Game #1: Norfolk State - In-Game

Ramblinrose · Unread post by **Ramblinrose** » 11 years ago

I, too, thought the crowd was a bit small for a night that seemed so hyped. Saw more students than I expected, though, but not nearly enough.
Our best hope is the team keeps showing improvement through the year. Last night's game was winnable, but the team got incredibly sloppy in the last 10 minutes. Powell seemed to have lost all court sense down the stretch. Nik, for the most part, was very good.
This is kind of what I anticipated with a first-year team, but still could have won. Some growing pains ahead.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 11 years ago

Scary part is, we're not playing Sisters of The Poor in the next few games.
VATech away. Ohio State is #4. Seton Hall is good. Don't know much about WA State.
It's going to be rough waters, without any cupcakes. Don't see many breaks on the schedule until December.
This schedule would have been fine next year, but with limited depth and
size, we could be in for a very tough stretch.

Issac · Unread post by **Issac** » 11 years ago

rod, I don't disagree with much of what you say, but as you like to say, everyone is entitled to his own opinion. You miss my point on last year's team. I sat through the agony of every home game last year, so I certainly do not view that team wistfully. As the worst team in recent URI memory, I was using it simply as a reference point. They won only seven games with good inside presence. This year's team lacks that aspect, and in the two games already they also show a lack of scoring ability. The number of players may be a problem, but the bigger problem is what we have is not talented enough. Remember we had home court advantage and played a re-building team from the MEAC which on RPI ranks #30 of 31 conferences, just behind America East. Let's just hope that Norfolk State turns out to be a powerhouse, otherwise this will be one long season.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 11 years ago

It will be a long season from a W-L standpoint, no doubt.
I think the lack of talent, size and depth isn't enough to be offset
by any coach.
They will have what we have playing to the best of their abilities.
My guess is, we'll shoot better than 29% in most games this year.
Not many teams look good when they shoot poorly, and have nobody to
pick up garbage baskets.
Yes, it would have been nice to have Sponge on this team, but it's his own fault
he's not.

McRam · Unread post by **McRam** » 11 years ago

holton scored 28 in first game at palm beach state college. what a waste!

jcru · Unread post by **jcru** » 11 years ago

Here are a few more pictures from my wife's iphone...

She was taking these and posting them on facebook and telling her family and friends back in England "I'm at an American University basketball game!"

Rhodyhooopz · Unread post by **Rhodyhooopz** » 11 years ago

I thought the effort was good. They really looked exhausted at the end. Powell played 36 minutes and i felt he just was worn out. Bobby talked about that on the post game show. Team had momentum back in middle of second half and then Mumford went out with his injury and you could see Hurley keep looking down to end of bench and wondering what was taking so long. Mike Montero has been there a long time but even he will need to change his game and get these kids ready to go back in quicker. it took him forever to retape his ankle. Overall my son and I had a great time except for the result. But you can see that once the talent upgrades this coaching staff will have it humming.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 11 years ago

JCRU's pictures show what a piss poor crowd it was.

15 Year Lurker · Unread post by **15 Year Lurker** » 11 years ago

First post here hope after lurking for 15 years at projo, and the last forum...hope I don't make any spelling errars.

I thought the team played well. I was impressed. Winnable game but you're not going to win shooting free throws like that. And like Rod said missing the front end of the 1 and 1's hurts bad. So in the end it was a frustrating in that they could easily be 1-0 right now and let the game slip away.

Some positives...Brooks! For a kid like that to stay with it while not really playing for four years and work hard and have a good game is good to see. He got his hands on some loose balls and rebounds that kept the plays alive and got us points. I thought he had a great game for someone who I don't think scored doing all the little things.

I think Powell had a very good game except for maybe down the home stretch. He found people in the right spots and ran the show. We really dont have anyone else who can play point at all so it gets a little scary when he sits. I think he will compliment EC well in the future.

Aaman seems to know how to play. And he scared me a little bit even from section 308 (cheap seats).

Munford had a tough game shooting but he just looks like he's a big time scorer...everything about his demeanor and how he plays. I have a feeling he will have many better days.

