April Fools Day, 1999

Talk about the men's team, upcoming opponents and news from around college hoop.
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RF1
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April Fools Day, 1999

Unread post by RF1 »

A day that will live in URI Hoops infamy. Fifteen years ago today.
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bressler3south
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Re: April Fools Day, 1999

Unread post by bressler3south »

Maybe Rod can give us some special insight and recollections of that fateful day, the one that eventually brought us, you know…...
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Rhodyhooopz
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Re: April Fools Day, 1999

Unread post by Rhodyhooopz »

One of the worst days for URI hoops ever. Even worse than the hiring of jerry D. I spent more time on the phone with Kenyon and Kevin Mac about is he or isn't he. Painful is the word that describes the ups and downs of that day.
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steviep123
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Re: April Fools Day, 1999

Unread post by steviep123 »

Let's stop worrying about the past and let's look to the future.

Yes, Harrick is a tool for how he handled that situation, but I'm done dwelling on that and the Stanford loss and focusing on a great past (before the turn of the century) and a bright future.
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rodfromcranston
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Re: April Fools Day, 1999

Unread post by rodfromcranston »

Eh, I'll go there one more time.
Most of us felt awful about Jim Harrick leaving.
He had a super recruiting class lined up. One so good that
KMac said URI could be a national contender.
Roll that around in your heads. When before or after have we heard
URI and "national contender" in the same sentence?
Anyway, suddenly that day, we heard he was coming back! There was a
7:00 press conference at Mackel.
So, I ran down to URI, and I recall being thrilled that this was actually happening.
I got there and KMac asked me, "Are you happy now?"
I said,"I'll be happy when I see him walk in the door."
7:00 came and went. Bob Terino said, "He changed his mind. He's not coming back."
Then there was the odd press conference that followed, with Muskrat questioning
Harrick's mental stability.
I drove to Harrick's home, just in time to catch Gene Valicenti coming out.
Valicenti told me Harrick was in pretty tough shape.
I left a message on Harrick's voicemail telling him that he disappointed a lot of people.
Later that night, I saw the Valicenti interview. Harrick in his T shirt, looking dazed.
Little did we know, that when Harrick got off Tom Ryan's plane, that Ron Petro
told him the deal they'd previously discussed was off the table.
Harrick felt betrayed and decided to go back to Georgia.
So, April Fools day, 1999 opened the way to Jerry D, Jim Baron, and 15 years of
never coming close to what could have been.
Yes, there were minor NCAA infractions and a slap on the wrist, but who wouldn't
have traded that for more NCAAs and the feeling of success of the Rhody program
that Jim Harrick brought.
Without him, there would have been no Ryan Center, no Elite 8, and no A-10 Championship.
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Rhodymob05
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Re: April Fools Day, 1999

Unread post by Rhodymob05 »

Holy crap
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RF1
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Re: April Fools Day, 1999

Unread post by RF1 »

It was truly a bizarre day that ran the gamut of emotions - from low to high to low.

It was also the ending to a very succesful era of Rhody basketball that culminated with three straight trips to the NCAA, an Elite-8, and an A-10 Tournament Championship. It has never been anywhere near as good for URI hoops as it was 15 years ago.
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URIGONZO
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Re: April Fools Day, 1999

Unread post by URIGONZO »

I remember K-Mac writing that URI fans don't realize that was closest URI was ever going to get to the Final Four. I thought it was a bum statement 15 years ago, but is sure has some truth to it considering where we are now.
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MARhody
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Re: April Fools Day, 1999

Unread post by MARhody »

I also enjoyed, and miss, the Jim Harrick era.

That indeed was a bizarre day, compounded by the fact that the only way for many of us to get updates was by listening to the radio hoping to catch something in the "20-20 sports flash". He was gone, then he was back, then he was gone again....
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RF1
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Re: April Fools Day, 1999

Unread post by RF1 »

MARhody wrote:I also enjoyed, and miss, the Jim Harrick era.

That indeed was a bizarre day, compounded by the fact that the only way for many of us to get updates was by listening to the radio hoping to catch something in the "20-20 sports flash". He was gone, then he was back, then he was gone again....

