Providence Journal and URI Hoops

Unread post by **SGreenwell** » 10 years ago

Billyboy78 wrote:
SGreenwell wrote:
Rhode_Island_Red wrote:We THINK he'll be a URI beat writer. What does the Providence College Journal think?
That is what he told me - Bill and I work together. Unless they're just lying to him about what his beat is going to be - URI and HS sports - then it seems highly likely that that's what he'll be doing. It's also a job that had a lot of applicants, and if they didn't want him to keep doing what he was doing, they had plenty of other options to consider.
So, if Bill is doing high school sports, where does that leave Gilooly?

I might be mistaken, but I believe the plan is to have two people on that beat, whereas they had been making due with just one lately.

Ashcat · Unread post by **Ashcat** » 10 years ago

I always enjoyed Bill's contributions in the Independent and just resubscribed to the ProJo. I hope I'm not disappointed.

Unread post by **ATPTourFan** » 10 years ago

I may have to get an e-sub To projo this season.

Iggy1979 · Unread post by **Iggy1979** » 10 years ago

I believe Bill replaces Carolyn Thornton, who also did high school sports.

Ramulous · Unread post by **Ramulous** » 10 years ago

I will miss Carolyn Thornton!!!

Unread post by **SGreenwell** » 10 years ago

To bump this thread back up - Ran into Bill today at the ole coffee shop, and he said he would be having a Twitter chat on Monday night, at 7. It'll be his last for the Independent. He did post some observations from Rams' practice on Friday on his Twitter, and on Tuesday, he'll be going to the A-10 media day. His account: https://twitter.com/BillKoch25

Unread post by **ATPTourFan** » 10 years ago

Sweet! I hope to participate with my iphone (5s) which arrives Monday.

bressler3south · Unread post by **bressler3south** » 10 years ago

Ramulous wrote:I will miss Carolyn Thornton!!!

What happened to her?

Ramulous · Unread post by **Ramulous** » 10 years ago

Let go in the purge

EGram · Unread post by **EGram** » 10 years ago

My father had a business meeting with the projo brass back in 93. One projo guy told him the era of print media was at an end, that newspapers would be on life support at best in 15-20 years.

Personally there's something I like about actual physical newspapers.

It's a shame Projo could not change with the times better. Look at the Guardian, went from being the 12th biggest newspaper in England, to one of the biggest news organizations in the usa and the whole world.

bressler3south · Unread post by **bressler3south** » 10 years ago

Ramulous wrote:Let go in the purge

Yet, Billy K. gets the nod….albeit at the new owner's much lower pay scale than what Belo paid.

Ramblinrose · Unread post by **Ramblinrose** » 10 years ago

Koch should do a fine job on URI. It's a good move for both parties. Of course it is classic Projo that they dumped their only female sports staffer, who'd been there 20 years or so.

Seawrightspostgame · Unread post by **Seawrightspostgame** » 10 years ago

Does the Projo have a quota on jabs toward URI?

"URI booked a Floridian named Ace Hood. This is how he rolls. He attracted a crowd of over 3,000 that nearly filled the bottom bowl of the Ryan Center. That’s better than many Ram games so this is good." - Kmac

What is the need to say this?

bigappleram · Unread post by **bigappleram** » 10 years ago

That whole article was laced with passive-aggressive put downs of URI. Even in an article that should be celebrating what was a positive event. He's a d-bag and always has been. Luckily he's irrelevant outside of a 10 mile radius.

ace · Unread post by **ace** » 10 years ago

To be honest, the whole article seemed more of a whine-fest in general- the NCAA is stupid, kids today are stupid, hop music is stupid, dunk contests are stupid.

Billyboy78 · Unread post by **Billyboy78** » 10 years ago

where is this article?

ace · Unread post by **ace** » 10 years ago

Click the link in here. Posting a direct link here will result in a big picture of Bentil.

Ram Stampede!!! · Unread post by **Ram Stampede!!!** » 10 years ago

I smell fear within your sour grapes K-Mac.... you stink like a decomposing Friar...

Unread post by **ATPTourFan** » 10 years ago

Seawrightspostgame wrote:Does the Projo have a quota on jabs toward URI?

"URI booked a Floridian named Ace Hood. This is how he rolls. He attracted a crowd of over 3,000 that nearly filled the bottom bowl of the Ryan Center. That’s better than many Ram games so this is good." - Kmac

What is the need to say this?

