There are four teams left in the tournament field. Three are from Virginia, so CAA commissioner Tom Yeager is expecting to do well with walk-up ticket sales.

The 3:00 p.m. game features a match-up between longtime rivals, VCU and ODU. The Monarch’s finished the season as expected, at the top of the CAA. The two team have met 81 times. The Rams hold a 42-39 edge in the all-time series.

The VCU Rams (22-8) are coming off of a 15-point win over the George Mason Patriots on Saturday afternoon. Earlier in the day the Old Dominion Monarchs (24-8) crushed the Towson Tigers by 30 points.

Click here for a report on that session’s pair of contests.

Click here for an exclusive video of the Rams scorching of the Patriots. The game was close much of the way. In the last 6:49 of the game VCU went on a 22-7 run.

The other semifinal game, at 5:30 p.m., pits Northeastern (20-11) against William & Mary (21-9).

The Northeastern Huskies survived a double-overtime ordeal with Hofstra. The Tribe handled a stubborn James Madison Dukes team. Wm. & Mary’s head coach was just named Coach of the Year in the CAA.

Click here for a report on the late session’s two games.

Click here for a link to all the previous posts about the ongoing CAA tournament at the Richmond Coliseum.

• STYLE Weekly’s Back Page by Charlie Diradour, with comments, is here. Read about the issue from a pro-Baseball on the Boulevard point of view.
• The Richmond Times-Dispatch ran one-on-one commentary pieces on the stadium issue in its Sunday Commentary section. Click here to read them both.
• Highwoods Properties’ web site is here. Read the would-be developer of Shockoe Center’s point of view.
• River City News’ “Let’s Play Ball!” is a recent post on the issue with comments. Click here to read it.
• SLANTblog’s “Ad money shrinking in sports” is here.
• “Baseball’s Emotional and Financial Game Continues” can be read at Buttermilk & Molasses by clicking here.
• The RT-D’s John O’Connor’s “Season without pro baseball is a flashback to 1965″ is here to provide some historical background.
• The Fan District Hub’s call for a referendum is here.

Then there’s Garry Krantz’s feature-length article on the baseball stadium project in Richmond Magazine.

The pitch sounds simple, but therein lies the curveball. Revenue projections are speculative, and Highwoods Properties’ executives have yet to disclose a single retail or other prospective business tenant for the complex. And while it continues to tout the project in public meetings with city residents, at press time Highwoods Properties had yet to submit formal development proposals to the city. The developers gave the city’s administration an Aug. 1 deadline to sign a letter of intent to progress with the project, placing it under Council’s consideration.

Click here to read the Richmond Magazine piece, which offers an overview of this issue that may be useful, especially to a reader not familiar with some of its history.

Note: Spokespersons for the Highland Properties group will make a presentation at an open-to-the-public meeting at 7 p.m., on Wed., Apr. 22, at Albert Hill Middle High. Three members of City Council are supposed to be there. It’s my understanding that questions will be taken.

In what comes somewhat as a surprise to me, apparently Anthony Grant — the VCU Rams head coach for the last three seasons (76-25) — has decided to accept an offer from the University of Alabama to coach its basketball team.

In spite of what sense of disappointment VCU fans may be feeling, Grant has been good to VCU — two NCAAs in three seasons. And, unless there are defections, Grant isn’t exactly leaving the cupboard bare. At this writing, I have no idea if any VCU players might be considering leaving. Obviously, one might wonder about Larry Sanders.

VCU will reload. Grant is leaving open a good job that plenty of up-and-coming coaches would love to have. After the success of Jeff Capel and Grant, there’s no reason to think VCU president Eugene Trani isn’t prepared to make it a hat trick.

This hiring will surely be seen as Trani’s departing gift to the basketball program I know he loves. Trani has been in the media room after most VCU games for years, demonstrating his knowledge of the game. So, I’ll be surprised if VCU doesn’t act swiftly to replace Grant.

And, while I’m at it, a tip of the Fan District Hub’s cap goes out to Anthony Grant. He is a class act in a game that needs more like him.

