Unbelievable is Believable Here

- As we return here to the Seagull Center

the sight of the last regular season game for VCU this year.

Rams trying to avoid losing four out of their last five.

The Rams, they've got to get it going here.

Rodriguez picks it up.

Clocking run, Joey's gonna drive.

Joe picks up the dribble, gives a left side to Skeen.

Off to Rozzell.

Two seconds he's got to shoot it.

Off balance Shepard, no and the Rams fall by three.

So a tough one for the Rams here at the Seagull Center.

72-69 JMU the final victor this afternoon.

- We were in a bad way, we were in a tough spot

because we had just lost our last two regular

season games and we lost on senior day to James Madison here

which was just a crushing defeat for so many reasons

and a few days later we're in the practice gym.

We really in a lot of ways hadn't recovered from

those loses yet but it's March 1st.

- I've been through several bad seasons

in college basketball.

My last season with Jeff Jones at Virginia,

we won 12 games.

My first year at Carolina as Associate AD we won eight games

but the February here was one of the worst I've ever

been through because of the fact that our fans

have high expectations.

We lost two very bad games at home, three actually.

And the last four, five minutes of the James Madison

game I went into my office and hid and watched it

from the office.

I had a feeling in the back of my mind,

everybody can say this but I did have a feeling

in the back of my mind.

I said this may be the best thing that's ever happened

to us.

- Yeah it was Tuesday morning when

we had practice leading up to CA Tournament week

and coach came up to me and said,

Tim I need you to come in here, I need you to grab

a couple things, I need a lighter and a big desk calendar.

Month of February page.

So what coach did was he came in,

had a little trash can in one hand and in the other hand

he had the month of February.

On a calendar.

Picks it up and he says,

"February is over, it's a new start, it's a new day."

Takes out a lighter, sparks it.

- And it's burning and I'm talking as it's burning,

I'm talking about putting this thing behind us

and that February is over and it's burning, it's burning,

it's getting closer to my hand.

So finally I dropped in into the trashcan

but it was a piece of paper on fire so it kind of floated

around and there was shreds of it that didn't

go into the trashcan, it went on the floor so had to kind

of stomp those out.

There was no threat of a major fire and I think we got

the guys attention.

- This is a great opportunity to play for.

We win three straight games and we're going

to championship.

That would definitely make my whole season much better.

- Three of the screen on its way.

They got it.

hits a three to tie it.

We're tied at 60.

There's 11 seconds to play.

Rodriguez towards the left side, eight seconds to go.

Gets a screen out front from Skeen,

Rodriguez to Nixon.

Nixon's gonna feed the low post with three seconds.

Skeen with two.

Skeen with one, turns around, shoots of the glass.

He got it!

He got it!

He got it to go!

He got it to go, the Rams win at the buzzer.

- We're just like a culmination of everybody just

growing up and just worried about winning.

- And VCU's crowd starting to sense it.

And they are looking to have a seven o'clock day

tomorrow night to play for the right to go to the NCAA.

- And what I'm amazed that is the team

managed to pull themselves out of that slump

at the most critical junction of the season

and rise above.

I didn't expect that.

- There's nobody in here that gave this team

a chance.

- Except sitting on that beach.

- Except everybody on that bench.

- What attracted me to VCU was

a lot of things.

Outstanding fans, terrific tradition, a great administrative

support, a phenomenal arena and just the opportunity

to continue to build on a program that

was already exploding.

- VCU Basketball has become extremely

popular to say the least in the city of Richmond.

We sell out most of our games, we're always having

new people come to games from the community.

I've never seen so many young kids bring their parents

to VCU games.

They love the atmosphere, they love the fun,

they love the packed gymnasium, they love that we win.

- You always wanna build a program and make it

better and better.

It's not necessarily a jump that you take on daily basis

but it's something that you work towards on a daily basis.

- The expectations have been raised significantly

since I've been here in these 23 years.

Most notably since Jeff Kapel started in 2002, 2003.

Then through Anthony Grant then through Shaka Smart.

The expectations have gone up exponentially.

- When coach Smart got here and I had

an opportunity to work for him and NFVCU was a no brainer.

You always want to be at a job where you have a chance

to win your league, maybe every year or every couple years.

VCU's one of those jobs and then you know when you make

the NCAA Tournament anything can happen.

- Maynor is this is dagger?

You have just seen the biggest upset in today's first round

of the NCAA Tournament.

- Well it was a transition between Anthony

and Shaka.

You know Anthony as people say has a big fearful presence

on the side lines he won three regular seasons in a row,

two CAA Championships.

So Shaka had to transition and the fans had to transition.

The way he was able to manage a team who had won

at the highest level.

Keep in mind they won at the highest level but they won

when they were freshmen and sophomores with a guy

who's now having a great NBA career and Eric Maynor.

So it was a lot of growth there on both sides of the fence.

VCU.

Unless every team that's already in the tournament

wins and there's virtually no upset,

is probably gonna be on the outside looking in

on Selection Sunday coming up this week.

And Outlets and Rodriguez four seconds to go,

Joey's gonna hoist one and it is short, no good.

Old Dominion get the rebound and the Monarchs

are the CAA Champions of 2011 as they drop the banner

in the Richmond Colosseum with a 70 to 65 win

over the VCU Rams and there student body.

- I was upstairs in my office

and I was up there with our five freshman.

I made them come watch the Selection Show with me.

I made the decision not to make our team watch it

because I knew it could go either way.

We might get it, we might not get in.

- I wasn't even watching Selection Sunday at all.

I had a buffalo chicken wrap and everybody was telling

me that we ain't have a chance of getting in and even

coach Smart was telling us, you know don't bank on it.

He didn't want us to get our hopes up.

- I was actually at home on my couch

with my laptop, wondering what would come of the show.

And you know I thought all weekend something is strange here

because all these guys who have unbelievable record

for picking the right people still have us on.

- The whole time I thought we were gonna get in.

I told everybody that nobody believed me,

everybody wanted to not watch it and I was like I'm watching

it 'cause we're gonna get in.

- I was in my room, doing homework.

With the door closed 'cause Joey kept screaming out

all kinds of stuff when the teams kept popping up

on the screens.

- A lot of us thought we had a chance, we had a chance

but these other teams have a chance.

If they get in before us we're not getting in

and then when you saw UAB you're like oh man.

- UAB just took our spot.

That 18 point lead that we had has just come back

in the worst case scenario kicked us right in the stomach.

- Certainly when UAB and Clemson were called

in the first match up of the first four

that worries you a little bit because

you know there's only one game left that you probably

have an opportunity to be a part of.

- I remember looking at Shaka and said,

I don't think so, it's not looking good

and I went back into my office and I was ready to dial

a phone number and everybody just went crazy.

- I had my phone sitting right here, my food just all right

here, my drink right here.

My phone is vibrating off the hook but I didn't want

to answer it because I had so much buffalo sauce

on my hands.

I was eating a cheeseburger,

and got the news that we had made it

to the NCAA Tournament.

- I didn't even see who we were playing when our name

came across we just went ballistic.

So we were hugging and running around.

- I saw VCU on there I didn't jump,