As VCU head coach Mike Rhoades put it on Friday (Feb. 3) night in St. Louis, Ace Baldwin is a "bad man."
The preeminent junior guard racked up a career-high 37 points against the Billikens, going 12-of-15 from the field, 4-of-5 from three and 9-of-9 from the free throw line en route to a win that secured the Rams the top spot in the Atlantic 10.
Adam Epstein and VCU play-by-play voice Robby Robinson caught up on Monday (Feb. 6) to discuss the game.
"I was putting together just a list of point guards that I've seen at VCU and the best point guards of all time," Epstein said. "I think everyone would agree with Eric Maynor [at] one; I put Darius Theus [at] two -- I loved what he brought to the Rams. Joey Rodriguez with the Final Four team [at] three, Briante Weber should be the NCAA all-time leader in steals [at] four, and Ace Baldwin five. What do you make of that?"
"[..] No one can argue that we've had such good point guards," Robby added. "[...] I think those guys are all good. One that you would probably have to at least consider in there somewhere, and I don't know who he'd replace because that would make an even more interesting conversation, is JeQuan Lewis. I think JeQuan went to four NCAA tournaments, which is very good nad hard to do. Had a big three against Richmond in the A-10 tournament one year -- might have been the year we won it, if I'm not mistaken -- and then had a couple of really big games. You go back and look, he had a game against St. Joe's where he scored over 30."
Robby wasn't sure who he'd replace in his top five, but ranked Ace right around that level.
"We've got a special one now, Adam," he said, "and who's to say [that] by the time he graduates, he is not at the top of that list? And I think he has the desire to do that. And I think he's got the ability to [do that]."
They then discussed Baldwin's performance on Friday.
"I don't think it's talked about enough, that he had both wrist injuries throughout this season," Epstein said. "And I think he had a chip on his shoulder in this game [...] but I thought Ace defended [Yuri Collins] very well, held him just four points. And then offensively, he barely missed a shot.
"What I liked is that it felt like, internally, ace knew how important it was for him to rather than be a facilitator, like he is every game, but to be a scorer. And to go to the basket, and to hit the open shot in the clutch moments. That was what was most impressive to me."
Check out more of the segment below.