With the Rams, team's result is tied to an individual

By: Paul Woody | Richmond Times Dispatch
Published: March 09, 2009

Kent Bazemore stood between Eric Maynor and the basket and clapped his hands as if to say, "Come on, try to get around me."

Oh, Mr. Bazemore, you cockeyed optimist you. Why ask for trouble?

Seconds later, Maynor had driven down the left side of the lane, sliced to the basket and, amid a crowd of Old Dominion University players, banked his shot off the glass and into the basket.

The difference in yesterday's semifinal game of the CAA tournament between VCU and ODU was simple.

VCU had Maynor. ODU did not.

VCU won 61-53. "I'm a pretty good shot blocker, but I can never get to his shot," said ODU's Frank Hassell, 6-8 to Maynor's 6-3. "That floater is tough. He gets it up quick and high and it's hard to get to. He's not that fast, but I think he is quick. It's tough to stay in front of him. It's tough to help out on him."

Maynor, VCU's senior point guard, was all but unstoppable yesterday. He had 23 points, four assists and was second among the Rams in rebounds with four.

"I was just picking my spots," Maynor said. "I'm just trying to make a play. Coach [Anthony] Grant always tells me, 'If a teammate is open, find that teammate. If your shot is open, take the shot.'

"He tells me the first defender is not too much too worry about. It's the other defenders I have to worry about, then I've got to make the decision."

Maynor made nothing but good decisions yesterday. He had just one turnover, and his assist total is misleading. Many times Maynor made the pass that led to the pass that earned the assist. Several times, Maynor's passes led to fouls that put VCU players on the line.

Maynor is without peer in the CAA. He is the lone player in the conference with the ability to take over a game, and that is what he did against the Monarchs.

He drove to the lane and launched his floater. He dropped in two 3-point shots, both from the 25-foot range. He helped to bring down the house with an alley-oop lob to center Larry Sanders, which Sanders turned into a dunk of such force that the backboard rocked several feet toward the court.

When Grant arrived at VCU three years ago, Maynor had just completed his freshman year with the Rams. Last year, Maynor briefly considered leaving early to try the NBA.

The most important ingredient in a coach's success is having good players. Grant has one of the best players in the country in Maynor.

"I feel like I'm the luckiest guy in the world, not only having the chance to coach Eric because of the type of player he is, but because of the type of person he is," Grant said. "He has unbelievable character.

"He gets a lot of credit for the things he does on the basketball court, but just as important is the way he interacts with his teammates. He is like a magnet for the rest of our guys. He takes care of those guys. He mentors them. He is a big brother to them."

Maynor's performance on the court is what matters at the moment. If the Rams are to beat George Mason tonight in the championship game, and advance to the NCAA tournament, Maynor no doubt will have to take control of the game again at some point.

"One of his biggest strengths is that he makes his teammates better," Grant said. "But for us, it's never going to be about an individual. We win or lose as a team."

Sorry, coach, for VCU to win at this time of the year, it comes down to an individual. His name is Eric Maynor.

Contact Paul Woody at (804) 649-6444 or pwoody@timesdispatch.com.