Recruits

section(105) · Unread post by **section(105)** » 8 years ago

Just asking......has the quality of the recruits gone up to the degree we were expecting with Hurley coming to Town?

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 8 years ago

I answered that question in the general Recruiting Discussion thread in Recruiting Corner......

Billyboy78 · Unread post by **Billyboy78** » 8 years ago

The '15 and '16 classes do not have a 4* player like the '13 and '14 class did. Not that ratings mean everything, but as far as how highly regarded they are coming out of high school, I'd say the first two classes were more highly regarded. I don't know why. Nor do I know if that answers your question..

RIFan · Unread post by **RIFan** » 8 years ago

I was not a popular person for pointing that out a few months ago, while asking the same question.

adam914 · Unread post by **adam914** » 8 years ago

section(105) wrote:Just asking......has the quality of the recruits gone up to the degree we were expecting with Hurley coming to Town?

Yes

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 8 years ago

If you're talking about the RATINGS of the recruits, yes.

If you're talking about have they performed up to the expectations associated with those ratings, no.

sf2010 · Unread post by **sf2010** » 8 years ago

Honestly, I think JT is getting judged pretty harshly here recently. He is hot and cold offensively (more cold than hot unfortunately this year), but dude is a hardcore lockdown perimeter defender. People have said "He doesn't score like a 4*!" But how many 4* players defend like he does? Players add value in different ways. I hope he gets better offensively, but I don't expect him to ever shoot 45%fgs/38% from 3. I've always though his offensive ceiling was around 40%/33% from 3. His defense is tremendous and has been since day one of him putting on a Rhody uniform. It's not like the kid has been a bust.

rhodyrudder · Unread post by **rhodyrudder** » 8 years ago

Which guys were guarding bacote and freeman?

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 8 years ago

2010, if he can improve next season to the numbers you're talking about [40% and 33%, or even 30%] I'd take that in a minute. That might be his ceiling.

I thought we'd see that this season.

And Jarvis? Start making the FT's......again, expected him to improve on that, not yet.....

Both have regressed on D, too.

And no excuses because they are playing more minutes either....wah wah...if they are in "Hurley" shape that should not be an issue.

Billyboy78 · Unread post by **Billyboy78** » 8 years ago

Here ya go. If you count the transfers, Iverson and Robinson, who were both 4 stars, yes. The only other 4 stars were EC and Jared. In the last two classes, '15 and '16, we got a 3 and a 2 in '15, and three 3s and a 2 for '16. Once again, ratings aren't everything, just the perceived talent when they were in high school.

http://verbalcommits.com/schools/rhode-island

NYGFan_Section208 · Unread post by **NYGFan_Section208** » 8 years ago

rhodyrudder wrote:Which guys were guarding bacote and freeman?

Nobe Uddy?

rhodyrudder · Unread post by **rhodyrudder** » 8 years ago

NYGFan_Section208 wrote:
rhodyrudder wrote:Which guys were guarding bacote and freeman?
Nobe Uddy?

Well, why didn't we put JT on one of them?
Or did he switch from one to the other, and they
just kept going to the one he wasn't guarding?
Or did they have another guy who would have
absolutely lit us up for like 60 points had JT not
been locking him down?
Seriously.
Who was he guarding?

bigappleram · Unread post by **bigappleram** » 8 years ago

Bone, Jarvis is shooting free throws at 72.5% right now. He had a huge miss vs Nebraska but generally has been one of our better FT shooters (not saying much).

Running Ram · Unread post by **Running Ram** » 8 years ago

my opinion is that many of the kids coming in are more talented than the guys we were getting under the last guy, with some exceptions of course, Delroy, Daniels and a couple of others stand out to me, again, only my opinion but the kids we have now should be able to out perform most of those teams with maybe the exception of the team that challenged for the NIT, gotta also love Cothran and Ulmer. Marquise Jones turned out to be a decent PG in the A10, I feel like he out performed my expectations, not a world beater, but I'd be happy to have him on this team.

I'm not down on JT at all. I love that guy.

It's coaching ladies and gents, it's always coaching. And every time anything comes up along the lines of failed expectations there is some excuse floated out there to deflect from the coaching, I'm very tired of that behavior.

