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VCU Rams seeing players head out and come on board

Fred Jeter | 4/14/2022, 6 p.m.
No Virginia Commonwealth University basketball roster should be written with anything more permanent than a No. 2 pencil. And don’t ...
Zeb Jackson

No Virginia Commonwealth University basketball roster should be written with anything more permanent than a No. 2 pencil. And don’t press too hard on the lead.

The “C” in VCU might stand for “changing” following a dizzying cycle of comings and goings that are likely far from finished.

Background: Coach Mike Rhoades’ Rams finished this past season with a 22- 10 record that ended with a second round NIT loss at Wake Forest.

“Seniors?”: Should be scripted with quote marks and a question mark due to the “bonus year” traditional seniors have been granted due to the pandemic.

The Rams had three “seniors” on its most recent team. Reserve Levi Stockard, the lone “senior” with no more eligibility, has moved on. Starting guard KeShawn Curry has another season but has indicated he will not return.

All-Atlantic 10 Conference Vince Williams, also with another year of eligibility, has filed for the NBA draft, but could change his mind and return. Indications are he will not.

Portal departures: Since the NCAA ruled that athletes can transfer without sitting out a season, there has been an explosion of movement. College hoops has turned into something akin to pro free agency.

Rams signing up for the portal are Mikeal Brown-Jones, Marcus Tsohonis and Jimmy Nichols, all backups, and shot blocker extraordinaire Hason Ward.

Portal arrival: Zeb Jackson, a 6-foot-4 guard, is transferring to VCU from the University of Michigan. A highly-touted prep performer in Florida, Jackson never fit in with Wolverines Coach Juwan Howard.

Fresh faces: Coach Rhoades has signed two very promising incoming freshmen — 6-foot-10 Christian Fermin from Pocono, Penn., and 6-foot-7 Alphonzo “Fatts” Billups from Varina.

Training room update: Returning to the 2022-23 roster are 6-foot-7 Jamir Watkins and 6-foot-4 Jalen McAllister, both of whom missed all of last season with leg injuries.

Familiar faces: Scholarship returnees from the 21-10 club are Ace Baldwin, Jalen DeRoach, Jayden Nunn, Nick Kern, Josh Banks and walk-on Arnold Henderson VI, the most tenured Ram with three full seasons behind him.

That gives VCU 10 scholarship players. The NCAA limit is 13. Expect VCU to fill each opening with either freshmen or transfers.

The transfer portal, the extra year extended for COVID-19 and the Name-Image-Likeness (NIL) has changed the face of college hoops.

The situation is fluid. So in making out your roster, don’t reach for the ballpoint pen quite yet.