*

Update: Here’s the official press release from VCU’s Chris Kowalczyk :

Anthony Grant has resigned as head coach men’s basketball coach at Virginia Commonwealth University, effective immediately, to accept the same position at the University of Alabama, VCU Athletic Director Norwood Teague announced Friday.

“We’re certainly disappointed to lose Anthony,” Teague said. “However, his service at VCU was unmatched, and we want what’s best for Anthony and his family. It was an absolute honor to have him here at VCU, and Alabama is getting a one-of-a-kind person and coach.”

Grant’s three-year tenure was one of great success for the Rams.

The 42-year-old Miami, Fla. native went 76-25 in 101 games at VCU. His team dominated the Colonial Athletic Association, capturing two conference tournament championships and three regular season crowns. Under Grant, the Rams were 52-10 against CAA foes.

The Rams reached two NCAA Tournaments, including 2007, when VCU upset sixth-seeded Duke, 79-77, in the first round. The victory was the program’s first NCAA Tournament triumph in 23 years. This season the Rams took UCLA to the wire before dropping a 65-64 decision in the first round in Philadelphia March 19.

VCU never won fewer than 24 games in each of Grant’s three seasons, including a school-record 28 in 2006-07.

A national search will begin immediately.

”I can’t tell you how happy and proud I am right now,” Rams head coach Beth Cunningham said. “These kids, coaches, administration, everyone put in a ton of hard work and we were rewarded with a historic accomplishment tonight.”

The team gathered in the Founder’s Room of the Siegel Center to watch the Selection Show and hear “Virginia Commonwealth” named to play in the Oklahoma City region. Their game is scheduled to begin just before 7:30 p.m.

“Everyone just erupted when they saw that logo and name pop up,” Cunningham said. “It’s been something that these kids have been working toward seeing all year long.”

Cunningham’s Rams concluded the regular season with a 25-5 overall mark. The happy coach added, “We went from the lowest of the lows after the tough loss to JMU [in the CAA tournament] to the highest of the highs tonight … tomorrow we’ll get back to what we’ve been doing all year long and prepare for Rutgers on Saturday.”

Eric Maynor releases a running floater that swishes to make for two of his 14 first-half points.

Eric Maynor and Larry Sanders were nearly unstoppable in leading Virginia Commonwealth University to a runaway victory over George Mason at the Richmond Coliseum: VCU 71, Mason 50.

In truth, the game really wasn’t as close as the score might suggest. Before a sell-out crowd of 11,200 and a national television audience the No. 2 seeded Patriots were ripped to shreds at every turn, dominated by the No. 1 seeded Rams in every aspect of the game.

In the first few minutes of play in the Colonial Athletic Association’s tournament final, the Rams appeared better prepared and more intense than the Patriots. VCU never trailed in the score and led by 11 points at the half.

Maynor and company opened the second stanza with a devastating 13-1 four-minute run to completely deflate whatever notions the stunned Patriots might have had that they actually belonged on the same floor with Broad Street’s red hot Rams.

As good as the VCU Rams have looked at times during the 2008-09 season, before this tilt head coach Anthony Grant had not seen his young and talented team exhibit a killer instinct. The Rams hadn’t shown a knockout punch until now.

The John Larranaga-coached Patriots, ordinarily a tough and disciplined squad, simply had no answer for Maynor or Sanders. Mason had a No. 46 RPI prior to the game; VCU was No. 56.

In his last performance before a Richmond basketball crowd Eric Maynor turned in a memorable night’s work. The senior guard scored 25 points and earned eight assists. And why not? He holds the VCU all-time records for both points and assists.

However, stats don’t tell enough about how completely Maynor controlled this game, which happens to have been the most important of the season, so far. His confidence anywhere on the floor was abundantly obvious from the get-go; it spread like a virus to his teammates, as the rout developed.

