Sports Illustrated Top 10 Projected Defenses

[josephski]

http://www.si.com/college-basketball/20 ... hita-state

Not sure if this has been posted yet but it's pretty crazy to see us projected as a top 5 defense going into the season.

[ramster]

Great article, thanks for posting.
Note the caliber of teams we are associated with in this Top 10 including our hopefully future opponent Maryland.

Had to copy this section of the article, especially the Barren ranking of defense his last year:

The Rams’ huge defensive improvements under Dan Hurley are the reason they jumped from 5-11 in the Atlantic 10 in last season to 13-5 last season. Most of their key defenders, including shot-blocker/rebounder Hassan Martin and steals leader Jared Terrell, are back, which should translate to an A-10 title and a trip to the NCAA tournament. Rhode Island has come a long way since finishing 256th in defensive efficiency in ‘11-12, Jim Baron’s final season as head coach.

[Rhodymob05]

Hype is good, proof is better, lets see the rams smother.

[neil]

Wow

[bigappleram]

Esteemed company with that ranking. Top 5 in the country. The times they are a changing...

[Blue Man]

"Rhode Island has come a long way since finishing 256th in defensive efficiency in ‘11-12, Jim Baron’s final season as head coach."

Is it possible that more of an understatement exists?

[TruePoint]

I don't know that I'm expecting a top-5 defense this season with the expected shift in offensive approach. I just think that is asking a lot. But, I also don't expect we will suddenly become even an average defensive team. If the scoring efficiency and output increase as I expect, just a good to very defense will be enough to win a lot of games.

[ATPTourFan]

Yeah, I would be thrilled with a top 50 defense as long as our offense is top 100.

[PeterRamTime]

Yeah if we have more of an uptempo offense this year we will probably give up some on D. But our talent should compensate for all that's given up.

What ATP said ^

[Billyboy78]

Defense is and always will be priority #1 on a Dan Hurley coached team.

[TruePoint]

Defense is and always will be priority #1 on a Dan Hurley coached team.

Defense will always be important, because as he says it is more a matter of effort and effort will always be a priority for him. But a big reason why there was such an emphasis on defense is that there was not the potential on the offensive end to win games solely on that end of the floor. I do expect an improved offensive team and the closer we can stay to the defensive level we played at last year the better we'll be, but I do expect at least some tick down in terms of defense.

[Shaolin Swat]

I think we'll probably take a step back defensively, but should more than be able to offset it with improved offensive efficiency. It will be interesting to see how tightly fouls are called and how it impacts us on both ends of the floor. I'd have to think that the way the game is called will affect how effective we are defensively.

[adam914]

Yeah the rule changes could have a big hand in the defense changing this year as well.

[Billyboy78]

I think the biggest strengths of this team are Jared and Jarvis' pressure on the ball and #12 swatting shots. I can't see that changing.

[Rhody Guy]

If we start knocking down more shots the defense will have a completely different dynamic. We will be able to set up a full court press more rather than allowing fast break opportunities on rebound... Not sure how that will impact overall defense though. Will be interesting to see.

[ramster]

I see defense even better this year. DH pushes his defense to create turnovers and offensive opportunities.
TJ is a loss for sure but EC, JT, Garrett and HM will all be one more year experienced, stronger, more confident, more aggressive. All four will be better.
Can Iverson at least be equivalent to filling Biruta's shoes defensively? No doubt in my mind he will.
Lots of competition for playing time will make everyone better. Stronger and more talented bench that last year as well.