Men’s basketball opens up the season with annual scrimmage
VCU redshirt sophomore guard Jamir Watkins looks to score against the defense. Photo by Guy Enkh
Arrick Wilson, Sports Editor
The VCU men’s basketball team debuted its new team on Saturday, Oct. 15 in the annual black and gold scrimmage, highlighted by high-flying dunks and new basketball members.
VCU head coach Mike Rhoades said he expected mistakes in the scrimmage but was happy with the outcome of the game.
“I knew we’d have to watch a couple things today that will be corrected on Monday, but I thought they really competed and tried to play the right way most of the time,” Rhoades said. “There’s a lot of excitement. There’s a lot of good pieces out there.”
The format of the game was different this year with junior guard Adrian “Ace” Baldwin Jr. and sophomore guard Jayden Nunn being team captains. Nunn was the team captain for VCU Gold and Baldwin was the team captain for VCU Black. Both team captains drafted their own rosters, according to a VCU basketball tweet.
Gold defeated Black 55-50. VCU graduate forward Brandon Johns Jr. led Gold with 13 points and four rebounds, while sophomore Nunn also had 12 points and three assists.
Johns, who transferred to the university this offseason, was all over the court for the team. Rhoades said having John’s mentality has been great for the team.
“He’s been so much fun to coach since the day he got here. Positive energy, so into it, loves VCU,” Rhoades said. “You would have thought he’s here for four years. Pretty cool, but when he gets on the court, he can play.”
Sophomore forward Jalen DeLoach led Black with 18 points and six rebounds, while Baldwin had 15 points and six assists. Rhoades said DeLoach’s offseason has led him to become an offensive force for the Rams,
“He’s in the best shape of his life and he’s gotten stronger,” Rhoades said. “JJ [DeLoach] has done a great job. He had a great summer. You see his ability, and he has very good basketball IQ and good feel.”
Redshirt sophomore Jamir Watkins played for the first time in over a year after tearing his ACL, according to VCU Athletics. Watkins had 10 points and seven rebounds in 24 minutes of play.
“He’s a wing with great ability, great size, nose for the ball. He can make threes like you saw today. He put the ball on the floor and can challenge guys at the rim. He’s tough,” Rhoades said. “He gives us a great spark. We sure could have used them last year, that’s for sure.”
Freshmen forward Toibu “Tobi” Lawal, forward Christian Fermin, forward Obinnaya Okafor and forward Alphonzo “Fats” Billups III all participated in the scrimmage. Lawal, a London, England native stood out by earning 10 points and two blocks, along with many rim-grazing dunks.
Lawal has the ability to be a great versatile player for the black and gold in the future, Rhoades said.
“He’s got a lot of great potential and upside — he plays really hard. He’s just, you know, super athletic,” Rhoades said. “I like to say it’s coaching, but it’s not when you have a guy like him that can go after the ball, and just pursue the basketball and block shots so he can be a really good player for us.”
The Rams were picked third to win in a preseason poll of A-10 coaches and media members, according to VCU Athletics. Baldwin was named to the preseason first team, while Nunn was also named to the preseason third team, according to the A-10 website. It should be an interesting new season for the Rams.
The Rams will officially start their regular season with an exhibition game on Oct. 29 at 7 p.m. against Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania. The game will be played at the Stuart C. Siegel Center. For ticket information, visit vcuathletics.com.
