Alabama Takes on Anthony Grant’s Old Team,VCU, Tonight
ByIn the biggest game yet of this young season, Alabama's mens basketball team takes on the VCU (Virginia Commonwealth University) Rams. As you may remember, Anthony Grant was the coach there for several years before coming to Alabama.
In Grant's first year away from VCU, VCU's new coach Shaka Smart took the Rams all the way to the final four. They fell to the other upstart mid-major, Butler in one of the most improbable runs of the tournament.
Many thought that VCU got the final invitation to the NCAAs and Alabama was most likely the first that wasn't picked. The result was a thrilling run for VCU to the Final Four and Alabama made a run to the NIT finals.
This year, VCU is not as loaded due to teh fact that they lost their top players (recruited by Grant) in forward Jamie Skeen, sharp shooter Brandon Rozzell, Ed Nixon, and electric point guard JOey Rodriguez. However, their top player (and team MVP), 6 ft 6 senior wing player, Bradford Burgress,is back and a real force for the Rams.
This is very much a rebuilding year, but VCU's Smart is a very good coach. Look for the Rams to apply full court pressure and try to create fast transition points with their running game.
The game starts at 8:30PM CST. Look for Bama to beat VCU but don't expect this to be a beatdown. Tony Mitchell is questionable for this game so look for the younger players to get more time in this game. Players like Levi Randolph, Trevor Releford, Charles Hankerson, and Rodney Cooper lead the fresh faces of Alabama basketball and show why the future is so bright.
Alabama's football season is on hold right now, until hopefully January 9th, so if you need your Alabama sports fix until then, watch some Alabama basketball. It comes on ESPNU and streamed on ESPN3.com. Be sure to catch the action!
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