Lazy. He would be right to say that 3000 is larger than the usual student turnout at games, but it reads like it's larger than total game attendance.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 10 years ago

Maybe Kevie only went to those stinky NIT games at the Ryan?

Unread post by **ATPTourFan** » 10 years ago

Pretty sure Rhody Madness attendance was twice the capacity of PC's Alumni Hall this year.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 10 years ago

Kevie can now stick to covering his one and only favorite team.

Bill K. gets the good gig this year!

twisted3829 · Unread post by **twisted3829** » 10 years ago

i'll be so happy when Bill Koch takes over the URI coverage and I don't have to read KMac

Ramblinrose · Unread post by **Ramblinrose** » 10 years ago

If you know Kmac, you know his favorite team is the Syracuse Orange.

Rhode_Island_Red · Unread post by **Rhode_Island_Red** » 10 years ago

Ramblinrose wrote:If you know Kmac, you know his favorite team is the Syracuse Orange.

Right. He just takes whatever comes out of the Pee-C sports information office and puts his byline on it.

hrstrat57 · Unread post by **hrstrat57** » 10 years ago

I only read the PJ when I get it free at my local pharmacy so thanks for the linky.

Billyboy78 · Unread post by **Billyboy78** » 10 years ago

twisted3829 wrote:i'll be so happy when Bill Koch takes over the URI coverage and I don't have to read KMac

He starts at the Projo tomorrow.

Iggy1979 · Unread post by **Iggy1979** » 10 years ago

URI did not have a home game under 3000 last year, so that line is simply wrong.
While I agree with KMac on the Bentil issue, he's only become interested because it's impacting PC. Don't remember him complaining about Iffy two years ago.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 10 years ago

Not true. They had 869 people with one of the NIT games vs. UNC Ashville,
and 858 in the next game vs. McNeese State..

Unread post by **ATPTourFan** » 10 years ago

Iggy1979 wrote:URI did not have a home game under 3000 last year, so that line is simply wrong.
While I agree with KMac on the Bentil issue, he's only become interested because it's impacting PC. Don't remember him complaining about Iffy two years ago.

As I said above, KMac was just being lazy in his phrasing. He was no doubt talking about the STUDENT component of our attendance figures in regular season. 3000+ students at any one game has happened maybe twice ever? He wrote it in a way that suggests that 3000 all-in attendance is better than the norm which is damaging to URI's perception.

Obadiah · Unread post by **Obadiah** » 10 years ago

KMac perspective was superficial at best. The fact is student allotment for tickets at URI is 1500. The only reason student attendance has exceeded 1500 students for some games is that the forecasted ticket sales for that particular game was low enough to permit more students to attend, since the seats would have been empty otherwise. So no lost revenue is incurred.

With program success, especially strong success, expect to see the 1500 level not exceeded. If URI can sellout games, why would they ever increase the 1500 student allotment and sacrifice the revenue of selling those seats. If URI can show program success, the first sign of increased student demand will be long lines to get student tickets which will then morph into overnight tent cities. Then the 1500 allotment will be firmly capped, so any student shut out can only get into Ryan by purchasing a ticket like any other fan. With even more demand pressure, the previously free student ticket may involve a small charge. BTW, this is exactly the situation students at Duke face for every game given the success of that program and the capacity limitations of Cameron Indoor.

Strong sustained court success at URI will also affect season ticket holders - priority points and good seats will be more closely tied together, a cap on the number of tickets a person buy will be enforced, and then possibly a minimum "licensing" fee will be required to buy a season ticket. At Duke you cannot buy a season ticket unless you give a minimum of $6500 annually to that program.

Today URI is a long way from that scenario, but if URI can achieve a level of court success never seen in the history of the Ryan Center, then expected big changes in how tickets are sold.

Iggy1979 · Unread post by **Iggy1979** » 10 years ago

You can read 10 stories on a month on the PRojo website for free. So you could read all the advances OR all the game stories, for instance.

bigappleram · Unread post by **bigappleram** » 10 years ago

KMac is PCs beat writer, and not even a very good one at that. He's a hack who would be unemployed if he didn't stay in his little RI fish bowl.

