Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, 16-17

[ace]

... is now available for digital download. Thought you should know.


http://blueribbonyearbookonline.com/ind ... ommon/home

Great piece on URI from DiSano. There are quotes from Dan on every player (informative ones, too- not "coach speak") and specific player write-ups. The comments read like Dowtin is the most game ready of the freshmen.

[ATPTourFan]

Digitally downloaded!

[Rhody74]

Well worth the $17 for the download.

[bigappleram]

Second that, definitely worth the download or purchase. Great analysis by Disano as usual, especially liked this insight on EC and the mental aspect of assimilating back into the flow of the offense...

"The only remaining hurdle for Matthews is trust. Specifically, trusting his body and the work he's put in to rehab and rebuild strength.
The Rams are teeming with slashing guards, but with the graduation of McGlynn there is a knock-down perimeter role to be filled.
Expect Matthews to display his mechanics work and shoot more jumpers early in the season, playing off the penetration of Garrett, Terrell and others and selectively picking his spot to put the ball on the floor."

BTW the printed out analysis was 11 pages long with a ton of information and breakdowns on every player on the roster. Though some hate that we are preseason ranked, this is yet another benefit of that, more real estate dedicated to URI.

[ace]

I liked the positive words on Robinson (great teammate, great player to coach) and the nod to Iverson settling in. Both are players that had some trouble (suspensions) at their previous schools but have fit in well with the program. I was impressed by that from KI last year, actually from all of the players- very little went right, but they stuck together and rode it out. It's a sign of a strong program culture and one that was not easily achieved.

I hope Layssard has embraced the work ethic that Berry's displayed. They have some similar conditioning goals.

[Iggy1979]

For those who haven't seen it. URI is first in conference; 25th in nation. Martin all-conference team (they don't seem to know what to do with EC). Best backcourt in conference, 2nd best frontcourt.

[bigappleram]

On a separate note, A10 Talk.com have been doing a countdown of their Top 25 players in the league.

They are up to #9 and so far Terrell (#21), Garrett (#17) and Hassan (#12) have cracked the Top 25. Have to imagine, even despite injury, EC will be showing up within the Top 10 and you could even argue Iverson is a Top 25 A-10 talent. Net net, vis a vis the rest of the league, we are stacked. The future is now, go Rhody!

[PeterRamTime]

On a separate note, A10 Talk.com have been doing a countdown of their Top 25 players in the league.

They are up to #9 and so far Terrell (#21), Garrett (#17) and Hassan (#12) have cracked the Top 25. Have to imagine, even despite injury, EC will be showing up within the Top 10 and you could even argue Iverson is a Top 25 A-10 talent. Net net, vis a vis the rest of the league, we are stacked. The future is now, go Rhody!

Yeah they had a couple freshman on the list and not Iverson.
They also had Jordan Price at 11th which is the craziest thing to me.

[bigappleram]

Agree, a few head scratchers on there...but i also doubt they wanted to include the entire starting lineup of 1 school on the list, whether justified or not.

[ace]

The A10 Talk site is ok- they definitely give more attention to some programs over others, and the quality of pieces seems to vary greatly depending on the writer. It's free content, though, so I won't complain too much. I thought their placement of Justin Tillman (a junior) at #13 on the list based mainly on potential was interesting.

[ace]

Here's where Blue Ribbon ranked the OOC schedule teams:

Dartmouth (Ivy, 8/8)
*Marist (MAAC, 9/11)
*Brown (Ivy, 7/8)
*Cincinnati (American, 2/11)
*Penn State (Big 10, 10/14), *Duke (ACC, 1/15)
Belmont (Ohio Valley, 1/6 East Division)
Valparaiso (Horizon, 1/10)
Providence (Big East, 8/10)
Old Dominion (Conference USA, 4/14)
Houston (American, 4/11)
Holy Cross (Patriot, 3/10)
William and Mary (Colonial, 5/10)

* tournament games

They can go 3-1 in the tournament and still be fine. The stretch from Belmont to Houston will be big, especially on the road at Valparaiso, Providence, and Houston.


Other teams of interest to me:
Buffalo (MAC, 3/7 East Division)
Wagner (NEC, 2/10)
Arizona State (Pac 12, 11/12)

[Blue Man]

One of my favorite things is that Andre Berry is listed as the number 2 off the bench. 100% agree that he's a worthy presidential write in as well.

LOVE him.

[ace]

I liked Dan's comments on Berry- they absolutely respect and appreciate the work he's put in. Berry getting minutes shows everyone else on the bench what working hard and committing yourself to getting better can get you. If his defense can continue to improve, along with his fitness and everything that comes with it, he is their first big off the bench, especially until the rest adjust to the college game. Til then, we always have the Brown and Dayton games!