'14 JUCO PF Earl Watson (URI JUCO Transfer)

[SlyWilliamsCaddy]

Went to the coaches show at the mews last night and ran into a buddy of mine who works at the RC. he said that hes seen Earl in practice a couple times and that hes a big body who moves really well and can jump through the roof. he also said that in a little scrimmage earlier this week, earl swatted a walkons shot into the "200 section". that being said, he said he looks more like jarelles height (6'6ish) then If or Gils size. Buts hes def a widebody and hes very strong. So going foward looking at our roster makeup; i know everybody is in agreement that we need another wing/guard who can shoot the ball but im thinking the most important piece to add right now is Rokas. Assuming that Hare isnt coming back and with the departure of Mike, we have depth for our inside guys but we really have no size. There isnt a dominating big man/center in the A10 right now, but if we have to go up against a team in OOC play that has a big we really arent gonna have any answer for it. Gil and If are 6'8, hassy is 6'7, Earl and Jarelle 6'6. I know we can get by on that but i really think adding some size in case we have to go up against a 7 footer is imperative. we all know how gil has struggled with foul trouble this season and i think being able to have another big body to absorb some of those fouls would really help in the long run. thoughts??

[Rhodymob05]

St Bonnie's have a agile and skilled 7 footer who hurt us. Our guard play won the game but that's someone who we had trouble with. We need another hare. That's my personal opinion.

[Iggy1979]

I think Rokas is the priority for all those reasons.

[UCH21377]

I'd prefer a wing player that can score, to help replace X, and compliment EC. But another big would be nice too for sure.

[rambone 78]

I'll take both. Not greedy, huh?

We need to get one of them at least. I think we will.

[Billyboy78]

With most likely 3 schollies available, I would hope to get both. If by some miracle, Hare comes back, that adds a big. Then #1 priority is a wing scorer.

[RIFan]

We could really use both.

How do we make up 17 PPG? A cynic would say it will come from everyone who didn't get the ball because X was shooting too much...I'm not in that camp.

Are we better with a true PG running things? That might help offset some of the lost points. Will the improvement is EC, HM, Gil, JR and the rest of the guys make it up? How many PPG will JG contribute? I don't expect a ton of points from Earl or The Big O. Does Butler have a breakout year?

I know they say the 2 most important positions are the 1 & 5...but I would feel better if we added a scorer. Maybe JG is the answer to two problems (PG and scorer)...we'll see.

[ATPTourFan]

[twisted3829]

Nothing is for sure, but word from the inside is that he isn't coming back. Things can always change, but it sounds like we have moved on.

forgot we were talking about hare, had a mini heart attack thinking it was Watson not coming back

[Iggy1979]

We could really use both.

How do we make up 17 PPG? A cynic would say it will come from everyone who didn't get the ball because X was shooting too much...I'm not in that camp.

Are we better with a true PG running things? That might help offset some of the lost points. Will the improvement is EC, HM, Gil, JR and the rest of the guys make it up? How many PPG will JG contribute? I don't expect a ton of points from Earl or The Big O. Does Butler have a breakout year?

I know they say the 2 most important positions are the 1 & 5...but I would feel better if we added a scorer. Maybe JG is the answer to two problems (PG and scorer)...we'll see.

We're worried about 17 points? Really? If we get 18 ppg from EC, 10 from Martin, 13 from Gil, 8 from JR and Biggie and 7 from Garrett; that's 19 more points. And that doesn't include Iffy, Watson or any other potential additions.

[rambone 78]

Not worried about the 17 points.

More worried about getting another good shooter/defender in here. Yes, X could be streaky, but when he was on, he carried the team. Replacing that, could be tough.

Garrett should help with the shooting, in time.