Larry Sanders blocked seven shots and altered several more into bricks that clanged off the rim … if they hit the rim at all. The long-limbed Sanders grabbed 20 of VCU’s 39 rebounds. Mason had 32 boards. While he was at it, Sanders also poured in 18 points, eight of which came from emphatic dunks that fired up the VCU fans.

Freshman Bradford Burgess, who played with poise and scored eight points, contends with Cam Long’s leaping defense as he throws the ball in.

VCU converted on 49 percent of its shots from the field; Mason was held to 30 percent.

Larranaga must have been surprised to see his sturdy 22-10 outfit look so utterly helpless in a championship affair. Afterward, his trademark good sportsmanship and stoicism were in evidence, as the losing coach complimented the victors. “They’ve got a guy, Larry Sanders, who can eliminate a lot of easy buckets.”

Dre Smith scored 23 points to pace the Patriots offense. As some consolation, Smith was joined on the all-tournament team by his teammate Cam Long. Also named were Junior Hairston (Towson), Gerald Lee (ODU), Maynor and Sanders.

In what came as no surprise to anyone, the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player Award went to Maynor. Sanders, a sophomore, set new CAA records for rebounds in a single contest and for the entire tournament (40).

VCU (24-9) must wait until Sunday night to learn of its destination and assignment in the NCAA national championship tournament. Speculation among VCU fans will be easy to hear until then, no doubt, about how much respect the CAA champ ought to get when the Big Dance’s seeding brackets get filled in.

This feat marks Grant’s second CAA tournament championship in the three seasons he has guided the VCU program. The Rams have won the league’s regular season title all three years.

Happy Rams play with their various trophies on the court in front of their fans after the awards ceremony.

Click here to study the box score. Click here to read “VCU swells up” at SLANTblog.

– Words and photos by F.T. Rea

In VCU’s two tournament games, Eric Maynor has scored 41 points and dished for eight assists. He is shooting at a 58.3 percent clip from the field.

After having just scored 23 points to help his VCU Rams defeat Old Dominion, to advance into the championship game of the Colonial Athletic Association’s postseason tournament, Eric Maynor was asked about the effect of any lingering thoughts of a regular season loss to the Monarchs he might have had coming into Sunday afternoon’s semi-final game.

Reigning CAA Player of the Year, a senior guard, Maynor explained that he and his teammates had felt confident facing the Monarchs. Then, with his decidedly Southern baritone voice he politely said, “We’re living in the present, right now.”

Having spent most of the first half playing catch-up to fast starting ODU, VCU took a 34-32 lead at 15:07 of the second half on a running jump shot by Maynor. He followed the bucket with a foul shot conversion.

Before a noisy crowd of about 8,000 at the Coliseum the Rams would not trail again in their steady march toward the Monday night championship game: VCU 61, ODU 53.

In the first half VCU head coach Anthony Grant threw a variety of defenses at the Monarchs 6-10, 250 pond, star Gerald Lee, who had scored 30 points against Hostra on Saturday. Lee was guarded by Kirill Pishchalnikov at the start. Then came a zone. Next was Terrance Saintil, then another zone. For the last few minutes of the half Larry Sanders got the assignment.

Lee wasn’t much of a factor in the opening stanza, scoring just two points on 1-6 shooting.

Somewhere in the going Lee’s bad ankle, from a two-week-old injury, betrayed him. In the second half he was limping noticeably, with Sanders checking him effectively most of the time. Lee, who brought a 16.2 scoring average into the contest, finished with just five points.

VCU was fortunate it did not have to deal with the Gerald Lee that Hofstra saw. As disappointing as it may have been for him to lose, Lee will probably open next season, his senior year, as the media favorite to win the league’s Player of the Year award.

One of Lee’s main contenders for that award next season will be Rams center/forward Larry Sanders, who received the CAA’s Defensive Player of the Year Award for the season just completed. Like Maynor, Sanders is having a good tournament. Sanders scored 12 points against the Monarchs and hauled in 14 rebounds.

Maynor, who converted on seven of his 13 attempts from the field, is shooting well in the Coliseum. In two games he has hit 14 of his 24 shots taken and five of seven from beyond the arc. In both games Maynor has seemed to be able to seize the moment at will.