Running Ram · Unread post by **Running Ram** » 8 years ago

our 'other' local team was supposed to be doing a sort of mini rebuild this year and look at them in the top 10! Its coaching. And don't give me any Dunn would make any team that good crap. Dunn is coached by Cooley, that's one of the reasons he is as good as he is today. Many of our guys get here and regress, I understand the immersing themselves in the new culture, one of extreme defense, can be very demanding and take some time to get up to full speed, but enough is enough. Get the best out of these players! that's the coaches job and it ain't happenin.

adam914 · Unread post by **adam914** » 8 years ago

Running Ram wrote:Many of our guys get here and regress.

What exactly are you basing this on? They have regressed from what? From the opinion that was formed based on a couple of articles that were posted before they got here? I'm honestly curious what you are basing this opinion on.

Garrett was 2/3 star recruit, so he has regressed to a 1 star in your opinion because of coaching? EC Matthews was a 4 star, and was first team all conference coming into his junior year. Is that regression in your eyes? Hassan Martin was a 3 star and is one of the best shot blockers in the country and was first team all conference coming into his junior year. Is that regression for a 3 star recruit? Jared Terrell was a 4 star, but was never described coming in as some kind of finesse scorer. He was described as a power guard with good athleticism and an excellent defender. Where has he regressed?

sf2010 · Unread post by **sf2010** » 8 years ago

Running Ram wrote:my opinion is that many of the kids coming in are more talented than the guys we were getting under the last guy, with some exceptions of course, Delroy, Daniels and a couple of others stand out to me, again, only my opinion but the kids we have now should be able to out perform most of those teams with maybe the exception of the team that challenged for the NIT, gotta also love Cothran and Ulmer. Marquise Jones turned out to be a decent PG in the A10, I feel like he out performed my expectations, not a world beater, but I'd be happy to have him on this team.

I'm not down on JT at all. I love that guy.

It's coaching ladies and gents, it's always coaching. And every time anything comes up along the lines of failed expectations there is some excuse floated out there to deflect from the coaching, I'm very tired of that behavior.

I agree with your opinions in the first two paragraphs. Since I'm the one doing most of the deflecting from the coaching staff, you're not going to like this opinion, but to say that "it's always coaching" and that they are to blame entirely for "failed expectations" seems to me to be very lazy analysis and not at all an accurate portrayal of the situation. Hurley has not done a great coaching job this year. I would not put that in the top 5 reasons this season has been so disappointing.

adam914 · Unread post by **adam914** » 8 years ago

Running Ram,

Jared Terrell Sophomore Year (so far): 11.5 ppg, 4.3 reb, 2.7 assists, 1.6 steals, 2.1 turnovers

Delroy James Sophomore Year: 9.9 ppg, 6.1 reb, 2.2 assists, 1.0 steals, 1.9 turnovers

Jarvis Garrett Sophomore Year (so far:): 11.2 ppg, 4.3 reb, 4.1 assists, 1.1 steals, 1.7 turnovers

Marquis Jones Sophomore Year: 6.1 ppg, 2.6 reb, 4.0 assists, 1.5 steales, 2.4 turnovers

So are you comparing the guys from our other teams, using Delroy/Terrell and Jones/Garrett as examples here, when they were at similar points in their career or are you basing it on how good they were as seniors to how good some of these guys are as sophomores and a quarter into the season?

Billyboy78 · Unread post by **Billyboy78** » 8 years ago

Dan has said he wished his two sophomores spent more time in the gym. He can't force them to. A 20 year olds priorities often change as compared to when they were 16, 17. Things like having a serious relationship or taking care of babies do that, as they should if you have children. I'm not criticizing them. While I'm sure basketball is still very important to both of them, it's probably no longer #1 on their lists.

NYGFan_Section208 · Unread post by **NYGFan_Section208** » 8 years ago

Billyboy78 wrote:Dan has said he wished his two sophomores spent more time in the gym. He can't force them to. A 20 year olds priorities often change as compared to when they were 16, 17. Things like having a serious relationship or taking care of babies do that, as they should if you have children. I'm not criticizing them. While I'm sure basketball is still very important to both of them, it's probably no longer #1 on their lists.

But, maybe...sometimes, not always...but likely more often than they'd like...for the sake of their families...it needs to be? just a thought...

