Game #7: George Mason

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

I love Hurley's passion

Boy are we in great shape with this coaching staff

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

The view from 205
1. Shame, and I mean big time shame, for those who left at halftime. Many students and season ticket holders left, including a group of three right behind me. What a way to support the team?
2. Most tired at the end of the game was probably Hurley, who coached his ass off. I wonder what his half time speech/tirade was? It certainly worked. He was last off the court at the end of the game, wiping the sweat off of his face. No one wanted it more than him.
3. Nik - coming off the bench one is supposed to give a spark to the team. He gave nothing. He got yanked in the second half after not going after a rebound, and coach let him know about it when he returned to the bench. In the first half, he was perfectly content to NOT look for his shot. I watched him on an in bounds play and he half hustled to try to get open to get the pass. This really isn't much senior leadership and certainly no consistency. He never came to play.
4. Hare is getting to be a human eraser on defense, making up for any of our defensive mistakes.
5. X is great, although you could tell at the end based on his shots fallilng short that he was tired.
6. Powell played fine, still in the trees at times, but did look to pass and hit some big three's at the end.
7. Brooks - needs to put some glue on his hands, and head for the free throw line in practice. Neither of his free throws were close.
8. Team, overall, played with heart and intensity. The first seven minutes of the second half were classic.
9. Caught a t-shirt
10. Very long ride back to Manchester.
11. Will be back on Saturday! Go Rhody!

Have not and will not...

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

I think Nik and Andre see the big picture. DH is not developing them, so as long as seniors bust their a$$ they'll see minutes. If DH had a deeper bench, they wouldn't be here. This is all about developing a team for the future. Nik, Andre, Ryan and Alway are not the stars, they are ballast to fill out a short roster. That may be beginning to settle in. For Nik and Andre this is disappointing while Ryan and Alway see it as a chance to play.

I'll take the five ineligible players dressed in sweats over any five eligible players on the roster. Add to them MikeP, X, MikeA and Jordan, add the new recruits, and you have an exciting team that is going places.

To my eyes, attendance is still low, but it is growing despite our slow start.

Would it have taken 5 years for DH to turn-around the roster that JB inherited from JD? Dream on. What fools we were accepting JB's crap for 11 years.

JH was courtside in Ann Arbor 2 nights ago as Mark Gottfried's guest.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 11 years ago

I've been saying this all along, except for Mike and TJ, the other holdovers are just bodies filling spots.

Just a night and day difference, between what was here and what's coming.

Powell is becoming a player. Amazing what a little coaching can do.

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

I don't know what to think about TJ at this point. Is he part of our future? I haven't seen much yet, but he may still be recovering from injury. It is hard to say at this point whether he will be here next year.

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

Rod, have to disagree on the one bad call. The play Xavier had a breakaway, he actually stopped and initated the contact from the defender, so it was a good no call. The bad call was on the goaltend and foul. I was watching on CBSSN HD and the ball was clearly on the rim when the defender slapped it away, so it was in fact by the letter of the law a goaltend. A 2 point swing, as Xaiver missed 1 of 2 foul shots (the second one) and the delay in the action for about 5 minutes, more importantly, stopped our momentum.

The officating on the whole was very good, best this year that I've seen for a Rhody game.

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

Sweep The Leg wrote:Rod, have to disagree on the one bad call. The play Xavier had a breakaway, he actually stopped and initated the contact from the defender, so it was a good no call. The bad call was on the goaltend and foul. I was watching on CBSSN HD and the ball was clearly on the rim when the defender slapped it away, so it was in fact by the letter of the law a goaltend. A 2 point swing, as Xaiver missed 1 of 2 foul shots (the second one) and the delay in the action for about 5 minutes, more importantly, stopped our momentum.

The officating on the whole was very good, best this year that I've seen for a Rhody game.

I agree with all of this. Munford leaned in to try to initiate contact and the three point play. The ball was also pretty clearly on the rim on the non-goaltend call. That's almost an impossible call in real-time to make. Not sure why you can't just look at the monitor if you are going to stop the game for three minutes anyway to talk about it. Get the call right.

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

Overall great game last night, the few takeaways that I saw from this game were:

Positives: Defense, Hustle Plays, Blocked Shots (Hare), Hurley's Coaching, Overall Effort

Negatives: Shooting with emphasis on Free Throws, End of game play calling (I thought they had an opportunity to get a two for one on the second to last drive of the game- quick three followed by hard defense would have given them a better shot to win I think)

Overall Hurley's a great coach that is going to take this team far and were seeing it early. Coach Hurley makes no excuses, and could be at every turn given the young roster. I think for this team to get to the next level its going to take some shot making and understanding some key situations in the games. Just my thoughts.