Had to listen to the SCORE (am790) with Gresh and Scott on the ride home. it was the only topic that was being discussed all afternoon into the early evening.
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ElmCityRhody
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Re: April Fools Day, 1999

Unread post by ElmCityRhody »

I remember that day as if it was yesterday.. wow.. 15 years ago?!?..

anyways.. I was following the story on the projo msg board and couldn't believe what I was reading

the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat
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OBRAM
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Re: April Fools Day, 1999

Unread post by OBRAM »

rodfromcranston wrote: "He changed his mind. He's not coming back."
Then there was the odd press conference that followed, with Muskrat questioning
Harrick's mental stability.
.
It was not Muskrat holding the press conference, it was the VP, I know his name, but just can't think of it at this moment. The VP that got rid of Rhody and made the new mascot look like a Cat not a Ram. I think Muskrat was out of town.
We were going to get Jason Kapono , I think he played at UCLA, can some one tell me, I don't think Kapono lived up to the hype, I watched him play one game and he did not impress me.
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TruePoint
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Re: April Fools Day, 1999

Unread post by TruePoint »

OBRAM wrote:
rodfromcranston wrote: "He changed his mind. He's not coming back."
Then there was the odd press conference that followed, with Muskrat questioning
Harrick's mental stability.
.
It was not Muskrat holding the press conference, it was the VP, I know his name, but just can't think of it at this moment. The VP that got rid of Rhody and made the new mascot look like a Cat not a Ram. I think Muskrat was out of town.
We were going to get Jason Kapono , I think he played at UCLA, can some one tell me, I don't think Kapono lived up to the hype, I watched him play one game and he did not impress me.
OBRAM, what happened to the hilarious April's fools thread about UMass officially joining the AAC in all sports?
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rodfromcranston
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Re: April Fools Day, 1999

Unread post by rodfromcranston »

Yeah, Jason Kapono stunk. He only lasted TEN YEARS in the NBA.
Very unimpressive.
Muskrat was in the press conference. So was Bob Beagle.

Nice BC April Fools joke thread, there. Oops! It's gone!
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OBRAM
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Re: April Fools Day, 1999

Unread post by OBRAM »

OK, I guess Kapono was pretty good, I only saw him play one game on TV and I did not see much, but his numbers prove that he was good.

Can anyone expound on the deal given to Harrick, that was taken off the table?
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rodfromcranston
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Re: April Fools Day, 1999

Unread post by rodfromcranston »

Whatever was agreed to, to get Harrick to change his mind and to
come back to URI, was taken back on his arrival.
Maybe Petro thought once Harrick returned, he'd stay anyway.
Same guy who hired Jerry D and Jim Baron.
"Rod, we're shooting for the star with this hire!" Yeah, and
we got Jim Baron, after Bobby Knight said, he'd never even talk to a school
who had a player on a search committee, like the farce of
having Lamar Odom, who was no longer attending class, on the search committee.
We have always been our own worst enemy.
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Re: April Fools Day, 1999

Unread post by ATPTourFan »

We should have ESPN do a 30 for 30 movie on the whole Jim Harrick Era at Rhode Island.

They can start from his dismissal at UCLA and end it with the opening of the Ryan Center and the OT win vs USC.
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Billyboy78
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Re: April Fools Day, 1999

Unread post by Billyboy78 »

That recruiting class, IIRC , had either 2 or 3 McDonald's All-Americans on it, including Kapono. None of them came.
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rodfromcranston
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Re: April Fools Day, 1999

Unread post by rodfromcranston »

Yeah, and Jerry D told the idiots in charge that HE could keep the recruits!
Those donkeys should have been fired for getting suckered like that.
Just THE most atrocious hire in D-1 history.
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Andrew
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Re: April Fools Day, 1999

Unread post by Andrew »

Before my time... can someone give a cliff-notes version of events of that day? Don't need a whole run-through, just the highlights. It's a bit difficult to follow this thread without context.
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rodfromcranston
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Re: April Fools Day, 1999

Unread post by rodfromcranston »

What context do you need. Read my post.
Harrick left for Georgia, came back, got pissed off and went back
to Georgia.
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Re: April Fools Day, 1999

Unread post by ATPTourFan »

Andrew wrote:Before my time... can someone give a cliff-notes version of events of that day? Don't need a whole run-through, just the highlights. It's a bit difficult to follow this thread without context.
Rod summarized it very well a few posts up from yours.
viewtopic.php?p=122209#p122209
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ace
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Re: April Fools Day, 1999

Unread post by ace »

rodfromcranston wrote: Harrick left for Georgia, came back, got pissed off and went back
to Georgia.
That context actually was helpful. I read the details of the day but had no idea what it meant. I looked at his coaching resume, saw he left URI in '99, and then didn't understand how there was an almost press conference that same year in April to say he was back. Now I get it.
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woodennickel1
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Re: April Fools Day, 1999

Unread post by woodennickel1 »

rodfromcranston wrote:Yeah, and Jerry D told the idiots in charge that HE could keep the recruits!
Those donkeys should have been fired for getting suckered like that.
Just THE most atrocious hire in D-1 history.
Yea Rod but if you remember you were one of the very few who was against the Jerry D hire at the time.Everyone thought if they hired the clown he would be able to keep Lamar.
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rambone 78
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Re: April Fools Day, 1999

Unread post by rambone 78 »

There were a lot of people suckered into thinking JD was the right hire.

