Game 8: @ Providence - 4:30p Sat Dec 3 Check Local Listings

[rambone 78]

At the rate he is going, Dan may end up in another position someday not far off......an AD's job might not be farfetched but I doubt he has an interest there......he said he doesn't want to coach past 50, well that's not that far away...but I hope we aren't stuck with him for 8 more years without an NCAA berth.....don't laugh.....that would be LONGER than CFL's time here.....omg

I think he'll have a nervous breakdown and retire sooner if things keep going the way they are.....he certainly isn't a good enough floor coach to move up to a big time school....hell he's in over his head here......

Here's a plan....when Thorr leaves, kick Hurley upstairs to AD, he'd do a GREAT job, then bring Preston in as coach....just dreaming......

Now if someone could convince DH to do that......

[ramfan85]

Is it a possibility that maybe Dan would be better suited for another type of job? Maybe his skills are more.in line with an AD or some other type of administrative position.
Not everyone is suited for every job. Dan's efforts off the court have never been criticized. He's done an outstanding job getting things we don't read about in the sports pages in order.
I remember Claude English taking over as head coach when Jack Kraft had his health issue in the middle of a season. He basically had no choice. He was a blue to get through the season and did well enough to warrant the head job permanently. He didn't do very well once the program was in his hands.
He was better suited to be an assistant coach than the head guy. In fact, I don't remember ever seeing a better assistant coach. His skills were perfect for that job.
Not trying to say that Dan can't improve and will never be a good head coach. Not at all. Just suggesting that he may be better suited for another type of position.

I don't think that's a fair thing to say. Not every CEO is good at every aspect of running their company. The head coach runs the program, he is the CEO of the program. I think realistically putting a whiteboard wizard on the bench to help out is not a drastic thing to suggest and an easy way to get to the next incremental step up the mountain. But it isn't like the guy is incapable as a coach. He's spent his whole life in and around basketball. He knows much more than most people and certainly more than I do, which is why I feel a little funny criticizing him. But there is also more he could know that could make the difference in him being a good and great coach, and that would make the difference between us having a good and great team.

Fair enough. I didn't mean to suggest that Dan can't develop into a very good coach. Having the right assistants would certainly help him as a head coach.
I'm certainly not going to assume that I know what's best for anyone. Taking care of myself is a full time job.

[TruePoint]

At the rate he is going, Dan may end up in another position someday not far off......an AD's job might not be farfetched but I doubt he has an interest there......he said he doesn't want to coach past 50, well that's not that far away...but I hope we aren't stuck with him for 8 more years without an NCAA berth.....don't laugh.....that would be LONGER than CFL's time here.....omg

I think he'll have a nervous breakdown and retire sooner if things keep going the way they are.....he certainly isn't a good enough floor coach to move up to a big time school....hell he's in over his head here......

Here's a plan....when Thorr leaves, kick Hurley upstairs to AD, he'd do a GREAT job, then bring Preston in as coach....just dreaming......

Now if someone could convince DH to do that......

Bone let's take a deep breath. Being critical of the coach for having an area of weakness as a coach and suggesting a way to possibly improve in a specific area seems in bounds to me. But we are way overstating the problem (not to mention fundamentally misunderstanding the problem) if we are all of a sudden going to convince ourselves that the coach is worthless.

Look, the Xs and Os has to be better or we will get stuck at a certain level as a program. But the guy is still, overall, an above average coach. Suggesting he should change careers is insane and makes our fan base look strange and comically out of touch with reality.

[rambone 78]

TP, agreed, it's just that we have expected so much better, and the realization that it might not happen is tough to take, especially since it's been so long since '99...........

[Billyboy78]

Is Dan willing to get rid of one of his current coaches to bring in a X and O guy?

[rambone 78]

We don't even know if he thinks he has a problem there......if he doesn't, then nothing will happen in any event...and we're screwed

[ramster]

At the rate he is going, Dan may end up in another position someday not far off......an AD's job might not be farfetched but I doubt he has an interest there......he said he doesn't want to coach past 50, well that's not that far away...but I hope we aren't stuck with him for 8 more years without an NCAA berth.....don't laugh.....that would be LONGER than CFL's time here.....omg

I think he'll have a nervous breakdown and retire sooner if things keep going the way they are.....he certainly isn't a good enough floor coach to move up to a big time school....hell he's in over his head here......

