Thursday, June 17, 2010

2012 Yet??

Wishful thinking I know.

Saturday, January 09, 2010

VCU guard Joey Rodriguez is HORRIBLE!!!

Unfortunately for VCU Ram basketball fans, Joey R. decided not to transfer this year and returned to the team. For fans that pay attention to many different aspects of the game, Rodriguez sucks at most of them. He is listed at 5'10, but realistically he his 5'8 in shoes. When you are that short playing Division I basketball, you usually can do several things well. You are quick, a good defender, and can shoot. Well minus a few good shooting games here and there, Rodriguez cannot do any of them. For the past 3 years, it has been very frustrating watching opposing players blow by JR like he is nailed to the floor. It cannot help that his feet are almost as long as he is high. It's like watching a clown running up and down the court. He cannot get by opponents either. His diminutive stature already puts him at a disadvantage when trying to score, but add to that a sluggish speed and lack of ball handling, and you have a poor offensive player. I know some will argue that he has been able to put up good scoring games in his career at VCU, but that has been while taking advantage of Eric Maynor's double and triple teams that have left him wide open on many occasions.

And recently, adding to his negative attributes, he has been showing no discipline and no hustle. On more than one occasion, he has turned the ball over and walked back on defense while his taller, faster, better opponent runs down court and gets a wide open shot. Granted, VCU's poor excuse of a coach, Shaka Smart, has no concept of how to coach with any discipline himself. With little consequence for poor play, bad decisions, and bad attitude, the Rams tend to run a muck from time to time. Smart slaps them on their ass and forgets to actually coach a player that has messed up.

Sorry, got off on the coach when I should be talking about JR. Ram fans, like myself, rejoiced with the fact that JR had decided to transfer last season. It seems Mr Rodriguez didnt like having his coach leave and thought he would make a bigger dent in the program by leaving. Unfortunately, he did the program a big favor by leaving. It would have given a younger, more talented guard, the opportunity to lead this team and grow into the position. Something JR has been unable to do in his entire tenure at VCU. However, he came back. And with him, his lack of talent.

But, I digress. I have been spoiled for 4 seasons with Eric Maynor, and before him other solid, if not talented point guards at the helm. I guess we fans must endure 1 more season of bad defense, turnovers, and poor decisions by JR before we can really see what life without Eric Maynor looks like. Keep your heads up fans.