No matter who stands as head coach of VCU’s storied men’s basketball program, the title always comes with one certainty: expectations.
It’s a weight that first-year Rams head coach Phil Martelli Jr. was willing to bear when he first took the job in March 2025 after leading Bryant to the NCAA Tournament. “VCU and especially VCU men’s basketball has been synonymous with excellence,” Martelli said at his introductory press conference. “You look around at all those [championship] banners, you see the trophies,
and you recognize that you’re upholding a long-standing legacy.”
Expectations arrived for VCU and Martelli on Sept. 30 when the Rams were selected atop the Atlantic 10’s preseason poll. Despite being in the midst of a major transition with an almost entirely new roster, the standard is the standard at VCU, particularly with the program coming off an A10 Championship.
There were tough battles early during the 2025-26 campaign with multiple losses in critical Quad-1 opportunities. By November’s end, the Rams had already lost out to a pair of AP Top-25 programs in NC State and Vanderbilt, as well as a top-25 program by KenPom in Utah State.
Even still, you could see this Rams team brimming with potential. After beating a respected South Florida team at the Battle 4 Atlantis by double-digits, VCU bounced back from that Vanderbilt loss by decimating Virginia Tech, 86-68, to secure third-place in the Bahamas.
Those inconsistencies gave way to an almost premeditated 2-2 start to A10 play for VCU. The Rams opened on two straight wins, handily defeating St. Bonaventure and later, Duquesne on the road.
But two of Martelli’s biggest tests followed to start 2026, as first-place Saint Louis visited the Siegel Center before a trip to George Mason, both opponents sitting on just one loss at the time.
Though VCU ultimately fell just short again when the lights were brightest, it’s evident how much this team has grown since. The Rams have gone on to rattle off eight straight wins following the back-to-back losses, including three on the road and a dominant double-digit beatdown of Dayton.
According to Martelli, it’s been a learning process during his first year in the conference with the Rams now sitting second-place in the A10 just two games behind Saint Louis.
“You know going into [this league] that there’s great coaching and good teams,” Martelli told Mid-Major Madness. “Not everybody can win every game, but like everybody’s good and everybody’s got an identity. So, being able to respond to those different things when you go into a game, those identities, [shows] we’ve grown.”
Junior Lazar Djokovic will be as important as anyone within this VCU program over the coming weeks if the Rams want to have a shot at dancing next month. The Charleston transfer just put up a career high 26 points in North Philadelphia earlier this week, as the Rams stacked another A10 win in Martelli Jr’s hometown.
Not many bigs in this league have the physical traits, coupled with the skill, that Djokovic has. La Salle found that out after Djokovic left their gym with a new career best.
“He’s 6-foot-11, 240 pounds and you have to respect him as a three-point shooter,” said La Salle head coach Darris Nichols. “He really likes to stretch the defense and get three’s off. He’s a good player.”
For the Rams, Djokovic can be a force multiplier offensively with the attention that he demands. This is a VCU team that loves getting to the free throw line, ranked 2nd nationally and leading the A10 in point distribution by free throws, per KenPom.
Djokovic spearheads this endeavor, posting the highest free throw rate in the league, and the 14th highest nationally. He’s a lot to handle in the paint, and can get his own tally on any given night. However, a big night from him can lead to big nights for his teammates as opponents laser in on trying to make things difficult for Djokovic.
“It opens everything up when he gets going,” Martelli said. “It’s gravity. He pulls in the defense, and you still have to worry about him. Getting on the glass, his size, physicality, athleticism, there’s not a lot like that in this league.”
As good as Djokovic can be, as well as leading scorer Terrence Hill Jr., the Rams have balance offensively that few others have. VCU has been led in scoring by eight different players this season, and have diferent guys that can hurt an opponent any given night.
“We need everybody,” Martelli said. “The beauty of us is we had guys that didn’t really have it tonight, and there’s others that can step up… the other day Bam [Jadrian Tracey] goes out and gets 26, and now Lazar just did. Terrence Hill is obviously a powder keg that’s ready to go off at any time… but other guys like Brandon Jennings, Michael Belle, Barry Evans, and Tyrell Ward, we’ve gotten something from everybody throughout, and that has to continue down the stretch.”
As it stands prior to the Rams inter-city rivalry clash against Richmond, Joe Lunardi has VCU as one of his “Next Four Out” teams. The Rams will have their opportunity to secure a massive needle moving win next Friday at Chaifetz Arena against nationally ranked Saint Louis.
In addition to that, the Rams will look to get revenge on George Mason, and finish up the regular season at UD Arena with another matchup versus Dayton. All before heading to Pittsburgh, the birthplace of the A10, to see if they can leave no doubt and punch a ticket to the NCAA Tournament there.
But that’s not at the front of Martelli’s mind. After the Rams finish one game, it’s on to the next. It’s easy to get caught up in the noise that comes with this time of year, but not for Martelli. and his staff. Those thoughts are saved for another day.
“We only talk about win number 11 now,” he said. “That’s all we’re really focused on. They bring up win streaks and things like that, I don’t pay attention to it. All we can do is focus on getting back, getting our bodies right, having a good day of practice on Friday, and getting number 11 on Saturday.”
