Hoya Hoops Scouting Report

General Thoughts on the Rams:

VCU is a very confident, senior led team that is highly motivated to prove they deserved an at-large bid to this year’s NCAA tournament. Their Head Coach is Shaka Smart, in his second year. They are a guard oriented team that looks to push the tempo, force turnovers, and take opposing offenses out of their comfort zone.

They play an outstanding, suffocating defense and held USC to 46 points, 20 below their average, on 15-38 shooting (39.5%) They also forced 15 turnovers.

Defensive Tendencies:

VCU is a very aggressive, swarming team defensively. They play mostly man to man but also play a matchup zone and a spread out, very active 2-3 zone. Their zone was most effective vs. USC and is primarily what they played in the last 10 minutes of the game when they pulled away. I would suspect they would also play a lot of zone vs. the Hoyas, especially if the score is close late in the game.

They like to switch defenses often, and are most successful when they are keeping the opponents off balance and uncomfortable. They try and trap often when the ball is on the wing or in the corners, both in man and zone. In the man, they used a “run and jump” from behind, sort of like Cincinnati does. They also double teamed often on ball screens, particularly if they were on the wing, not in the middle. They also ran a version of a 2-3 “blitz” where the top two guards sprint and attack the ball handler near midcourt, and force him in to a careless pass.

They double team the post from several different places. Often the ball side guard would drop and double down, but sometimes the opposite post man would come and help. They also did a great job full fronting the USC post players and not allowing them to establish good position on the blocks. Against USC, the Rams did an outstanding job of limiting the Trojans’ leading scorer Nikola Vucevic to only 11 points and only 5 field goal attempts. They have great ball pursuit and never give up on the play. Again, they are very disruptive and thrive on changing looks, and forcing turnovers.

They also employ a full court 1-2-1-1 diamond full court press. It is different than some presses the Hoyas have seen this year, because after they trap the first pass, they do not deny the ball back to the inbounder. So it is less aggressive than some presses but it is a more sustained pressure and makes the guards work hard the entire trip up the floor.

Offensive Tendencies:

VCU’s primary offense is their transition game, which is predicated on rebounding well and forcing turnovers, which they did extremely well vs. USC. They run on both made or missed baskets and are very comfortable shooting early in the shot clock. As a result of this style of play they score in bunches, and is a very difficult team to pull away from.

A key element of their offense is a center screen and roll. They use this high screen in the middle of the floor, in transition, in their half-court sets, and it is their go to play with the shot clock running down.

As I mentioned earlier, they are a guard oriented team and do not look to get a lot of points from the low post. They attack defenses on the dribble trying to get into the defense, and then kick opposite for open three pointers. They set a lot of screens, and utilize a sideline “pick and pop” for a three pointer, just as often as they screen and roll. They also use a lot of dribble handoffs to get their shooters good looks in their half court sets.

They are also an exceptional offensive rebounding team, and had 17 offensive rebounds vs. USC. Although they are not big, they are very athletic, quick and aggressive to the ball. They are an unselfish team and are willing to make the extra pass to get an open teammate a better look.

Out of Bounds Plays:

In addition to a standard box set where they just in the ball and run their offense, they also have a play where the intended shooter starts on the block opposite the ball. He screens up for the 3 man, and then receives a diagonal screen from the 5 man looking for a shot on the ball side.

Do they have a player that can take over the game? How does he score his points?

Coach Smart has called senior forward Jamie Skeen (#21) their most valuable player this year, and he was certainly the difference vs. USC. He is their most versatile and dynamic player with the ability to score points inside an out. He was the Rams’ leading scorer this year averaging, 15.3 ppg. At 6’9” 240 pounds, he is the Rams’ biggest physical presence, but can also handle the ball on the perimeter, posing a potential defensive mismatch vs. the Hoyas’ big men.

Senior guard Joey Rodriguez is their primary ball handler and could be the difference if the Rams are going to upset the Hoyas. He averaged 10.6 ppg during the season and although he takes some questionable shots (he was 3-11 vs. USC), he also had 5 assists and really controlled the game down the stretch. He is also the key to the Rams forcing the tempo they like. If he has a decent shooting night, the Hoyas could be in trouble.

Key to the game:

The Hoyas will win if the Hoyas big men have more assists than turnovers.