by Patrick Stevens
It may have taken some time for VCU to figure itself out last year, for entirely understandable reasons.
New coach. A largely new set of players. It’s a recipe for not sorting things out until the middle of the year.
The Rams indeed found themselves last winter, winning 17 of their last 19 games and some Atlantic 10 hardware along the way. And even the losses in retrospect weren’t astonishing; six of VCU’s eight setbacks came against NCAA Tournament teams, and the other two were against programs that hosted NIT games.
Each team has some self-discovery to go through, but these Rams bring back four of their top six scorers and three other key reserves. VCU won’t be a finished product out of the box when it opens Nov. 2 against Little Rock, but there should be greater cohesion.
“We’ve been fortunate to have a lot of continuity this year,” coach Phil Martelli Jr. “Obviously, last year everything was new. This year with the continuity, not just players but the coaching staff, support staff, everybody, and you’re looking for that fluidity to kind of keep building.”
As much value as there is in returning the likes of Lazar Djokovic and Nyk Lewis (both first team preseason all-Atlantic 10 picks) and Brandon Jennings (a second team and all-defensive selection in the preseason), the Rams still needed to augment their roster.
They’ve done so with four transfers and a three-man freshman class that includes a couple of top 100 prospects.
“Having a lot of guys come back and knowing each other, it’s been great,” Djokovic said. “But also having the new guys, we have a lot of similarities with them.”
That’s not an accident. Martelli frequently vouches for the importance of being around good people, whether it’s athletes or coaches, and it’s probably as important as any ingredient in his success as a head coach at Bryant and now at VCU.
Of course, he has good players, too, and they’ll give the Rams a fine chance to contend for yet another A10 championship.
“We have the right guys who are about those things that come in, that get extra work, want to get better, want to get coached,” Martelli said. “We’ve done a pretty good job with that.”
A LOOK AT THE RAMS:
Coach: Phil Martelli Jr., second season at VCU, 28-8 with the Rams and 71-33 in three seasons overall.
Last year: The Rams were nearly flawless the last two months of the regular season, winning 13 of 15 before sweeping through the Atlantic 10 tournament to earn their third NCAA berth in the last four seasons. VCU then surged past North Carolina to earn an 82-78 overtime victory as a No. 11 seed before falling to eventual Final Four team Illinois in the second round. The Rams went 15-3 in the A10, sharing the regular-season title with Saint Louis.
They’ll miss: Top scorer Terrence Hill Jr. (15.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.8 apg) transferred to Tennessee, and Jadrian Tracey (9.6 ppg, 2.8 rpg) exhausted his eligibility. They were also the Rams’ top two outside shooters by quantity; Hill made a team-best 81 shots from 3-point range, while Tracey connected on 62.
Impact returners: VCU has back Djokovic, who averaged 13.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in his first season in the program while earning first team all-A10 plaudits. Djokovic’s return ensures the Rams have one of the best frontcourt presences in the A10.
But he’s not the only returning forward Michael Belle (7.7 ppg, 5.2 rpg), a 6-foot-8, 220-pound senior who has deftly filled a reserve role in each of his first three seasons and appears poised for an even larger presence after starting VCU’s two exhibition games.
Newcomers of note: Two seasons ago, Blake Harper turned in a masterful freshman season at Howard, averaging 19.5 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists while shooting 40.4 percent from 3-point range and running away with the MEAC’s player of the year award.
He was a part-time starter at Creighton last season, and the 6-7, 220-pound junior moves back east and should be a better fit for the Rams.
A couple other potential contributors from VCU’s offseason influx are Torey Alston, who averaged 13.1 points and 7.9 rebounds while earning all-Conference USA third team honors at Middle Tennessee, and -Sammy Jackson, a 6-7 freshman wing from Philadelphia.
Reasons to be optimistic: Lewis and Jennings are a year older and wiser, they’ll provide a high-energy combination for Martelli to deploy.
“We kind of ask them to elevate and get us started defensively, get that ball popping on offense,” Martelli said. “There’s a lot that’s asked of them but you know exactly what you’re getting from them every single day. Every day. When I walk in that door tomorrow, I know exactly what those two guys are going to give me, so that consistency really helps.”
X factor: The Rams were sixth in defensive efficiency in A10 conference games last season according to KenPom.com. That didn’t prevent VCU from having a fine season, but it does provide some room for growth in Martelli’s second season.
“We’re trying to be as high level a defensive team as we can do,” Martelli said. “I think that’s really, really important for us. We have the tools to do it. If we’re high level in that, the rest of it will come along with it.”
Circle the date: VCU heads west for four games in late November. After a stop at Santa Clara (an NCAA tournament team in 2026), the Rams move on to the Maui Invitational, where a string of three games in three days begins Nov. 23 against Providence. It is the third Maui appearance for VCU, which also played in the event in 1986 and 2017.
Bottom line: VCU has finished no worse than tied for fourth in the A10 standings in six consecutive years, including back-to-back shared regular season titles and consecutive A10 tournament crowns. That’s the standard on West Broad Street, and one the Rams are plenty capable of upholding in 2026-27.
Patrick Stevens is a veteran college basketball writer who oversees Mid-Atlantic College Hoops. Previously, he worked for The Washington Post, Syracuse Media Group and The Washington Times. Stevens has written selected pieces for the Atlantic 10 Conference since 2013.