William & Mary/VA Commonwealth Under 142?(-110) X3
with coach capel's intense goal of getting some defense out of his team tonight might sneak under the number.
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Rams return focus to defense
Opposition scoring in past four games has displeased Capel
For the first time in almost three weeks, Virginia Commonwealth coach Jeff Capel put his Rams through strenuous workouts, spending more than half of practice yesterday and Monday focusing on defense.
"He worked us hard," said guard Jesse Pellot-Rosa. "He's really been stressing to us how teams have been scoring 70 points and 80 points on us. We've been scoring a lot, too, but he's trying to tell us we can't win consistently like that. We have to bear down and play defense."
During the season, the Rams (11-5, 15-11) have proved they are capable of keeping the opposition under their thumb. In fact, VCU has held nine foes under 60 points.
But in the past four games, during which the Rams have gone 2-2, VCU is allowing an average of 80.3 ppg while scoring 80.8.
That hasn't made Capel very happy. And he's determined to turn it around heading into the Colonial Athletic Association tournament March 4-7 at the Coliseum.
"Defense is the thing that wins championships," Capel said. "Offense is great, and I think we're a good offensive team. We can be an explosive offensive team. But in order to win what we want to win, we've got to defend better. And we will defend better. By the time we get to March, for the conference tournament, we'll have our defense back."
To that end, Capel went back to basics in practice at the Siegel Center, where VCU meets William and Mary (2-14, 6-19) tonight (7:30).
"That [Monday] was our first real practice in probably the last 20 days or so because of how hectic our schedule was for a while," Capel said. "It was amazing how much our guys had forgotten. It almost looked like we were back in the first week of practice.
"The thing that I have noticed with this team is that we're a group that has to do things on a repetitive basis. If we don't, there's a chance our guys may forget about it. Not necessarily how important it is, but forget the basic principles."
Pellot-Rosa admitted that the Rams, by concentrating more on offense, have slipped defensively.
"Guys have been worrying more about scoring ourselves than stopping the other guys," Pellot-Rosa said. "We just have to get back to playing defense and rebounding and let the other stuff come second.
"We're definitely capable of doing it. We've just got to get focused again, that's all."
Capel has spent the past two days making sure the Rams have regained their defensive posture.
"We have to do a better job in every aspect," Capel said. "Help defense. How we defend ball screens. Post defense. Everything.
"The key for us, as it has been all year, is defensively. What we can to do to make it difficult for other teams to score. As good as we were last year [during VCU's run to the CAA title] offensively, I think the thing for us was defense. We made it tough for teams to score against us, and we have to get back to that."
with coach capel's intense goal of getting some defense out of his team tonight might sneak under the number.
========
Rams return focus to defense
Opposition scoring in past four games has displeased Capel
For the first time in almost three weeks, Virginia Commonwealth coach Jeff Capel put his Rams through strenuous workouts, spending more than half of practice yesterday and Monday focusing on defense.
"He worked us hard," said guard Jesse Pellot-Rosa. "He's really been stressing to us how teams have been scoring 70 points and 80 points on us. We've been scoring a lot, too, but he's trying to tell us we can't win consistently like that. We have to bear down and play defense."
During the season, the Rams (11-5, 15-11) have proved they are capable of keeping the opposition under their thumb. In fact, VCU has held nine foes under 60 points.
But in the past four games, during which the Rams have gone 2-2, VCU is allowing an average of 80.3 ppg while scoring 80.8.
That hasn't made Capel very happy. And he's determined to turn it around heading into the Colonial Athletic Association tournament March 4-7 at the Coliseum.
"Defense is the thing that wins championships," Capel said. "Offense is great, and I think we're a good offensive team. We can be an explosive offensive team. But in order to win what we want to win, we've got to defend better. And we will defend better. By the time we get to March, for the conference tournament, we'll have our defense back."
To that end, Capel went back to basics in practice at the Siegel Center, where VCU meets William and Mary (2-14, 6-19) tonight (7:30).
"That [Monday] was our first real practice in probably the last 20 days or so because of how hectic our schedule was for a while," Capel said. "It was amazing how much our guys had forgotten. It almost looked like we were back in the first week of practice.
"The thing that I have noticed with this team is that we're a group that has to do things on a repetitive basis. If we don't, there's a chance our guys may forget about it. Not necessarily how important it is, but forget the basic principles."
Pellot-Rosa admitted that the Rams, by concentrating more on offense, have slipped defensively.
"Guys have been worrying more about scoring ourselves than stopping the other guys," Pellot-Rosa said. "We just have to get back to playing defense and rebounding and let the other stuff come second.
"We're definitely capable of doing it. We've just got to get focused again, that's all."
Capel has spent the past two days making sure the Rams have regained their defensive posture.
"We have to do a better job in every aspect," Capel said. "Help defense. How we defend ball screens. Post defense. Everything.
"The key for us, as it has been all year, is defensively. What we can to do to make it difficult for other teams to score. As good as we were last year [during VCU's run to the CAA title] offensively, I think the thing for us was defense. We made it tough for teams to score against us, and we have to get back to that."
