2015-16 Starting Five Predictions?

Joe · Unread post by **Joe** » 9 years ago

What do you guys think that this year's starting five will be? My guess is:
PG: Jarvis Garrett
SG: EC Matthews
SF: Jared Terrell
PF: Kuran Iverson
PF/C: Hassan Martin

reckless jake · Unread post by **reckless jake** » 9 years ago

PG- Jarvis Garrett
G - Jared Terrell
G - EC Mathews
F - Hassan Martin
F - Kuran Iverson

adam914 · Unread post by **adam914** » 9 years ago

I'd be shocked if its anything but those 5.

Rhody15 · Unread post by **Rhody15** » 9 years ago

I could see Earl starting over Iverson, so Hurley can have some more offense coming off the bench.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 9 years ago

Dan loves Iverson. I'd be stunned if he didn't start
with the Core 4.

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 9 years ago

I think anyone who doesn't say those five is kind of nuts. If I were betting, I'd have all my chips on that. But, I still wouldn't mind seeing Earl starting for the sake of a more traditional lineup and using Iverson as the first guy off the bench that can sub in for any of the five guys, depending on what is needed. I would definitely give Iverson starter minutes, I just might bring him off the bench because of the versatility it gives you. But I doubt that will happen.

luke · Unread post by **luke** » 9 years ago

Already gave the same starting five in my earlier post on the Iverson thread, so
I guess we are all on the same page.

ramfan85 · Unread post by **ramfan85** » 9 years ago

No doubt that those are our most talented. But, I wouldn't be surprised to see Earl start at center. Iverson gives so much versatility, as a starter and off the bench.
I still think Thompson will be in the mix by the end of the season. Just a feeling.

PeterRamTime · Unread post by **PeterRamTime** » 9 years ago

PG Jarvis
SG EC
SF Kuran
PF Hass
C Earl

JT sixth man
Come off the bench and kick ass.
Although I think I read on here something that said Dan guaranteed JT a starting spot all the time.
Either way I think that line up could work.

CTRamfan · Unread post by **CTRamfan** » 9 years ago

Maybe coach looks at it this way.....You establish defensive dominance early, to force the opponent out of their offensive comfort zone.

bressler3south · Unread post by **bressler3south** » 9 years ago

PeterRamTime wrote:PG Jarvis
SG EC
SF Kuran
PF Hass
C Earl

JT sixth man
Come off the bench and kick ass.
Although I think I read on here something that said Dan guaranteed JT a starting spot all the time.
Either way I think that line up could work.

No offense, but Jared Terrell won't be giving up his starting spot to anyone at any point during his career at URI…..

Joe · Unread post by **Joe** » 9 years ago

ramfan85 wrote:No doubt that those are our most talented. But, I wouldn't be surprised to see Earl start at center. Iverson gives so much versatility, as a starter and off the bench.
I still think Thompson will be in the mix by the end of the season. Just a feeling.

I agree, but Hurley likes Terrell and Garrett too much for Thompson to swipe one of their spots, unless he starts getting really hot shooting I can't see him starting. Berry could earn some solid minutes if he establishes himself.

RhowdyRam02 · Unread post by **RhowdyRam02** » 9 years ago

I agree with Bressler on this one. Dan wants tenacious perimeter defense and Jared is our best perimeter defender. He might get more breaks to keep him fresh, but no way will he be our sixth man.

Keaney.Blue · Unread post by **Keaney.Blue** » 9 years ago

Very hard to see anything other than the lineup mentioned above. The only issue I see is our bench is so limited. The starting 5 is going to see a lot of minutes in big games next year.

bressler3south · Unread post by **bressler3south** » 9 years ago

Keaney.Blue wrote:Very hard to see anything other than the lineup mentioned above. The only issue I see is our bench is so limited. The starting 5 is going to see a lot of minutes in big games next year.

Again, no offense, but this is the deepest team URI has had in years, even as unproven - at this point in time -- as the newcomers are, but I'm almost certain that Coach Hurley is beyond thrilled with his roster as compared to when he first arrived…..