Seawrightspostgame · Unread post by **Seawrightspostgame** » 8 years ago

I said it in another thread here a couple days ago. The guys are young. Will Daniels wasn't winning games off the bat.

I think of" but Dawan Robinson was awesome!!" Then I have to put some context and remind myself that he was a senior.

Goes for most of those guys from like '05-'10. They were really good and consistently would win games before the New Year. But they were generally led by upperclassmen that had some things going for them. Then the collapse.

I also don't see it as Hurley versus Baron. Its Hurley in spades if thats the discussion.

But the previous regime did put guys on the floor that could score the ball. And often do it easily. Obviously the train came off the tracks at the end, but for those that have only followed since say 2010? Dan hasn't so much saved URI basketball as much as he got it close to where it was for 2000-2010. Even in some cases actually he hasn't outperformed those teams that made the A10 title game or were ranked or went to syracuse and beat them.

I get that he put a new coat of paint on some things. He is great to deal with. He runs things the way you think things should be run. The product on the floor matters though.

UCH21377 · Unread post by **UCH21377** » 8 years ago

There was some talented kids during Baron's tenure. That one team had, in no particular order, Daniels, Bitee, Mbang, Seawright, Baron, Cothran, Ulmer, Del James, Marquis Jones and I think Will M too. There was some talent there for sure. Too early to compare I think, Hurleys first real class are still juniors.

Running Ram · Unread post by **Running Ram** » 8 years ago

Okay, maybe to say some guys have regressed is not entirely accurate, but the point is other coaches get more out of their players, not more guts or heart or spirit or grit or any of that, because he gets that from his players most often. More wins. And no I don't mean to make it sound simple like any dope could do it or any of us for that matter, I think Dan is better than at least 80% of the college coaches out there, here comes the big but, my point about the recruits is we are getting more talented players with DH at the helm than we have in 15 years, with the exception of the few we can think of as mentioned, but the results are not reflecting this. Why? I have my opinions some of which will remain private because they would just be crack-pot psychological analysis, as I've said I believe in my heart of hearts that Dan has a very keen basketball mind, so there's something else to it. I observe a lack of flexibility, but that of course is an over-simplification, which is okay because its not my job to unravel any of the particular complexities, I'm a fan, it's my job to be happy when we're good, bummed when we're not and frustrated when we should be better than our record reflects. As a member of this forum it's my job to state my opinions, hopefully with some strength from observation.

Running Ram · Unread post by **Running Ram** » 8 years ago

adam, I know you read my posts, so not sure what you're not getting. The recruits we have now are as good if not better than the best of all the recruits from the last guys tenure. I stated I love JT, these kids are coming in further along the curve, ie. not as many 'projects.' Better recruits, similar results.

Somebody, once again I'll call on anybody willing, take just that last statement I made "better recruits, similar results" and discredit it. I mean seriously go ahead and ignore all the other valid points, just try, someone try and discredit this opinion. Flawed observations on my part? Bad analysis? Come on guys, whadda ya got?

Unread post by **SGreenwell** » 8 years ago

I think the recruiting is fine. I think the bigger issue, and it isn't sexy and seems like excuse making, is that Hurley inherited literally 0 players worth keeping on a decent Division I team. As a reminder, here's the roster from the final Baron year: http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/sch ... /2012.html

Holton got bounced from the program because of his arrest. Billy Baron left. So, the best holdovers were T.J. Buchanan (topped out as a really good sixth man), Malesevic (enigma) and Andre Malone (decent rotation player). The next year, they got in Munford (All-A10 level talent), Jordan Hare (talented but couldn't stay in school) and Biruta (frustrating to watch, but an average A10 big man for two years). The 13-14 season was the first for Mathews and Martin, and the first season Biruta got to play. For 14-15, they landed Garrett and Terrell.

I think landing two starting lineup-caliber players a year is a good benchmark to set, but beyond the poor initial records for Hurley, Baron leaving the cupboard almost completely bare from a roster standpoint is still having wonderful effects on the team's depth friggin' four years later. For comparison's sake - Ed Cooley inherited Vincent Council, Bryce Cotton, Gerard Coleman and Kadeem Batts. I don't bring that up as a knock on Cooley's ability, but because most new coaches at least get something of value from the last guy.