Unread post by **ATPTourFan** » 10 years ago

Iggy1979 wrote:You can read 10 stories on a month on the PRojo website for free. So you could read all the advances OR all the game stories, for instance.

I will consider getting an eSubscription especially once I start seeing some Koch stuff pop up in the paper or website.

RF1 · Unread post by **RF1** » 10 years ago

http://www.providencejournal.com/sports ... roduce.ece

Rhody74 · Unread post by **Rhody74** » 10 years ago

Bunky's a master at stating the obvious.

hrstrat57 · Unread post by **hrstrat57** » 10 years ago

Yep but in this case his obvious is spot on. This team needs 20 wins bottom line.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 10 years ago

I had no problem with anything Bill wrote.
The misleading headline was not his doing, and that was the only
contentious part of the article.
Dan has his players, and now it's time to get some wins, as a result
of his recruiting.

Ramblinrose · Unread post by **Ramblinrose** » 10 years ago

Exactly. Third year, let's see results. A lot of people were giddy about 14 wins last year. That will not cut it this year. Baron left the cupboard bare but it's time for 20-plus wins.

RoadyJay · Unread post by **RoadyJay** » 10 years ago

I'm not going to say 20+ wins is a must for this season....

I think with 18 wins (+4 from last year) I would argue the turnaround is still on track. Anything less than 18 and I will be disappointed.

Realistically we should be able to get 7-8 wins in the NC schedule and 10-11 wins in the A10 schedule. 17-19 wins going into the conference tournament is realistic/achievable.

1-2 wins in the A10 tournament is also a fair expectation.

That comes out to 18-21 wins... If we achieve this, all is well in my mind.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 10 years ago

Giddy with 14 wins? Are you serious?

We lost 7 games by 5 points or less, in many ways, the worst being FT shooting.

20 wins this year is a must with this group.

I can live with us not making the NCAA's this season, as long as we're at least in the conversation in February. If we don't, EC won't be going pro for at least another year. Even if we do, I think he'll stick around.

In 2015-16, I fully expect us to Dance. Nothing less.

RoadyJay · Unread post by **RoadyJay** » 10 years ago

I think we have a shot to get to 20 wins.. I just don't see how it is a MUST... MUST how?

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 10 years ago

Okay, maybe "must" isn't the right word, but I think it's VERY important we get there this season.

In other words, we have to start winning more than 50% of the close games, especially against better competition.

If we do that, then I think 20 wins should be doable. Of course, that means the roster stays intact and their are no major injuries to key players. Stating the obvious, but....

I'm confident we get there. Anything over 20 wins, means we've exceeded expectations and would be awesome!

Should be a very interesting prediction contest this season.

adam914 · Unread post by **adam914** » 10 years ago

Let's be a little careful with the "20 wins" benchmark and think about/look at the schedule before calling for 20 wins. We are only playing 29 games this year, so that would be a 20-9 record. with 11 OOC games, assuming we win the games we "should" win we are probably looking at something like 7-4, maybe 8-3 at best unless we pull off some upsets.

That would mean that in conference we would have to go 13-5, which would likely be good enough for top 2 or 3 in the conference. 20 wins may not be as "easy" as it sounds. I think RoadyJay may be more on track with the 18 number. Of course I think we COULD win 20 as well, just would have to have alot of things go right to get there I think.

But hell, I hope I am way off and we win 'em all!

Billyboy78 · Unread post by **Billyboy78** » 10 years ago

You guys are giving away your record predictions....

hrstrat57 · Unread post by **hrstrat57** » 10 years ago

20-9 is what I am looking for.....and it is never easy!

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 10 years ago

This year, the prediction contest is even more dubious.
Why? Not a single chance to see this team on the floor as a unit
and get some idea of what to expect.
I'll sit it out again. Without at least seeing a single exhibition game, how
is it more than a guessing contest?

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 10 years ago

It is a guessing contest, but you don't have to put anything up and you can win something. Plus it's fun to follow during the year.

Seawrightspostgame · Unread post by **Seawrightspostgame** » 10 years ago

They are going to get a Conference tourney game. So the team will play 30 games at the least. Win 2/3?

Always hear how the season is expanded and 20 wins isn't what it used to be.

I think 18-20 wins is good, less is bad, more is great.

Ramblinrose · Unread post by **Ramblinrose** » 10 years ago

20 wins at the least. Time to make this a serious program. 1999 was a long time ago.