Jeff Eisenberg is an under appreciated voice of our game. Has been for more than 20 years. Example: sports.yahoo.com/mens-college...

Leave it to Mark Schmidt. Two of his best players didn’t play high school basketball. One grew up a hockey player and the other quit basketball and lived out of a truck. Bonnies are 6-1 and battling Fla. Atlantic on the road.

This is a ton of fun. Old school great read. Selfish idea: the We Don’t Play D1 Football Classic. All games at MSG.

It’s almost like when you shoot 60% you look good, and when you shoot 30% you look bad. Worth noting: in the last 46 minutes of basketball play, VCU has outscored Va Tech by 48 points. I’m tired of scheduling these crap teams.

Meaning, it’s not like VCU has bombed in nine threes to cover up poor play. Going toe to toe and fought their way back.

VCU trails by two, 43-41, at the half. Given Rams are 2-16 from three, that shows some grit.

Rams down 11-2 at the under 16. Looks more like a food fight.

Lazar Djokovic is a load. Believe it was a 16/8 second half. A coach once told me guys like that “move the floor.” Meaning, no matter where he is or what he’s doing, you have to adapt and account for him. Have to consult historical rosters to see if VCU has had this kind of big man weapon.

VCU 36, South Fla 33 (H) Back-to-back dunks by Barry Evans closes the scoring. Rams make 5-7 field goals down the stretch. Walling up at the rim slowed Bulls, but need to slow the dribble-drive. 22 of 36 FGA were layups or dunks.

South Fla 22, VCU 19 at the under 8. Game resembles a Tuesday night Henrico County rec league game, only with bigger players. Very rock fighty. Terrence Hill with nine points to lead VCU. Hill is 3-5 from the field. Everyone else is 2-19.

Wait, Bennet Stirtz is still eligible? Andrey Semenov is impressed.

Saw Drexel beat ODU and both teams scored more than 70 points. Such an affront to #CAAHoops salad days. Also that Pecora and Quinnipiac beat Capel/Pitt. Remember Antoine Agudio dropping 34 on VCU in 2006. Pecora has Capel’s number.

Fun half in Vegas, other than excessive trips to the monitor for obvious things. Graham Ike is a dude. Can’t take Bama’s candy cane sideline look seriously.

Top moment of the half: Ed Nixon when a Coppin player tried to do too much and turned the ball over. “What did I say about tea? If it’s not your cup of tea, don’t put it in your mug.” The Chef is cooking.

VCU 54, Coppin 28 (H). It’s a no-analysis buy game. Couple notes: If Keyshawn Mitchell doesn’t have the green light, he’s running red lights like his wife is in labor. Nyk Lewis is that guy.

Deep cut: Wil Famemi.

Look at AG. Going 1-3-1 on the last possession. Marquette doesn’t get a shot before the buzzer. Fun game, especially if you love ex-VCU coaches.

A lot to love in a 2-2 start. VCU needs a great MTE performance. Go figure. This just in: fire is hot.

Don’t hand me stats. VCU shot 26% in 1H and was down four. Shot 58% in the first 10 minutes of 2H. And was down four. Rams had about five shots in the air in the last four minutes that would put “holy shit” in the minds of NCSU. None went in. It is a frustratingly beautiful game we love.

State 39, VCU 35 (H). Unsure what to make of Rams 6-24 from three and 5-12 from two. Nine offensive rebounds. Pretty sure Will Wade is going to talk about Terrence Hill for the entire halftime break.

State 33, VCU 28 at the under four. Rams shooting 25.8% and weathered an early NCSU fireworks show early. Loving the grit.

State 29, VCU 22 at the under 8. Rams shot selection akin to food choices at 1am. “Taco Bell is a perfectly healthy choice.”

VCU 13, State 13 at the under 16. Seems to be first to 5,000 wins. Lazar Djokovic is a load.

Today, I drove past Trask. Saw NU close Matthews. Got a text about Tom Pecora from a good friend. Posted about ODU. Read an article about a former VCU coach now in the ACC facing his former team. We had it better.