[Keaney.Blue]

Played against him this weekend and thought I'd give a few observarions:

-Around 6' 7" or 6' 8" and a thick kid. He's very strong and uses his body well
-Works HARD on the glass, effort rebounder
-Didn't see much in the way of post moves, I blocked him once and I don't think he was used to playing someone taller. But I was told he has a baby hook over his left shoulder
-Surprisingly good ball handling
-I think he'll be a welcome addition to the rotation and if he can tone his frame and develop an inside presence he could be a solid contributor for us

[adam914]

Good insight, thank you!

[twisted3829]

did you get to play with anyone else or just Watson?

[Keaney.Blue]

did you get to play with anyone else or just Watson?

A bunch of former players came back and played pickup with the guys in summer school. EC, Jarrell, Biggy, Earl and Matt Butler were there, it was a great time

[ATPTourFan]

Awesome report!

[theblueram]

Did Keith Cothran come up? Was wondering how he is doing.

[bigappleram]

wait, you're taller than 6'8? are you a former player and i missed that info entirely!

[Seawrightspostgame]

I was thinking will Martell. My guy, I had a few with him last winter but took a second to explain how I knew it was him? Because we've had so many 7 footers in the past.......100 years.

[NJ03]

I pass by Will every morning in downtown NYC outside the World Trade on my walk to work. You literally can't miss him even with thousands of people all fighting to pass through one narrow stretch.

[bigappleram]

I was the last to the party. All you Rhody folks way downtown I guess, if you come to shake shack to grab a burger let me know! Bring Will!!!

[Keaney.Blue]

haha it's probably an easy guess after I said I'm over 6' 8"! I'm working in midtown now, you'll have to catch me around Grand Central.

I'll be back up to Rhody to play with the guys in a few weeks, I'll hopefully have a report afterwards of how the new guys played.

I will say this weekend EC was clearly the most talented of the young guys. Extremely hard to guard and a great attitude.

[Rhody74]

I guess we'll have to be careful what we say about Will Martell. It's great to see former players staying close to the program, even when there's been a change in coaches. Who else was at the scrimmage?

[Keaney.Blue]

I guess we'll have to be careful what we say about Will Martell. It's great to see former players staying close to the program, even when there's been a change in coaches. Who else was at the scrimmage?

Ha! Say what you want, if you search my name on youtube there's a video called "Will Martell sucks"...when I'm hanging around with my buddies on a Sat night we'll watch it when we need a good laugh. No hard feelings, it's part of sports.

Alumni at the gym - Me, Marquis, Kahiem, Parfait, Jason Francis, Ant Malhoit

We're hoping to get back a few more guys next time up after a successful run this time. A few guys couldn't make it last second, we'll have a bunch up in July

[ramfan85]

I guess we'll have to be careful what we say about Will Martell. It's great to see former players staying close to the program, even when there's been a change in coaches. Who else was at the scrimmage?

Ha! Say what you want, if you search my name on youtube there's a video called "Will Martell sucks"...when I'm hanging around with my buddies on a Sat night we'll watch it when we need a good laugh. No hard feelings, it's part of sports.

Alumni at the gym - Me, Marquis, Kahiem, Parfait, Jason Francis, Ant Malhoit

We're hoping to get back a few more guys next time up after a successful run this time. A few guys couldn't make it last second, we'll have a bunch up in July

Great attitude, Will.
As for a scrimmage, I'll bet a lot of fans would love to see a game between our current team and "Will's Warriors."

[Iggy1979]

Will Martell improved as much from freshmen year to junior year as anyone I can remember, all through hard work

[rodfromcranston]

With all due respect to Will, my vote for most improved from
beginning to end is Michael Anderson.
He went from, not being able to walk and chew gum at the same time,
to a very serviceable center.
He was on a roll until he got sucker punched by Garces, and was never quite the same afterwards.

[EGram]

I was only 9 or so at the time, but the hate Anderson got from some URI fans at games was unbelievable. Granted, the way he would always takes soft layup/2 footers instead of attacking the rim was very frustrating.

I honestly thought he had a shot at the NBA by the time he graduated however.