Carothers, many boosters, many fans. The players themselves wanted him, some threatened to leave if he wasn't hired.

The inmates truly ran the asylum. Petro didn't want him, although the whole situation could have been avoided if he hadn't withdrawn the contract offer to Harrick in the first place.

Basically, most of the people involved in hiring him had absolutely NO idea if he was actually qualified to coach a D1 level basketball team.

It became painfully obvious very soon after. Just a total cluster fuck from day one.
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ace
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Re: April Fools Day, 1999

Unread post by ace »

This thread is making me look up some of these names. No wonder y'all are such a damaged bunch of fans :-)
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RAM67
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Re: April Fools Day, 1999

Unread post by RAM67 »

One of my worst days as a Ram. Felt like someone close just died.
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rambone 78
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Re: April Fools Day, 1999

Unread post by rambone 78 »

True, Ace.

I still find myself jumping at shadows now and then... :?

Kind of explains things, huh TP?
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ramfan85
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Re: April Fools Day, 1999

Unread post by ramfan85 »

Jerry D had the complete package. Besides being totally incompetent as a coach, he was lazy and was the most dislikeable person around. Quite a trifecta.
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rambone 78
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Re: April Fools Day, 1999

Unread post by rambone 78 »

85, he could be a total asshole, true.

But players on the team liked him. He was their "buddy". See Lamar.

Probably because he let them pretty much do what they wanted. Practices were nothing like Dan's are now, that's for sure.
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rodfromcranston
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Re: April Fools Day, 1999

Unread post by rodfromcranston »

85, I should have encouraged you to kick his ass when you wanted to.
He was also arrogant AND stupid.
I'll never forget the dopes yelling, "JERRY! JERRY! JERRY!" at the
end of season banquet.
That gave him a lot of momentum with the wrong people, towards hiring him.
What a disgusting time that was. We went for the coach with the ring, the book and the resume,
a guy who John Wooden loved, to a guy who coached at some closed down prep school in Connecticut.
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rambone 78
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Re: April Fools Day, 1999

Unread post by rambone 78 »

The bottom line was, the REAL dopes were the URI administration, not Jerry.

Well, Jerry was a dope of course, but the people responsible for hiring him were WORSE dopes.

They needed protection from their own stupidity.

Jerry D begat Jim B. And the cycle of mediocrity [or worse] began in earnest.
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ramfan85
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Re: April Fools Day, 1999

Unread post by ramfan85 »

Jerry's team did love him. That lead to their incredible successful on the court.
You got to love a coach who says that he's not going to waste time teaching fundamentals (as if he knew any).
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rhodylaw
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Re: April Fools Day, 1999

Unread post by rhodylaw »

The saddest part was there was real talent on those teams that if coached properly could have been good.
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Re: April Fools Day, 1999

Unread post by Rhodyhooopz »

talk about depressing. real bad memories.
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Andrew
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Re: April Fools Day, 1999

Unread post by Andrew »

The context of Harrick leaving, coming back, then leaving again was helpful. Thanks. Just doing a little Wikipedia reading:

"From 1993 to 1997, DeGregorio was head boys' basketball coach and athletic director at St. Thomas Aquinas High School of New Britain, Connecticut. Among the players he coached at St. Thomas Aquinas High was future NBA player Lamar Odom. He moved to Rhode Island in 1997 as top assistant to Jim Harrick, shortly after Lamar Odom transferred from UNLV. Harrick abruptly left for Georgia after the 1998-99 season, and DeGregorio was named head coach. Just days later, however, Odom announced he was entering the 1999 NBA Draft. In rapid succession, four prospective recruits dropped URI from their lists, another was ruled ineligible, and a key reserve was lost to academics. With a decimated roster, DeGregorio's first team struggled to a 5-25 record, worst in school history."

