KeaneyBlue - The URI Basketball Forum

This thought popped into my head, and I think there's a case to be made for nearly everyone on the roster.

I am leaning towards Andre Berry. I think he's truly been unbelievable in terms of expectations going into the season versus the reality of being our best inside scoring presence. He may not be all the way there defensively, but his value can't be understated. I can't imagine where we would be without Andre playing and scoring at the level he is right now.

Is it Fatts? I know he's gone cold lately but he's been a ball of energy and certainly gives hope for the years to come. He dropped 20 points in consecutive games, biggest of which was against a rival we haven't beaten since he was in 6th grade.

Jeff has been unbelievable in terms of true PG play and helping the offense to run.

Stan has become a jack of all trades and has won so many games by just out-toughing his matchup, especially playing against much bigger guys.

EC is coming back from an injury, you could make a case for him.

Jared has put this team on his back and single handedly provided us our most important win of the season.

Jarvis has become an off-the-bench leader and probably the biggest advantage we have over other teams. We have the 2 best point guards in the A10 on our roster, and one of them gets to go against the other team's backup.

I think there are multiple cases to be made, would be a good discussion to have.

Has to be Andre.

It could be any one of many...lots of upside surprises as noted above.... I REALLY love what Stan has done night in night out vs mostly bigger guys. But, thinking it has to be Andre. Of all the things that you could have told me before practices and the season started, the one that would have been hardest to believe is: "Berry will be a starter this year, his avg minutes will increase from less than 5 to almost 20, and no one will complain about it." Kudos to Mr. Berry for the fine job done so far...

Can definitely make a case for any of those guys, but in my mind its absolutely Berry. I NEVER saw this kind of output coming from him. The guy deserves so much credit for this senior year he is putting together. He proved me wrong, thats for damn sure.

Berry for me.

If you had said to me before the season: "Andre Berry will be our most important post player, will start and will play 20min a night" I would've laughed. And probably gotten upset because it would've meant the season got lost for some reason

But he is, and for the #11 RPI team angling for a 5-6 seed in the tournament.

Not only is he playing this much, he's a factor. Teams have to account for him on the block and that just opens so much up for the guards.

10/5 in 20 min a night from 2/0 in 5 min a night is remarkable and a testament to him.

He's the one that didnt take the easy way out and transfer to a lower conference to feast. He stuck it out, put in all the hours of work to improve and lose weight. He made himself into this.

Absolutely Andre. At first I was puzzled when Dan started him ahead of Cyril. But his footwork and soft hands offset his defensive liabilities. I should say, however, that Stan's performance on defense and the boards has made it possible for Andre to excel.

Andre 1st. Stan 2nd. Both have performed at a level that has elevated our ceiling for the year.

Rhody74 wrote:Absolutely Andre. At first I was puzzled when Dan started him ahead of Cyril. But his footwork and soft hands offset his defensive liabilities. I should say, however, that Stan's performance on defense and the boards has made it possible for Andre to excel.

The first two games of the season Cyril and Andre started together, but then the injuries started coming and Stan started playing tremendously, and obviously Cyril has come off the bench since being back. I have to believe the plan was to start them together but then Andre and Stan have been so good the plan changed.

Clearly, Andre has been motivated by being left off the banner.

(just kidding, Adam!)

Oops

I would have to say Andre. I'm not surprised how good he's been on offense. I am surprised how much better he is on D. He has worked his ass off and clearly earned that starting spot.

We are lucky Berry has been so good since Cyril has not progressed as much as I expected.

Andre has been a nice surprise. He has a soft touch and has been a big part of us winning games. However, outside of JT, Stan is the Man. That guy does everything. He’s 6’4 and guards guys 4” taller all the time. He may be our best defender, is our best rebounder and has turned himself into a pretty decent shooter. Love this kid! Glue guy! He is the reason why we can play 4 guards without much of a problem!! There are plenty worth mentioning but I just think he brings more than I thought a good defensive, slashing guard who couldn’t shoot that well I had read about was going to add.

Blue Man wrote:This thought popped into my head, and I think there's a case to be made for nearly everyone on the roster.

I am leaning towards Andre Berry. I think he's truly been unbelievable in terms of expectations going into the season versus the reality of being our best inside scoring presence. He may not be all the way there defensively, but his value can't be understated. I can't imagine where we would be without Andre playing and scoring at the level he is right now.

Is it Fatts? I know he's gone cold lately but he's been a ball of energy and certainly gives hope for the years to come. He dropped 20 points in consecutive games, biggest of which was against a rival we haven't beaten since he was in 6th grade.

Jeff has been unbelievable in terms of true PG play and helping the offense to run.

