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By Chris Kowalczyk
2-22-10

It may have been a little uncomfortable, but Virginia Commonwealth University Head Coach Shaka Smart claimed his first win over one of his former bosses in Saturday’s 70-53 victory over Akron in an ESPNU BracketBusters contest at the Siegel Center.

Smart spent two seasons as an assistant under Zips Head Coach Keith Dambrot from 2004-06. Prior to the matchup, Smart admitted that he wasn’t looking forward to facing his former mentor and close friend. Both men put their friendship on hold for a couple of hours, but that didn’t necessarily make the game any easier.

 “It was hard because it was really a shift in terms of mindset,” Smart said. “When you talk to someone on a daily basis and you pull for them and you’ve worked with them and been through ups and downs with them and now you’re going up against them in a competitive situation and you’re trying to kick their butt.

“Even though you’re a coach and you’re not really on the floor playing, you have to develop a mindset in your head of being a competitor and he’s on the other side and it’s really either us or them. That’s difficult. It took a concerted effort on my end to set that aside and focus on what we were doing.”

Afterward, Dambrot, whose Akron team is tied for the Mid American Conference lead, was able to make light of the situation.

“It was tough for the couple of weeks before, but once we got out there I was going to try to beat his [butt],” Dambrot said with a smile. “As competitive as I am, I really don’t care if I’m coaching against my dad or kids or brother.”

Smart and Dambrot will get another crack at each other. As per the BracketBusters agreement, VCU will have to return the game sometime in the next two seasons.

NIXON HEATING UP
Junior Ed Nixon started his second straight game on Saturday and provided 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting and added five rebounds. Most of his points came off of difficult, sometimes acrobatic, drives to the basket.

A year ago, those are precisely the type of shots he had trouble finishing. Now, they’re occurring with increasing frequency. On several occasions on Saturday, Smart called a play get Nixon the ball against a mismatch and let the lighting quick guard go to work.

“He’s gotten much better finishing. I think that was a weakness of his early in his career. He’s gotten much better at making tough shots around the basket.”

In his previous two seasons, Nixon averaged 2.9 points per game and shot 37 percent from the field. This year, Nixon is averaging 8.3 points and shooting 48 percent from the field, the second best mark on the team. Nixon has also added a long-range stroke this season, shooting 41 percent (28-of-70) from beyond the 3-point arc.

ROZZELL BACK ON TRACK
Brandon Rozzell, the man Nixon replaced in the starting lineup two games ago, appears to be finding his stroke again.

After a dreadful four-game stretch which saw him average 1.5 points and shoot 3-of-21 from the field. On Saturday, Rozzell hit 5-of-8 shots, including 3-of-5 3-pointers and scored 13 points for the Rams.

Rozzell was critical early in the second half on Saturday, scoring a layup, intercepting a pass and burying a 3-pointer in transition during a 7-0 burst that halted a 10-0 Akron run.  VCU never looked back.

“Brandon made some big shots,” Smart said. “He plays with great energy and when he’s kind of got it going it’s really a snowball effect.”

Rozzell also benefits from the friendly confines of the Verizon Wireless Arena at the Siegel Center like no other Ram. A Richmond native, Rozzell is averaging 10.3 points and shooting 46 percent (54-of-118) at home this season. On the road, his numbers dip to 4.9 points and 32 percent shooting (20-of-63).

GWYNN FTW (FOR THE WIN)
Saturday’s victory moved senior T.J. Gwynn into a tie with Eric Maynor for the most wins by a VCU player in a career. Gwynn, who is averaging 5.7 points and 3.6 rebounds this season, has been associated with 95 victories during his career. He’ll get his first crack at the record on Wednesday against James Madison.

“Regardless of what his numbers are or how many minutes he’s played, he’s been a part of more wins than anybody in school history here. I think that’s very, very significant,” Smart said.

10 FOR 10
With senior point guard Joey Rodriguez nursing a sore shoulder, freshman Darius Theus stepped in to provide 10 points, two assists and two steals in a career-best 22 minutes in Saturday’s victory. The performance was another feather in the cap for the highly-rated rookie, who has shown improvement in a number of areas as the season has progressed.

“Darius’ future is very, very bright,” Smart said. “He pressures the ball as well as anybody I’ve coached, and the next step in the progression is being able to pressure the ball like that but still be sound and not foul. He did a good job of that today, with a couple of exceptions.”

One area of rapid improvement has been Theus’ 3-point stroke. The 6-3 guard missed his first eight 3-pointers this year, but has canned 6-of-14 since.

“It’s funny how when a guy works on his shooting consistently in practice, he gets better shooting the ball in the game,” Smart said. “That’s what Darius has done over the last couple of weeks. “

20-20-20-20 CLUB
VCU needs one more victory to reach the 20-win plateau for the fourth straight season. It would be the first such four-year stretch in school history. The Rams won 20-plus games in three consecutive seasons one other time, from 1982-85. Shaka Smart would be the second VCU rookie coach to win 20, joining Anthony Grant.

STARTING STRONG IN THE SECOND
VCU hasn’t had the easiest time holding leads this season. Recently, the Rams watched as James Madison opened the second half on a 17-2 blitz to turn an eight-point Rams’ lead into a 76-71 loss. In addition, VCU led by as many as 15 early in the second half at George Mason on Feb. 9 in Fairfax, only to have the Patriots rally for an overtime victory.

On Saturday, Akron opened the second half on a 10-0 run to close to within 34-32 and it looked like the Rams might be headed down a similar path. However, some heroics by Brandon Rozzell and full court press helped stem the tide, and VCU eventually cruised for a 70-53 win.

The Rams are aware of their second-half issues and are working to correct them, but it’s tough to fix something that you can’t simulate in practice.

“It really has to be a mindset and everybody has to be committed from the top of the roster to the bottom of the roster,” Nixon said. “It starts with the warm-ups and even before we get out there, just talking about it. We’re trying to fix it.”

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