That Butler and VCU proudly wear the same small-conference, lovable underdog label is readily apparent.
VCU started missing from long range, and that was the end of its surprising run to the Final Four.
So much for VCU and Connecticut being worn out by their heavy workloads.
They fought too hard to earn a spot at center stage to slink away now.
When the coach who recruited him to VCU suddenly left, Rams guard Joey Rodriguez thought it might be time for him to go home, too.
That Butler and VCU proudly wear the same small-conference, lovable underdog label is readily apparent.
A hand descending from heaven as it clutches a basketball is tattooed on Jamie Skeen's right arm. Another hand reaches up for the basketball. Between them is a gap.
Back on March 13, Virginia Commonwealth University's basketball team didn't gather to watch the NCAA tournament selection show.
Late Sunday night, Joey Rodriguez sat on a plane from Chicago to Richmond, Va. He couldn't sleep. Rapper Wiz Khalifa's anthem "The Race" pounded through his headphones. The song turned Rodriguez's thoughts from the win over Purdue that propelled Virginia Commonwealth University into the Sweet 16 to one choice that changed the course of his life.
