The list of hellos and goodbyes is long for VCU, so we’ll get to it. The series so far……W&M, ODU, Liberty, JMU, Virginia, George Mason . . .
Goings
GG Goodhope: Senior point guard, who averaged 7.7 ppg and 3 apg after transferring from Old Dominion, has graduated.
Mooriah Rowser: The 5-8 guard, who averaged 8.9 ppg and started 30 or 31 games last season, has graduated
Keira Robinson: VCU’s leading scorer last season averaging 11 ppg is now playing professionally in Spain; Kei is the only Ram to have started every game last season.
Isis Thorpe: The 5-8 senior guard who averaged 8.2 ppg and started 105 games of the 124 she played at VCU, is playing professionally in Aviles, Spain. Ended career as VCU’s all-time leader in 3-pointers.
Ashley Pegram: The 5-8 senior guard who averaged 4.3 ppg her senior season has graduated.
Ashlee Mitchell: The 5-7 senior guard, used sparingly in 31 games last season, has graduated
Camille Calhoun: Knee injuries derailed the career of the 6-0 guard/forward; she played in two games last season before a second consecutive ACL tear; played a total of five games the last two years
Katherine Strong: the 5-11 guard saw time in 30 of 31 games; averaged 3.8 points and 2.9 rebounds; has transferred to Butler
Curteeona Brelove: the 6-2 forward would have been the Rams returning leading scorer; instead she will play her final season of eligibility at St. John’s
Richard Fortune: assistant to coach Beth O’Boyle for two years is now an assistant to first-year coach Nikki McCray at ODU
Comings:
Taya Robinson: the 5-10 freshman guard comes from nearby Huguenot High; a stress fracture the second half of her junior year likely affected the recruiting process for the Richmonder, an under-the-radar star, who averaged 22 ppg prior to the injury
Madison Hattix-Covington; the 5-10 guard from Killeen, Texas, ranked 37th in the nation at her position according to ESPN
Delphynia Sparks: The 5-10 freshman was named the Bronx Westchester Player of the Year.
Sydnei Archie: the 5-10 freshman guard has weathered several knee surgeries already in her young basketball career; she is also a passionate writer of poetry and an advocate for social justice; check out her senior speech from St. Catherine’s High in Richmond; attended Monacan before St. Catherine’s
Tera Reed: first name Akiene, the 6-foot freshman guard hails from New Zealand (her mom played for San Diego); spent her final two years in the United States playing at Life Center Academy in New Jersey.
Kirk Crawford: former Wichita State assistant joins O’Boyle’s staff; graduate of Western State College in Colorado
Jordan Agustas: the 6-foot sophomore, a transfer from St. John’s, will sit out the 2017-18 season due to NCAA rules
Gillian Abshire: the graduate assistant played at Quinnipiac and later in Denmark
Who’s who? It going to take Rams fans some time to figure it out and us, too. VCU, meanwhile, spent two weeks in South Africa — playing versus the South African national team, zip lining, surfing in the Indian Ocean and most importantly, taking part in community service. It was just the sort of let’s-get-acquainted trip a team with five new faces needs.
“This experience was hands-down the best experience of my life,” said sophomore Niya Johnson, who particularly enjoyed spending time at a special after-school program designed to provide basic necessities to children of farmers. “The interactions that I had with these beautiful children . . . definitely pulled hard on my heartstrings and left me with memories that will last a lifetime.
Make no mistake, though, this is O’Boyle’s team. When she became the 13th head coach in VCU history in 2014, she had a roster filled with young talent — Marlene Stollings recruits, many of them stunned when Stollings left for Minnesota after her second season.
Coaches like to bring in their own kids, and O’Boyle has finally been able to do that, and she is enthusiastic about all the youth. “This is the group of recruits we’re going to build a program around,” she said.
O’Boyle’s class is ranked 30th nationally and only real games will tell us just how good these guys are. Truth be told, we’re not sure what these Rams are going to look like, and O’Boyle will admit to the same thing. The starting five at the beginning of the season very well not be the top five at the middle or end of season, she said.
The early good news from practice: “These guys can shoot from the outside at a higher clip than we have from the past,” she said.
The Rams are guard-heavy. Robinson continues to heal from an injury and won’t be ready from the jump. Archie is healthy after spending much of her high school career on crutches. O’Boyle nnoted, “She’s full go. We almost have to hold her back in practice.”
Expect Williams to start at point and be a leader along with Sandra Skinner and Bria Gibson, the two most veteran players, who average just 3.1 ppg and 4.6 ppg, respectively.
Right now we don’t know where the points are going to come from, though O’Boyle assures us this group’s offense is ahead of its defense.
The Rams were picked 11th in the 14-team Atlantic 10. Frankly, we’d have to pick them that low, too, just because we don’t know. But we look forward to finding out!
Photo courtesy of VCU Athletics