Nik talks alot. At the beginning of the game I referred to him as a punk (with the highest complimently possible way) to my gf, and she should watch how much sh*t he talks all game and how many elbows to the ribs he throws when the refs arent looking. By the end of the game he was her favorite player. We also decided he would be able to take that #25 who was talking trash to him...mainly because they join the army in Serbia (or Croatia?) and age 14.

Malone doesnt really shoot good for a shooting guard, but we're going to need him, so hopefully he gets hot at some point and stays that way. When i played bball i was a streaky shooter. I was hot for 2 years, then didnt make two shots in a row for the next 15. I like how hard he played and he had some big plays on D.

Overall, I thought the offense looked great, not a lot of lazy passes until the end. Hopefully shots will start to fall but it looked like we were running and offense and people werent afraid to shoot. Last year people harp on Powell driving the lane too much but I think it was because half the players out there were afraid to take the shot.

Crowd was week. I decided at the last minute to buy a ticket to show my support for the hurley's....glad i did...but you cant beat that place when it's loud. Hopefully, we start to fill the place up. Fun night overall, I think they're going to be a .500 team with a couple upsets. Better than i expected. This teams as good as half the teams in the A10.

ElmCityRhody · Unread post by **ElmCityRhody** » 11 years ago

Looking at those pics.. Take the press and black curtain down..

Move them up top near the scoreboard

Plenty of space there

Ok, I'll let it go

. (maybe....ha)

Optimistic · Unread post by **Optimistic** » 11 years ago

I posted a little on the old board under a different name, finally got around to registering for the new board.

I have to say I'm a little surprised at how quickly the board has gone back to being so negative about everything! It's one game guys, and a lot of you were saying two weeks ago you didn't care how many games we won, it was just about seeing growth and good coaching. We shot the ball about as poorly as possible, and still had a legitimate shot of winning this game. I also don't understand the disappointment at the size of the crowd, as it was right at where I expected it to be (~5000). Not everyone is as fanatical about URI basketball as the people on this board, and Norfolk St may have made the tournament last year, but they're still not exactly a marquee opponent. They play in a poor conference and had one great upset last year before getting undressed by Florida in the second round. This year is a rebuilding year, and fans don't come out in droves to watch a team rebuild.

My thoughts on the game itself:

We got the good and the bad with Nik, as usual. Was the best player on offense by a mile, but still showed signs of immaturity by first getting warned for getting tangled up with an opponent in the first half and then getting the offsetting techs in the second half. I hope this is something that goes away as he spends more and more time learning from the Hurleys. And I don't mean to rag on the guy, because he's our best player by far, but I've never seen someone writhe around in pain so much from getting a cramp.

I'll give Mumford a pass for this game, as it was his first facing real D1 competition, but I expect him to be the #2 scorer on this squad. He should be able to take some of the pressure off of Nik.

Brooks had his best game in a URI uniform bar none. Played great on D (4 blocks!) and was a non-entity on the offensive side of the ball as usual. Not good when your starting center takes one shot and scores zero points.

I don't understand what's wrong with Malone's shot. It looks good coming out of his hand but he couldn't hit the broad side of a barn in this game or against Coast Guard. Since he's only got one year left here I'm not too worried about him, but it would be nice if he could find his shot.

Mike Aaman is the kind of player I love to watch. Not gifted athletically, not a good shooter, but gives 100% effort on both sides of the court and utilizes his weight in the lane to create space. I look forward to seeing him grow and develop over the next four years.

Jordan Hare is the big question mark on this team. Hurley has called him out on his work ethic at every chance he's gotten recently, so we just have to hope he uses that as inspiration and starts working as hard as the rest of the team both in practice and on the court. Scarily enough the player he reminded me of most was Blake Vedder.

One last thing that some may have missed if they didn't stay until the buzzer...

