Bobby Hurley gets extension

[Rhody74]

Wonder if a bigger program was sniffing around? http://zagsblog.com/articles/buffalo-ex ... 19-season/

[rodfromcranston]

Good for Bobby, but we all know these extensions mean little.

[Ram1019]

Nice to see Bobby doing well in Buffalo

[Ramblinrose]

Setting the bar for his brother. Make or break for Dan this year.

[ace]

Setting the bar for his brother.

Who is setting what, now?

[bigappleram]

Setting the bar for who? Dan already got an extension. I am quite sure this isn't a make or break year for DH in anyone's mind that matters. The table is set for a run of success.

[theblueram]

Seems we have a comedian on board.

[adam914]

Trollin so hard...

[Ramblinrose]

Jury is out on Dan. Seeing nice progress. But he needs to step it up big time this season.

[bigappleram]

Seriously, aren't you a bit old to be a troll.

[theblueram]

Jury is out on Dan. Seeing nice progress. But he needs to step it up big time this season.

Right? He didn't even get the best recruiting class in the A10 this year. What is with the second best recruiting class???? We demand more.

[ramster]

Jury is out on Dan. Seeing nice progress. But he needs to step it up big time this season.

You really think the Jury is out on Dan?

There were a lot of expectations with Dan coming to URI, but for me Dan has actually exceeded my expectations and I mean that in a complimentary way.
To me the Jury is not out at all, not at all, in fact just the opposite in my mind.
Consider:
- Dan landed a 4 star recruit, Top 100 ranked, in 2013 in EC Mathews, a player being talked about as only a Sophomore as a future 1st round NBA Draft selection
- Dan landed a 3 star recruit, Top 125 ranked, in 2013 in Hassan Martin - a player who is clearly showing he was under-ranked and shows the ability to be an All Conference A10 player
- URI had 2 Players on last year's all Freshman Team, one being A10 Freshman of the Year (tie)
- Dan landed a 4 star recruit, Top 100 ranked, in 2014 in Jared Terrell
- Dan landed a 3 star, Top 125 Big Man his first year in Jordan Hare and now has him back on the team this year
- Dan has two players who could make the All Freshmen A10 team in 2014-2015
- Dan has this year's team being talked about as in the Top 5 teams in the Conference, I actually think they could be Top 3 or Top 2
- Dan is involved with several 4 Star ranked players in 2015
I would not be worried about the Jury being out, but I suggest to just sit back and enjoy the ride - this is going to be a great year for URI Basketball.
Contrast with:
- Virtually no recruiting of 4 star players during the Barren years - not since Jim Harrick
- URI being talked about for Top 5 or higher in the A10 Conference - and a Conference at it's strongest level
- Excitement in the Preseason not seen since the Harrick years

[rodfromcranston]

I think, objectively, the jury is out on Dan, until he wins with the talent he's
bringing in.
I'm sure most agree on that point. Clearly Dan can recruit,
not to mention the massive upgrades in the program.
I'm betting he wins and wins big.

[ramster]

All depends on how you interpret the line "the jury is out"
For me the jury is not out at all.
This would mean to me that if Dan does not produce this year as expected then he could be canned or put on a short leash.
Dan has proven to me in his 8 win and then 14 win seasons that he is the right guy for the job here at URI not just for this coming year but for many years to come.
If people need to see him produce 20 wins this year before they will say the jury is not out anymore so be it, but to me Dan has proven his worth and he is money in the bank at this point.
I'm betting he wins and wins big too.
Dan can recruit and Dan can Coach his recruits - I have no doubt, and no jury is out for me. objectively or non-objectively - no jury needed
The bigger question after this season, or even during it, will be how do we keep him here

[Ramblinrose]

I think Hurley is on the right path for sure. But Year 3 is big. It's been 15 years since the Big Dance. The RC was often very quiet last season. I'm ready for some exciting visits again.

