As a quick Google Maps search will show you, the distance between Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Virginia is a mere 75 miles down Interstate 64. Ethiopia's Haile Gebrselassie, the world record holder for marathon runs, could cover that ground in about six hours. The average human, meanwhile, could leave the Rotunda at noon today and make it to Shafer Court Dining Center at VCU in plenty of time for dinner tomorrow at a speed of 2.8 miles per hour. So, if only 75 miles separate the University and VCU, why does it feel like so much more to me?
Sunday afternoon, the No. 11 seed Rams pulled off one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history as they knocked off top-seeded Kansas to advance to the Final Four. Where were the Cavaliers during VCU's triumphant victory? Well, they were sitting on their couches in Charlottesville, witnessing second-year coach Shaka Smart's team shoot nearly 50 percent from behind the arc to defeat the Jayhawks' team of blue chippers. Virginia watched as the Rams did what the Cavaliers were unable to do against Miami fewer than three weeks ago - hold onto a late-game lead. They looked on as the Rams out-hustled and outworked a team with a pair of 6-foot-10 twins destined for the NBA. They saw a real-life David slay Goliath, when no one from outside of the Richmond area gave the Rams even a puncher's chance - including Dick Vitale, who said he would be "shocked" if VCU won.
I am sure like many other Virginia fans, I was left shaking my head following Sunday's improbable outcome. How could the Rams be two games away from a national crown, while the Cavaliers barely were able to eke out a record above .500? This discrepancy between the two programs should not exist.
Virginia plays in the powerful ACC - the conference that boasts 12 total NCAA basketball champions; VCU contends in the CAA - the conference of "perennial powerhouses" such as Delaware and Towson. The Virginia men's basketball budget exceeds $7 million, while VCU's is less than $2 million. The Cavaliers appeared eight times on the ESPN family of networks this season and boasted players such as Mike Scott and Mustapha Farrakhan with legitimate NBA dreams. Before the 2011 NCAA Tournament, most Americans would not have been able to name any member of the Rams squad if you held a gun to their head. And despite it all, VCU is the one still standing. I just can't wrap my head around it.
But the more I think about it, the more it all starts to make sense. It all starts with the head coach, and VCU has a history of bringing in top-shelf talent to patrol the sideline. Its last coach, Anthony Grant, is now the head coach at Alabama. Grant's predecessor, Jeff Capel, moved on to coach Oklahoma for five seasons. And Smart will have the chance to fill almost any major coaching vacancy if he should choose to move on to a higher profile position.
All three of these men have dominated the Richmond-area recruiting circuit in recent years, as well. They have reeled in athletes from high-profile high schools such as Highland Springs - where Brandon Rozzell ruled the court - and Benedictine - where Bradford Burgess played before entering the collegiate ranks.
Meanwhile, Virginia coach Tony Bennett has yet to prove that his defensive-first gameplan can be effective in the ACC. In his two seasons at the helm of the Cavaliers, Bennett has lost several key players, including Jeff Jones and Sylven Landesberg, as well as role players in Tristan Spurlock and Billy Baron. These departures raise questions about Bennett's ability to lead the team.
The Rams also have solid leadership, which the Cavaliers just honestly lack. VCU's roster includes senior leaders such as Jamie Skeen and Joey Rodriguez, who can rise to the challenge in the waning minutes of a game and clinch a victory from the charity stripe. Virginia, on the other hand, has upperclassmen such as Farrakhan and Sammy Zeglinski, whose failure to communicate on a missed free throw attempt in the last seconds during Virginia's ACC Tournament matchup cost the Cavaliers the game.
And while most basketball games at Virginia are played in front of half-empty houses at JPJ thanks to an apathetic student section bred by several seasons of losing, VCU hosts games led by a small, but devoted, section of fans. There has been a culture of winning at VCU since Capel's days, and that's just nonexistent at Virginia at the present.
Looking ahead to Saturday evening, VCU will take on Butler with the hopes of advancing to its very first National Championship game. Thousands of fans throughout the Richmond area will tune in to cheer on their hometown heroes. Seventy-five miles west of Richmond, however, the Cavaliers and their fans will watch with envy. Seventy-five miles - so close, yet so far away.
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