VCU Previews, Scrimmage Notes and Dement's Comments

Sort of a weird grouping of things to post tonight. We've got less than 24 hours before the season gets underway. So let's start with some previews of opponent #1, Virginia Commonwealth.

- Here is a VCU preview from USA Today. This quote is frightening to UNCG fans ...

Deep and aggressive on defense, this is a lineup that can make life uncomfortable for any opponent, no matter the NCAA classification.

- Rush the Court's CAA preview predicted VCU to finish 2nd in the Colonial and get a #12 seed in the NCAA tournament. They also selected PG Joey Rodriguez to the All-Conference team.

-VCU Ram Nation posted this game preview. It is very tough to argue with the author's logic here ...

Friday’s matchup has 2 teams each introducing 6 new players into their lineups and having lost their star all-conference player from last season. The difference is that one team went 27-9, while the other went 8-23.

Coach Dement was on Sports Drive with Taylor Zarzour this morning and talked about his concerns with having a young team and very difficult schedule. He said that the team was young and he thought they would definitely improve throughout the season.

Here is a YouTube video from the Tom Ward Tipoff Luncheon that basically echos those same comments.



And finally, Jeff Goodman had an article leaking some of the info from the UNCG-UNC scrimmage on Oct 30.

UNC Greensboro was overwhelmed talent-wise by UNC, but there were a few bright spots: Junior college big men Aloysius Henry and Aaron Brackett – as well as 6-foot-7 wing David Williams – all competed and showed flashes.

No one from the university is allowed to discuss these "closed" scrimmages. I've recieved no reports from the UNCG-Radford scrimmage (and I don't expect to hear anything about it).

Rush the Court Preview

Rush the Court has posted a preview of the SoCon. Not a mention of the Spartans (their writer appears to be more familiar with the SoCon south division). Here is the predicted order of finish.

Predicted Order of Finish

North Division:
Appalachian State: 21-11 (13-5)
Chattanooga: 17-14 (11-7)
Western Carolina: 16-15 (9-9)
Samford: 14-18 (9-9)
UNC Greensboro: 9-23 (7-11)
Elon: 8-23
(5-13)

South Division:
Wofford: 25-10 (14-4)
College of Charleston: 21-13
(13-5)
Furman: 17-15 (10-8)
Davidson: 16-17 (8-10)
Georgia Southern:
13-19 (6-12)
Citadel: 10-21 (3-15)