Malone tried a desperation three with around 20 seconds left that got blocked and recovered by Norfolk St. They passed the ball up the court, and with no shot clock on and a 10 point lead, slammed home an emphatic, uncontested dunk. Thought that was poor sportsmanship, but it didn't seem to phase the Norfolk St coach, who as Iggy mentioned earlier did about as much coaching as Jim Baron during the game.

hrstrat57 · Unread post by **hrstrat57** » 11 years ago

Picket fence?

hrstrat57 · Unread post by **hrstrat57** » 11 years ago

First tip:

Running Ram · Unread post by **Running Ram** » 11 years ago

From where I was, I thought Brooks had the best game of all, I give him my player of the game, I'd be willing to bet he altered more than a dozen of norfolk state's shots, he was very active. Everyone played their asses off and lost all steam at about 35 minutes. That's it. It looks like we already have a good foundation, I know we need more of a post presence, but its coming soon. If we are lucky Onyekaba gets a waiver for this season and very soon or Hare turns a corner in training and becomes a factor. I did notice several times, Aaman seal his man and get very good position but our guards were tentative about getting the ball in there. I hope they get more aggressive about getting him the ball when he gets that good seal and I hope he works his free throw issues out. In all I thought both teams got after it hard. I'm bummed about the result in score, the poor showing at the free throw line, but otherwise very encouraged, as I thought, we saw a better product on the floor in a loss than we have in previous years in games we've won. We're gonna be ok this year, we're going to pull off a couple of upsets and get a good handful of wins in conference.

hrstrat57 · Unread post by **hrstrat57** » 11 years ago

Nik jumper:

These can go a lot bigger, DSLR pics but forum won't allow, any ideas?....using Picasa web.
Oh well a few more.....

Another Nik?

Munford J:

hrstrat57 · Unread post by **hrstrat57** » 11 years ago

few more, still too small can post a lot bigger but how?

Nik not quite getting the fast break concept here:

No 5 has some hops:

Lookin good at the break......

A. Malone J:

P. Williams pushin it....

Your new low post defender!

He battles....in fact the whole club did all night, hard!

hrstrat57 · Unread post by **hrstrat57** » 11 years ago

More:

Your new coach!

Munford jumper:

Coaching, Serious coaching.....

hrstrat57 · Unread post by **hrstrat57** » 11 years ago

More?

Post defense

More coaching.....

Into traffic we go! To the rack!!

hrstrat57 · Unread post by **hrstrat57** » 11 years ago

Unfortunately, this guy used up all his NCAA eligibility.....

Thanks for looking, all pics JPEGS straight out of camera no editing or cropping: Sony A 700 most taken with Minolta Maxxum 70-210 F4 vintage beercan lens.

Again I can post huge pics but the forum won't let me?

BTW, see what I mean about the 3 point line, clean it up now....looks bush league IMHO......and the PA announcer was bush league too.

Otherwise good show, free collector Hurley era posters and free game roster.....I still have my 2002 USC home opener free cup....now a free poster to keep it company.

Too bad a win eluded us but great start.....fun night.

Thanks Rams, keep after it and let's make those bunnies!!!!

Unread post by **SGreenwell** » 11 years ago

I think it's tough to get on the crowd too much. I mean, the team isn't expected to be good this year, and they did lose the game. Crowds usually act rationally, so while I don't think the attendance will get as bad as it was for Baron at the end of the year, people are probably going to chose to watch the exciting new coach on TV until some of those good efforts turn into wins.

As far as the press seating goes, I didn't really think it was that much of an issue. It's about half of the court length wise, with a row kind of set back from the row on the court. I've been at the Ryan Center for graduations - Basically, if that second row of press row isn't there, it's normally tucked back.

If you want to be a big time program, then you're probably going to need more press seating eventually, since right now, it accommodates, I don't know, 20ish people. (Typically: Two or three guys from the Journal, Cox TV broadcast, B101, URI radio, three to five weekly paper guys, one to four daily guys outside of the Journal, and maybe a visiting radio or TV group.) I think there were five or six seats empty against Norfolk State, once you got past me, Abelson from The Cigar and one of the scouting guys; those are normally full for A-10 games. There is also some overflow seating on one of the baselines.

