VCU’s players soak in significance of NCAA bid

VCU's players are soaking it in Rams' Pishchalnikov getting crash course about UCLA history The buzz about Virginia Commonwealth University getting a crack at UCLA in the NCAA tournament still hadn't died down after the selection show ended Sunday night.

While his teammates wrapped up media interviews and checked a flood of text messages, VCU starting forward Kirill Pishchalnikov sat at a table at the Siegel Center absorbing all the hoopla.

Pishchalnikov doesn't know much about UCLA's revered status in college basketball. The Bruins -- and the NCAA tournament -- are not a big deal in the part of the world he calls home: Maykop, Russia.

The physical 6-8 junior is getting a quick indoctrination. The Rams (24-9), seeded 11th in their 16-team region, will play the sixth-seeded Bruins (25-8) Thursday in the first round of the East Region at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia at approximately 9:50 p.m.

"I didn't understand in 2007 how [big the tournament was]," said Pishchalnikov, who arrived that year at VCU. "But now I know we're playing against the best coaches [and teams] in America."

Pishchalnikov said there isn't much coverage of the tournament in his homeland.

"Some people in Russia don't know what basketball is," he said. "Russian basketball is not really popular.

"The NCAA, maybe you'll hear who wins the final. Last year, they showed a picture of who won the NCAA, and they wrote a little bit of a story."

Russia's Sasha Kaun played for Kansas, last year's national champion.

UCLA has won 11 national championships. It has been to 18 Final Fours and is making its 43rd appearance in the NCAA tournament.

"It's fine," Pishchalnikov said. "I'll play any team hard. . . . I'll be ready to play."

VCU WHO? While most everybody knows about UCLA, some of the Bruins apparently don't know much about the Rams. The Los Angeles Times reported that some of UCLA's players "were not entirely sure what VCU stood for."

GOT TICKETS? After the pairings were announced, the first message Rams sophomore guard Joey Rodriguez received on his cell phone was a "Go Get UCLA" from his high school teammate, Chandler Parsons. Parsons is a 6-9 sophomore forward at Florida.

He also got messages from his father, girlfriend and relatives.

"I've got family in New York, and they're all trying to get tickets," he said.

DEFENSIVE-MINDED: This doesn't appear to be the same caliber UCLA team that advanced to the past three Final Fours. Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute were drafted by NBA teams in either the first or second rounds last year.

But the Bruins do feature a trio of players -- senior guards Darren Collison and Josh Shipp, and senior forward Alfred Aboya -- with significant Final Four experience.

VCU will have to find a way to score. Tough defense is a trademark of UCLA coach Ben Howland. The Bruins allow 63.3 points and have terrific defenders in freshman guard Jrue Holiday, Collison and the 6-9 Aboya.

TAILSPIN: Collison, a likely first-round pick in the NBA draft, has been hampered by a sore tailbone since the end of the regular season. He was 1 of 9 from the floor, scored four points and had seven turnovers in a loss to Southern California in the Pac-10 tournament.

Collison averages a team-leading 14.5 points.