Here's a plan....when Thorr leaves, kick Hurley upstairs to AD, he'd do a GREAT job, then bring Preston in as coach....just dreaming......

Now if someone could convince DH to do that......

There is absolutely no way that Dan Hurley goes for that. He does not want to be the AD. He wants to be exactly what he is.

[josephski]

ramster - Monday mornings are tough but I'll try to respond to your updated post when I have a chance. Can't get to all of it right now.

DPS - like I said to ramster above, I don't think Hurley believes he is just rolling the balls out. That's both good (at least he knows you can't do that) and bad (we are seeing what they are capable of from a Xs and Os perspective and it isn't inspiring). The issue for me is the lack of sophistication and the lack of imagination. There is obviously an offensive system they teach, but it doesn't appear to have the types of wrinkles and derivatives that a sophisticated offense has. And maybe just philosophically, the system they use allows for too much of guys just standing in one spot and not enough attacking the defense with movement off the ball. How many times do we see a Ram and the ball arrive at a wide open hole in the defense at the exact same time for an easy basket or a clean look? The system instead looks to be predicated on trying to create a 2-1 way to attack off of ball screens and, failing that, on guys being able to break defenders down 1-on-1 from the wing. I just don't think that is creative enough with the way this team is constructed and what its strengths and weaknesses are. It feels like we are always playing chess matches with checkers strategies against well coached teams like PC. Watch Brad Steven's Celtic team and watch how many baskets in a given game they just scheme themselves into. It's a huge disadvantage to not be able to do that if you want to play at the level they want to play at.

honestly, thats the scariest part to me. It means he either doesnt realize, or doesnt want to accept a deficiency in his coaching.

and i phrased it a bit roughly, but the lack of sophistication is what I was getting at with the 'no system' thought. You need a base system, then you can add wrinkles on top of it.

The simplicity also makes them too easy to defend.

It definitely is scary. What is also scary is that if you look at some other young division 1 coaches they went from being an assistant coach for a number of years to a head coach which probably helped them more than Hurley's path.

Archie Miller: 8 years as an assistant coach at the division 1 level then got a head coaching job.
Will Wade: 2 years of GA/Director of basketball ops at d1 program then 6 years of being an assistant at d1 level before getting head coaching job.
Shaka Smart: 2 years as D2 assistant coach then 6 years as d1 assistant coach before head coaching job.
Bryce Drew: 6 years as assistant coach at d1 program before becoming a head coach.

Dan Hurley: 4 years as an assistant at a d1 program then 9 years as a high school basketball head coach before getting a head coaching job.

I could be wrong but I'd like to think that those four guys learned a lot by going straight from an assistant at a D1 program to becoming the head coach. High school basketball, whether it's prep school or public, is not the same as college. Hurley spending the majority of his coaching years at the high school level probably hurt his growth as a coach in my opinion.

[ramster]

This may shock you, and you can call me the Kool Aid Drinker, Pom Pom Man, Overly Optimistic, name it but:

There is not a single Head Coach in the A10 that I would rather have Coaching at URI than Dan Hurley. Not one. AND I certainly see no reason to change Head Coaches at this time or even talk about it.

Let the damn season play out, then assess at the end of the year. Give the Team, Players, Coaches and Head Coaches Performance Grades in April. Make decisions then.

If you have suggestions to Dan or to other Coaches then send them an email, talk to them after a game, they are very approachable.

If you have never talked to EC Mathews give it a chance. Talk to him after the Old Dominion Game or the William and Mary Game. He is a very nice guy. He loves the University of Rhode Island. I don't think he has a selfish bone in his body. He likes to talk to fans, especially young children. He will be a very successful person throughout his life.

[rambone 78]

I would take Archie Miller over Dan in a heartbeat......yeah the guy has had player issues...but he wins dammit......he took a team with NO depth and NO size to the Elite 8.......get back to me when Dan does that.

[rodfromcranston]

For reasons some here know, I do not communicate any longer with anyone in Kingston,
except Thorr on rare occasion.
I have spoken to most of our players prior to this year.
All really good kids, very polite. Guys we can be proud to say are Rams.
That doesn't mean they're all wonderful players.
Chrisitan Laettner was a prick, but in college, he was a great player,
competitor and winner.
Jordan and Kobe were not the nicest people, either.
As for coaches, I'd take McKillop, or Miller anytime in the A-10.
Has Hurley ever beaten Martelli? Maybe once? Not sure.

