge not a priority for Rams

Zachary Holden
Staff Writer

It will be a rematch 700 days in the making. Any Rams fan can remember that dreadful night nearly two years ago when Butler edged VCU in the Final Four 70-62.

Now the Rams will welcome the Bulldogs to the Siegel Center on Saturday afternoon in what every fan is hoping plays out a bit differently than that night in Houston.

Coach Shaka Smart recently watched the game tape on Monday after a long day of recruiting and he said his goal was to watch it without getting upset.

“Sometimes when you watch games from the past, you go back and if you didn’t win the game, you kind of relive the bad parts of it and think about what you could’ve done differently or should’ve done differently,” Smart said. “I just told myself I was going to watch it from the standpoint of preparing for this game.”

Since the game was nearly two years ago, the teams have changed. Butler has Andrew Smith and Khyle Marshall returning from that team, while VCU has Juvonte Reddic, Darius Theus, Rob Brandenberg, Troy Daniels, DJ Haley and David Hinton. However, only Theus and Reddic played more than eight minutes.

With the drastic changes in both teams, Smart admits watching the tape didn’t do much in helping him prepare for the game, but added, “You can always gain something from watching the last time you played a team.”

One player Smart doesn’t have to worry about this time is Shelvin Mack. Mack was the Rams’ kryptonite in the previous matchup as he single-handedly outplayed the team and finished the night with 23 points and six rebounds.

“Shelvin Mack was terrific; there’s a reason he was picked to go to the NBA,” Smart said.

This season, Butler has Rotnei Clark who averages 17 points, three rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game, while shooting 92.3 percent from the free throw line.

“It’s going to be hard to get the ball out of his hands all of the time because he’s good at getting the ball,” Smart said. “Like I said, he’s a playmaker and he makes plays with the ball in his hand, so if we can make someone else handle the ball, I think that can limit his ability.”

Since Butler coach Brad Stevens and Shaka Smart became head coaches, constant comparisons have been drawn between the two young coaches. The two boast a winning percentage over 76 percent and had more than 80 wins through their first three seasons.

“I think it’s a sign of respect for our program to be compared to Butler. They’ve been so successful and they’ve played in two national championship games, so if anybody is gaining from that comparison, it’s us,” Smart said.

In fact, Smart thinks the two programs are very different, but not in a good or bad way. Nonetheless, he has the utmost respect for his weekend foe.

“Brad Stevens is a phenomenal coach,” Smart said. “It’s nice for people to compare me and him, but I’m sure he’d say he’s a lot different.”

Something that has been an issue over the past couple games for the Rams has been foul trouble. Ironically, in the Final Four game, foul trouble was an issue as well with five Rams finishing with three or more fouls, including Theus who had four that night. Staying out of foul trouble is imperative for VCU to succeed Saturday afternoon, but Smart knows it won’t be easy.

“It’s a challenge. It comes down to being extremely aggressive, which we do, but also having a high level of discipline,” Smart said. “Darius went through the learning experience of avoiding foul trouble and playing with foul trouble, and he got much better.”

Walking around campus in the days leading up to the big game, Theus and his teammates have welcomed the support from the students and fans.

“Everyone is excited about the game just like we are,” Theus said. “We played them in the Final Four and that’s what everybody remembers. Everybody remembers we lost too, so we’re just psyched to get this opportunity to play them again.”

Although the Final Four loss is undoubtedly on their mind, revenge will not be the focal point come noon on Saturday.

“The Final Four is over with. It was two years ago, there’s nothing we can do about it now,” Theus said. “I think it’s about the A-10 (and) just trying to get that top spot.”

VCU enters Saturdays game in second place in the A-10 with a 10-3 record, while Butler is tied with La Salle for third place at 9-4.