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LOCATION: Richmond, VA
CONFERENCE: Colonial Athletic Association
LAST SEASON: 15-16 (.483)
CONFERENCE RECORD: 8-8 (6th)
STARTERS LOST/RETURNING: 1/4
NICKNAME: Rams
COLORS: Black & Gold
HOMECOURT: Stuart C. Siegel Center (7,500)
COACH: Mack McCarthy (Virginia Tech '74)
record at school 15-16 (1 year)
career record 258-138 (13 years)
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ASSISTANTS: Mike Ellis (North Carolina '88)
Chris Cheeks (VCU '90)
E.J. Sherod (Old Dominion '97)
TEAM WINS: (last 5 years) 16-24-14-9-15
RPI (last 5 years) 98-65-131-245-194
1998-99 FINISH: Lost in conference semifinal.
ESPN.com Clubhouse
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LaMar Taylor was the epitome of politeness a couple of years ago when he pointed out only when asked that the local newspaper had been misspelling his name. The "M" in LaMar is indeed upper case. During his two years directing Virginia Commonwealth University's offense, the 5-10 Taylor has added another upper case "M" to his resume. He has become the Man at VCU. Perhaps nowhere else has a program's development paralleled so closely the development of one player. Taylor, a local youngster who was thrown into VCU's lineup way too soon, has turned into the player the Rams expected him to be when they recruited him out of John Marshall High. The Rams have turned into a team that rivals in the Colonial Athletic Association no longer look forward to playing. "That's a team on the move," UNC Wilmington coach Jerry Wainwright said.
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Blue Ribbon Analysis |
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BACKCOURT B+ BENCH/DEPTH B-
FRONTCOURT C+ INTANGIBLES B
Virginia Commonwealth made the first step back to respectability last season. It went from doormat to gnat, a pesky young group that improved as much as any team in the CAA from season's start to finish. This is the year VCU is capable of making a bigger step. The Rams can contend for the CAA title, although real championship chances are probably a year away. Juniors LaMar Taylor and Bo Jones, along with sophomore Hunter Hoggatt and junior Scott Lilly, give the Rams a talented, flexible and experienced backcourt that no one in the CAA can top. Reggie Okosa and Shawn Hampton are sophomore post players who have all-league type potential. The problems are at the small-forward and center slots. With Shannon Martin gone, the Rams sorely need a much bigger year out of senior Garland Ragler than they got last season. If that doesn't happen, freshmen Josh Graham and Antonio Lappegard better be pretty good. Chances are, one of them can handle the job. VCU won't have to put up with the inconsistency of junior center L.F. Likcholitov this season. If freshman Matt Treadwell is half as good as advertised, he will end up with the bulk of the time there. The Rams' backcourt did very well a year ago considering it got no consistent help from the team's inside players. If that changes this year, Taylor and Jones and crew could find much more open space. And they've shown that they don't miss when they have some of that. The biggest intangible VCU has its favor is that it finally has a home court. Construction delays kept the $30 million on-campus Stuart C. Siegel Center from opening last year and the Rams bounced back and forth from the Richmond Coliseum to the University of Richmond's Robins Center. They handled it well, thanks to McCarthy's refusal to publicly use it as an excuse. Having a beautiful home, where they can practice as well as play, will make more of a difference than VCU's players probably realize. |
Said University of Richmond coach John Beilein, "VCU is going to be tremendous." The main reason is the continued development of Taylor. "LaMar has gone from the typical freshman to just as good a point guard as you're going to find, and I'm talking over the whole country," Beilein said. "He's really doing all the little things." Taylor finished last season with an 11.3 scoring average and 194 assists in 31 games. He also plucked 3.8 rebounds. His turnover total remains high (120); too often he finds himself in the lane and in the air with no clear plan. But those moments have decreased, and the fact that he can penetrate so well makes him so dangerous. You lay back and he steps back and drops in a three-pointer. He hit .444 percent of those a year ago. "His progress was incredible last season and obviously it needs to continue," VCU coach Mack McCarthy said. "He developed into an outstanding point guard