College basketball countdown: No. 21 Virginia Commonwealth
THE FIRST WORD: Shaka Smart has had chances to leave Virginia Commonwealth to take higher-paying jobs at major programs.
Though flattered, the 37-year-old coach says, "Why would I ever want to leave here?"
The way Smart sees it, there's still a lot of work to be done in Richmond.
"Every time something comes up, to be honest, it's never even close," Smart said. "I've been here for over five years and our program continues to grow. We've made a lot of progress. At the same time, we feel like we have a long way to go. There's still a lot of work to do to be one of the very best teams in the country."
Smart doesn't want to join a powerhouse program, he wants to build one.
That plan continues to move in the right direction. Following VCU's memorable Final Four run in 2011, the Rams have become an NCAA tournament mainstay — earning a No. 5 seed in the past two seasons — transitioned to a tougher conference (the Atlantic 10) and become a perennial top 25 team. His 137 victories in five seasons are tied for second most at the Division I level.
There have been road blocks, of course. Years after playing the role of Cinderella, VCU fell victim to one in last year's upset tourney loss to Stephen F. Austin.
"I think the thing about our team that went to the Final Four was that we were playing our best basketball at the end of the year," Smart said. "Last year we didn't play our best basketball at the end of the year. It's a positive that we have 10 guys back from that team who have learned lessons. And now we have new guys who give us the depth that we want."
VCU's havoc-wreaking, full-court pressure defense will be back. The Rams lose Juvonte Reddic but return leading scorer Treveon Graham as well as guards Melvin Johnson and Briante Weber. Smart also welcomes perhaps his best recruiting class ever.
"I think we could have best team we've ever had at VCU," assistant coach Jeremy Ballard said.
2013-14 IN REVIEW: 26-9 overall, 12-4 (second place in A-10), lost in second round of NCAA tournament to Stephen F. Austin.
PATH TO THE DANCE: Atlantic 10 auto-bid.
PROJECTED TOURNEY SEED: No. 6 seed.
NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE GRADE: A-. See full schedule here.
Smart wants VCU to be an elite program, and he hasn't flinched in scheduling aggressively. The Rams host Tennessee and Toledo early in November before taking on Villinova and either Michigan or Oregon in the Legends Classic. In December VCU faces several NCAA tournament-caliber teams, hosting Northern Iowa, Belmont and Cleveland State. Road tests will come at Illinois State and Cincinnati. The toughest non-conference test will be against in-state foe Virginia at home on Dec. 6.
TEAM BREAKDOWN: See full roster here.
STAR WATCH: Smart's full-court press can fluster most teams, and that's in large part due to Graham's 6-6 wingspan. Graham (15.8 ppg, 7.0 rpg) also has been the Rams' primary offensive weapon, averaging more than 15 points a game the last two seasons. The senior, a sleeper All-American, got a chance to show he's one of the nation's premier talents during the summer, playing well in the LeBron James and Kevin Durant academies.
X-FACTOR: Weber (9.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg 3.9 apg) returns as the Rams' floor general and he'll being leadership as a senior. The 6-2 senior is hard to stop in the open court and a menacing ballhawk in the press — he led the A-10 in steals with 121. Smart expects to play Weber more off the ball to provide more scoring opportunities this season.
KEY NEWCOMER: Terry Larrier. The post game, without Reddic, will need a significant boost. That's where the top-50 recruit comes in. The 6-8 freshman, ranked as one of the top 10 power forwards, has great versatility, and he should be a perfect fit for Smart's system. Larrier, who chose VCU over Florida, FSU, Miami and Seton Hall, can hit medium-range jumpers and rebound. Smart expects him to be an impact player from the start. Fellow freshmen Justin Tillman (6-7) and Mike Gilmore (6-9) should earn minutes as well.
TEAM STRENGTH/WEAKNESS: The Rams will be extremely deep, especially on the perimeter, and that's a must for a team that presses the entire game. The Rams led the nation in steals a game (11.2) and ranked third in turnover margin (6.0) last season and those are stats that should carry over in 2014-15. The role players could realistically start for a handful of A-10 teams, and Smart believes his team's chemistry will be the difference-maker. Johnson (10.4 ppg, 66 three-pointers last season), a 6-3 junior, and 6-1 sophomore JeQuan Lewis (5.9 ppg) return as primary backcourt producers, and 6-6 sophomore forward Mo Alie-Cox (3.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg) and 6-5 sophomore Jordan Burgess (4.9 ppg) are the frontcourt returnees.
FUN FACT: Hunter Campbell "Patch" Adams and Tigers' pitcher Brandon Inge are famous alums.
BASICS: Virginia Commonwealth University is in Richmond, Va., and the Rams play their home games in the Stuart C. Siegel Center, which opened in 1999 and seats 7,622.
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About this post: Every week day for the next three months, one of the 68 teams in USA TODAY Sports' projected field will be dissected. In November, the final bracket will be revealed.