neil · Unread post by **neil** » 11 years ago

Sorry for the late response. My post this morning did not go through. Excellent insights by all. I thought we played a very good first half with only two turnovers (when was the last time that happened). The Spartans, were certainly not perfect, but played fairly good man to man against us. These are the cards that we have been dealt. Powell, an experienced point guard trying to fit into a new system, Nik, experienced player playing at the four rather than the three. Malone, starting this year, with few minutes last year because of academics. X, Jordan, and Mike A. playing their first d-1 game. Bigby, a role player, Buchanan recovering from an injury, and Brooks who played more meaningful minutes last night than he has in his entire career. I am NOT making excuses. All of them, with the possible exception of Hare played hard. There will be nights that we will shoot better and wins will come, although no team after watching the film of this game will play an type of zone. I enjoyed watching coach on the sidelines, he never panicked when the team fell behind, his enthusiasm (slamming the press table elated when Nik had a chance for a four point play, encouragement, and support. This team needs our continued support as they overachieve throughout the year. It will get better. It did after Kraft's first year and the same with Silk's and Tyson's. When this program succeeds (and it will) we will be the fans who said that we were there at the beginning. Looking forward next weekend to a visit to southern connecticut.

Have not and will not...

Unread post by **ATPTourFan** » 11 years ago

Thx for all the pics. You could possibly link those to the full size versions. We can't have HUGE pics on the board. There's a pixel limit of 800x800 to keep things reasonable.

Great to see so many new members contributing to the forum! Thanks for signing up and posting.

As for the attendance, I did a little research and this was the 3rd largest Ryan Center season opener attendance figure behind:
1) Brown in 2008 - 5859
2) USC in 2002 - 5785 (Ryan Center Opening Night)
3) Norfolk State 2012 - 5045

Kingston · Unread post by **Kingston** » 11 years ago

Some thoughts

I agree with the uri game production. I find it embrassing and high schoolish. The announcer we have that walks around is horrible. In all the college games i have attended I've never seen this type of amature hour. Furthermore last years games, the PC game inparticular was shameful how traveling and dunks were sponsored during the game in the announcing.

As for last nights game I too was pleased with the hustle and defense. Also enjoyed watching the benches interaction with each other and coaches. A complete turn around from last season. I get the sense the players have bought into the coaching and the system.

I also liked how Hare sat with the coaches and it seemed he was being coached as the game unfolded. He seemed to have a better grasp of the offense when Aamen came in and he moved to forward however short this time was. I wonder if in practice he plays more forward due to Biruta and the O playing center. In time i think he will come around.

Also don't know if it was mentioned but TJ actually took himself out and went back in when Mumford got hurt. I do not think his foot is a 100 percent yet.

To be honest was hoping for a better performance but I feel we will only get better.

Shinze88 · Unread post by **Shinze88** » 11 years ago

ATPTourFan wrote:Thx for all the pics. You could possibly link those to the full size versions. We can't have HUGE pics on the board. There's a pixel limit of 800x800 to keep things reasonable.

Great to see so many new members contributing to the forum! Thanks for signing up and posting.

As for the attendance, I did a little research and this was the 3rd largest Ryan Center season opener attendance figure behind:
1) Brown in 2008 - 5859
2) USC in 2002 - 5785 (Ryan Center Opening Night)
3) Norfolk State 2012 - 5045

There is absolutely NO WAY there were 5000 people in the Ryan Center for this game, sorry, but no way.
The crowd was tiny for what should be the rebirth of URI hoops. I drove 2.5 hours both ways to get to the Ryan Center and plan on making several more trips this year. I think its a shame more people couldnt find there way to the RC to support a new era in URI hoops. Even with the loss, it was nice to see hustle, structured offensive plays, a coach who cares and kids who hustled for 40 minutes, I'll take that all day even if it means a bunch of losses this year. Not much to add on the game that hasnt been already mentioned, I'll give Hare a few more games before I'm critical of him like so many want to bury him already. Its clear he has talent and will be a significant piece for the next few years. Mumford had an off night shooting, but its obvious the guy can play and will be another piece to the puzzle next year when the reinforcements arrive. I'm excited about URI hoops once again. Cant wait to get to Mohegan next weekend.

reef · Unread post by **reef** » 11 years ago

Great photos !!!

ramster · Unread post by **ramster** » 11 years ago

Shinze88 wrote:
ATPTourFan wrote:Thx for all the pics. You could possibly link those to the full size versions. We can't have HUGE pics on the board. There's a pixel limit of 800x800 to keep things reasonable.