Wow.
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Billyboy78
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Re: April Fools Day, 1999

Unread post by Billyboy78 »

Andrew wrote:The context of Harrick leaving, coming back, then leaving again was helpful. Thanks. Just doing a little Wikipedia reading:

"From 1993 to 1997, DeGregorio was head boys' basketball coach and athletic director at St. Thomas Aquinas High School of New Britain, Connecticut. Among the players he coached at St. Thomas Aquinas High was future NBA player Lamar Odom. He moved to Rhode Island in 1997 as top assistant to Jim Harrick, shortly after Lamar Odom transferred from UNLV. Harrick abruptly left for Georgia after the 1998-99 season, and DeGregorio was named head coach. Just days later, however, Odom announced he was entering the 1999 NBA Draft. In rapid succession, four prospective recruits dropped URI from their lists, another was ruled ineligible, and a key reserve was lost to academics. With a decimated roster, DeGregorio's first team struggled to a 5-25 record, worst in school history."

Wow.
And regarding those recruits, which in combination, was the best class in URI history by far, this happened about two weeks before the signing period.
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rambone 78
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Re: April Fools Day, 1999

Unread post by rambone 78 »

Petro's withdrawal of the contract offer to Harrick was, in retrospect, the worst thing that ever happened to URI basketball.

Everything snowballed from there.

One bad decision can ruin a program. It did to us.

What made it even worse, was the idiots in charge remained in charge, for far too long.
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Billyboy78
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Re: April Fools Day, 1999

Unread post by Billyboy78 »

rambone 78 wrote:Petro's withdrawal of the contract offer to Harrick was, in retrospect, the worst thing that ever happened to URI basketball.

Everything snowballed from there.

One bad decision can ruin a program. It did to us.

What made it even worse, was the idiots in charge remained in charge, for far too long.
Yes, Gavitt ruined us in '78 and we ruined ourselves in '99.
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rodfromcranston
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Re: April Fools Day, 1999

Unread post by rodfromcranston »

That Wikipedia thing on Jerry D is crap!
Larry Farmer was top assistant to Harrick, after he came here.
Farmer was a former UCLA head coach. Like Jerry The Clown
was above him???
"Decimated roster" had Luther Clay, Tavoris Bell, Brian Woodward, Zach Marbury, Tip Vinson,
and Tiger Womack. All top 100 recruits.
That was enough talent for most coaches to get to an NIT with.
Assclown won 5 games with that cast.
He also knew Lamar was gone, because Lamar stopped going to class after the
UNCC game.
Just deception and bullshit from Jerry Duh.
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neil
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Re: April Fools Day, 1999

Unread post by neil »

Such bad memories. Here are a couple. My seat at Keaney was right next to the tunnell where the teams crossed over to the benches on the north side. Everytime jd walked in, he looked around to wave and say hi to his "adoring fans", even when the team was totally floundering. Petro also stood there during the games. In JD's second year, my 11 year old son, would scream over and over again, "get a new coach". Eventually he got the message.

Most laughable were the post games with JD. Steve would ask a question about the game, and Jerry would try to impress by throwing some almost impossible to understand jargon about working certain plays into his system. Everyone listening knew he had no clue. - and last, I was driving to a home game against st.joe's when Steve on the pre game said that TBell was ineligible (at least until they changed some grades). I pulled over and screamed. That night was the only night in 50 years of rooting that I wanted the Rams to lose. Nightmares!
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Re: April Fools Day, 1999

Unread post by ELeslie's 1st assist »

Sorry Rod...a few things and I realize you're a Harrick fanboy.

1) Jerrry D. indeed was an inept coach who belonged coaching CYO level basketball. Period. End of story.

2) Just beause a roster of top-100 recruits doesn't mean that they automatically should've been good. Zach was a cancer to any semblance of a team. Luther was a role player his entire career, who pretty much scored his points off of alley oop dunks, dishes, and rebounds. Tiger was completely overated and T-Bell belonged playing on the And-1 Tour. That was not a team. That was a bunch of names who you think should've been good because on paper you think they were good. I'll take the less heralded recruits who you can develop and play with a chip on their shoulder than the entitled/overated players that Harrick brought in.

3) Call me whatever you want but I would not trade NCAA violations for URI success. If you want URI to win, great. Me too. But I want URI to win the right way. It can be done and has been done. You think it's worth it to cheat for a few years if it ends up that URI is playing with the big boys for the short term. Not me. Would be OK to break a few laws, steal a Corvette or Porsche, drive it around to say "hey look at what I drive" only to be throw in jail for a couple of years after getting nailed for it? You're entitled to your opinion as to whether you think the Harrick era was worth it. But I don't think the ends justified the means.

