The NCAA basketball season, or in VCU men’s basketball terms HAVOC 6.0, is edging closer and closer to us as the days go by. At this point, I want us all to relive a couple of the best moments in VCU men’s basketball history. In this article, I will be talking about “The Dagger” and “The Dagger Part 2”. So let’s take a flashback and relive these two moments that have defined VCU men’s basketball and made it what it is today.
“The Dagger” (3/15/07):
I was in the den watching the VCU vs. Duke game with my mom. It was the round of 64 in the NCAA tournament in 2007. VCU was a #11 seed and Duke was a #6 seed. The score was tied at 74-74 with a minute to go. Maynor takes a mid-range floater for the lead, GOOD! Score is now 76-74 VCU ahead with 45.8 seconds to go. McRoberts from Duke goes to the line for two shots after getting fouled with 21 seconds to go and makes one which made the score 76-75 VCU still ahead. Jesse Pellot-Rosa then dribbles down the court and gets fouled. Jesse Pellot-Rosa goes to the line for two shots and makes the first but misses the second. Now I will send you over to Kevin Harland for the rest of this heart pounding game. “Nelson for the tie. RIGHT THROUGH THE DEFENSE OF VCU WENT DEMARCUS NELSON!! TEN SECONDS LEFT AND HERE WE GO!!…….MAYNOR…IS THIS THE DAGGER???” He stopped talking for the longest time, but the mid-range fade-away jumper went in and the score was 79-77 VCU ahead with 1.8 seconds to go. I will send it back to Kevin Harland for the remainder of the game. “Paulus for the win. YOU HAVE JUST SEEN THE BIGGEST UPSET IN TODAY’S FIRST ROUND OF THE NCAA TOURNAMENT!!” VCU ended up getting the win 79-77 over Duke in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Thanks to Eric Maynor. “The star of the game. Ice water in the veins. The pull up jumper; nothing but bottom for Maynor.”
“The Dagger Part 2” (11/12/13):
I was in the den again watching the VCU vs. Virginia game with my mom and dad. VCU was playing an away game at UVA. VCU was ranked #14 at the time and UVA was ranked #25 at the time. For this one, I’m just going to use a bunch of quotes from different commentators so here we go:
Robby Robinson (Big Oldies 107.3): “Inbound’s to Brandenberg. Eight seconds to go. Rob Brandenberg top of the key. Brandenberg right side picks up his dribble to Graham. Long three for the win. BULLSEYE!!! HE GOT IT TO GO!! ONE POINT ONE TO GO!! HE HITS THE THREE!! RAMS BY THREE 59-56 AS GRAHAM DRAINS ONE FROM 30 FEET I DON’T BELIEVE IT!! Treveon Graham just hit a 30 foot three pointer with 1.1 second remaining and the rams are up 59-56.”
James Snow (Rams Review): “And now Rob Brandenberg has it for the rams. Brandenberg going to get a pick from Juvonte Reddic. Brandenberg looking to create it kicks it back out. Treveon Graham for three for the win. IT’S GOOD!! TREVEON GRAHAM HITS A BOTTOM OF THE NET THREE!! UVA has one timeout remaining and they will take it. Treveon Graham was able to knock it down. Graham is cold blooded. That was an NBA three-pointer. He just knocked it down.”
Mike Patrick (ESPN): “Nine point seven seconds to go. Brandenberg to Graham. He’ll have to launch from way OH HE JUST GOT IT!! TREVEON GRAHAM!! WITH A LONG THREE AND HE BURIED IT!! HOW’S THAT FOR CLUTCH!!”
VCU’s Treveon Graham nailed a three pointer with 1.1 second on the clock to bring the score to 59-56. Let’s send it over to Robby Robinson for the end of the game call. “Baseball pass. Throws it over everybody. Caught, Anderson a three for the tie. IT’S NO GOOD!! NO GOOD!! VCU DEFEATS UVA 59-56!! AND THERE IS NO JOY IN WHOVILLE!!”
“The Dagger” and “The Dagger Part 2” are huge plays that still shape VCU to what it is today. The next movie to come is “The Dagger Part 3” which is coming to a Siegel Center, away game, or tournament game near you or on you television.