Iggy1979 · Unread post by **Iggy1979** » 11 years ago

My son pointed out to me that Hurley does not have a seat on the bench. I've never seen a coach who NEVER sits during a game. He might be the most competitive person I've ever seen.
When this team plays like it did during the second half it's very easy to like.
Powell played well, much like he did against OSU.
One of the big questions when Hurley was hired was how things would be between him and Nik. There's still time for it to get better, but Nik has been benched for one game, removed from the starting lineup and last night was repeatedly yanked for effort/execution reasons.

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

I think the goal-tending call they dis-allowed was the correct call. The URI player went up for a dunk, and got it blocked, you can't goaltend a dunk because it never actually leaves the URI players hand. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's how I saw it.

George Mason played GREAT defense all night, even on extended pressure they bothering our ball handlers.

URI's half court offense needs work, they had a couple of nice plays where players off the ball slipped down and the guards found them.

Ryan Brooks has the WORST hands I have ever seen on a human being. He slaps at the ball like a girly-man. No excuse for that. You have to grab the damn ball. Very simple.

FOUL SHOTS, FOUL SHOTS, FOUL SHOTS. You shoot 50% from the line in a game you lose by 3. Easy math!

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

Roz wrote:
reef wrote:I watched the whole game and it was my 1st time seeing this team

Really impressed with X's scoring ability

Love Hares ability to block shots

This team is fun to watch play defense and the offense moves the ball

Really high for the future
I agree their defensive effort is awesome! Why was Hurley blowing his lid and I think even grabbed Malone and X yelling at them? Just curious if someone missed an assignment or something.

They mentioned this play on the CBS Sports broadcast - IIRC, it was when Powell had stolen the ball from their guy coming up court, and went in for an easy 2. Then, Malone and X weren't hustling to get back down the court on D. It's nice to see so much intensity from a coach - one guy makes a great play, and he applauds that... then quickly getting into the other two guys.

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

We arent going to win many games if we dont get more out of Malone and Malesevic, its that simple. Even with the poor FT shooting, if either of these 2 guys gives you an average game we win. Nik is seemingly regressing. Andre just lacks aggressiveness and for an off guard is very weak off the dribble.

Ryan Rowdy · Unread post by **Ryan Rowdy** » 11 years ago

Did anyone else notice Brooks nursing his elbow late in the 2nd half last night? It was after a missed FT, he went for a rebound, and kept it bent for a few possessions.

Probably just a little tweak, but still grabbed my attention.

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

For awhile I have had the feeling that Nikola is not an A-10 level player, during the Mason game I believe he is not even a D1 caliber player. Watching him dribble is painful and his athleticism is non-existent. Was recruiting him, Gajic's last joke on URI fans?

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

The defense of this team is getting better and better each game. It's what is keeping us close, as our offense is lacking. The missed FT's really took the air out of the crowd. Aggressive drives to the basket resulting in a foul needs to yield POINTS!
I thought the students were pretty active, but having them relegated to the 300 section is just bad design. They need to be close to the court.
-I also met Rod for the first time last night.

RAM67 · Unread post by **RAM67** » 11 years ago

Issac. I usually enjoy your posts and insight, but your statement about Nikola, seems innacurate. He was one of the better players on our team in his sophomore year, and was getting praise throughout the league. However, since the wall incident, he seems to be lost. At first I thought he was pressing a little, but now I think he has just lost his confidence.

Blue Man · Unread post by **Blue Man** » 11 years ago

Gonzo, the goaltending rule to the letter of the law is that a defensive player cannot touch the ball when it is on the rim. Even if it has no chance of going in, which this ball didn't, a defender cannot touch the ball when on the rim.

That play was right in front of me in 207. Clearly a goaltend, along with the contact that should have been a foul.

Keaney.Blue · Unread post by **Keaney.Blue** » 11 years ago

Issac wrote:For awhile I have had the feeling that Nikola is not an A-10 level player, during the Mason game I believe he is not even a D1 caliber player. Watching him dribble is painful and his athleticism is non-existent. Was recruiting him, Gajic's last joke on URI fans?

Not even a D1 caliber player? When I posted in the Mike Powell Sr. thread saying some URI fans exhibit astounding lack of basketball knowledge, this is what I was talking about.

Take a lap Isaac

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

I think Dan threatened to have his dad coach this team for a weekend, at halftime.
Nice to meet Blueram!
Bobby mentioned the non call on X, in the first half, as a key to the loss,
in the post game. That was a five point turnaround.
In fact Chis Disano, Kaull and McDonald all talked about it.
I'm at the other end of the court, and didn't get a good view of the goaltend on X's shot.
They counted it and waved it off.
I love Munford, but those free throws for a guy who gets to the line a lot, are
becoming a problem.
Nik is mailing it in. Too bad, bacause he looked like he could help the transistion
along, in the first few games.
Neil, I saw people leaving with less than a minute left, when we were down 3!
What's the rush? Real fans stay in their seats until the buzzer, win or lose.
I have to say, that's the most noise our crowd has made all year.
Couldn't believe it was on national TV, because there were less timeouts than with a Cox
broadcast.
Hare blocked 6 shots, but only had 2 rebounds. Brooks had ten, which is his first double figure
rebound game ever.

