Commonwealth Times

Rachel Larue photo

Media Credit: Rachel Larue VCU men's basketball player #50 Ed Nixon shows off moves during the pep rally on Friday Oct. 12, 2007 in the Siegel Center (ct/Rachel Larue) [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Rachel Larue Dr. Eugene p. Trani, president of VCU, and Norwood T. Teague, VCUís athletic director, pass out rings during the pep rally on Friday Oct. 12, 2007 to commiserate VCUís menís basketball winning the CAA championship, Richmond, VA (ct/Rachel Larue). [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Rachel Larue The crowed sits and waits for the pep rally on Friday October 12, 2007 to start at the Seigel Center, Richmond, VA (ct/ Rachel Larue) [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Rachel Larue The womenís basketball team huddles during the pep rally on Friday Oct. 12, 2007 in the Siegel Center, Richmond, VA (ct/ Rachel Larue) [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Rachel Larue The men's basketball team stands and opens their ring boxes after receiving their rings for last years CAA championship during the pep rally on Friday Oct. 12, 2007 in the Siegel Center, Richmond, VA (ct/ Rachel Larue) [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Rachel Larue Waiting for the Pep Rally to start, players from the men's and women's basketball teams sign autographs for fans in Richmond, Va, Oct. 12, 2007 (ct/Rachel Larue) [Click to enlarge]

Free tuition, books, parking and iPod nanos were awarded to select students via a raffle Friday night at the Stuart C. Siegel Center, where a crowd of about 2,500 gathered in anticipation of this basketball season following last year's team's unprecedented performance.

Before the rally, the line to enter the building stretched from the main entrance on Broad Street and bent north up Harrison Street. The first 1,500 students were guaranteed a free T-shirt and food.

Head coach James Finley's volleyball squad was the first group of the night to be introduced. The team was fresh off a victory in straight games over conference rival UNC Wilmington earlier in the evening.

The crowd used gold paper to make airplanes, on which they wrote their name, and floated them toward goals - pizza boxes laid out on the court. The floor became speckled with gold, and those who landed their plane in a box earned a prize.

President Eugene P. Trani and Athletic Director Norwood Teague were on hand to present rings to members of the 2006-2007 Colonial Athletic Association championship team, which won a school-record 28 games.

Former players Matt Coward and Jesse Pellot- Rosa, who are completing degrees at VCU but are not NCAA eligible, reunited with the team for the ceremony. Making a surprise appearance while taking a break from professional basketball with the Artland Dragons in Germany was Calvin Roland, bringing grins to the faces of his former teammates.

B.A. Walker could not join the festivities, having recently signed a contract to play for Icelandic club Keflavik. James Eversley also was absent after transferring to the University of Charleston.

The newest banner was on display, joining two other CAA championship banners hanging on the east wall of the Alltel Pavilion. A VCU banner that is hung at the Richmond Coliseum during the CAA championship weekend was unveiled with its first star, which represents the number of wins the school has amassed in the NCAA tournament.

The Rams, led by 2006-2007 CAA Coach of the Year Anthony Grant, hope to re-create the energy and excitement from the postseason at the Coliseum and in Buffalo, N.Y., for every home game this season.

"I expect to see a lot of fans in here. In fact, I expect to have a sellout crowd every time we play," said junior guard Eric Maynor (Raeford, N.C./Westover).

An extended version of the video montage first played March 19 at the Siegel Center was shown, bringing fans to their feet. The montage included clips from throughout VCU's postseason, highlighted by late comeback wins over George Mason and Duke orchestrated by Maynor and the overtime loss to Pittsburgh.

"(Watching that) makes me feel really good," said Maynor, a first-team All-CAA guard. "But, like Coach Grant says, we're trying to put that in the past and move ahead with the future."

Fans caught a glimpse of the future of the program, which included nine new players.

Freshmen Myk Brown (Gainesville, Fla./P.K. Yonge), Lance Kearse (Fort Myers, Fla./Fort Myers), Ed Nixon (St. Petersburg, Fla./Lakewood), Joey Rodriguez (Oviedo, Fla./Lake Howell), Brandon Rozzell (Richmond/Highland Springs), Larry Sanders (Fort Pierce, Fla./Port St. Lucie) and Gerard Smith (Windermere, Fla./Timber Creek) were all welcomed by the home crowd for the first time, along with sophomore Kirill Pishchalnikov (Maykop, Russia/ MGGTK AGU) and junior Terrell Elliston (Bronx, N.Y./Polk Community College).

The men finished last season with just 11 players on the roster, six of whom are returning this season.

Beth Cunningham's Lady Rams also introduced several newcomers. Freshmen Stacy Griffith (Fredericksburg/ Riverbend), Ebony Patterson (Chesterfield/L.C. Bird) and Jessica Taylor (Woodbridge/Woodbridge) will combine with junior Radoslava Bachvarova (Varna, Bulgaria/Daytona Beach Community College) to replace the graduated Michele Cosel and Miranda Smith.

Each freshman executed her own coordinated dance during player introductions and threw more free shirts to fans.

The Lady Rams are coming off a 17-13 season and second-round appearance in the CAA tournament.

The men battle Virginia State Nov. 1 to open preseason play and first host regular-season action Nov. 24 against Elon. The women welcome Virginia Union Nov. 2 for a preseason bout and then have their regular-season home opener Nov. 25 against Appalachian State.