[rambone 78]

Let's see, as far as coaches.....men's and women's....Calhoun...prick.....Auriemma.....prick.....Calipari....same....Pitino....same....Coach K...sure can be....even Martelli is a douchenozzle at his own level...owns Hurley....Cooley too...oops....owns Hurley too.......

Get the picture? There are exceptions...like Izzo and McKillop...but for the most part...I''ll take a hardass over everyone's buddy every time!

Hardasses win....

[BleedBlue87]

For reasons some here know, I do not communicate any longer with anyone in Kingston,
except Thorr on rare occasion.
I have spoken to most of our players prior to this year.
All really good kids, very polite. Guys we can be proud to say are Rams.
That doesn't mean they're all wonderful players.
Chrisitan Laettner was a prick, but in college, he was a great player,
competitor and winner.
Jordan and Kobe were not the nicest people, either.
As for coaches, I'd take McKillop, or Miller anytime in the A-10.
Has Hurley ever beaten Martelli? Maybe once? Not sure.

I'm a big fan of McKillop. Great coach.

[rodfromcranston]

McKillup.like Izzo, is a great gentleman. Rare in good coaches.
Geez, look at football!
Belichick would get the shit beat out of him if he
wasn't a 4 time SuperBowl winner.
He talks to reporters like they're dirt.
Parcells, Lombardi, Ditka, all acid mouths.
Nick Saban, Jim Harbaugh, and most D-1 coaches
are the same. Not very nice people.
Red Auerback, Phil Jackson, and Greg Popovich were
hard asses. Pop still is.
Not many choirboys successful as coaches.
I was around Dan enough to know that he's not
Stanley Milquetoast, either.Maybe there's still hope.

[rambone 78]

Well, the turnaround has to start this week........

[Section104]

Does anyone like URI losses more than Rambone? Post counts skyrocket whenever the world appears to be ending. Keep up the great work!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[josephski]

This may shock you, and you can call me the Kool Aid Drinker, Pom Pom Man, Overly Optimistic, name it but:

There is not a single Head Coach in the A10 that I would rather have Coaching at URI than Dan Hurley. Not one. AND I certainly see no reason to change Head Coaches at this time or even talk about it.

Let the damn season play out, then assess at the end of the year. Give the Team, Players, Coaches and Head Coaches Performance Grades in April. Make decisions then.

If you have suggestions to Dan or to other Coaches then send them an email, talk to them after a game, they are very approachable.

If you have never talked to EC Mathews give it a chance. Talk to him after the Old Dominion Game or the William and Mary Game. He is a very nice guy. He loves the University of Rhode Island. I don't think he has a selfish bone in his body. He likes to talk to fans, especially young children. He will be a very successful person throughout his life.

Doesn't shock me. More or less confirms how delusional some of this fan base is.

Miller got a team to the NCAA tournament that was basically a 6 man rotation with the tallest guy being 6'7". If Hurley was ever in that same scenario people here would say Hurley exceeded expectations if he got 10 wins on the season.

[BleedBlue87]

@josephski some fans settle, some fans demand more.

[URI2006_Andy]

I complain to my dad about Hurley at nauseam but I would put Hurley in the top tier of A10 coaches. But we're not going to win anytime soon unless he makes better personnel decisions which I think are much more impactful than Xs and Os. When you play good teams, you can throw your offense out the window. It's a grind to score points (unless you have NBA talent) no matter how good your offensive scheme is or how many plays you may have drawn up. I think the biggest impact the coach has is with personnel adjustments and defining the roles of players and I felt Hurley blew it last year by playing Four over CT. In my opinion this year...

1. JT should be taking the most shots on this team. In 97-98 Harrick came in and turned Cutino into option #1. Wheeler's scoring average went down but the team got better. Similar move needs to be made here.

2. JG needs to come off the bench. I know I'll take some heat for this opinion because we all love his grit and he's played better than 2 guys who I would keep in the lineup over him. But bottom line is CT or SR taking that spot can make a huge difference on the defensive end.

3. There is no doubt HM can score when he gets the ball in the post. But our offense goes stagnant trying to get it into him. Against good teams, the formula is tough man defense and shoot 3s. We may not always make the shots but taking them coupled with spacing the floor will open things up inside a little more for HM who has proven he can score against good teams when given some space. And the reality is, if we aren't hitting shots, we won't beat good teams no matter how many points HM scores. Look at Duke, shot 3s to start the game very early in the shot clock, kicked it out for a 3 every chance they got whether off an offensive rebound or guard penetration.