Great to see so many new members contributing to the forum! Thanks for signing up and posting.

As for the attendance, I did a little research and this was the 3rd largest Ryan Center season opener attendance figure behind:
1) Brown in 2008 - 5859
2) USC in 2002 - 5785 (Ryan Center Opening Night)
3) Norfolk State 2012 - 5045

There is absolutely NO WAY there were 5000 people in the Ryan Center for this game, sorry, but no way.
The crowd was tiny for what should be the rebirth of URI hoops. I drove 2.5 hours both ways to get to the Ryan Center and plan on making several more trips this year. I think its a shame more people couldnt find there way to the RC to support a new era in URI hoops. Even with the loss, it was nice to see hustle, structured offensive plays, a coach who cares and kids who hustled for 40 minutes, I'll take that all day even if it means a bunch of losses this year. Not much to add on the game that hasnt been already mentioned, I'll give Hare a few more games before I'm critical of him like so many want to bury him already. Its clear he has talent and will be a significant piece for the next few years. Mumford had an off night shooting, but its obvious the guy can play and will be another piece to the puzzle next year when the reinforcements arrive. I'm excited about URI hoops once again. Cant wait to get to Mohegan next weekend.

Agree as well. Not even close to 5000 in the seats. I stated earlier that it was a disappointment to me. New Coaches, lots of hype since the signing of our new Coaching staff, Projo stories on many occasions about our Coaches, an NCAA Trounament Team from just last year and we get an announced crowd of 5000 but probably more like 4000 in their seats.
I am disappointed in Rhody Nation for this turnout but I am honestly not surprised unfortunately.

I also agree with you on Jordan Hare. The kid did not play a full season last year in HS due to injuries. Big men typically come around more slowly than PG, SG and even Small Forward guys. It just takes longer. I know judging is quick right now on him and some already now comparing him to our own guy Blake Vedder. Jordan Hare is a shot blocker, rebounder and he dunks the ball fo rthe majority of his points. He shot about 35% on free throws in HS so don't expect shooting to be his strength right now, but he would have fitted in well with Jonathan Holton down low - but we know how that turned out. I love the Jordan Hare signing and he is a kid who just needs time to adapt. This coaching staff will see to that.

Just a little further info on Blake Vedder...............he is now at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He played well off the bench in preseason scrimmages against Pitt and Maryland. His first game of the season he had 9 rebounds, 11 points and 4 blocked shots.
vs Pittsburgh 2-4 fg, 2 rebounds 4 points in 17 minutes in a 69-54 loss to Pitt
vs Maryland 2-6 fg, 3 rebounds, 4 points in 15 minutes in a 73-61 loss to Maryland
vs Pitt-Greensburg Saturday in a 91-49 victory Blake had 5-9 fg, 9 rebounds, 11 points, 4 blocks in 23 minutes

We all had our opinion on Blake the past few years but my opinion was that Baron never, ever gave the kid a chance. With 7 wins and a totally lost season last year there was no reason in my mind for Baron to not have rolled the dice with Vedder - we speculated about his ability from seeinghim in warmups and in very minimal minutes in some games but that was Baron. If he did not like a kid he let him rot on the bench - even with a totally lost season.

I don't blame Hurley for not keeping Vedder either, not saying he was in fact D1 material, and Vedder will likely be better off playing at his current level at Indiana of Pennsylvania but Baron never gave the kid a legit chance to show what he could do in front of fans. And I believe that was Baron's strategy anyway with some players. Don't let them fully show what they can do because then the fans and the Projo will "be on me to play them". Scott Hazleton is an example who comes to mind - Baron did not like him and minimized the minutes that Scott should have gotten. and there were others I'll not name because it makes me too frustrated.

Please give Jordan Hare some time, have patience with him, he is a legit talent who needs time to grow into the D1 level of play. He will be fine.