4) We can all agree (I think) that we want Hurley and his staff to continue to press forward with solid kids, solid players who play a well-coached, hard nosed style of basketball. To quote Coach Norman Dale, "My team is on the court."
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Re: April Fools Day, 1999

Unread post by bigappleram »

Harrick was not the problem. He did not want to be the Police of kids, that is for sure, but he was not committing widespread violations or turning URI into UNLV east. Luther Clay was a bit better than you are giving him credit for, he hung with Lafrentz for that entire game against Kansas and was a good rebounder with great ups and a big body. You cant judge T-Bell because he was never coached, so he only was an And-1 player at his time at URI, but that is because he was mentored by a JV coach. I agree about Marbury, should have never worn Keaney Blue that whole family is a cancer. Without Harrick there is no Ryan Center, so in this case YES the ends justify the means. Harrick didnt hire JD, the administration did. JD killed URI, not Jim Harrick. Don't get it twisted. Jason Kapono, Brian Woodward, etc - JH had us involved with plenty of high major recruits that were not troubled kids.
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Rhode_Island_Red
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Re: April Fools Day, 1999

Unread post by Rhode_Island_Red »

Anyone who thought St. Daddy-O the Great could have been happy in a second-tier league with minimal television exposure at a school that wasn't even the favorite in the smallest state in the union -- when just a few years earlier he was the toast of L.A. -- was sadly mistaken. His ego would simply not allow it. He was bigger than Kingston, bigger than Rhode Island, bigger than the Atlantic 10.

How much @ss-kissing did it take to keep him from going to Rutgers after the 97-98 season?

And how much @ss-kissing did it take to get him to even look like he thought twice about going to Georgia?

There's no question he was a great coach. Anyone who could win with assistants like Jerry Duh and Slickee-Boy Junior was a miracle worker. But when they were passing out honesty and integrity, he must have been taking the day off.
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rodfromcranston
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Re: April Fools Day, 1999

Unread post by rodfromcranston »

BAR + 100!!!!!

TBell was talked about in the NY Time Sunday Edition when he was in high school.
He was recruited by Harrick while he was at UCLA. He was recruited by Kentucky and a host of other big time schools.
Luther Clay was a hell of a lot better than the garbage man you describe.
Womanck, Marbury and Woodward never were coached by Jim Harrick. Bell for a bit over a year.
Only a fool would look at these kids and blame Jim Harrick, while they played the bulk or entire careers under
Jerry D.
Nothing was ever better for us than 1998, polyanna attitudes aside.
Yeah, Red, you know it all, right.
Funny, three months after he took the Georgia job and was in the process of moving
out of East Greenwich, a depressed Jim Harrick told my ex wife,"I've made a bad mistake. I should have stayed here."
To this day, he speaks in only the most glowing terms on his stay in Rhode Island, much
as Tom Penders has.
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bigappleram
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Re: April Fools Day, 1999

Unread post by bigappleram »

He told me that same thing verbatim about 5 years ago....never should have left URI.
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Billyboy78
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Re: April Fools Day, 1999

Unread post by Billyboy78 »

I think Harrick and Penders should both talk to Dan and give him advice on how both regretted leaving URI.
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rodfromcranston
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Re: April Fools Day, 1999

Unread post by rodfromcranston »

Let's wait until he wins first. I think he will,
but if, God forbid, he has a few years like this one, we may be
praying he'd leave.
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Billyboy78
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Re: April Fools Day, 1999

Unread post by Billyboy78 »

rodfromcranston wrote:Let's wait until he wins first. I think he will,
but if, God forbid, he has a few years like this one, we may be
praying he'd leave.
I'm convinced he will. Now that it seems like Preston will be here for a while to help recruit, the players will be coming. We have the two building blocks in place. We have the PG on the way. We still need pieces, but I think we'll get them, especially in '15. We'll see, but that's how I feel.
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rodfromcranston
Frank Keaney
Posts: 13068
Joined: 11 years ago
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Re: April Fools Day, 1999

Unread post by rodfromcranston »

I'm not as deep in the ether as I was last year.
I see what you see, but I'm a bit more cynical than
before.
The jury is still out. I want to see more in game adjustments.
I want to see a game and recognize a game plan has prepared the
team for a particular opponent.
Most of all, I want to see four year talent like EC and Hassan.
Time alone will tell.
1 x
< Arthur is my spirit animal.
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