Running Ram · Unread post by **Running Ram** » 8 years ago

SG, with all do respect, we know the story of the bare Baron cupboards. This doesn't discredit the statement or address it even.

Better recruits, similar results.

There are only so many ways one can address this statement and going back and talking about Baron's recruits poopin the bed doesn't do that.

Better recruits...It's my opinion the talent is better, which is a result of DH's great ability to get talent to the program, amazing really when you think of the story of some of the guy's recruitments, JT for one was a great story, Jarvis was a great late signing, really the recruiting has been nothing less than impressive, even the quality of the transfers coming now, spectacular in some ways. So that's point number one....please debunk.

Similar results...Turns around a shit mess and pretty quickly gets us back to meaningful games with a hope of post-season play (lets be realistic, Baron had as bad a situation coming here as DH did). Several years into the 'rebuild' some fans start to notice patterns of play and behavior which are not congruent with winning at an elite level, said fans state as much, other fans get alllllll crazy about 'pessimistic' (I think of myself as a realist, but whatever) fans, try to deflect and excuse, even to the point of implicating fans themselves for posting 'negative' opinions. Then no matter how it gets sliced up, all kinds of hype that doesn't really translates into results turning casual fans to look elsewhere for entertainment, affecting attendance, etc... and that doesn't even really address the 'look' of the product on the floor...please debunk.

The reason I prattle on about this, is I am tired of the criticisms being deflected onto the players, sometimes subtly, sometimes directly, see recent discussion with regards to negative comments made by coaches to media about specific players. This is college basketball, not pro's. It's always coaching at this level, soup to nuts, from the recruitment to the final product, DH is great at so much of what is needed its hard to admit where he's lacking, but something is clearly lacking and I want folks to start looking in the mirror for reflection, not float innuendo as a means of deflection.

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 8 years ago

adam914 wrote:
Running Ram wrote:Many of our guys get here and regress.
What exactly are you basing this on? They have regressed from what? From the opinion that was formed based on a couple of articles that were posted before they got here? I'm honestly curious what you are basing this opinion on.

Garrett was 2/3 star recruit, so he has regressed to a 1 star in your opinion because of coaching? EC Matthews was a 4 star, and was first team all conference coming into his junior year. Is that regression in your eyes? Hassan Martin was a 3 star and is one of the best shot blockers in the country and was first team all conference coming into his junior year. Is that regression for a 3 star recruit? Jared Terrell was a 4 star, but was never described coming in as some kind of finesse scorer. He was described as a power guard with good athleticism and an excellent defender. Where has he regressed?

All of this is true, but I'm afraid you are spitting into the wind. Unfortunately, the team is not the sum of its parts this year. I feel like I know a decent amount about basketball, but I cannot pinpoint what exactly the problem is. And because the team is not the sum of its parts, they are open to criticism, whether the criticism is sensible or not.

I think a few of the problems are (1) change of roles/emotional shock and hangover related to losing EC, (2) no go-to scorer (see #1), (3) not good roster balance - you have a ton of raw athletic guys and Four; there is not enough diversity of skill sets and a noticeable lack of jack-of-all-trade TJ-types (I think CT could be the latter eventually), (4) not good enough ball security and smart calculated basketball on the offensive end, and (5) yes, I hate to go there, but it really is perplexing how bad of a FT shooting team we are, and we seem to be worse the bigger the moment. Some of this is about recruiting philosophy, but it doesn't really have to do with the caliber of player we are recruiting. I think all of our guys can play, I just wonder if collectively they were assembled with a plan in mind.

I do think, with the obvious exception of (1) & (2), these problems would still exist if EC were playing. But having a #1 can cover up a lot of weaknesses. Look no further than Dunn carrying a shwag roster to the top 10 in the country. EC is not Dunn, but he was important and losing him definitely hurt.