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 9 years ago

Not seeing how the bench is limited in any way.
Four, Thompson, Akele, Berry, Earl, and Butts.
Plus, if ARD can teach Oneykaba something,
there's six guys off the bench who can contribute
different things.

Da_Process_Survivor · Unread post by **Da_Process_Survivor** » 9 years ago

Keaney.Blue wrote:Very hard to see anything other than the lineup mentioned above. The only issue I see is our bench is so limited. The starting 5 is going to see a lot of minutes in big games next year.

idk, Im not seeing the short bench.

by the time conference play rolls around, Four is going to be essentially a 6th starter
as a Juco, Berry should contribute at worst like a typical sophomore
Thompson, Butts and Akele simply need to play like solid freshmen, dont need standout seasons.

That's a 10 man rotation without even counting Earl

jro44 · Unread post by **jro44** » 9 years ago

Agree with the starting five mentioned above. I think another thing we can look for as well now that Dan has established his style of play and Rhody is starting to get recognized are we going to see fewer ticky tack fouls? That will limit the depth needed in the bench and some of these freshman can get their 2-3 minute runs and not put into positions where they HAVE to step up. This past season the bench was called on early and often due to starters picking up some quick fouls, let's hope they are allowed to play more. I feel teams that are expected to do well are given a little more room to be aggressive.

RF1 · Unread post by **RF1** » 9 years ago

The best thing about that starting five is that not one of them is a senior. The potential is there for them all to return.

luke · Unread post by **luke** » 9 years ago

I think with the mentioned starting five, the bench will be fantastic if Four, Akele and, Thompson are as advertised.
We know Watson will contribute. If Butts and Berry can offer anything along with Onyekaba, foul trouble shouldn't
be as big an issue anymore.

Seawrightspostgame · Unread post by **Seawrightspostgame** » 9 years ago

jro44 wrote:Agree with the starting five mentioned above. I think another thing we can look for as well now that Dan has established his style of play and Rhody is starting to get recognized are we going to see fewer ticky tack fouls? That will limit the depth needed in the bench and some of these freshman can get their 2-3 minute runs and not put into positions where they HAVE to step up. This past season the bench was called on early and often due to starters picking up some quick fouls, let's hope they are allowed to play more. I feel teams that are expected to do well are given a little more room to be aggressive.

Yea politics are huge, if we can just get a fair shake against everybody I would be happy. Looking at the Martelli's of the world.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 9 years ago

Getting OT, but Dan has to calm down and stop
complaining for 40 minutes on every foul and every non call.
I think we've seen it work against us, in a few games.

Ram1019 · Unread post by **Ram1019** » 9 years ago

I agree. It's a little bit excessive.

RAM67 · Unread post by **RAM67** » 9 years ago

If we get the same fair officiating that we got in the Stanford game we'll be fine.

PeterRamTime · Unread post by **PeterRamTime** » 9 years ago

Maybe he is addressing that this offseason? The only people he'd listen to about that is His brother and his dad.

I feel like Ifeanyi could be better than Berry by the time the season starts. In that highlight video Berry looked like the least athletic person on the court and that worries me. Nice post moves though. Iffy is pretty athletic, just doesn't know what he's doing when he gets on the court. Except against Maine. Maybe ARD can school him up, get him going and he can just pretend he's playing Maine every game.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 9 years ago

His dad is probably even worse. He even battles with opposing coaches.
Bobby seemed in the same mold, watching him last season.
Maybe JR Smith could calm him down? Nah.......
I heard this today about Berry.
There's good news and bad news there. The good news is,
Berry has lost 15 lbs. since he's been on compus.
The bad news is, he reported in, weighing around 300lbs.!

Smokinjimit · Unread post by **Smokinjimit** » 9 years ago

PG: Jarvis Garrett
SG: EC Matthews
SF: Jared Terrell
PF: Hassan Martin
PF/C: Jordan Hare

adam914 · Unread post by **adam914** » 9 years ago

Haha good one Smokin.

Smokinjimit · Unread post by **Smokinjimit** » 9 years ago

Thanks. I wanted to see if I could get Rod's head to explode.

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 9 years ago

Not all bad news. We need the beef.

