A huge need for the Rams...

[Ramulous]

....are lights out shooters from distance.....we need someone who is a reasonable facsimile of Jimmy Baron....there is no one on the roster for this year and next year who fits the bill....in my opinion.

[Billyboy78]

....are lights out shooters from distance.....we need someone who is a reasonable facsimile of Jimmy Baron....there is no one on the roster for this year and next year who fits the bill....in my opinion.

They won't need one as much next year as they will have an inside game and should be able to get out on the break and run a little. But, yes,still, a shooter is the #1 priority for one of the remaining scholarships for '13.

[Iggy1979]

Agreed. Need a shooter and Hurley knows this.

[rodfromcranston]

Too bad Severe's AAU coach is urging him to keep his options open.
He'd be the man for the job, by all reports.

[bkrichmond]

Will this hypothetical shooter give effort at the defensive end? We have all seen that Malesevic has offensive talent that can help this team at that end of the floor, but he would never be the type of player Hurley would recruit because he doesn't defend or rebound. Unfortunately, great shooters usually come with a caveat.

[Billyboy78]

Will this hypothetical shooter give effort at the defensive end? We have all seen that Malesevic has offensive talent that can help this team at that end of the floor, but he would never be the type of player Hurley would recruit because he doesn't defend or rebound. Unfortunately, great shooters usually come with a caveat.

The problem with Nik is, he can't seem to shoot anymore either.

[woodennickel1]

....are lights out shooters from distance.....we need someone who is a reasonable facsimile of Jimmy Baron....there is no one on the roster for this year and next year who fits the bill....in my opinion.

Every team in America would like having a shooter like Jimmy Baron not very easy to come by .

[SGreenwell]

Will this hypothetical shooter give effort at the defensive end? We have all seen that Malesevic has offensive talent that can help this team at that end of the floor, but he would never be the type of player Hurley would recruit because he doesn't defend or rebound. Unfortunately, great shooters usually come with a caveat.

The problem with Nik is, he can't seem to shoot anymore either.

I think he's always been a bit of an erratic shooters, vs. a pure shooter like Jimmy Baron, or even a guy like Akeem Richmond his freshman year. Most good 3-point shooters tend to also be good from the line, and Malesevic hasn't been good at the line. I'm not a scout, so I'm not sure if it's mental or physical, but he seems to struggle with consistency in all aspects of his game - controlling his emotions on the court, hitting open and contested looks, giving defensive effort, etc. I also wonder how good he was to begin with, since he barely played as a freshman, after all, so it's not like he was a highly regarded recruit.

[bkrichmond]

....are lights out shooters from distance.....we need someone who is a reasonable facsimile of Jimmy Baron....there is no one on the roster for this year and next year who fits the bill....in my opinion.

Every team in America would like having a shooter like Jimmy Baron not very easy to come by .

And when Jimmy Baron was here, all anyone said was that he couldn't get his own shot, couldn't defend, couldn't handle the ball, etc. Shooters -- the type of elite, do-it-all players who also happen to shoot very well -- are very difficult to come by.
Would you be happy if Akeem Richmond was still here? He could certainly shoot the ball, but I seem to recall more than one poster on this board finding plenty wrong with his game.

[CTRamfan]

Richmond's minutes are decreasing at East Carolina......Not sure is he is injured? Good 3pt %, but not a lot of playing time.
Billy was special as a deep threat. He played with a very talented group though. He was just one part of the loaded teams that he was on here.

[ramster]

Richmond's minutes are decreasing at East Carolina......Not sure is he is injured? Good 3pt %, but not a lot of playing time.
Billy was special as a deep threat. He played with a very talented group though. He was just one part of the loaded teams that he was on here.

I think you meant "Jimmy" for Billy above.