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 8 years ago

Running Ram wrote: Similar results...Turns around a shit mess and pretty quickly gets us back to meaningful games with a hope of post-season play (lets be realistic, Baron had as bad a situation coming here as DH did). Several years into the 'rebuild' some fans start to notice patterns of play and behavior which are not congruent with winning at an elite level, said fans state as much, other fans get alllllll crazy about 'pessimistic' (I think of myself as a realist, but whatever) fans, try to deflect and excuse, even to the point of implicating fans themselves for posting 'negative' opinions. Then no matter how it gets sliced up, all kinds of hype that doesn't really translates into results turning casual fans to look elsewhere for entertainment, affecting attendance, etc... and that doesn't even really address the 'look' of the product on the floor...please debunk.

I don't know if I agree with all of this. But, just for the sake of argument, let's say you're right. You couldn't get two more opposite guys in every way than Barren and Hurley. So if they both went the same way, do you think it makes sense to question whether the problem is institutional rather than really, really strange coincidence?

Unread post by **SGreenwell** » 8 years ago

Running Ram wrote:SG, with all do respect, we know the story of the bare Baron cupboards. This doesn't discredit the statement or address it even.

Better recruits, similar results.

There are only so many ways one can address this statement and going back and talking about Baron's recruits poopin the bed doesn't do that.

Better recruits...It's my opinion the talent is better, which is a result of DH's great ability to get talent to the program, amazing really when you think of the story of some of the guy's recruitments, JT for one was a great story, Jarvis was a great late signing, really the recruiting has been nothing less than impressive, even the quality of the transfers coming now, spectacular in some ways. So that's point number one....please debunk.

Better recruits and players, but still not enough of them. They've been adding 1 to 3 quality players a recruiting cycle, but again, when you start at zero, after four years that only gets you a starting lineup and a tiny bit of depth. The margin is razor thin if suddenly your best player gets hurt, or if some players turn out to be specialists, or if you need a sophomore to play like a senior, etc. Sometimes you get shitty luck, and it can just be that, bad luck - not a curse or continuation of the previous regime's poor strategy.

Running Ram · Unread post by **Running Ram** » 8 years ago

well, this is a nice change of pace, actual point counter point discussion. I would love to at least get to the point where we can agree to disagree, which can only happen when the actual arguments are addressed. So, thank you for that.

Now, I'm going to disagree even in terms of depth, the injury hurts a bunch, no doubt, but I still look at this team and I am hard pressed to think of a comparable team of talent charting back to 2000 or so.

To be clear, I am not comparing DH to CFL in anyway but results, win-loss to hype ratio.

TP, so now its the institution? Skinner got some pretty good results at a time when our institution was at best pathetic at supporting this program. Anything but the coach right? Look he's a good coach, but he's too busy whining or pitching fits about something in the past to go in for the kill or to shake and adapt to the ever changing landscape of things. I am talking about the slight differences between good coaching and great coaching. Every team has obstacles to be overcome, this isn't video games, guys get injured, have academic issues, personal issues etc. etc. etc.

ramster · Unread post by **ramster** » 8 years ago

to the question:
Just asking......has the quality of the recruits gone up to the degree we were expecting with Hurley coming to Town?

Absolutely yes. Higher caliber of recruit. Verbals obtained earlier as years go by. Involved with top players for 2017 and 2018 classes.

Recruiting last 4 years:
Current year: Langevine, Tertsea, Layssard, Dowtin. All verballed in November early signing period. Some from strong HS programs
Last Year: Akele, Thompson, Berry (JC), McGlynn, Iverson, Robinson. 3 Transfers.
2 Years ago: Terrell, Garrett, Watson (JC)
3 Years ago: Mathews, Martin. Both preseason 1st Team All A10. Only Juniors.

Record:
Current year: 7-5. Toughest OOC Schedule in DH's 4 years at URI preparing for A10 Play
Last Year: 23-10 (13-5)
2 Years ago: 14-18 (5-11)
3 Years ago: 8-21 (3-13)
4 Years ago: 7-24 (4-10) Before DH arrival

Seawrightspostgame · Unread post by **Seawrightspostgame** » 8 years ago

Running Ram wrote:I am talking about the slight differences between good coaching and great coaching. Every team has obstacles to be overcome, this isn't video games, guys get injured, have academic issues, personal issues etc. etc. etc.

This! +6000

There is always no better time than now. It's like 70 teams dancing every year. Multiply that by 15. Forget about it. That's how many teams have danced since you know when.

To me it's like just do it. Get it done. If it's your job to do something and you never do it? ?

