Jeff Capel and Oklahoma make a much-anticipated visit to the sold-out Siegel Center tonight. While much of the focus has been on the return of Virginia Commonwealth’s former coach and the opportunity to get a signature win over the 17th-ranked team in the country, the Rams (1-1) may be better served by focusing upon themselves. Some problems emerged in an eyebrow-raising 83-67 loss at Western Michigan Wednesday, a loss that was almost as disturbing for ‘how much’ as for ‘how’. This was a team the Rams whipped by 17 points last year.

Virginia Commonwealth’s players are trying not to look ahead to 17th-ranked Oklahoma’s visit Saturday to the Siegel Center. The Rams (1-0) are trying to focus on tonight’s game at Western Michigan (0-1), even though it seems everybody around them wants to talk about Oklahoma and former VCU coach Jeff Capel. “My parents talk about it, but I don’t really listen to them,“ VCU junior point guard Joey Rodriguez said. “We’re thinking about Kalamazoo, Mich., and going to play Western Michigan. One game at a time.“

Joey Rodriguez and the Virginia Commonwealth basketball team got a text message from Eric Maynor at 8 a.m. yesterday. “Time to get up,“ it read in part. “It’s game day. You guys get ready.“

The suggestion box for Shaka Smart contains similar, short submissions from his mentors. “The biggest advice they’ve given me by far is just to be yourself and not try to be someone else, not try to be them,“ Smart said.

Guard Rob Brandenberg has signed his letter of intent with the Virginia Commonwealth men’s basketball team. Brandenberg, 6-2, is from Gahanna Lincoln High outside Columbus, Ohio. “Rob is an explosive athlete who thrives in a fast-paced game,“ VCU coach Shaka Smart said in a release. “He handles and shoots it very well and has the ability to consistently make plays in the press.“

In practice, Virginia Commonwealth basketball coach Shaka Smart puts 14 seconds on the shot clock. If the side that is on offense does not get up a shot in that time, it becomes a turnover. “If it’s your shot,“ VCU guard Brandon Rozzell, “we want it to go up.“

Of the many things Virginia Commonwealth’s Joey Rodriguez is as a basketball player—hustler, heady, emotional, feisty on defense, terrific 3-point shooter—there is one thing he is not: Eric Maynor. “I’m totally different,“ he said. Rodriguez will focus on being himself as he succeeds one of VCU’s all-time great players. Maynor was a do-it-all force who carried the Rams to two NCAA appearances in three seasons, an upset of Duke and a 76-25 record. He’s now in the NBA with the Utah Jazz.

Shaka Smart served as an assistant coach at Division II California University in Pennsylvania, so he’s well-aware of Virginia Union’s reputation as a powerhouse in the Division II world. Still, several people have made a point to remind Virginia Commonwealth’s new coach about the interest in the Rams’ annual exhibition game against Union next Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at the Siegel Center.

Virginia Commonwealth sophomore forward Terrance Saintil “most likely” will have surgery this week to repair ligament damage in his right thumb and could miss two months, VCU coach Shaka Smart said. Saintil injured his thumb in practice this past weekend and saw a hand specialist Tuesday. “Probably the best thing for him to do is to have surgery,“ Smart said. “It’s still unclear what the doctors want to do. It’s possible he can keep playing, but I think with the injury being what it is, I don’t know how effective he can be. Obviously, without a healthy thumb, it’s hard to function because it’s his shooting hand.“

Virginia Commonwealth sophomore forward Terrance Saintil “most likely” will have surgery this week to repair ligament damage in his right thumb and could miss two months, VCU coach Shaka Smart said. Saintil injured his thumb during practice this past weekend and saw a hand specialist Tuesday. “Probably the best thing for him to do is to have surgery,“ Smart said. “It’s still unclear what the doctors want to do. It’s possible he can keep playing, but I think with the injury being what it is, I don’t know how effective he can be. Obviously, without a healthy thumb, it’s hard to function because it’s his shooting hand.“

Delaware basketball coach Monte Ross wanted to pass along a message to Virginia Commonwealth forward Larry Sanders. “Make sure you tell him that I picked him [for preseason Colonial Athletic Association player of the year],“ Ross said with a laugh. Sanders is a potential first-round NBA draft pick after this season. Ross wanted to make sure he didn’t provide the 6-11 junior with perceived ammunition after co-player-of-the-year honors went to Old Dominion senior forward Gerald Lee and Hofstra junior guard Charles Jenkins at yesterday’s CAA media gathering.

Forward Jamie Skeen’s first game with Virginia Commonwealth will be at Tulane on Dec. 19. Skeen, who transferred from Wake Forest, must sit out the first semester per NCAA transfer rules. He will miss the first eight games. The 6-9, 245-pound junior was a top 100 recruit out of high school. He played two seasons at Wake, averaging 6.6 points and 4.4 rebounds.

The 6½-month wait ends today for Shaka Smart. Virginia Commonwealth’s basketball coach, hired in April, will direct his first basketball practice as the Rams start preparations for their Nov. 13 opener against Bethune-Cookman. Smart, 32, takes over a team that will be expected to contend for a fourth consecutive Colonial Athletic Association regular-season title. VCU will be without one of the best players in the program’s history, first-round NBA draft pick Eric Maynor. But the Rams return four starters, including another potential first-round NBA pick in junior forward Larry Sanders, plus experience and talented transfers.

The list of schools recruiting Reco McCarter suggests new Virginia Commonwealth basketball coach Shaka Smart has landed quite a player. McCarter, a 6-7, 185-pound forward out of Wayne Country Day School in Goldsboro, N.C., committed to the Rams this week. His coach, Terry Jones, said Wake Forest, Oklahoma, Georgia, Auburn, George Washington and some other ACC schools were “sitting on the fence” waiting to see if McCarter would qualify academically.

Virginia Commonwealth coach Shaka Smart picked up his first commitment for 2010, landing Rob Brandenberg, a 6-2 guard from Gahanna Lincoln High School outside Columbus, Ohio. Brandenberg, described as a “late-bloomer” by his coach, Tony Staib, averaged 17 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals last year in his first season on the varsity.