Phoenix, your post was spot on. The pace of the game says it all. That’s what the Press is... fast, in your face. I believe Robert Morris would still be a tough game for us.  Our bigs are slow and yes, that is one of the reasons they fouled out. They couldn’t keep up and were tired.

As far as the loss, for me, it is more difficult watching your team lose when they were ahead and had a chance then if they would have come back and made it close.

Another step on Saturday to see how the players rebound from a loss when you have one. Coach D has done a great job and if anyone can have them ready he will.

No one has mentioned that Eric Williams, Jr. Was 0-6 in the second half until he hit a late 3 after the game was decided, he also picked up a few rebounds then.

I only mention this to point out VCU coaches adapted to the Dukes and after our front line fouled out other than Verhoven ( who played a great game ) we had 6-5, 6-5 and 6-2 underneath. It was so bad that when Eric James went in he quickly turned the ball over and spent 4 min in the game and he was little help and Keith yanked him.

This James situation reminds me of another former starter from years ago the old timers will remember, the late John "JT" Thomas, who finally quit the team after being reduced to playing with the scrubs ( as he put it )

Tony Chiazza did the Carlow game.  That’s about his level.

FAM wrote:

Vcuathletics.com has both coaches’ press conferences. Worth watching. Okay, you can throw things at me... I don’t blame the officials for this loss. Did it hurt?  Yes. But we couldn’t handle their press and we also got out rebounded. Though the officials weren’t that good, it was the Press. Okay, moving on to LaSalle who did a good job against VCU.

You don’t have to duck, FAM. No blaming officials at all, but both teams deserved better than that officiating crew last night. And who is Sean Hill?

Somerset24, at least Tony has called 29 D-1 games, some high level, this season.

I didn't see the game last night, but I was pondering the press before the game started and knew that VCU would use it to try and create a fast tempo and get the Dukes out of their half-court game, which as was proven can give VCU problems.  I've seen them look awful, take bad shots and miss them in slower paced games.  The question you face as a coach against a pressing team is whether you attack the press and beat it for easy shots, thus breaking its back and having their coach pull off the press; or do you slog through it, keep your slower pace, attempt to break the press and set up in your half-court offense to maintain some continuity in your half-court game.  I don't know if we tried attacking it for layups or tried to keep our pace intact; but from the comments I've read I assume it was the latter, but failed to set up once crossing half-court. 
It's tough when your front line is decimated by fouls, and you are down to one big battling against a full complement from the opposition. 
I think a good learning experience for the guys who will return next season, and good to hear that Tydus stepped up in a tough situation.  Certainly his athleticism allows him to match-up better against a team like VCU.  I knew it would be a tough matchup for Chas and JRob. 
LaSalle is also an athletic team like VCU that likes to push the ball and fire up lots of shots.  I think their motto is "the first look is the best look".  We need to have a plan to deal with that type of team. 

a wise chess master once told me "You don't learn a damn thing from a chess game you win."

This was bound to happen.

1.  VCU was ice cold in most of the first half, where they couldn't hit water if they fell out of a boat.  We hit our ice cold stretch in the second half.  That moment where three guys missed layups right after the other was excruciating.

2. VCU has more depth than we do. That and the foul trouble made a big difference.

3. I was more than a little surprised the team was not prepared for their full court press, especially on the inbounds.. They need work on that area.

4. I did not see the game until it was 6-6, so I cannot comment on the early fouls.  Will not blame the refs, only saw one or two blatant misses on VCU, such as where the guy took three steps (European Step as the announcer called it)'

5. The team was bound to have a night like this after three very intense league games.

Oh well, back home, hopefully a good crowd to see them back on track and beating LaSalle

It was a great effort and sucks to lose the lead but as many others pointed out, some of my main takeaways were:

They couldn't shoot in the first half, we were shooting pretty lights out in the first.

Lot of cheap ticky tack calls by the officials that hurt our big man rotation and ultimately had a hand in us fading in the second.

Idk what you saw Tejas, but we were certainly ready for the press in the first half, giving up 0 turnovers. It wore us down down the stretch in the second especially with the foul trouble, and was compounded by a number of mental mistakes with the crowd getting behind VCU in the second. A+ against press in the first, C- in the second.

We went cold in the second, they started to get hot and Tillman started scoring inside as we were reduced to playing non traditional post guys down low.

Both teams missed a lot of free throws.

Bottom line: We were in it until foul trouble and fatigue started to set in. We had the right gameplan, and got a lot of open looks in the first half with our success of busting the press. Made a lot of shots while they missed.

VCU seemed to make some defensive adjustments in the second, tightened up the press, and started making shots while we started missing.

That was a good effort. VCU is still a more talented team at this time. Foul trouble and inexperience didn't help, but this team played well and with more depth and experience in the future, we should see the team be better suited to holding a 13 point lead in the second half. All in all, a good learning experience and still feeling like we could beat any team on any given day, even with less talent.

CLK thanks KD’s brutal honesty is REALLY refreshing.

An obvious observation: KD is one of the classiest men I have ever run across. This in itself is something that will serve the BB  program well. I would think that his demeanor will infuse the young players with a similar way of conducting themselves over time. He is tough as he constantly reminds that there are no excuses. Never throws a player "under the bus". His "no comment" response to Jarrett's question about the officiating speaks louder than anything else he might have said. His work ethic seems beyond questioning. Just from a role model aspect, I am thrilled that Coach Dambrot is at the helm of the men's basketball program. And he just happens to be about as good of a coach as there is in the college game. Not a bad combination!!  Let's beat LaSalle!

One of those nights when the toughest part might be just biting your tongue - telling yourself won't be THIS way NEXT year.

Coach has 3 "bigs" and is trying to squeeze the minutes out of them (Tydus, JRob, Brown) - Next year he could have Tydus, Mike Hughes, Rotraff, Bizan, Swingle, and Kelly - Know some are/will be freshmen but it is about options.

As opposed to backing up Eric Williams - instead of Kellen Taylor (REALLY admire his effort but he IS a walk on) and Eric James - will have Marcus Weathers, Frankie Hughes BOTH with a year of Experience at the D-1 Level.

And to "replace" Castro in the back court & to provide depth we should have Dunn-Martin, and Randall and Brandon Wade.

Am unsure WHERE the transfers sitting out WILL fit in -  Nice knowing they ARE THERE practicing with the team etc.

MORE fouls to give -  More Depth etc.