But EC and Hass going down! Wow!

But then your playing most of your games with a lead. Then CHOKE. Coaching.

Gonebarongone · Unread post by **Gonebarongone** » 8 years ago

I don't think there is any question that the 2015 and 16 classes are weaker than the first two. Every player is a three star on some site these days. Just look at the offers for the last two classes. And Iverson's and Robinson's HS offers do not count. I'm very afraid of what this roster will look like post HM and EC. A very small silver lining of EC getting hurt is he will be here another year.

PlayMikeMotenMore · Unread post by **PlayMikeMotenMore** » 8 years ago

Fair or unfair, so far at URI Terrell has not lived up to the billing or expectation those on the outside had of him. Some of that is on the player. Some of that is on the coaches, especially if we see a pattern of players not fulfilling their potential or promise.

If there are good players in the program, then make them great.
If there are project players in the program, then make them good.

Is the URI coaching staff doing this to your satisfaction? That's a question that needs to be asked. If there are players in the program who are struggling to maximize themselves at URI, you have to ask why. Is it off season development? Is it the system? Is the player adapting to the system? Are the coaches tweaking things allow the player to flourish?

Seawrightspostgame · Unread post by **Seawrightspostgame** » 8 years ago

Not comparing to Baron ppl. What's the comparison to Dayton? Seems like all their guys get it from day 1. Then they get better.

Pollard. Scoochie Smith. The red shirted big that plays this year. Many guys really.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 8 years ago

When it comes to recruiting enough talented 4 year players, Dan has fallen short, so far.

Depth is limited especially in the frontcourt. Where would we be without transfers? Iverson basically fell into our lap.

And some of those players haven't met expectations either.

Basically that's where we are right now.

I guess we can also add possible coaching issues along with injuries.

A combination of things, that taken together, adds up to not. enough. yet.

NYGFan_Section208 · Unread post by **NYGFan_Section208** » 8 years ago

Seems a little early to call it for this year. Year 2 was better than year 1, year 3, better than year 2...year 4 still has a lot of opportunity...

theblueram · Unread post by **theblueram** » 8 years ago

NYGFan_Section208 wrote:Seems a little early to call it for this year. Year 2 was better than year 1, year 3, better than year 2...year 4 still has a lot of opportunity...

NCAA or Bust.

NYGFan_Section208 · Unread post by **NYGFan_Section208** » 8 years ago

theblueram wrote:
NYGFan_Section208 wrote:Seems a little early to call it for this year. Year 2 was better than year 1, year 3, better than year 2...year 4 still has a lot of opportunity...
NCAA or Bust.

Rhody72 · Unread post by **Rhody72** » 8 years ago

Basketball is likely to be a future paycheck for 3* and 4* recruits. It should be as much of a priority in their lives as anyone with a family to support. It is their future livelihood.

Coaches need to be able to get through to players that improving their basketball proficiency is in the players best personal interest in addition to their teams interest.

I sometime feel that URI conserves energy on offense in order to play defense. This is why you see so much standing around. Defense is what DH wants so they intuitively do what allows them to have the energy to play good defense. It is clear that DH does not stress movement on offense and getting outside shooters open shots. I truly believe that JT, 4M, JG and CT have the potential to be much better outside shooters than we have seen. If we did this HM, KI and EW would have more space to operate inside. EC is an excuse and not a reason for URI's mediocre performance to date. DH needs to look in the mirror and assess his strengths and weaknesses as a coach and supplement for his weaknesses with the right assistants until he improves.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 8 years ago

I know this has been discussed before, but Bobby leaving definitely had an impact on what we're seeing on the floor even today.

The brothers Hurley were a team. Bobby I'm sure focused more on the offense while Dan's emphasis was on the defensive side of the ball.

Bobby most likely had a far bigger role than most top assistants would when it came to coaching the team.

It follows that when he left, it was a bigger loss than just another assistant leaving.

My guess is, Dan hasn't got anybody close to what Bobby brought to the table.

Offensive strategy and recruiting had to have taken a hit. How much of that is still lingering?

Again, if I had to guess, I think we would have Danced by now, if Bobby was still here.

P.S. I'm not throwing our current assistants under the bus, I think they're a good group, but how good? Also, Preston leaving may have had a negative effect .

