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VCU Basketball: 2018-19 season preview for the Rams

By Brian Rauf

LAHAINA, HI - NOVEMBER 21: De'Riante Jenkins #0 of the VCU Rams leads the fast break during the first half of the game against the California Golden Bears during the Maui Invitational at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 21, 2017 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images)
LAHAINA, HI - NOVEMBER 21: De'Riante Jenkins #0 of the VCU Rams leads the fast break during the first half of the game against the California Golden Bears during the Maui Invitational at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 21, 2017 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images) /
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WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 09: Virginia Commonwealth Rams fans cheer against the Rhode Island Rams during the first half in the Quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Basketball Tournament at Capital One Arena on March 9, 2018 in Washington, DC.(Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 09: Virginia Commonwealth Rams fans cheer against the Rhode Island Rams during the first half in the Quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Basketball Tournament at Capital One Arena on March 9, 2018 in Washington, DC.(Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

VCU Basketball took a step back in 2017-18 and appear to be facing another rebuilding year in 2018-19. Can the Rams find a way to compete at the top of the A-10?

VCU Basketball had their streak of 11 consecutive seasons with at least at 24 wins come to an end last year as they posted a mediocre 17-14 mark in head coach Mike Rhodes’ first season.

That was to be expected, however. Former head coach Will Wade left the cupboard pretty bare when he bolted for LSU and the Rams didn’t have the talent on the roster to immediately replace the production they lost. Stars Justin Tillman and Jonathan Williams were able to keep VCU from having a downright terrible season but both of them are now gone as well.

Because of that, the Rams are facing tempered expectations again in 2018-19 as they try to rebuild. However, Rhoades isn’t concerned about the lack of star power on the team. He’s focusing on re-establishing a reliable program foundation on defense – again.

"“To build where we want to go, we got to be able to make sure we can stop people, especially in the half court. And that’s been a huge emphasis. You can’t just say, ‘This is how we’re going to play on defense.’ You got to build it one block at a time, and that’s really what we did this summer. “We got to be able to build our identity on our work. And we will really work on playing the way we want to play. We want to press, then we want to get stops in the half court. But we’ll definitely mix some things up, but not as gimmicks though. As part of our foundation.”"

VCU should be greatly improved on that end of the floor, especially as the season moves along, but what kind of success will that translate to?

Here’s a full preview for VCU’s upcoming season, including a look at their projected rotation and a breakdown of their non-conference schedule.