Although the story of VCU not bothering to get together to watch the NCAA tournament selection show thas been told many times the past three weeks, guard Joey Rodriguez added a few details during his Wednesday appearance on Lopez Tonight.
Rodriguez told host George Lopez he was watching alone in his room when VCU unexpectedly popped as a No. 11 seed.
"I started screaming and I actually busted my lip. I punched myself doing one of these," said Rodriguez, raising both fists in celebration. "I didn't even know who we were playing until about 30 minutes later. I was just screaming and yelling."
The appearance on a late-night talk show is the culmination of an incredible four weeks for Rodriguez, who went from an anonymous player on the CAA's fourth-place team to one of the stars of a Final Four squad. VCU defeated the likes of Georgetown, Purdue and Kansas to reach the Final Four before falling to Butler last Saturday.
In his appearance on Lopez Tonight, Rodriguez went through some of the well-chronicled stories of VCU's rise including how Shaka Smart lit the calendar page from the month of February on fire to signify his team's fresh start in March. Rodriguez also told Lopez about how Kansas' Morris twins attempted to intimidate the Rams prior to their Elite Eight matchup, telling Rodriguez, "You guys had a great run but it's about to come to an end."
One of the less well-known stories Rodriguez shared was how he got the nickname "Boo Boo" that has stuck with him since childhood. He said he used to whine a lot as a baby, so his dad used to rock him back and forth and comfort him by saying, "Alright, Boo Boo."
"They were calling me J-Rod (when I first got to VCU)," Rodriguez said. "My mom and dad started coming to games and they're in the crowd yelling, 'Boo Boo, Boo Boo, Boo Boo.' I guess our fans went along with it."
Even though VCU fell two victories shy of a championship, Lopez had Rodriguez look into the camera and tell viewers he was going to Disney World. Then Lopez surprised his guest with a free trip to Disney World for he and his family, an ideal way to end a once-in-a-lifetime month for the senior guard.
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