[ramster]

I would take Archie Miller over Dan in a heartbeat......yeah the guy has had player issues...but he wins dammit......he took a team with NO depth and NO size to the Elite 8.......get back to me when Dan does that.

Let me change my statement. There might be some Coaches in the A10 I might consider if I was able to pick from the group of 14.

BUT, that is not logical because you can't trade Coaches. It is like the frequent comparing to Cooley. You can't exchange Colley with Hurley. It might be fun to talk about but it is not ever going to happen,

Hurley is among the top Coaches in the A10.

I'm fine with that.

[ramster]

This may shock you, and you can call me the Kool Aid Drinker, Pom Pom Man, Overly Optimistic, name it but:

There is not a single Head Coach in the A10 that I would rather have Coaching at URI than Dan Hurley. Not one. AND I certainly see no reason to change Head Coaches at this time or even talk about it.

Let the damn season play out, then assess at the end of the year. Give the Team, Players, Coaches and Head Coaches Performance Grades in April. Make decisions then.

If you have suggestions to Dan or to other Coaches then send them an email, talk to them after a game, they are very approachable.

If you have never talked to EC Mathews give it a chance. Talk to him after the Old Dominion Game or the William and Mary Game. He is a very nice guy. He loves the University of Rhode Island. I don't think he has a selfish bone in his body. He likes to talk to fans, especially young children. He will be a very successful person throughout his life.

Doesn't shock me. More or less confirms how delusional some of this fan base is.

Miller got a team to the NCAA tournament that was basically a 6 man rotation with the tallest guy being 6'7". If Hurley was ever in that same scenario people here would say Hurley exceeded expectations if he got 10 wins on the season.

Its about as delusional as so many posters here comparing Hurley to Baron. Amazing.

What I meant was I am happy with Hurley as the Coach here. He is far and away above Baron.

I can't change Hurley with Cooley, Mckillop, Miller, etc. Does he have room to improve? of course. Making the NCAA is the Goal. No year has that been more of a possibility since 1999 as this one.

[ramster]

HahahahahHAHAAHAHAHHAHA WHAT A BUNCH OF LOSERSSSSS YOU ALLL ARE
GO FRIARS - PC owns you losers

RanFanCO19,
Gotta hand it to ya,
Interesting history you have here............
- Joined the KeanyBlue Board 1 week ago
- Have 18 posts but 6 of those 8 came after tonight's URI loss and are nonsense
- Love how you criticized the Go Local Prov article - now you would have me betting even money that you wrote it
- Love this one "I think the Holt/Hassan match up is going to be the best one, that's prob an even fight". Pretty far off on that prediction but then I am sure you knew that - just endearing yourself to the Board and the Mods so you could get to tonight post game
- Love how you saw Cole Swider on campus............right


So good one RamFanCO19. You pulled it off. Can't blame our Mods for letting you sneak in, you "won" if that is what you like to think of as winning

But a few serious questions:
- How long ago did you plan this ruse? A year ago? 2 years ago? 2 weeks ago?
- Was it worth it? I mean, are you sitting in your mother's house basement celebrating your success?
- Do you post on the PC Board? Could it be that you were once banned from this Board in the past and now were able to return? Hmmm
- What do you do for a living? Serious question, I'd like to know

And for me, I don't care if you get banned or not. Your whole schtick is rather odd, strange, obtuse, but amusing at least for now

glad our Board was able to being some joy and fun into your life

So SeanMac,
Nice to see you have posted a new thread titled "revisionist history from the lamb fans" on the PC Board about a week after the PC Game, can you admit that you were this poster RamFanCO19 on our board after the game? It's also nice to see some PC fans telling you to drop it and the thread is boring.

HahahahahHAHAAHAHAHHAHA WHAT A BUNCH OF LOSERSSSSS YOU ALLL ARE
GO FRIARS - PC owns you losers

http://www.scout.com/college/providence ... -lamb-fans

[ATPTourFan]

That troll wasn't Sean.

[ramster]

Thanks for verifying ATP. It was quite sneaky though for whoever it was for getting on a week before, acting like a normal poster, then blasting away after the loss. I'll drop it.