With his eye-popping combination of talents to move with the ball, pass, shoot and defend at a level beyond what the competition can handle, Maynor has grabbed the spotlight during key spurts of both games. So far in the tournament, with the ball in his hands, Maynor’s decision-making has been impeccable.

Presently, Maynor has one more obstacle to clear before his Rams can join the field of 65 at the Big Dance. George Mason defeated upstart Towson by a score of 56-48.

The Patriots, coached by John Larranga, have reached the title game of the CAA’s championship affair for the third consecutive season. Larranaga, who heaps praise on Maynor every chance he gets, has to be remembering the final game of the CAA tournament two years ago.

In that memorable tilt Maynor’s late-game heroics, a pair of steals and nine unanswered points, was clearly the difference in the outcome; VCU won that time by a score of 65-59.

Mason (22-9, No. 46 RPI) vs. VCU (23-9, No. 56 RPI) pits the tournament’s No. 2 seed against No. 1. The betting line has the Rams favored by just two points. VCU won in the only game the two schools played this season (76-71), which was played at the Siegel Center on Jan. 24

With the pretty weather and a pair of in-state-rivals on the floor, a sell-out can be expected. The CAA’s finale will be broadcast by ESPN2 at 7 p.m.

– 30 –

– Words and photos by F.T. Rea

Click here to see the new SLANTblog VA Top Five men’s basketball teams.

Click here for a laugh at ODU coach Blaine Taylor’s expense.

Click here to read “VCU to meet ODU”

Click here to read “Eric Maynor in a glance”

Larry Sanders’s defense makes Rashad Chase’s shot too difficult to make

Just past noon on Saturday, Georgia St. got possession at the opening tip. Leonard Mendez missed his jump shot and Eric Maynor grabbed the rebound. Maynor moved deliberately down the court to feed a nice entry pass to Karill Pishchalnikov in the blocks. Pishchalnikov turned to hit a short jumper to give VCU a 2-0 lead with 14 seconds of the contest having elapsed.

VCU would never trail in its first assignment of the Colonial Athletic Association Men’s Basketball Championship. It was a game the Rams won despite not having put forth their best effort: VCU 61, Georgia St. 52.

“We played in spurts,” said VCU head coach Anthony Grant in the media room of the Richmond Coliseum. “I told the guys after the game that we didn’t play our best, but what we want to do at the end of the day is win.”

Grant’s Rams shot the basketball so well, a blistering 60 percent from three-point-land, it made up for some sloppy ball-handling.

Senior guard Eric Maynor, CAA Player of the Year for the last two seasons, coasted to 18 points to pace VCU’s offense.

In a losing cause, junior guard Joe Dukes, a Wake Forest transfer, had a big game for the Panthers, with 24 points and six rebounds.

Freshman guard/forward Bradford Burgess had a particularly steady game for VCU. He hit all four of his shots from the field, including three treys, and hauled in five rebounds.

Maynor also dodged a bullet in the second half when he had almost too much to say to a referee. Both he and Grant were lighthearted about it after the game.

Asked how close he was to getting a technical foul in that sequence, Maynor said, “I think I was VERY close to a T.”

The room erupted in laughter, because Maynor’s candor was refreshing and his timing with the line was impeccable. But he was right. And, from here on Rams fans should expect the refs will see to it Maynor won’t get away with the same sort of antics in this tournament again without being cited.

On Sunday at 3 p.m. VCU (22-9) will face its biggest rival, Old Dominion (21-9), in the first semi-final match-up. ODU’s Gerald Lee, a first team all-league performer, scored 30 points in leading the Monarchs to a win over Hofstra, by a 52-51 score.

Gerald Lee scoring two of his 30 points against Hostra

It will be interesting to see how the Rams guard Lee in Sunday’s tilt. Once he catches the ball anywhere close to the basket, he has an array of shots with either hand in his repertoire. Don’t be surprised to see a guard, like Joey Rodriguez, drop down on him in those situations.