Blue Man · Unread post by **Blue Man** » 11 years ago

I can't say Nik is mailing it in - he may have had an off night. He dropped 19 against Auburn.
As bad as the free throw shooting was, there was a lot of good.
D play - huge. Smothering, lock-up, shut-down D.
Comeback - halftime adjustments and team changes showcase coaching - you saw that tonight. Coming back from 16 and making it a game...that'll make people think twice before leaving. We're going to be in every game this year.
Hare - block, block, block, block, block, block
Powell - no turnovers (officially), but solid game against a much bigger front court.

This is certainly a very competitive team when the A10 comes around.

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

Nik looked like he was sleepwalking last night.
I was referring to last night's game.
Malone, at least put in a good effort.
We need both these guys to contribute, to
win any games going forward.

Blue Man · Unread post by **Blue Man** » 11 years ago

No argument there, looks like Munford is gonna get his - we'll live or die with Nik and Andre's production.

twisted3829 · Unread post by **twisted3829** » 11 years ago

Like someone said before we sure probably going to need at least two Ms to play well to win games, last night was just Mumford

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

Munford is the best pure scorer (not shooter) we've had in the backcourt, since Dawan Robinson.
Dawan was Mr. Clutch.

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

Rod, X reminds me of a modern day Eric Leslie. Kid can score the ball. The dynamic of the team around him is also similar to Leslie. Though Leslie was a pure gunner, and X seems to bring a lot more to the table in other aspects.

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

Dawan could score anywhere on the floor, despite his tendency to put his head down and barrel into the trees. He always had a way of slipping through and getting the ball in via layup. He didn't have great leaping ability. His few dunks were Jimmy-like.

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

BAR, Leslie was a talent, but also a team cancer.
I think X is not that kind of character, but as you say, a scorer.
What a lot of people miss is, his terrific defense.
Usually a scorer like him is a one way player.
What they said after the game was, with the energy he expends on defense,
it's amazing he can do what he does on offense.
His production will go down next year, with the addition of others who can score,
but his value won't lessen.
He can play the game!
ATP, Dawan had a mental and physical toughness, that really worked
in his favor.

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

True, Rod. He was clutch from deep, clutch from close, and clutch at the line...especially after he returned from his foot injury which cost him some explosiveness. He would make great use of contact in the paint and take great advantage of free throws.

He was a 65% FT shooter until his final season when he improved to 80% (106/133 FT).

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

One of my all time favorites. Really a two guard forced to play point.
He was a bull.

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

A couple thoughts while being at the game...

Although he frustrates the hell out of me & I get nervous when he even touches the ball on the offensive end, this may have been Brooks best game in Rhody uniform (maybe behind the Brown game a couple years ago when he had 6 pts & 7 boards). Obviously not saying much, but he played decent even with the few rebounds he fumbled away.

I thought Hurley was going to have an aneurism a couple points during the game. Never saw a coach more heated when he chased down Malone & TJ & was screaming for them to get back. GM could have scored an easy breakway but the coach called a TO. (This was during the run to start the 2nd half.)

It was GREAT to see a coach use the entire timeout to coach up his players. Nothing frustrated me more with Baron (& that is saying something) to see him spend 80% of the timeout standing by the free throw line with his coaches instead of talking to his players.

Was happy with the student turnout. Highest student turnout for a nonconference nonPC game in a long time. Hell, better than many conference games over the last few years.

Free throw shooting was a disgrace. So frustrating to watch. I semi-expect bad foul shooting from Brooks & Hare, but X. Frsutrating.

URI defense was great. Forced 15 TOs while only committing 6.

I really thought Nik was going to hit that last shot. Got a really good look at it. Hopefully he gets back to form like how he played against Auburn & Norfolk State.

Ryan Rowdy · Unread post by **Ryan Rowdy** » 11 years ago

Like I told my dad, you know Hurley has this team behind when he can make Brooks like a good ball player. Now, we've seen him for four years, so I don't mean "wow, he's really good!" but more of a "wow, he actually DOES know what basketball is! Good!"

I like his hustle on the glass this year, and I love how he defends the pick & roll. When he hedges, he gets a wide base which slows down the PG, allowing Powell (or whomever it may be) to recover and pick him back up.