WASHINGTON & LEE 17 min 3-4 .750
METHODIST 18 min 0-3 .000
UNCG 16 min 4-8 .500
APPALACHIAN STATE 11 min 2-4 .500
at Georgia State 10 min 1-4 .250
at Charlotte 9 min 0-4 .000
ST. ANDREWS 19 min 5-10 .500
Totals......................... 15-37 .405 On 3 Point Shooting

I never thought of Akeem as a great 3 point shooter but more of a scorer.
His mest game this year was his last one in a 111-59 drubbing of St Andrew's (0-9). Akeem has his best game of the year hitting 5-10 three's.
Against future URI opponents Georgia State and Charlottle, Akeem went 1-4 and 0-4 respectively for a total 1-8.
I have never seen a "3 point shooter" have as many air balls as Akeem would throw up and sometimes they would even clang off the backboard without even hitting the rim. When he was hot he was hot, and his shots would drain beautifully but when he was cold - well, very very cold as in the UNC game.
He has not started a game with East Carolina as yet.

[CTRamfan]

Opps Jimmy....A senior moment, was just reading the Canisius/Fairfield box score.

Looks like JB has a good group. 5-1 to date.

[Ramulous]

I mean a specialist.....like a lefty reliever in baseball......someone to come in and make the opposing team change out of a zone defense....I don't care if the other aspects are a bit suspect...

[RF1]

URI is ranked 330th in FG shooting percentage (.376) for D1 schools (347). It needs more than just one scorer.

[rodfromcranston]

I think we're assuming some of the herd of newbies can
score the basketball.
None of them is a knockdown pure zone busting shooter, though.
Here's the ugly truth:
Hare - 55.6%
Bigby - 50%
Aaman - 42.9%
Nik - 38.8%
Brooks - 38.5%
Muford - 38.4%
Malone- 38%
Powell - 27.9%
TJ - 12.5% !!!!!!
Team average - 37.6%
Opponents - 41.2% Best I can ever remember.
Worst ever shooting percentages in my 97 years watching Rams basketball.

[rodfromcranston]

[ATPTourFan]

Our Rams gave up 47.5% FG shooting to opponents last year, 324th in D1!!. This year, against better competition, and with a limited roster, is showing a huge improvement.

This year's 41%FG shooting by opponents is actually not bad. Good for 5th in A10 and 119th in D1.

[rodfromcranston]

My point was, they're getting the job done on defense.
As Bobby said, no magic dust for the offense.

[Matunuck]

Nik's shot has not been the same since he punched the locker last year. Most of his shots have little or no rotation.

[ramster]

Nik's shot has not been the same since he punched the locker last year. Most of his shots have little or no rotation.

agree, and he does not seem to have confidence in his release.

[Rhodymob05]

no no no, we need inside offense!!! shooting we have and always had. inside outside basketball doesnt exsist because BROOKS was the only forward to back down a defender and atempt a shot in the paint. Doing this forces the guards to double down which.......gives our guards more open shots. Its the most important offensive method in basketball. It creates more ball movement and better shot selection. If I was a recruiter I would go straight for GOOD dow low players who can create shots in the paint. I played basketball my whole life, my father has coached at every level except professinally so I know the game inside and out. We havent had a good low post player since SEAWRIGHT which helped JIMMY get shots. thats it fellas. (no spell check so excuse my grammar)

[Billyboy78]

Nik's shot has not been the same since he punched the locker last year. Most of his shots have little or no rotation.

I agree on the rotation. I've noticed that too. I've also mentioned in the past that he's bulked up a little bit since his sophomore year, not always a good thing for a shooter. No, he's not ready for a body building competition, but even just a little bit of added bulk in the shoulder area can change a guys shot, including his release point. Nik was one of the top 3 point shooters in the country his sophomore year, in or somewhere near the top 10. He has not been the same since, even before he broke his hand.