Stan has become a jack of all trades and has won so many games by just out-toughing his matchup, especially playing against much bigger guys.

EC is coming back from an injury, you could make a case for him.

Jared has put this team on his back and single handedly provided us our most important win of the season.

Jarvis has become an off-the-bench leader and probably the biggest advantage we have over other teams. We have the 2 best point guards in the A10 on our roster, and one of them gets to go against the other team's backup.

I think there are multiple cases to be made, would be a good discussion to have.

Is it Fatts? I know he's gone cold lately but he's been a ball of energy and certainly gives hope for the years to come. He dropped 20 points in consecutive games, biggest of which was against a rival we haven't beaten since he was in 6th grade. Hell no Fatts is my BOY!

Jeff has been unbelievable in terms of true PG play and helping the offense to run. This kid has been absolutely amazing. He slows the game down and puts all of our guys in perfect spots to score. Once his offense improves he will not only be the best PG in the conference he will be one of the very best in the country.

Stan has become a jack of all trades and has won so many games by just out-toughing his matchup, especially playing against much bigger guys. Stan is our MVP so far this year and it's not close for me.

EC is coming back from an injury, you could make a case for him. He quietly puts up 20 because he makes things look so easy. I expect him to explode in March.

Jared has put this team on his back and single handedly provided us our most important win of the season. Jared is my favorite player and has become our closer. I'm depressed that we only have one more year to watch him dominate.

Jarvis has become an off-the-bench leader and probably the biggest advantage we have over other teams. We have the 2 best point guards in the A10 on our roster, and one of them gets to go against the other team's backup. Jarvis knows when to take over and when to take a back seat. Kid is a stud.

Went with Berry also he has been a pleasant surprise

Would love to vote for all of these guys but it hands down has to go to Andre.

During his first years here, I remember most questioning Hurley giving him a scholarship.

So amazing to remember BERRY TIME last year where he would go in for a minute or two and compare it to him STARTING now.

ace wrote:Clearly, Andre has been motivated by being left off the banner.

(just kidding, Adam!)

So I think what you are trying to say is that I am responsible for Berry's strong season. YOU'RE WELCOME!

Dowtin to Berry makes me merry!!!!!

lol looks like a very close debate

I voted for Terell. Terell has been a top performer for our club since day one. Wether it’s his defense, hussel, leadership or scoring he has always brought something game in game out since his freshman year. This year he has just taken his game to another level. The type of level where he is securing victories just by being on the court. He in my opinion is the most irreplaceable player on our team and It’s not even close. I do agree with everybody that Andre has been a big surprise and has really given us some great performances in the paint. I wish he was able to give us even more minutes. I probably should have voted for Berry based on the surprise factor but Terell has just impressed me too much this season. I really think he has a shot at the NBA level.

Andre virually never puts the ball on the floor while Cyril puts it on the floor virtually every time he makes a move on offense. Once Cyril gets an offensive rebound he looks to right back up with the ball instead of looking for an open man. My hope is that he starts to look for the open man at least some of the time.

Good question BlueMan and isn't it great that we can have a question like this at this time of year AND have so many choices to pick from? As opposed to a Jim Baron 2.0 thread?
Coming into this year the big concern was replacing Iverson and Martin who were both Seniors and really picked up our team and carried it after the disastrous Fordham and LaSalle losses.
The starting line up was pretty unanimous in off season predictions as:
If 4 Guards: Mathews, Terrell, Dowtin (a few said Garrett), Robinson and Langevine
If 3 Guards: Mathews, Terrell, Dowtin, Langevine and Preston (some said Berry or Akele)

I had concerns about a 4 guard line up. The 4 guard line up has worked very well and has URI on the verge of entering the Top 25 - wow.
So most surprising to me is that we are virtually in the Top 25 and which individual has surprised me most with his play to get us there?

I have to say Stan Robinson #1 but it is a tough choice:
- Tough start of the season with the issue at the Migos concert in our own Ryan Center. Thankfully all behind us now but it was a significant distraction to the team, coaches, fans and especially to Stan. He battled his way into the Starting Line Up in spite of all that noise
- He is quiet, unassuming but a warrior on the court
- Who would have predicted the leading rebounder on the team would have been Stan? His 5.9 rebounds per game leads the team through 17 games.
- Stan is 18th in A10 Overall at 5.9 rpg and 23rd in Conference at 5.6 rpg. Langevine is 8.2 rpg for 5th in Conference only and Berry 18th in Conf only at 6.0 rpg
- Stan is 3rd in A10 in Steals for the season at 2.2 spg
- Defensively, Stan had handled the oppositions 4 man effectively. Stan has made the 4 guard line up work for Dan Hurley and the Team
- Stan was critical during the time that Langevine was hurt as well as when EC was hurt because we lose valuable rebounding from both EC and Cyril