Rhody15 · Unread post by **Rhody15** » 8 years ago

Gonebarongone wrote:I don't think there is any question that the 2015 and 16 classes are weaker than the first two. Every player is a three star on some site these days. Just look at the offers for the last two classes. And Iverson's and Robinson's HS offers do not count. I'm very afraid of what this roster will look like post HM and EC. A very small silver lining of EC getting hurt is he will be here another year.

EC here for another two years isn't close to a guarantee.

Could bolt for the draft/pros due to age, and not to risk another injury

Also could use the grad transfer rule and go to a big time program.

PeterRamTime · Unread post by **PeterRamTime** » 8 years ago

EC could not go pro next year.
I think he'll play next year and go pro after that.
We are getting incredibly in depth with all this.
Dan has wanted to play up tempo since he got here, but he says he hasn't had the parts yet and was going to do it this year. So we've been running this reluctant offense that spits and sputters because coach really doesn't want to do and doesn't have the players that would be able to execute a half court offense. He recruited guys to get out, run and attack on defense. Therefore we've rock fought our way on the court for the last 4 years.
Would we have actually had a different offense this year if EC had not gone down? Who knows, but I'm confident that we wouldn't be feeling the way we do had he not gone down. So I'm not too concerned about our future and I think we are going to be really good next year with a full and talented roster. Attacking on defense and running on offense.
But the half court offense should never be this bad and some blame should definitely be on the coaches. Like standing around doesn't do shit. We do everything tentatively. Hardly any decisiveness. Only in some periods of some games did we seem to actually attack on offense and look confident. Like Jared Terrell was awesome in the second half against ODU because he finally used his athleticism and attacked the damn basket and made good stuff happen. The only game I've seen here where he really tried to assert himself on offense like that and to me it seemed obvious that he should attack the basket like that and it hardly ever happened before that game. I don't know if I'm right about that being the way he should play from here on out, but that could be an example of bad coaching because of how long it took for him to do something like that.

Hal Kopp · Unread post by **Hal Kopp** » 8 years ago

Am I reading this correct-some of the players have babies??

Running Ram · Unread post by **Running Ram** » 8 years ago

Hal Kopp · Unread post by **Hal Kopp** » 8 years ago

Great,both Terrel and Garrett are Daddy O's?
Assumed this happened after they arrived ?
By not spending more time in gym,does this mean shooting baskets or lifting weights?

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 8 years ago

Probably both.

Whatever the issues are, it seems like there is always something every season that takes some of the focus away from basketball......

ramster · Unread post by **ramster** » 8 years ago

rambone 78 wrote:When it comes to recruiting enough talented 4 year players, Dan has fallen short, so far.

Depth is limited especially in the frontcourt. Where would we be without transfers? Iverson basically fell into our lap.

And some of those players haven't met expectations either.

Basically that's where we are right now.

I guess we can also add possible coaching issues along with injuries.

A combination of things, that taken together, adds up to not. enough. yet.

Iverson just fell into our lap?
Why our lap and not somebody else's lap then?
You make it sound like it was just dumb luck and our staff had nothing to do with it.

1. We had a relationship with Iverson prior to his leaving Memphis
2. We had a product to sell to Iverson when he left Memphis. EC, Hassan, Dan himself, a program on the rise, location closer to home, team spirit and family feeling that Dan has built here, challenging schedule, beautiful arena, one of the best programs in New England, ability to sell Kuran on what the URI coaching staff and overall basketball program could do for him to help him attain his goals.
3. There were plenty of opportunities for Iverson - but he chose to continue his career at URI. Well done br URI and staff. Hate to think about where we would be without him right now. Plus he is a very bright part of our future this year and next.

Hal Kopp · Unread post by **Hal Kopp** » 8 years ago

Spot on Rambone.
Fatherhood is a great thing,requires a lot of concentration,time and effort.
Glad that both of them are working so hard at it.
Much more important than basketball. Just glad they have their scholarships to fall back on. Coach Hurley,their teammates,alums,boosters and members of this board need to be more considerate.

Billyboy78 · Unread post by **Billyboy78** » 8 years ago

Jarvis and his girlfriend had twins. I didn't know that Jared is a father.

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