Seawrightspostgame · Unread post by **Seawrightspostgame** » 9 years ago

Showed up at 300 and is down to 285?? Thats great progress.

Could be the diamond in the rough big guy we sepculate about. Not this year but someday?

Doesn't have to be a diamond in the rough Hassan Martin/ARD type where they are undersized but dominant.

Could be a dough boy that needs extra attention.

But what if he is just lossing weight for the summer to lay on Gansett beach???? Will he gain it all back for winter????

Maybe that Mexican trip can be leveraged to keep him in his beach bod.

Ram1019 · Unread post by **Ram1019** » 9 years ago

Smokinjimit wrote:PG: Jarvis Garrett
SG: EC Matthews
SF: Jared Terrell
PF: Hassan Martin
PF/C: Jordan Hare

PG: Mike Powell
SG: EC Matthews
SF: Jared Terrell
PF: Hassan Martin
PF/C: Jordan Hare

Sorry, couldn't resist. Agree that it's doubtful anyone knocks the Core 4 plus Iverson out of the starting role. Bench looks deep but largely unknown might be the only concern. This is the best URI team we've had in a long long time.

Keaney.Blue · Unread post by **Keaney.Blue** » 9 years ago

rodfromcranston wrote:Not seeing how the bench is limited in any way.
Four, Thompson, Akele, Berry, Earl, and Butts.
Plus, if ARD can teach Oneykaba something,
there's six guys off the bench who can contribute
different things.

You're right about Four, he'll be a great contributor off the bench. The rest?

I hope we're not counting Akele, Thompson, and Butts as automatic contributors as freshmen. I have high hopes for Berry, but Earl was another JuCo product who didn't live up to expectations in his first year. Onyekaba, I've seen and heard enough about him to know what we're getting.

I hope you're right Rod, but right now the bench is very suspect to me. Freshmen and JuCo big men

RAM67 · Unread post by **RAM67** » 9 years ago

My personal opinion, based on observation and conversations with people who have seen him play in person, Thompson is a steal and will surprise us all. I hope they're right.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 9 years ago

KB, my reason for saying patience is needed is exactly
what you are mentioning.
These are freshmen or newcomers. It takes time for them to adjust
to the speed of the college D-1 game.
I'm not talking Thompson and Akele from November 15th. I'm
talking about them after they get their feet wet.
Remember, it took EC 8 games and Hassan 13 games, before they
started on a pretty mediocre team.
With the consensus 5 getting most of the playing time, barring foul trouble,
Dan's biggest job will be to find the best rotation of players and
their respective roles.

Rhody72 · Unread post by **Rhody72** » 9 years ago

How will opponent defend us and attack us? This will tell us how Dan will need to adjust against better opponents. We will need to show that we can score from the perimeter and defend against taller opponents in the paint. Four could see valuable time if he can score outside and Watson/Berry can see time of they can stop opponents inside.

At whose expense in minutes will these line-up insertions come at the expense of? Assuming fouls are not an issue it may be Jared in both cases. If Jared steps up and has a big year, this will not be an issue. For Jarvis and Jared this year will be a good indicator of their ceiling.

Also, of the presumed starting five are any likely to be pulled at the end for a better foul shooter? This could be Four; perhaps for Hassan rather than Jared.

How do you guys see these issues?

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 9 years ago

Hassan would actually have to have the ball to get fouled.
This happens infrequently during the game, let alone when
the game is on the line.
Also, Terrell hit some very clutch free throws late in games.
I don't see him not playing down the stretch in games, because
his defense is too valuable. Same with Martin.

Keaney.Blue · Unread post by **Keaney.Blue** » 9 years ago

rodfromcranston wrote:Hassan would actually have to have the ball to get fouled.
This happens infrequently during the game, let alone when
the game is on the line.
Also, Terrell hit some very clutch free throws late in games.
I don't see him not playing down the stretch in games, because
his defense is too valuable. Same with Martin.

Plus I expect Jared's FT % to go up markedly this year. I don't think Hassan will ever be a great FT shooter with his form, but Jared will develop into one

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 9 years ago

This team should make it a point to become a good FT shooting team.