Expectations for this group of players and Coaches are too high for this season imho. Predictions of 15-20 wins and 72% of predictors having URI in the A10 post season are unreaslistic to me - only sets up for criticism, dissappointment, disillusionment. Unrealistic expectations could lead to a pretty miserable and disenchanted message board as the season progresses.

This is a season to relax, watch the coaching staff mold our players, watch the coaching staff recruit and watch the hustle. We are playing for next year quite simply imho.

15 Year Lurker · Unread post by **15 Year Lurker** » 11 years ago

Blake Vedder's first game last year he was incapable of even getting in the right position on defense and got 6 points scored on him in like 80 seconds.

The two should never be mentioned in the same sentence.

URI96 · Unread post by **URI96** » 11 years ago

hrstrat57 wrote:Picket fence?

No Jimmy Chitwood though.

The Dude · Unread post by **The Dude** » 11 years ago

Iggy1979 wrote:When Powell sat, X was the PG. hurleys don't see TJ as a PG. I thought TJ and Bigby would get more minutes.
NSU coach did the least amount of coaching I've ever seen.

TJ is coming off an injury. I believe one of the Hurley's mentioned having TJ at point guard part of the time, after the Coast Guard game during the post game interview on the radio. It looked to me that he wasn't 100% by the way he was moving on the floor. It wouldn't surprise me if it takes a few games before TJ is running some plays as a point guard. TJ is probably behind due to his injury.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 11 years ago

Oh good. Let's start a Blake Vedder results thread, since people seem obsessed with people not good enough to still be here.
As for Hare, I will go along with whatever the staff judges for him.
Sorry, I'm not burying anyone, but for all they hype, I don't see a "top 30" freshman, of a fringe "top 100" high school player.
Time alone will tell. For now, I hope he improves enough to contribute, because we need all the
size we can get.

ramster · Unread post by **ramster** » 11 years ago

Hurley is one guy who raved about Hare saying he was glad he was recognized as a member of the Preseason Team.
Hurley saw Hare play in HS so if Hare turns out to be a dud then part of that blame falls on Hurley and some on Murphy.
So let's see how this plays out. If Hare turns out to NOT be the player we thought he would be or was projected to be then this is a reflection on Hurley's ability to judge talent too as well as Murphy's............can't just blame the ratings systems of players on why Hare is here. These guys should be watching players go up against other college level prospects and be able to project how they will do at the next level. Admittedly Hare was tougher to judge since he played less his Senior year due to injuries and he did not play AAU ball, unlike Mathews who played much AAU ball against the top competition in the country playing with The Family of Detroit.
Speaking of Vedder, many on this board wanted Shengalia to stick around, I did not, and thankfully Hurley saw that also.
Personally I applaud the housecleaning that Hurley did - I do not regret any of these guys being gone - not one. I also would have liked to see more gone - and for me Brooks would have been one of the guys gone - now he is starting .............that is why it is going to be a long season. The young guys should be getting the playing time a la Jack Kraft.

From earlier articles................
It’s Atlantic Ten media day for men’s basketball today at the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, NY and GoLocalProv.com has learned that University of Rhode Island fab freshman Jordan Hare has been named to the league’s preseason All-Rookie team.
Jordan Hare
Hare is a 6’-10” native of Saginaw, Michigan who ranked as the 30th best power forward and the 120th best player in the class of 2012 by Rivals.com. The two-time Michigan All-State selection was recruited by Preston Murphy while he was a member of Jim Baron’s coaching staff at URI. Murphy and new head coach Dan Hurley were able to convince Hare to keep his commitment to the school after Baron was let go at the end of last season.
Hurley is happy for Hare telling GoLocalProv.com, "I think it's great that Jordan be recognized as a member of the preseason All-Rookie team. He's a tremendous talent and a raw athlete and he takes to coaching well. Our goal is that he and other members of the team become members of the All-League teams at the end of the season."

Billyboy78 · Unread post by **Billyboy78** » 11 years ago

I think the issue with Hare right now is how hard is he working in practice. I don't remember Hurley's exact words but it was something like "Jordan has to realize how important practice is", when Hurley was asked about Jordan's playing time. How good Jordan becomes could be up to Jordan. How badly does he want it? He obviously is athletic enough to learn some post moves and develop a shot in the 6-10 foot range. Once again the question might be, how badly does he want to work at his game to improve? From what I read into Hurley's comments, this is what I'm getting from them. I could be completely wrong, but that's what I'm getting.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 11 years ago

Hurley NEVER saw Hare play in high school.
By the time he was hired, the season was over.
He sure as hell wasn't recruiting him for Wagner.