at the end of the year." Taylor is not VCU's only dangerous guard. Bo Jones, a 5-11 junior, led the Rams in scoring last season (14.3 ppg). He was a .362 percent shooter from three-point range. He is very streaky. Jones was 20 for 27 over one three-game stretch, but is just as capable of going three for 18. This year, McCarthy will have an option if that happens. Hunter Hoggatt, a 6-3 sophomore, returns after taking a redshirt season. He averaged 4.2 points as a freshman, although he shot only 26.6 percent from three-point range. Some added strength will help there. Also back is 6-2 junior Scott Lilly (7.0 ppg, 1.9 rpg), who was bothered by a bum shoulder much of last season. Lilly can play either guard spot and will see considerable time again. He averaged 20.9 minutes last season. McCarthy said 5-11 freshman Ben Rand (Fork Union Military/South Boston, Va.) a walk-on, is also in the mix. "The obvious weakness here is size, but hopefully a real intense offseason weight program has made some difference there," McCarthy said of his backcourt, "If you can't be tall, be strong, and everybody worked at that pretty hard." Guard Alexander Shtam (1.5 ppg, 0.3 rpg in 12 games), a 6-1 sophomore walk-on, will again be available if necessary. He has a likely redshirt for the coming season. All of the Rams' guards will be around at least two more seasons, a far cry from the not-too-long ago days when VCU's roster was made up of many junior college players. This year, VCU will have no former junior college players on its roster. McCarthy realizes the JUCO route is risky at the mid-major level, as evidenced by the two he brought aboard last season. Shannon Martin, a 6-6 forward, struggled much of the season with foul trouble. He finally caught on and became a force late in the year, only to miss the final four games with an ankle injury. Then he left school. VCU's other JUCO, 6-5 senior Garland Ragler (3.9 ppg, 2.0 rpg), was a major disappointment and didn't return to school. The other candidates at small forward are 6-7 senior Patrick Kodjoe and two 6-6 freshmen, Antonio Lappegard (Largo High/Largo, Md.) and Josh Graham (Fleming Co. HS/Flemingsburg, Ky.). Kodjoe's numbers aren't much (5.8 ppg, 5.3 rpg, .387 percent shooting), but he is one of those guys with a knack for the big rebound, the big basket, the free throws in the final minute. McCarthy loves his "headiness." Lappegard became Largo's leading scorer with 856 points in two years. He averaged 19.6 points as a senior. Graham averaged 15 points and 12 rebounds as a prep senior. "We thought when we signed them that they could both help right away," McCarthy said. "They're both strong enough and both were really well coached. That gives them a leg up on a lot of young kids." At power forward, 6-8 Shawn Hampton (10.3 ppg, 6.7 rpg) was one of the CAA's better freshmen last season. He has a terrific ability to get to the free-throw line. He made (114) more a year ago than any other VCU player tried. He still needs to develop new moves. Later in the season, teams backed off and forced Hampton to make a shot. As close to the hole as he plays, he needs to do better than .464 percent. Reggie Okosa, a 6-9 sophomore, became Hampton's buddy and frequent courtmate. He averaged 4.2 points and 5.3 rebounds. "Both needed a good summer in the weight room and in school," McCarthy said. "They were successful in both." Okosa has good skills, Hampton has good instincts. They had outstanding freshman years without a great deal of help, just because of a lack of experience around them. Help didn't come from the center spot last year, where 6-10 junior L.F. Likcholitov (3.4 ppg, 3.1 rpg) was wildly inconsistent. He could block some shots (44) but was often in early foul trouble and often had trouble catching the ball. This year, look for 6-11 freshman Matt Treadwell to see a lot of time at center. He reported a year ago at 170 with more skills than the Rams figured but nowhere near enough strength. He has since gained 40 pounds. "He still has flashes of brilliance and flashes of not being strong enough, depending on when you see him play," McCarthy said. McCarthy, who made his mark by taking Tennessee-Chattanooga to national prominence, isn't ready to declare the Rams a contender. He does concede they're closer than they were a year ago. "We could be good. It'll depend on how we react to a difficult schedule and how quickly we come to know each other," McCarthy said. "(But) you're looking at only two seniors. Long term, I like what's going on."
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