Burgess has connections at ODU
Virginia Commonwealth senior guard/forward Bradford Burgess will have a couple of somewhat friendly connections when the Rams find themselves in extremely hostile territory Saturday at archrival Old Dominion.
Burgess played AAU ball with Monarchs junior forward Nick Wright. They don't text and talk as much as they used to, Burgess said, but he does stay in touch with ODU's senior star, Kent Bazemore.
Burgess' brother, Jordan, and Bazemore's brother, WyKevin, also played together in AAU. Jordan, a senior at Benedictine, has signed to play with the Rams next year. WyKevin is a freshman forward at Winston-Salem State.
"We don't talk about the game," Bradford said of his texts to Kent Bazemore. "We know what's on the line."
VCU (21-5, 12-2) is in a three-way tie for first in the CAA with George Mason and Drexel. ODU is a game back with four to play.
'Let the big dog eat sometimes'
VCU coach Shaka Smart had no problem with the mad dash down the court made by 7-footer D.J. Haley in Wednesday's 66-43 victory over Towson.
Haley, guarding 6-8 Robert Nwanko out front as if they were a pair of guards, swiped the ball about 50-60 feet from the basket, then set off on a determined race that ended with a dunk.
"I'm a little bit different," Smart said. "I like to let the big dog eat sometimes. The game for big guys overall is just not as much fun as it is for guards. If you look at what big guys do, they've got to screen all the time; they've got to bang around the basket; they've got to block out. It's such a physical game. They don't touch the basketball as much.
"So every once in a while, when they get a chance to make an open-court play, they want to show that they can do it. I'm not going to say I want D.J. to repeat that play on Saturday, but he is a surprisingly agile player. . . . Maybe in time as he keeps getting better, you'll see that more often."
Smart wants to do well for daughter
Smart and his wife, Maya, became parents in September. Smart said having 41/2-month-old daughter Zora has changed some things.
"It gives you a little bit more perspective on things in a strange way," he said. "Guys told me this before: It makes you want to win even more. Having a child, you want to win and do well for her, even though she knows nothing about what it's like.
"Although you know, the one game we lost at home she was very, very upset after the game. All the other games she's been great, so maybe she knows."
Tim Pearrell
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