#2 Choice would be Berry
- Heard great reports about how Berry dominated the scrimmage against Harvard (some think scrimmages are meaningless but this was a huge one for Berry to prove himself to himself, the Coaches and to his teammates)
- Dowtin to Berry sounds like a Football reference but Dowtin and Berry have connected beautifully
- Berry catches the ball so well
- Rebounding has been better than I expected
- Some nice blocked shots
- Takes up space down low and he has improved since the start of the season - has locked down the big man position
- Was critically important when Langevine got hut

#3 Choice would be Langevine
- Last game against UMASS he was immense. I spent a lot of time watching his most every move - impressive
- 5th in A10 Conference in rebounding at only 18.2 minutes per game. The 4 guys in front of him have 30,31,32 and 34 mpg each
- He has battled through a tough injury and made himself ready for A10 play
- He is 3rd in the A10 (Conference play) in Blocked shots - an unexpected result for me

#4 Dowtin
- 15-4 Record last season since entering the starting lineup following the losses to Dayton and LaSalle. Loses to Richmond, Dayton, Fordham and Oregon. Had a 9 game winning streak
- 14-3 record this season with losses to Virginia, Nevada and Alabama. Have a 9 game winning streak again this year and still going
- Team is 29-7 since Jeff became a starter with a 9 game current win streak
- A guy who did not come to URI as a PG and most said he wasn't a PG after his first few games at URI - now it's just wow
- He has demonstrated the potential to be a PG in the NBA
- Lock down defender who gets assigned the toughest guard and has been very effective at shutting down the opponent's best guard
- Assist to TO Ratio was great last year and this year
- Outstanding passer and keeps all the players on the floor moving, looking for the pass
- URI has maintained a strong record of 14-3 (compared to 15-4) with Jeff at PG even with the loss of both starting big men

#5 Jared Terrell
- His shooting accuracy has been good but really good this year
- 3 Point Percentage:
Freshman-31.9
Sophomore-34.7
Junior-34.6
Senior-41.9
- FT Percentage:
Freshman-71.4
Sophomore-75.0
Junior-75.0
Senior-85.5
- 41.9% on 3FG and 85.5% on FT are great numbers. Best of his career at URI. Shows how hard JT has worked at his game during the off season
- Looks confident, assuming a leadership role with the departure of Iverson and Martin
- Terrell uses the backboard as well as any player in College Basketball. Kind of a forgotten shooting style, he softly banks in shots from 10 feet in very effectively
- Paired with EC Mathews to make one of the most potent guard tandems in College Basketball. Paired with Dowtin and Robinson - wow

#6 Jarvis Garrett
- Love his attitude. Has had some tough injuries (mask) and illnesses
- Could have sulked and developed an attitude losing a starting spot but has been nothing close to that
- Brings energy, passing, leadership, good 3 point and FT shooting to the game, hustle on defense and many good steals
- Against UMASS Hurley had Garrett, Dowtin and Russell in the game at once to get great ball handling and FT shooting in the last minutes. Hurley as so many great weapons in his arsenal

#7 EC Mathews, Fatts Russell, Nikola Akela, Ryan Preston, Mike Layssard, Mike Tertsea - all the bench
- All have contributed in a positive way, all with great attitudes. Attitudes were often less than desirable
- The bench is always energized and positive. Sure winning helps with that but maybe winning is also because of that
- IN years prior to Hurley I did not see the bench players this way
- EC has played to expectations which for me are very high. His rebounding is a huge asset to this team. His ability to drive the lane and release his teardrop shot with great accuracy is awesome
- Russell shows his potential with 20-22 FTs for 91% as only a Freshman. He can shoot, pass, drive, play defense, energize the team and the crowd, lightning quick. On a team with 5 very, very good D1 Guards Fatts has found his way to average 18 minutes per game on a Top 25 team - says it all regarding the confidence Dan Hurley has in him
- Preston, Layssard and Tertsea are practicing with a top notch team, learning as they go, preparing for next season too much like Berry did. They can see what Berry did and want that for themselves too. That is why Berry makes such a great example for others.
- Christion Thompson also is positive on the bench. Learning, preparing for next season - he is a nice future asset for this team

GO RHODY

Wow, Ramster. I have to say that I am very impressed with your posts. I honestly think you should write a book about URI hoops.

terrell is now an nba prospect

without terrell we would have 2 -3 more losses

Berry was my choice. But can we please stop sounding on Nikola Akele?