Lee put the ball on the floor quite a bit against Hofstra. Grant’s quick guards probably won’t allow him such a luxury.

In the second game, scheduled at 5:30 p.m., George Mason (21-9) will meet the Cinderella of the tournament Towson (13-21). Mason defeated JMU by a 61-53 count. Towson snuffed out Northeastern’s season by defeating the Huskies, 58-54.

To read about the Friday games results:

Click here for Georgia St. advances.

Click here for Hofstra dumps UNCW.

Click here for Dukes bury Tribe

Click here for Towson upsets Drexel.

– 30 –

Eric Maynor, 6-3, 175, is seen by some as a likely pro draft choice, but the CAA doesn’t have much recent history of being a springboard to the NBA

VCU senior guard Eric Maynor (Raeford, N.C./Westover) was selected as the 2009 Colonial Athletic Association men’s basketball Player of the Year for the second consecutive season in voting by the league’s head coaches, sports information directors and members of the media. The announcement was made Thursday night at the league’s pre-tournament awards banquet in Richmond, Va.

Also receiving top honors were Drexel’s Bruiser Flint as the CAA Coach of the Year, James Madison freshman forward Julius Wells (Toledo, Ohio/Libbey) as the CAA Rookie of the Year, VCU sophomore forward Larry Sanders (Fort Pierce, Fla./Port St. Lucie) as the CAA Defensive Player of the Year and UNC Wilmington junior Darion Jeralds (Winston-Salem, N.C./West Forsyth) as the recipient of the Dean Ehlers Leadership Award.

Maynor is the first repeat winner of the CAA Player of the Year award since UNCW’s Brett Blizzard in 2002 and 2003. The senior point guard led a young VCU squad to a 21-9 overall record and a third straight CAA regular-season title. Maynor became just the second player in conference history to lead the league in scoring (22.4 ppg) and assists (6.2 apg) in the same season and he is one of only two players in Division I to be ranked among the top 20 nationally in scoring and assists. He scored 20 or more points in 20 of the Rams’ 30 contests and reached the 30-point mark six times. He is also among the top 10 in the CAA in field goal (46.1%), free throw (82.2%) and 3-point percentage (34.5%). Maynor is VCU’s all-time leader in points (1,866) and assists (651) and recently became just the fourth men’s basketball player in school history to have his jersey retired.

Flint guided a Drexel squad that was to picked to finish at the bottom of the league standings in pre-season polls to a 15-13 overall record and a 10-8 mark in CAA play. The Dragons reeled off seven consecutive conference wins in January and were in the hunt for the CAA regular-season title before suffering three straight one-point setbacks over the final two weeks. The CAA Coach of the Year honor is the third for Flint in his eight seasons with the Dragons. He and Richmond’s Dick Tarrant are the only coaches to have won the award three times.

Wells started 30 games for JMU and ranked 16th in the CAA in scoring with 11.9 points per game. The 6-foot-5 forward tallied double digits in 21 of 31 contests and topped the 20-point mark five times. He also led the Dukes and was 12th in the league with 5.5 rebounds per game. Wells connected on nearly 39 percent of his shots from 3-point range and his 70 treys were the second-highest total ever for a JMU freshman.

Sanders led the CAA in blocked shots for the second year in a row with 77. The 6-foot-10 sophomore forward, who ranks 15th in the nation with 2.6 rejections per game, has already climbed to fourth on VCU’s all-time blocks list with 172 in less than two seasons. Sanders also made his presence felt on the boards, ranking third in the conference with 8.0 rebounds per game. He grabbed double-digit rebounds 10 times and recorded eight double-doubles.

Jeralds saw action in 30 games for the Seahawks this season and made 14 starts. The junior guard averaged 2.1 points per game and handed out 39 assists while shooting 48 percent from 3-point range. Jeralds is the sixth UNCW player to earn the Ehlers Award, which is presented annually to the men’s basketball student-athlete who “embodies the highest standards of leadership, integrity and sportsmanship in conjunction with his academic athletic achievement.”

