Rams off to a flying start in Smart’s debut

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."

Maynor was texting from Philadelphia, where he made a successful first start with the NBA's Utah Jazz last night.

Life without Maynor got off to an equally successful start, with new coach Shaka Smart easily getting a win in his debut with a 77-51 victory over overmatched Bethune-Cookman before a crowd of 6,741 at the Siegel Center.

Rodriguez was solid in his first start as Maynor's successor at point guard; the Rams put four players in double figures; they pressed Bethune-Cookman into 20 turnovers; and they made 11 of 24 3-pointers and 20 of 27 free throws.

Rodriguez had 17 points, four steals, two assists and two turnovers but didn't want any comparisons to Maynor, a two-time Colonial Athletic Association player of the year and first-round draft pick of the Jazz.

"I don't want to be in the same sentence with him at all," said Rodriguez, who talked to Maynor yesterday morning, before Maynor scored 13 points and had 11 assists subbing for point guard Deron Williams (family medical issue) in a 112-90 victory.

Rodriguez had ample help. Larry Sanders had 12 points and six rebounds, transfer Jay Gavin had 12 points and Bradford Burgess added 10 points as VCU broke from a 17-17 tie with a 24-4 run to close the first half.

Gavin, a sophomore guard who sat out last year after transferring from Marist, heated up with nine points in the second half. He was 3 of 5 on 3-pointers.

"This is an unbelievable feeling," he said. "It's been a year and eight months since I played a game that really matters. It just really, really feels good. Great, great crowd. Great team. We can really be good this year."

Yes, but Smart acknowledged his club has some things to clean up. VCU committed 17 turnovers, some of the unforced variety, had some scoring lulls, gave up 11 offensive rebounds and sometimes left the 6-11 Sanders to deal with driving ballhandlers on the back end of the press.

"If this team is willing to share the ball and do a better job of taking care of the ball, we have a chance to be a very, very talented offensive team," Smart said.

As for his first win, "It certainly beats the alternative," he said.

"When I got the job, it was March 31. Here we are in November. I've been thinking about this for a long time.

"It was terrific to finally be out there in a real game with all the fans. I was lucky to have some family and some friends come into town."

. . .

NOTES: Larry Sanders is one of 25 players named to CollegeInsider.com's mid-major All-America team. Division I coaches and NBA scouts have input on the team, with the final decisions by CollegeInsider.com's staff. Also on the team are Old Dominion's Gerald Lee and Hofstra's Charles Jenkins.

About 1,500 tickets for next Saturday's game against former Rams coach Jeff Capel and 17th-ranked Oklahoma will go on sale Monday. Call (804) 828-7267 or go to http://www.vcuathletics.com.