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

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

Love that tweet. You really get the sense he knows he has something big here once he assembles all the pieces in Hurley fashion. Couldn't be more excited about the future of URI hoops!

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

Absolutely!
There's a real determination and confidence that Hurley knows where he wants to
go, and how to get there.
I also like that he's not afraid to reach out to ordinary fans, in person, on Twitter, Emails and Facebook.
There are no barriers.
How refreshing!

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

rodfromcranston wrote:Absolutely!
There's a real determination and confidence that Hurley knows where he wants to
go, and how to get there.
I also like that he's not afraid to reach out to ordinary fans, in person, on Twitter, Emails and Facebook.
There are no barriers.
How refreshing!

And not only to reach out to ordinary fans, but to be so blatantly honest when doing so.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 11 years ago

When Hurley says that, you know he means it.

The current team can't be thrilled to hear it, but they all know it. It's obvious.

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

Rhody Hoops is gonna BLOW UP!! In the best way possible, of course!!

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

Agreed, we are a sleeping giant with Hurley as the lead man

I am also very unimpressed by Nik, we need better from him

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

We are in great shape for the future. I just wish they would hit their free throws, so we can win some of these close ones. Lets face it, they are all going to be close this year; I don't see us blowing many teams out.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 11 years ago

reef, Nik's a decent player from the neck down, just not from the neck up.

He's just a representative of the type of player we used to have. No more.

Next season, they'll all be gone, except Mike and TJ. And those two have their head on straight, or else they won't play much.

P.S. I really hope they both stay. They're giving their best.

Blue Man · Unread post by **Blue Man** » 11 years ago

rambone 78 wrote:
Next season, they'll all be gone, except Mike and TJ. And those two have their head on straight, or else they won't play much.

P.S. I really hope they both stay. They're giving their best.

Of course they'll stay. You'll need guys that are familiar with the system at game speed to help EC and Biggie get there.

Based on what Hurley said about slowing the pace down is by design because of depth...that, to me, sounds like next year with a full compliment of players he'll want to push the offense more while still playing exhaustive D.

You're gonna need the depth for that. Powell's already proven he can help on the D side.

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

Blue Man wrote:Based on what Hurley said about slowing the pace down is by design because of depth...that, to me, sounds like next year with a full compliment of players he'll want to push the offense more while still playing exhaustive D.

He definitely hinted at that last night.

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

What's odd is, I looked up Munford's
FT% as a juco.
He was 76% from the line last year.
It's not as if he's always been a poor FT shooter,
as some are.
Must be a mental thing.

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

rodfromcranston wrote:What's odd is, I looked up Munford's
FT% as a juco.
He was 76% from the line last year.
It's not as if he's always been a poor FT shooter,
as some are.
Must be a mental thing.

Exactly what I think. When you're at the free throw line, you have a lot of time to think about your shot, maybe too much time. When shooters get in slumps, it usually is mental. A guy like Ryan Brooks will never shoot a high percentage from the FT line because he's a poor shooter, that simple. But Munford is too good of a shooter to be shooting at such a low percentage. A little confidence and a lot less thinking and he'll be a lot better. Good shooters should be in the 75-80 percent range or better. It will happen.

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

its focus, concentration and confidence

i think with X its all fatigue, that impacts his focus at the line. watch how hard he works on both ends of the floor, the kid has to be dead tired many times during a game

with Hare its all confidence, i dont think his stroke is all that bad. just needs more reps.

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

Again, and don't get me wrong, I'm not just attributing it to tired legs because we missed a shit ton of free throws in the first half, but I think some of the lack of fluidity and focus at the line comes from exhaustion. Its no excuse and it simply has to get better but I'm writing off two or three misses per contest based on pure exhaustion which is a great trade for outstanding defense, now the other 10-15 misses, they're another story.

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

Roz, if the GM coach hadn't called a timeout they had 2 players streaking for an easy fastbreak uncontested. Another not from earlier in the game, Nik had been on the bench for a while, Hurley put him back in for one defensive stand and Nik didnt box out. Hurley pulled him before he could even play an offensive possession and said something along the line of "one effing play and you miss a rebound, you're head is not in this game, sit down" ( i was right behind the bench but couldnt hear his exact words)

twisted3829 · Unread post by **twisted3829** » 11 years ago

he mentioned the seniors didn't show up for the game or their head wasn't in the game in the article in the Projo

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

I think Brooks was fine, maybe his best game at URI.
As I said before, Nik mailed it in.
Nice to see Hurley not blaming the refs, or the basketballs.

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

rodfromcranston wrote:I think Brooks was fine, maybe his best game at URI.
As I said before, Nik mailed it in.
Nice to see Hurley not blaming the refs, or the basketballs.

or the kids' high school coaches.

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