Sweep The Leg · Unread post by **Sweep The Leg** » 11 years ago

Poor free throw shooting- hurts more when 3 or 4 were front end of one and ones. I thought that was one aspect that Rhody would be honed in on since they need every point they can get.

Defense was intense, but Powell seemed to be beat off the dribble a lot causing post players in commit resulting in fouls, layups and easy put-backs.

ramster · Unread post by **ramster** » 11 years ago

rodfromcranston wrote:Hurley NEVER saw Hare play in high school.
By the time he was hired, the season was over.
He sure as hell wasn't recruiting him for Wagner.

Good question for next Q and A session with the Coach, "why did you sign a guy that you had never seen play?" Thought he was smarter than that and now he has a guy that most on the board don't think much of. Preston saw him play many, many times so it's Hurley's fault then for trusting his recruiter. Either way this is on the Head Coach.
Personally I like Hare anyway, like the signing and I think he will be a solid recruit for URI just needs time like most big men in thier first year of college.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 11 years ago

I honestly hope you're right.
We need a 6'10" guy, especially this year.
I hope he develops to at least become a contributor now, and better
as he matures.

seanmc94 · Unread post by **seanmc94** » 11 years ago

It's one game. RELAX.

Unread post by **ATPTourFan** » 11 years ago

Sean, exactly. It's not like W-L record matters this year, especially OOC.

ace · Unread post by **ace** » 11 years ago

ramster wrote:Hurley is one guy who raved about Hare saying he was glad he was recognized as a member of the Preseason Team.
Hurley saw Hare play in HS so if Hare turns out to be a dud then part of that blame falls on Hurley and some on Murphy.
So let's see how this plays out. If Hare turns out to NOT be the player we thought he would be or was projected to be then this is a reflection on Hurley's ability to judge talent too as well as Murphy's.

ramster wrote:Good question for next Q and A session with the Coach, "why did you sign a guy that you had never seen play?" Thought he was smarter than that and now he has a guy that most on the board don't think much of. Preston saw him play many, many times so it's Hurley's fault then for trusting his recruiter. Either way this is on the Head Coach.

Serious question, are you working on a bit here? Because read that way, this is good stuff.

hrstrat57 · Unread post by **hrstrat57** » 11 years ago

URI96 wrote:
hrstrat57 wrote:Picket fence?

No Jimmy Chitwood though.

Ha ha, no Chitwood on this club....the only shooter in that pic is Pendarvis Williams no 11 in the wrong color shirt....and we shut him down as I said until the last 2 minutes when he went off a bit. Clearly this coaching staff knew who the threat was, pretty impressive for game 1 in early November I thought....URI really had this game won...shame it got away.

This is by far my favorite pic of the set from the night.....just cause it looks kinda goofy

As I was snapping it I was thinking Hoosiers funny your should bring that up....I love the expression on the face of the Spartan on the end...."are you guys serious with the stack"?

I also love it because when I coached youth hoops back in the day I always ran stack on the inbounds.

Bombproof method for getting the ball in play....love it!

Love that final scene in Hoosiers too, gives me goosebumps every time!

reef · Unread post by **reef** » 11 years ago

Hoosiers was a great flick

I loved Dennis Hoppers character

Rhody Guy · Unread post by **Rhody Guy** » 11 years ago

Not sure if anyone else caught it, but I think it was towards the end of the game. Hare set the best screen that I have seen by a ram player since I started following the team in 05'. Nik came off a cut on the baseline up to the wing right in front of the ram bench. Jordan met the guy tailing him and completely shielded him from pursuing nik opening up a wide open jumper that went down. That was probably the most encouraging thing that I took away from the game.

bigappleram · Unread post by **bigappleram** » 11 years ago

certainly not ready to make any judgments on Hare's game....outside of the elite big men, most dont make huge impacts in their FR year, and certainly not in their first game. he is clearly raw talent, if you trust the coaching staff you have to think they will develop him effectively. lets have some patience people, geezus.