The decimation of a great basketball program is well-worth a big football win over Troy.

Saw some absolute Dudes play on that floor. Barea, Janning, etc. New home had better include Bill Coen Court (at least).

Flipping channels… YouDee, with four guys that remind me of me as a high school player, leads BYU at the half. JT Toppin = ridiculous.

You may also know his grandfather, a Colonel in the Korean War.

This is a fantastic, old school meets new world story. Extremely well done. I’ve also now figured out how budgeting plays into Penn State’s choice to buy out VCU.

The best VCU teams had a guy willing to rearrange the locker room. JPR, Doug Brooks would climb a mountain to punch an echo. Eric Maynor demanded excellence. Treveon Graham had more ghost pepper than portrayed. Need that guy.

Proud of the fight. You can see there’s something there. Only two games, but feels like this VCU team needs a little rattlesnake. Can’t say “holy shit we’re down 12 at the under 8” to start playing like they closed. Need 40 minutes of that.

Who is setting up the Nyk Lewis NIL GoFundMe?

When you make 50% of your shots and hit six threes, and still trail by nine at the half, there’s not much analysis necessary.

Half of VCUs FGA were from three (34 of 68). Rams made 14 of those (41%). That’s a recipe.

From 32-32, VCU finished on a 71-42 spree. Kind of like perfectly putting together the IKEA furniture and having a proud moment, and then wondering if the random screws on the floor matter.

VCU DJs, ranked… 1. Lazar Djokovic 2. DJ Haley 3. Lewis Djonkam

Rams 71-56 at the under 12. Nyk Lewis with a clean 10/5/4.

This VCU team is shaping up to be the Anti-Capels. Can score at will, but I’ve seen dead guys rotate better on defense.

Good piece here, and classic Will Wade. Got to see many sides of Will and I’ll unabashedly say I hope he wins every game not played on November 17.

Much better 2H for VCU. Obviously no video but I know how Robby/Rodney call games. Some sludgy to the offense, and no matter what else occurs you have to make shots or the other stuff doesn’t matter. Takeaway: we’re effing playing !!!!

A rather untidy first half to lift the lid on the season. Nova 37-24. I know it's an exhibition and coaches experiment, but 12 turnovers, many self-inflicted, 2-11 from three and 4-7 from the line are experiment-independent. I heard all summer Jadrian Tracey had The Man vibes. His 10pts lead VCU.

“Sit down, Gene.” Was just spoken at my house. We miss Doc and Honey Hunt greatly. VCU legends. Doc gave officials no slack. Honey gave Doc no slack.

More randomness: I see Alex Faust on the broadcast for the Reds/Brewers. More importantly: #CAAHoops legend Alex Faust.

In semi-related college football news, odu leads liberty 14-0 in a game I hope ends in a tie after a 12-hour rain delay.

Randomly watched the end of BC/Cal CFB. Hit me there must be nothing worse than being a BC athletics fan. Abject misery in the Washington Generals way. Should change their colors to beige and tan. Earl Grant could own Charleston, maybe all of South Carolina, or this...

Jadrian Tracey. That is all.

Red Clay Strays. Eric Maynor vs. Duke 2011. Mike Doles vs. UNCW. Kenny Harris vs. South Florida. Treat yourself. Holy hell these dudes kill it.

Some of my best A10 friends are on Hawk Hill. I want them to win because it’s fun there when they win. Also, De’Andre Bembry punked Mo Alie-Cox in the A10 tournament. One of one.

Allow me to state that losing your head coach in September, replaced by a 63-year old who won eight games last year, is a step forward for that program. I’d have to think hard about a program with more neutered talent than Joes the past few years.

Time to spare at LAX, I tuned in to see the last 30 minutes of VCU soccer upsetting second-ranked Clemson, 2-1. Absolute bonkers final 20 minutes. VCU GK Trevor Maloney was all over the place. Felt like the Rams turned away 462 corner kicks.