Joining Maynor on the All-CAA first team were Delaware senior guard Marc Egerson (Wilmington, Del./Glasgow), Northeastern junior guard Matt Janning (Watertown, Minn./Watertown-Mayer), Hofstra sophomore guard Charles Jenkins (Queens, N.Y./Springfield Gardens) and Old Dominion junior center Gerald Lee (Uusikaupunki, Finland/Korihait).

Egerson led the CAA in rebounding this season with 10.4 rpg and was the conference’s fifth-leading scorer with 15.5 ppg. He recorded a league-high 14 double-doubles, topped the 20-point mark 12 times and grabbed 10 or more boards in 16 of his 31 contests. Egerson was the only player in Division I to average at least 10.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. Janning led Northeastern and ranked eighth in the CAA in scoring with 14.3 ppg. He tallied double figures in 24 of 29 contests and reached the 20-point plateau seven times, including a team-high 24 points in a victory at Big East foe Providence. Janning was the Huskies’ second-leading rebounder (4.8 rpg) and also led the team with 41 steals and 47 three-pointers.

Jenkins was the only sophomore to earn first-team honors after ranking second in the CAA in scoring with 19.2 ppg. He reached double figures in 29 of 30 games and netted 20 or more points 14 times. Jenkins was also seventh in the league in assists (4.2 apg) and eighth in steals (1.5 spg) while grabbing nearly five rebounds per outing. He is one of six players in Division I to be averaging at least 19 points, four rebounds and four assists per game. Lee was the CAA’s fourth-leading scorer with 15.7 ppg and ranked 10th in rebounding with 5.6 rpg. He closed the regular season with nine straight double-digit efforts and topped the 20-point mark in five of them. Lee made nearly 57 percent of his shots from the floor and was one of the league’s best free throw shooters at 79.2 percent.

– The information above was provided by Rob Washburn Associate Commissioner/Communications of the CAA

Eric Maynor, a 6-3, 175, senior guard has started 100 games in his career at VCU.

Oklahoma head coach Jeff Capel recruited Maynor to VCU. Maynor played his freshman year under Capel and he has had Anthony Grant as his coach for three seasons.

“The first time I saw Eric, I knew he had the potential to be special,” said Capel. “There was something magical about the way he ran his team, and how he could get anywhere on the floor he wanted. He had a feel for the game and what was going on that is very rare in young players – his ability to not only see, but think three to four steps ahead, understanding game situations, etc. I also thought he had the ability to be a great on-the-ball defender because of his quickness and long arms. I’m really proud of the player that Eric has become under the guidance of Anthony Grant and his staff, and just as important, because of all the hard work Eric has put in.”

In his career Maynor has ten 10-assists games and seven 30-point games. He is currently ranked 11th in Division I in scoring (22.4 ppg) and 14th in assists (6.2 apg) as of Mar. 1.

Maynor was the Colonial Athletic Association’s Player of the Year 2007-08. He’s a lock to repeat.

Maynor also made the CAA All-Academic Team for the 2007-08 season.

Maynor has made good on 480 free throws, more than any other Rams player.

With at least two games remaining in his college career Maynor already holds the VCU record for most assists with 651.

In his last game at the Siegel Center Maynor passed Kendrick Warren to become the most prolific scorer in VCU history, too, with 1,867 points and counting.

After his finale on Broad Street Maynor wore a belt his coach came up with to symbolize the three straight regular season league titles VCU has won. Next stop — postseason play at the Richmond Coliseum.

– Words and photos by F.T. Rea

What about buyout talk? Will Oklahoma pay VCU a tidy sum to release the Sooners from their obligation to play the Rams in Richmond? Isn’t that what happens a lot of time in deals like the one VCU and Oklahoma struck, as a part of Capel being released from his contract with VCU?

Post-regular season scuttlebutt: Oklahoma will play VCU on Nov. 21, 2009 at the Siegel Center.

What about buyout talk?

Forget about it. This news came from a good source, who spoke enthusiastically, but off-the-record.