[bigappleram]

You think he's on the right path? Phew, Dan and Rhody nation were losing sleep over your endorsement.

[Ramblinrose]

Just saying that I'm pleased so far. I was critical of the last guy and hoping for a lot more from the incumbent. And it needs to happen this season. Or at least start happening this year. Last season I enjoyed seeing Matthews play a lot. Now it's time for a winning season.

[rambone 78]

With this group, there's no way they finish at .500 or below.

I fully expect 18-20 wins. Any more than that will depend on many things of course.

We should be at least a 4 seed or better NIT team, and with any luck be on the bubble for you-know-what.

[rambone 78]

I'm going to pencil in VCU and Dayton as NCAA tourney teams this season, with probably at least 2 more from this group:

GW, Richmond, UMass, and us. 4 in, with the other 2 NIT. Just a guess for sure, but that's the way I see it.

If 5 or 6 A10 teams Dance, we had better be one of them!

[bressler3south]

Ah, The Expectation Time Primary Season has arrived!!!!!!!

When does the Pre-Season Prediction Contest get underway????????????

And…..The Real Prediction Contest??????

[Rhody74]

When the schedule comes and the roster is set. We all were burned by Hare and Aaman last year.

[rodfromcranston]

Look at last years predictions and tell me how credible we
are as a group?
How many predicted 20 plus wins?
Fans of teams aren't always the best barometer of things.

[theblueram]

Rod
Last year our expectations were predicated on preseason media hype. Most of us never saw most of the players ever play. And to our credit, I think questions started after the first exhibition game.

[Keaney.Blue]

I'd be shocked if we were a bubble team, I just don't see us improving that much in one season. While it's possible with the talent and coaching we have, a lot of our guys are unproven and we're basing our projections on potential. I say this team wins 19-21 games

[Ram1019]

I think, objectively, the jury is out on Dan, until he wins with the talent he's
bringing in.
I'm sure most agree on that point. Clearly Dan can recruit,
not to mention the massive upgrades in the program.
I'm betting he wins and wins big.

These are my thoughts exactly. Great at recruiting. Now we need to see X's O's and winning record.

[Gonebarongone]

I mean, c'mon. Coaching is recruiting, evaluation, development, and in game. If you were being completely honest, you would say he's done a great job recruiting but the middle two are incomplete, and the in game stuff isn't exactly Hank Iba. At this point, I'd be more surprised by him failing here than succeeding. A lot more surprised, actually. But, the jury is absolutely still out.

[Ramulous]

Successful coach= 85% recruiting, 5% X's and O's, 5% ego management, 5% scheduling......

[bigappleram]

GBG, in terms of development, how could he have done better with the two guys he recruited and who saw major time -- Martin and Matthews. Not sure that's an incomplete.

[TruePoint]

I also think his evaluation has been pretty good. We landed Hassan and EC because he got on them early and made them a priority. He was on Terrell early, even though we ended up with him in a roundabout way. This class, he was recruiting Poyser before he blew up. I guess you could knock him for what he said Jarrelle and Biggie were going to be, but I wonder if he was really sold on that versus grabbing bodies he knew he could work with then pumping their tires a little bit.

[Gonebarongone]

GBG, in terms of development, how could he have done better with the two guys he recruited and who saw major time -- Martin and Matthews. Not sure that's an incomplete.

I'm not giving him a bad grade, just incomplete. And, it's cherry picking to just use Martin and Matthews. Most really good players will naturally get better as they get used to playing 21,22 year olds. X didn't get any better. None of the transfers have gotten any better. Maybe that's part player evaluation, too. But, like I said, more of an incomplete than anything. I think we'll learn a ton this year. Do Hassan and EC get by on their talent or do they take the frosh/soph leap?

[Frank_Keaney_95]

Realistic goal for this season is an NIT bid. Anything more is gravy...and I love gravy

[Ramblinrose]

And anything less is Baronesque.