Postgame comments that didn’t appear in the print edition after VCU’s 72-56 victory over South Dakota State Wednesday at the Siegel Center.

    VCU coach Anthony Grant:
    “You’ve got to give a lot of credit to South Dakota State. I thought they came in and played smart basketball. They were aggressive. We knew they were a very good 3-point shooting team. They came in averaging about 25 3s a game. We’ve talked all year about the importance of being able to defend the 3-point line. In the first half, they were 6 for 11, which gave them an opportunity to be right where they wanted to be at the end of the half.
    “I thought for our basketball team, we played in spurts tonight. One of the things we continue to talk about is our guys understanding how to play with a purpose and the importance of the details and maintaining focus. There were spots in the first half, really the last 10 minutes of the first half, where we lost that. We got up 16 points, and we coasted a little bit. And they took advantage of that.
    “In the second half, for about a 10-minute stand there, our confidence was shaken a little bit. Guys were missing shots that we normally make. Offensively, they were being very aggressive, matching us basket for basket. I thought we had a group, led by Eric there, at about the 10-minute mark, that really changed the entire complexion of the game. You could just see the energy that was built up with that group we had on the floor that I thought completely changed the whole game and probably won the game for us.
    “Certainly a lot of areas that we’ve got to become better at, that we’ve got to learn how to be consistent in. More than anything else, the importance that each guy on this team understand that they’ve got to come prepared every single night to play to the best of their ability because the guy next to them is relying on them. That’s important.”

    Does he think it’s hard for guys to get in a rhythm with so many guys subbing in and out?
    “It’s the same thing that we’ve done every game. I don’t. I think our strength is in our numbers. With what I’m asking them to do from a physical standpoint [in the press], we need to have good numbers. I thought there were times tonight when we subbed when the energy was negatively impacted. And that’s not good when that happens. There’s got to be a responsibility on everyone on our team that they’ve got to understand their role and what’s expected when they step on the floor. To me, there should never be a letdown when we go to our bench. Our bench should be our strength.”

    Is there a group he goes to when the going gets tough?
    “I’m trying to figure that out. Two games into the year, let’s not kid anybody. I think every game we’re learning about each other, we’re learning about ourselves individually, we’re learning about our basketball team. It’s still a very young season.     
    “With every game, hopefully, Larry [Sanders is] gaining more confidence in how he can affect the game and what he needs to do. All our young guys are starting to see what their roles are, how they fit in, what they need to do on a daily basis, what our team needs out of them. That’s a process that’s going to take some time.”

    Larry Sanders, who had nine points, eight rebounds and seven blocked shots, after going scoreless and getting just one rebound in VCU’s first game against The Citadel:
    “Coach told me don’t let that game affect this game. Don’t live in the past. You have to live in the present. I think last year, that probably would have had me down for a couple of games. This year, it’s like a maturity thing. OK, I had a bad game, but we won. All I can say to myself is, ‘Next game, I’m going to help us win this game.’”

    Concerned the Rams aren’t sharp yet?
    “No. It’s almost expected that we aren’t sharp yet … because we’re so young.”
 
    What happened after the Rams got up by 16 points early?
    “That’s a maturity thing. A veteran team would have just killed them. They would have never let up. We got comfortable at a certain point. That’s something we’ll get a lot better at.”

      Eric Maynor, on why teams don’t double team him all the time when he dribbles off a high screen:
    “Sometimes they do. They mixed it up. In the first half, some of our guys were making shots. I know I’m going to draw a lot of attention. That’s when I try to find my teammates. Then in the second half, in that spurt, they opened up a little bit and they weren’t double-teaming off ball screens, and that’s what we were running. I was able to get free a little bit.”
 
    Concerned about the way the Rams shot (27 of 61, 4 for 18 on 3-pointers)?
    “Not at all. We’ve got guys who can really shoot. Open looks have been going in and out. I’m not very concerned with that. We’re going to get in the gym and gets some shots up. Stuff is going to start falling for us.”

    South Dakota State coach Scott Nagy:
    “For us, the game was lost in the first 5 to 8 minutes. You could say it was lost at that 5-minute mark [in the second half], but it would have been a way different game at the 5-minute mark if we’d shown up in the first eight. And then after that, we settled down and started to play. You can’t give up starts like that against a good basketball team and expect that you’re going to win games.”
 
    On how you stop Maynor:
    “It’s not easy, and quite frankly, the game plan we had, some people didn’t follow. … The best thing you can do when [Maynor] comes off those ball screens is double team him and make him flat-out give it up and make someone else beat you. Quite often, our guards didn’t get him to the ball screen. They let him cross over and not use the ball screen and get into the middle of the paint. Once he does that, you’re not going to stop him.
    “I’m sure that’s how the rest of his league covers him. They just double team him and try to make somebody else beat you.”
   
    On VCU’s press:
    “They’re good at it. The reason they can do it is because they have [the 6-10] Sanders standing at the basket. You can gamble and do everything you want, and you’re not going to get to the basket. … The normal person watching doesn’t know that because the guards make all the plays, but Sanders is the reason the press is effective.”