[twisted3829]

no no no, we need inside offense!!! shooting we have and always had. inside outside basketball doesnt exsist because BROOKS was the only forward to back down a defender and atempt a shot in the paint. Doing this forces the guards to double down which.......gives our guards more open shots. Its the most important offensive method in basketball. It creates more ball movement and better shot selection. If I was a recruiter I would go straight for GOOD dow low players who can create shots in the paint. I played basketball my whole life, my father has coached at every level except professinally so I know the game inside and out. We havent had a good low post player since SEAWRIGHT which helped JIMMY get shots. thats it fellas. (no spell check so excuse my grammar)

you have Gil and Big O sitting out and Hurley already said Big O is the best low post player we have

[Rhodymob05]

no no no, we need inside offense!!! shooting we have and always had. inside outside basketball doesnt exsist because BROOKS was the only forward to back down a defender and atempt a shot in the paint. Doing this forces the guards to double down which.......gives our guards more open shots. Its the most important offensive method in basketball. It creates more ball movement and better shot selection. If I was a recruiter I would go straight for GOOD dow low players who can create shots in the paint. I played basketball my whole life, my father has coached at every level except professinally so I know the game inside and out. We havent had a good low post player since SEAWRIGHT which helped JIMMY get shots. thats it fellas. (no spell check so excuse my grammar)

you have Gil and Big O sitting out and Hurley already said Big O is the best low post player we have

youre right on that I was talking more about this season and noticing how bad we need those players

[Iggy1979]

Nik's biggest problem is he's not coach able. He's the one player Hurley can't get through to.

[Rhody72]

You need to score as a team in a variety of ways.

I believe that we are playing the style that we need to play in the future rather than the style that is best suited for this year's team. This team would be better off having 5 players rebound on defense. We are leaving too many opponents open for second chance points off rebounds.

[ATPTourFan]

Like how Baron set up his teams in the first few years of the Ryan Center... everyone crash the boards!!!

[reef]

Always need good knock down shooters from 3 point land, hopefully DH can find one

[Gonebarongone]

My point was, they're getting the job done on defense.
As Bobby said, no magic dust for the offense.

It really depends on what you mean by that. They are #210 in the country in defensive efficiency, which isn't terrible but bottom half. Broken into components.

1 Effective FG% on defense.
2. Turnover rate
3. Offensive boards given up.

Their effective fg% on D is 46% which is pretty good but they don't get turnovers (#247) and they get KILLED on the boards while playing defense (#307). I think these are all tempo neutral so it accounts for a lower tempo game. So, I would agree that they play decent defense in a halfcourt set but finishing the possession by either getting a TO or a rebound is part of the picture.

Throwing a 41% stat out there doesn't tell me a thing. In fact, it is pretty misleading.

[Blue Man]

All our needs are on the bench right now.

[rodfromcranston]

41% means the opponents shoot 41%.
What's so hard or misleading about that?
What are you going to deny that?
12.1 TOs for the opponents and 11.7 for us.
The rebound margin is 6, which isn't overwhelming.

[Gonebarongone]

41% means the opponents shoot 41%.
What's so hard or misleading about that?
What are you going to deny that?
12.1 TOs for the opponents and 11.7 for us.
The rebound margin is 6, which isn't overwhelming.

1. I guess I shouldn't infer what he was trying to say. My point is that you could play great defense and give up 41% or play horrible D and give up 41%. You said they are getting it done on defense. They are not.

2. 12.1 turnovers is not good. Bottom half nationally. 11.7 for Rhody just means that they are taking care of the ball on offense. But, we are not talking about offense.

3. If you don't think giving up offensive boards on defense is a problem, I don't know what to tell you. For every 100 defensive rebounding opportunities, they give up 38 offensive rebounds. That's rough.

Again, not getting it done. Now, there are reasons for it. Young big guys, new coach, whatever. I didn't expect them to play great D 10 games into a new regime but they are not playing good D right now.

[Issac]

I have no doubt that Hurley will get the job done at URI, but he is no magician and some here exaggerate what he has accomplished as a reaction to the past regime. Yes, this team unlike last year's is energized, they dive for balls, they scrap wherever possible. But hustle should not be confused with good defense. I have seen every game this season and there are still lapses on defense. To their credit this year's team is hampered by a poor front court and a low post presence. That was not the case last year and we tend to ignore the loss of both Holton and Outerbridge and Jamal Wilson before he was booted. When you consider those losses, this team is doing a credible job, but it still does not add up to a good defense.