RICHMOND, Va. – Eric Maynor started out passing, but after the first 4 minutes of the first half, he took over the game with his scoring, accounting for 14 of VCU’s 30 first half points in the CAA Final, on 6-9 shooting, 2-3 from the arc. George Mason’s John Vaughan couldn’t stop him, nor could Mason’s 2-3 zone. Add to that that center Larry Sanders has now learned to defend without fouling – mainly by staying on the ground until an opponent has left his feet and only then going up to contest – and that poor hands and all, Sanders managed to coral most of the rebounds he touched (12 at the half to go with 6 points on 3-5, and no fouls), and a third scorer in perimeter shooter Bradford Burgess (8 in the half on 3-6, including 2-5 from deep), and this VCU team becomes very, very good.
So as tough and talented as Mason sophomore point guard Cam Long is, as physically tough as are upperclassman forwards Darryl Monroe and Louis Birdsong, and freshmen forwards Michael Morrison and Ryan Pearson are, they were nowhere near enough to stop VCU. And with tonight’s 71-50 win, suddenly a VCU team is peaking in March, even improving, on its way to the big dance.
The second half was just an afterthought, Maynor resuming to pass and Sanders to rebound. Held scoreless in the first half, Mason center Darryl Monroe was finished mentally; held to a single point in the first half, Mason forward Louis Birdsong was intimidated near the goal, altered his shots, and couldn’t score. And while freshman Morrison is tougher, and will be heard from in this league, he was no match for Sanders this night, especially when Sanders’ running mate Kirill Pishchalnikov was in the game. The game even got a little chippy in the second stanza (because of the big score differential), but the officials were able to step in and settle things down. VCU’s lead topped out at 23 six minutes into the second half (43-20), and they were never threatened in winning by 21.
Mason senior Dre Smith, broken nose and all, kept his team moderately close, close enough on the scoreboard to avoid embarrassment, scoring 23 points, 18 in the second stanza, on 8-14 shooting, including 5-10 from deep. Often guarded by Maynor, Mason’s budding star sophomore point guard Cam Long was held in check all night long, finishing with just four on 2-10 shooting. And John Vaughan was able to score just five, on 2-5 shooting.
In the end, Maynor scored 25 points on 9-20, though most of his misses were long after the issue was decided; he also had eight assists. Sanders had a monster game inside, scoring the game’s first basket on a baseline jumper and 18 for the game, on 7-12, grabbing 20 rebounds, blocking seven shots, and changing countless more. Perhaps his most impressive stat, Sanders was whistled for just foul fouls in 34 hectic minutes.
After the game, CAA Commissioner Tom Yeager announced all-tournament selections of Sanders, Long, Smith, ODU’s Gerald Lee and Towson’s Junior Hairston. This writer voted for Georgia State’s Joe Dukes and Madison’s Pierre Curtis instead of Smith and Hairston, but the choices voted on by the assembled media were just fine. And I’d imagine the selection of Eric Maynor as tournament MVP was pretty darn near unanimous.
After the game, Coach Anthony Grant focused on Maynor’s great leadership, repeating his frequent view that Maynor has had a huge impact on Sanders’ growth, both as a player and as a person. While he wouldn’t speak directly toward the difference between last year’s team’s lethargic post-season and this team’s March enthusiasm and improvement (other then “we had a number of first year players last year who needed to learn”), he spoke of his group as “family,” and repeated Maynor’s comment that “we love each other.” Maynor was unequivocal in his view that this team can succeed in the NCAA Tournament, saying more than once that “we’re not done yet.”
George Mason Coach Jim Larranaga pointed out how Sanders changed the game, rendering his two starting big men terribly ineffective. He also spoke of Mason’s poor shooting, 30 percent and just 50 percent from the line (7-14), and bemoaned his team’s poor shooting over the last three weeks. He also expressed discouragement that his team seemed distracted tonight, didn’t listen in the huddle, and then didn’t do what the coaching staff asked out on the floor. “This is often caused by stress, thinking negatively, being discouraged,” Larranaga said. “We showed our frustration early in the game.”
Don’t cry for George Mason. They look like a very good bet to be an NIT team, they’re young and good, seem to have already done much to replace graduating Smith, Monroe and Vaughan, and Mike Morrison will be a brute in the middle when he takes over for Monroe.
As for VCU, they’re the best team to come out of this league since I’ve been around, including Mason of 2006, and unlike last year’s VCU team, they’re improving and playing with energy in March when it matters most. And they’re obviously having fun, on and off the court. On the subject of fun, Maynor finished the post-game by telling us how much fun it will be to watch the NCAA selection shows this coming Sunday, knowing that “this year, our name has to be called.”
So while the CAA will almost certainly be just a one-bid league this year, it appears to this writer that whatever their seed, the 2008-09 edition of VCU is more ready to do damage in the tournament than any team that has come out of this league in recent memory, even the Duke-killers of two years ago, and even the Final Four Mason group of three years ago.