Rhody72 · Unread post by **Rhody72** » 11 years ago

Shengalia wouldn't have fit with this teams style - far too slow. However. he would have helped in the half-court defense.

adam914 · Unread post by **adam914** » 11 years ago

The idea that Shengalia would help with anything at all is flat out laughable.

Obadiah · Unread post by **Obadiah** » 11 years ago

I know Norfolk was a bigger team and a tough opening opponent, but only six assists was a disappointing stat for the Rams.

bigappleram, not always true about freshman. Freshman guard, D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera came off the bench today to score 19 points as he led Georgetown to its win over Duquesne.

Billyboy78 · Unread post by **Billyboy78** » 11 years ago

Obadiah wrote:I know Norfolk was a bigger team and a tough opening opponent, but only six assists was a disappointing stat for the Rams.

bigappleram, not always true about freshman. Freshman guard, D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera came off the bench today to score 19 points as he led Georgetown to its win over Duquesne.

6 assists is awful. But don't forget, we only had 15 field goals.

bigappleram · Unread post by **bigappleram** » 11 years ago

Obes, i was referring to FR bigs....guards definitely are able to step in and make impact more regularly.

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 11 years ago

Shinze88 wrote:
ATPTourFan wrote:Thx for all the pics. You could possibly link those to the full size versions. We can't have HUGE pics on the board. There's a pixel limit of 800x800 to keep things reasonable.

Great to see so many new members contributing to the forum! Thanks for signing up and posting.

As for the attendance, I did a little research and this was the 3rd largest Ryan Center season opener attendance figure behind:
1) Brown in 2008 - 5859
2) USC in 2002 - 5785 (Ryan Center Opening Night)
3) Norfolk State 2012 - 5045

There is absolutely NO WAY there were 5000 people in the Ryan Center for this game, sorry, but no way.
The crowd was tiny for what should be the rebirth of URI hoops. I drove 2.5 hours both ways to get to the Ryan Center and plan on making several more trips this year. I think its a shame more people couldnt find there way to the RC to support a new era in URI hoops. Even with the loss, it was nice to see hustle, structured offensive plays, a coach who cares and kids who hustled for 40 minutes, I'll take that all day even if it means a bunch of losses this year. Not much to add on the game that hasnt been already mentioned, I'll give Hare a few more games before I'm critical of him like so many want to bury him already. Its clear he has talent and will be a significant piece for the next few years. Mumford had an off night shooting, but its obvious the guy can play and will be another piece to the puzzle next year when the reinforcements arrive. I'm excited about URI hoops once again. Cant wait to get to Mohegan next weekend.

I guessed during the game that there was 4500 people there, and when ATP told me it was 5000+ I was shocked. I also made a long drive down for the game to show my support, so I get your point about that and agree it was important to do so. I also think people on this board have to keep in mind that most people do not follow the team as closely as we do and the casual fan has no idea about how lucky we are to have Hurley, how much of an upgrade he is or what his being here portends for the future.

The reason Hurley is here and the reason why the place was almost half empty last night are the same: we haven't been interesting in quite some time. Not everyone is going to come rushing back to watch a nine or ten win team just because we hired a good coach. The results are going to have to come on the court first, unfortunately. I have no doubt that will happen, but its going to take a little bit of time.

As exciting as things may be in the big picture, we still need to have some patience. Honestly, both the crowd and the game played by Rhody on Friday were pretty much exactly what I expected. Rome wasn't built in a day.

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 11 years ago

Billyboy78 wrote:
Obadiah wrote:I know Norfolk was a bigger team and a tough opening opponent, but only six assists was a disappointing stat for the Rams.

bigappleram, not always true about freshman. Freshman guard, D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera came off the bench today to score 19 points as he led Georgetown to its win over Duquesne.
6 assists is awful. But don't forget, we only had 15 field goals.

I think BillyBoy has a decent point: the lack of assists said just as much about our shooting performance as it did about our guards' playmaking.

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