VCU’S POINT MAN

Photo by: Steve Helber

AP

Photo

Virginia Commonwealth University's guard Joey Rodriguez answers questions during a news conference at the school in Richmond, Va., Tuesday, March 29, 2011. The Rams face Butler in the NCAA collge basketball Final Four semifinals on Saturday night in Houston.

Joey Rodriguez leads Cinderella team to Final Four

Associated Press

RICHMOND, VA.

Joey Rodriguez had just finished saying, without flinching, that he believes VCU can win the national championship when someone challenged him.

Undaunted, Rodriguez refused to back down.

That’s just not the scrappy point guard’s way — and why the surprising Rams will continue to look toward him to lead the way in the Final Four.

“There’s only four teams and from what we’ve done in the tournament, we think we’ve been the most dominant team, so there’s no doubt in our minds that we could win this whole thing,” he said. “It’s crazy to say it, but if you look back on all of our games and how we’ve performed, I think you could say if you compare us with the other teams, we’re the most dominant one.”

He has a point.

The Rams (28-11) played in the “First Four,” beating Southern Cal 59-46, and so have one more victory in this tournament than the other three participants. They have several blowouts, too, having beaten teams from five power leagues by an average of 12.2 points.

Rodriguez is at the center of it all, coach Shaka Smart said.

“We’ve got a group that really believes and is playing with a great deal of poise right now, and it starts with Joey as our point guard and as our leader,” Smart said. “Joey’s a guy, and you can call it ‘little man syndrome’ or ‘Napoleon’s complex’ or whatever you want to call it, but he’s a guy that is willing to take on anybody — anybody — and believes that he can win.”

Smart’s coaching style surely helps. While Rodriguez has a knack for making big plays, he’s also prone to looking terrible at times, especially when shooting the ball.

When the Rams stunned Kansas 71-61 to reach the Final Four, he demonstrated both sides.

“He comes off a ball screen and they go underneath and he’s 25 feet from the hoop. He’s wide open, and I’m yelling ‘Shoot it’ and he air-balled the first one,” Smart said. “Then he came off again and I said, ‘Shoot it again’ and he swished it.”

On a team shooting 43.8 percent from 3-point territory and averaging nearly 11 3s per game in the tournament, Rodriguez’ biggest role besides providing leadership has been distributing.

“He has so much basketball IQ, it’s insane,” 7-foot freshman D.J. Haley said. “It seems like he always knows where everybody is on the court, and off the court, he always makes sure you’re doing OK. He’s a great example of a leader.”

And a player.

Rodriguez has 38 assists to 10 turnovers in five tournament games. He had 11 assists and 12 points when the Rams beat Purdue, and 10 assists when they beat Florida State.

Rodriguez said their no-fear approach is easily explained.

“We weren’t supposed to be there,” he said, a reference to TV commentators’ harsh criticism of the Rams making the field. “If we would have lost in the Elite Eight, if we would have lost in the Sweet 16, if we would have lost to USC, we weren’t supposed to be there.

“But we expect more out of ourselves,” he said, “and we just don’t want it to end.”