Future of URI basketball

[Rhody74]

Today, we witnessed the future of URI basketball in toto. We've seen flashes of it before now, but today they put it all together ... tenacious defense, active rebounding, smart shot-selection, balanced scoring. If Mike Powell keeps playing like this, our PG recruits may be sitting on the bench for longer than expected. The only negative was Munford sitting most of the first half with foul trouble and a nasty collision in which he and an SMU player literally butted heads. Still, X got 11 points in the second half, mostly on pretty drives to the hoop.

I'll let others get into the details, but if we can keep up this kind of effort, not to mention the shooting, we'll win our share of games in the A10.

[jmck]

i only saw the second half because of my kids soccer match, but i was really impressed by our ball movement. i hope that it was good execution on our part and not crappy defense by SMU.

[Rhody74]

i only saw the second half because of my kids soccer match, but i was really impressed by our ball movement. i hope that it was good execution on our part and not crappy defense by SMU.

Actually, I thought SMU played pretty good defense overall, though they let down as the game got out of hand for them. What I liked were the small things that URI did .... they never gave up on a rebound or a pass. One of the reasons X got hurt was his diving for a ball that the SMU player apparently had secured. You never see them have difficulty breaking a press or getting the ball in from out-of-bounds. In the second half, with a comfortable lead, two URI players chased a ball out-of-bounds. Even though they failed, the entire bench was on its feet applauding the effort. You can see they've bought into the Hurley way of playing.

[Rhody72]

There was a great save by Nik who thru the ball behind his back over the basketball support while falling out of bounds to a teammate on the other side.

[reef]

The future does indeed look bright

That would be great if we can get close to .500 in conf play

[Rhodymob05]

Agreed what a well played and well coached game. I like dans bench rotations and play calling

[Rhody72]

Speaking of the future of URI Basketball, are all of our players likely to be academically eligible second semester?

[Rhody74]

Speaking of the future of URI Basketball, are all of our players likely to be academically eligible second semester?

On the radio after the game, Steve MacDonald mentioned in passing that things were going well in the classroom, too. Of course, exams aren't over so no one knows for sure. If Hurley runs the academic side as well as the b-ball side, I'm sure we'll be fine. There's not a lot of room for error.

[SGreenwell]

Speaking of the future of URI Basketball, are all of our players likely to be academically eligible second semester?

On the radio after the game, Steve MacDonald mentioned in passing that things were going well in the classroom, too. Of course, exams aren't over so no one knows for sure. If Hurley runs the academic side as well as the b-ball side, I'm sure we'll be fine. There's not a lot of room for error.

I think Malone is the only "at-risk" holdover guy, since Outerbridge and others are now gone. If they did think they were going to lose him or had the potential to, I doubt he'd be getting 35 minutes a game.

[reef]

Good to see Andre stepping his game up

[rodfromcranston]

Anyone else find this a bit alarming?
Matthews re-tweeted this himself. WTF!

Michael Thomas‏@Suave_Mike24

@EC_Matthews2 should decommit from Rhode Island and team up with his boy Wesley Clark at Mizzou.


Retweeted by E.C. Matthews

[twisted3829]

not at all, kid is retweeting everything said about him

[rodfromcranston]

I know he's taken a lot of heat in Detroit, for committing to us.

[Smokinjimit]

It's all about learning and knowing your roll with a team. I think coach is ahead of the learning curve
when it comes to his new team. They are playing better at an earlier point in the season then I thought they would.

[Running Ram]

it is a bit alarming only because we are talking about a high school boy who may well be feeling the pressure of local opinions, hopefully the team can get him out here for a game soon and start to bond a bit with him.

[rodfromcranston]

I think that's why there have been a few trips to Detroit by Hurley and Preston.
May not be as sure a commit as Hassan.
Who knows?

[Rhody Guy]

I think he probably retweeted it because someone is saying "this kid is good we want him here" kinda thing. Its a confidence/ego boost.

[section(105)]

The middle/lower middle numbers of the Season Prediction Contest group is starting to come into focus more, No??

[gorhody89]

He signed his LOI, I would be much more concerned if he was just a verbal...

[ace]

Matthews wants to play point. Clark is the point guard on their current team and will also play that position at the next level. No need to worry, IMO. These guys, naturally, just like to hear good things about themselves.

[rodfromcranston]

I was told this afternoon, that EC was offered by Mizzou, but never even bothered to visit there.
Sorry for the alarm. Ugh!

[Rhody72]

I don't follow recruiting as closely as many here, but the thread above reminds me of Bam Harmon. It is easier to appear to be a high school star when you have a teammate who is a superstar. Who is the superstar, Clark or Matthews?

[seanmc94]

Take it as a compliment; people want your player. Reggie Jackson said it best; they don't boo nobodies

[rodfromcranston]

72, Mr. Negative, did you bother to look at any of the videos or read what his coaches and
others said?

[ace]

Who is the superstar, Clark or Matthews?

Yes.

[Rhody72]

Rod, if Clark is playing PG rather than Matthews on their HS team, then it is reasonable to ask whether Clark is a better PG than Matthews? HS coaches say great things about all their players. and other players in their league. Videos show you what is good. I haven't seen him play an entire game against a competitive team which would be more telling. Bam Harmon had good stats for The Colony as well as his AAU team where defenses concentrated on Wright and Williams. How are Clark and Hanson ranked?

[rodfromcranston]

Go away, Negative Nelly!
Look at what he's done in his games already this season.
He got 12 points in the 4th quarter against the best team in the State of Michigan.
What the hell does Bam Harmon have to do with anything?
When was he top 100?