VCU NOTES

College basketball: VCU notes

Halfcourt defense

a priority for Rams

Virginia Commonwealth will start basketball practice a week from today. Second-year coach Shaka Smart has seven players - four starters - returning from a 27-9 team but will be acclimating five freshmen and a junior-college transfer.

"It is a talented group and a group that shows a lot of promise," Smart said. "But at the same time, each of our new guys has a

lot to learn and they can really benefit from spending time with our older guys and watching them and the things they do on the court."

One of the things Smart wants all of his players to do this season is improve the Rams' halfcourt defense. He plans to continue to apply fullcourt pressure and playwarp speed on offense.

Smart was an assistant at Clemson and Florida, which used fullcourt pressure defenses. He found it was "tougher to be a great halfcourt defensive team if you spend a lot of time defending fullcourt."

"It's certainly doable," he said. "That's when we really were at our best at Clemson and Florida. We were able to really give people trouble with our fullcourt pressure, and when they did break the press, we were able to bear down and defend people.

"We did that for stretches last year. . . . But it needs to be a more consistent point of emphasis for us all year."

Rozzell, Skeen set

after offseason work

Smart said guard Brandon Rozzell and for-

ward Jamie Skeen "put themselves in position to have terrific senior years" with their offseason work.

Smart wants Rozzell to be more consistent on defense.

"So far in preseason, he's been very good," Smart said.

Skeen started to emerge at the end of last year (8.1 points, 4.5 rebounds). He sat out the first eight games after transferring from Wake Forest.

The 6-9, 240-pounder is the only returning big man with experience, and Smart wants him to be assertive and attack the basket.

"He's a big key," Smart said. "He's a guy we're really excited about.

"He's a talented, talented kid. He, of all people, is really going to benefit from the added level of responsibility on the court."

Freshmen big men

get a little bigger

Some of VCU's freshmen big men arrived in June in need of more weight. So along with weight work, strength and conditioning coach Daniel Roose ate lunch with them almost every day.

"He monitored what they ate," Smart said. "They understood certain foods would help them gain weight, and certain other foods might not."

Center D.J. Haley, a 7-footer, came in at 224 pounds. He's up to 250.

Forward Juvonte Reddic, who's 6-9, came in at 204 pounds. He's up to 228.

"All of our guys - to a man - have gotten stronger," Smart said. "Daniel's done a great job with all of them. Certain guys, it's just going to take longer, because of their body types, to put on significant weight gain.

"The other thing that goes hand in hand with that is making sure they're moving better and in better shape. That's something that's still a work in progress."

- Tim Pearrell