VCU Preview

In a surprisingly good year for Division I basketball here in Virginia, the biggest surprise has to be the unexpected level of success of the Virginia Commonwealth University Rams.

With a head coach in his first season running a college program - Anthony Grant - VCU went 24-6, overall, and 16-2 in Colonial Athletic Association games. Although picked by the pundits to finish sixth in the league, the Rams put up the best record in the CAA. No previous CAA team has ever won as many as 16 conference games in regular season play.

VCU Rams Location: Richmond, Virginia Enrollment: 29,000 Colors: Black and Gold CAA member since: 1995

Coach Grant carries himself with a calm strength that is impressive. He sets a good example. As a high school head coach in Miami, his teams won three state titles. Then his 12 years as an assistant under Florida head coach Billy Donovan appear to have prepared him well. He exudes confidence.

Although he's a first-year college head coach, Grant brought a system with him that has turned out to fit the players he inherited from Rams former head coach, Jeff Capel, like a glove. It has called for the Rams to use an overplaying style on defense, with traps and zones that can absolutely wither teams that don't have good ball-handlers.

Upon arriving at the Siegel Center, Grant must have been delighted to find he had more offensive firepower on hand than some observers had thought. Capel had kept his best offensive players under wraps more than he would.

With excellent senior leadership in shooting guard B.A. Walker and swingman Jess Pellot-Rosa , Grant willingly turned the shooters loose. With Eric Maynor , Grant discovered he had a sophomore point guard with the raw ability to break down defenses, so Grant put the team in the sophomore's hands. As long as they play the 'D' according to the coach's dictates, that trio has the green light to shoot from anywhere this side of the parking lot.

Then again, there's no doubt the Rams were playing better basketball three or four weeks ago than they have in recent games.

In the media room after the bitter ESPN BracketBusters Bradley loss (73-64) two weeks ago, Grant was philosophical about his team's future.

"All the goals we set for ourselves at the beginning of the season are still right there in front of us," he said.

But his Rams then struggled to win against a pair of teams with losing records.

No doubt, one of those team goals was to finish atop the CAA's regular season standings. With that goal met, Grant needs for this week's practice sessions to restore VCU's confidence on offense.

Bradley beat VCU by outscoring the Rams. It wasn't because the Rams didn't play hard on defense, because they did. Grant knows that both Drexel and ODU , with their strong inside games, are capable of doing the same, unless his guards are hitting a lot of jump shots.

No doubt, the question Grant is the most tired of hearing asked this week is this one - can the Rams get an at-large invitation to the Big Dance, if they don't win the CAA tournament?

Rookie head coach, or not, Grant knows that's a question he doesn't want answered.

The odds are, in spite of VCU's 24 wins - with an RPI in the 50s - if it doesn't get to Monday's championship game, the chances of an at-large bid aren't so good. And, no surprise here - the only sure thing for a CAA team is to punch its own ticket.

Bottom line: Confidence will be the key. When VCU shoots well from three-point land, the Rams are hard to stop. Check out our Ultimate CAA Guide for all the info! VOTE: Who will win the CAA men's tourney?