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Rachel Larue photo

Media Credit: Rachel Larue VCU men's basketball player #50 Ed Nixon shows off moves during the pep rally on Friday Oct. 12, 2007 in the Siegel Center (ct/Rachel Larue) [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Rachel Larue Dr. Eugene p. Trani, president of VCU, and Norwood T. Teague, VCUís athletic director, pass out rings during the pep rally on Friday Oct. 12, 2007 to commiserate VCUís menís basketball winning the CAA championship, Richmond, VA (ct/Rachel Larue). [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Rachel Larue The crowed sits and waits for the pep rally on Friday October 12, 2007 to start at the Seigel Center, Richmond, VA (ct/ Rachel Larue) [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Rachel Larue The womenís basketball team huddles during the pep rally on Friday Oct. 12, 2007 in the Siegel Center, Richmond, VA (ct/ Rachel Larue) [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Rachel Larue The men's basketball team stands and opens their ring boxes after receiving their rings for last years CAA championship during the pep rally on Friday Oct. 12, 2007 in the Siegel Center, Richmond, VA (ct/ Rachel Larue) [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Rachel Larue Waiting for the Pep Rally to start, players from the men's and women's basketball teams sign autographs for fans in Richmond, Va, Oct. 12, 2007 (ct/Rachel Larue) [Click to enlarge]

Free tuition, books, parking and iPod nanos were awarded to select students via a raffle Friday night at the Stuart C. Siegel Center, where a crowd of about 2,500 gathered in anticipation of this basketball season following last year's team's unprecedented performance.

Before the rally, the line to enter the building stretched from the main entrance on Broad Street and bent north up Harrison Street. The first 1,500 students were guaranteed a free T-shirt and food.

Head coach James Finley's volleyball squad was the first group of the night to be introduced. The team was fresh off a victory in straight games over conference rival UNC Wilmington earlier in the evening.

The crowd used gold paper to make airplanes, on which they wrote their name, and floated them toward goals - pizza boxes laid out on the court. The floor became speckled with gold, and those who landed their plane in a box earned a prize.

President Eugene P. Trani and Athletic Director Norwood Teague were on hand to present rings to members of the 2006-2007 Colonial Athletic Association championship team, which won a school-record 28 games.

Former players Matt Coward and Jesse Pellot- Rosa, who are completing degrees at VCU but are not NCAA eligible, reunited with the team for the ceremony. Making a surprise appearance while taking a break from professional basketball with the Artland Dragons in Germany was Calvin Roland, bringing grins to the faces of his former teammates.

B.A. Walker could not join the festivities, having recently signed a contract to play for Icelandic club Keflavik. James Eversley also was absent after transferring to the University of Charleston.

The newest banner was on display, joining two other CAA championship banners hanging on the east wall of the Alltel Pavilion. A VCU banner that is hung at the Richmond Coliseum during the CAA championship weekend was unveiled with its first star, which represents the number of wins the school has amassed in the NCAA tournament.

The Rams, led by 2006-2007 CAA Coach of the Year Anthony Grant, hope to re-create the energy and excitement from the postseason at the Coliseum and in Buffalo, N.Y., for every home game this season.

"I expect to see a lot of fans in here. In fact, I expect to have a sellout crowd every time we play," said junior guard Eric Maynor (Raeford, N.C./Westover).

An extended version of the video montage first played March 19 at the Siegel Center was shown, bringing fans to their feet. The montage included clips from throughout VCU's postseason, highlighted by late comeback wins over George Mason and Duke orchestrated by Maynor and the overtime loss to Pittsburgh.

"(Watching that) makes me feel really good," said Maynor, a first-team All-CAA guard. "But, like Coach Grant says, we're trying to put that in the past and move ahead with the future."

Fans caught a glimpse of the future of the program, which included nine new players.

Freshmen Myk Brown (Gainesville, Fla./P.K. Yonge), Lance Kearse (Fort Myers, Fla./Fort Myers), Ed Nixon (St. Petersburg, Fla./Lakewood), Joey Rodriguez (Oviedo, Fla./Lake Howell), Brandon Rozzell (Richmond/Highland Springs), Larry Sanders (Fort Pierce, Fla./Port St. Lucie) and Gerard Smith (Windermere, Fla./Timber Creek) were all welcomed by the home crowd for the first time, along with sophomore Kirill Pishchalnikov (Maykop, Russia/ MGGTK AGU) and junior Terrell Elliston (Bronx, N.Y./Polk Community College).

The men finished last season with just 11 players on the roster, six of whom are returning this season.

Beth Cunningham's Lady Rams also introduced several newcomers. Freshmen Stacy Griffith (Fredericksburg/ Riverbend), Ebony Patterson (Chesterfield/L.C. Bird) and Jessica Taylor (Woodbridge/Woodbridge) will combine with junior Radoslava Bachvarova (Varna, Bulgaria/Daytona Beach Community College) to replace the graduated Michele Cosel and Miranda Smith.

Each freshman executed her own coordinated dance during player introductions and threw more free shirts to fans.

The Lady Rams are coming off a 17-13 season and second-round appearance in the CAA tournament.

The men battle Virginia State Nov. 1 to open preseason play and first host regular-season action Nov. 24 against Elon. The women welcome Virginia Union Nov. 2 for a preseason bout and then have their regular-season home opener Nov. 25 against Appalachian State.

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