The starting 5 should all be 70% or better, with the exception of Hassan, where 60-65% is more likely.

No excuses. Maybe Four can help tutor them.

Ram1019 · Unread post by **Ram1019** » 9 years ago

Jared was absolutely clutch in that Duquesne game with those FT's. I would hope to see some kind of improvement this year in that department as a team.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 9 years ago

Consistency should be the goal.

Almost everybody had a few games where they shot FT's well. And then there were games where they were terrible, at times all of them in the same game, the Davidson game for example.

You never knew from game to game, if they were going to be good or awful. That can't repeat itself this season, or games will be lost, and usually against the better teams.

jro44 · Unread post by **jro44** » 9 years ago

Agreed, consistency and clutch. How many games were they up 2, 3, or 4 and could have iced games in the last minute only to miss a FT, usually the front end of a 1 and 1, and then have a clutch 3 hit against them? I'd be ok with 65% as a team, but have the ability to hit them when it counts. We can't see games lost at the buzzer because of missed FTs down the stretch. I think the A10 will be looking at 2-3 teams tops again for the NCAA, each win is huge! Anything less than the tournament will not be good enough this year.

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 9 years ago

I would be shocked if only 2 A10 teams are in the tournament next season.

jro44 · Unread post by **jro44** » 9 years ago

Really? With VCU dropping what 3-4 teams do you see being pretty much locks, if only 2 would shock you. I am afraid the A10 as a whole will be down and that will really hurt the RPI this year. I am not sure there will be lots of quality wins to get.

Shaolin Swat · Unread post by **Shaolin Swat** » 9 years ago

jro44 wrote:Really? With VCU dropping what 3-4 teams do you see being pretty much locks, if only 2 would shock you. I am afraid the A10 as a whole will be down and that will really hurt the RPI this year. I am not sure there will be lots of quality wins to get.

I can see the A10 as being improved from last year. I could easily see the following teams being in the mix for the tournament next year: URI, Dayton, VCU, Davidson, and GW. Obviously, they won't all make the tournament, but I could see 3 or 4 of them making the tourney. Combined with continued growth from the teams that were at the bottom half of the conference last year, there should be an opportunity for more quality wins and a higher RPI than last year.

RhowdyRam02 · Unread post by **RhowdyRam02** » 9 years ago

Ram1019 wrote:Jared was absolutely clutch in that Duquesne game with those FT's. I would hope to see some kind of improvement this year in that department as a team.

What I liked even more then the Duquesne game was when Jared missed the first of two free throws late in the game against Nebraska and the scoreboard was showing video of him on the line and he was smiling and just drained the next one. That was ballsy, especially early in his college career, and foreshadowed what he did in OT.

jro44 · Unread post by **jro44** » 9 years ago

Shaolin, I hope you are right. Of course I have truly no idea what GW, Dayton, and Davidson recruiting class has so I'm just going on what I've seen from VCU and how I think Smart's departure will effect them for at least one year. I think they will be back in future years, but you don't lose a coach like that and rebound the next year. Again, just my opinion. However, I hope you are right and the Rams do have a greater shot because of the quality of the league.

ramswin · Unread post by **ramswin** » 9 years ago

No doubt 4 teams making the NCAA's is a realistic prediction. Mason and Fordham will be better (they can't be any worse), same goes for Duquesne and St Joe's. There aren't any heavyweights at the top as of right now, but the improvement of the cellar dwellers will definitely help the A-10.

Rhody74 · Unread post by **Rhody74** » 9 years ago

Everyone overlooked Davidson last year. I think they'll be in the top 3 or 4.

Seawrightspostgame · Unread post by **Seawrightspostgame** » 9 years ago

The guys VCU kept were like their main minute guys outside of the seenyas. Melvin Johnson is their main dude along with the huge guy underneath and fill in the blanks. They really lost the future in their recruits and young players. Depth.

I would be surprised if St Joes wasted another year of Bembry. He was above and beyond anyone he faced last year and he is only going to be better.

I think Bembry well be the best player the A10 will see for like a decade. He is a legit triple double threat every night.

[EDIT] You guys are also leaving out Richmond, the national media that covers the A10 loves Richmond.

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