General Recruiting Discussion/Comments 2022 and before

eli#10 · Unread post by **eli#10** » 9 years ago

I will be very interested in what Hurley has to say about each player as the LOIs come in.

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 9 years ago

Rhody74 wrote:Yeah, I'm always a little nervous until the NLIs are in.

At least now the program confirms and even celebrates the letters coming in. In the bad old Baron days they'd never announce anything until they put out a press release two weeks later.

ramster · Unread post by **ramster** » 9 years ago

TruePoint wrote:
Rhody74 wrote:Yeah, I'm always a little nervous until the NLIs are in.
At least now the program confirms and even celebrates the letters coming in. In the bad old Baron days they'd never announce anything until they put out a press release two weeks later.

Which was usually in May, rarely did we verbal players in November

theblueram · Unread post by **theblueram** » 9 years ago

he didn't recruit juniors or sophomores.only seenyazzz!!

twisted3829 · Unread post by **twisted3829** » 9 years ago

I assume uri will do a release once they have all 4

bressler3south · Unread post by **bressler3south** » 9 years ago

In light of the recent event, in case anyone missed this….

http://www.providencejournal.com/articl ... /151119593

Billyboy78 · Unread post by **Billyboy78** » 9 years ago

Kentucky and Duke signing all the top guys. Nothing ever changes.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 9 years ago

Vitale crying about Chiek Diallo not being able to play
because of academics.
Claims he wants to go to Kansas to be a student.
Come on! He's another one and done guy who
will never attend a single class after the season ends.

RF1 · Unread post by **RF1** » 9 years ago

More emphasis needs to be put on recruits that can make jump shots and free throws. We seem to get a lot of players that can dominate the high school/prep leagues because of their athletic ability and size. They are able to score because they can get to the basket easily at that level. We are finding out that more is needed in college as they are going up against others that have similar size and athleticism. We need some shooters.

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 9 years ago

I don't think it is so much that we get fooled about our recruits' ability to score at the next level, it just hasn't been a huge point of emphasis in targeting players. That has been one of my only criticisms of Hurley as our coach - I think in recruiting we put too much importance on finding guys that are physically capable of playing the kind of defense he wants, and if that is a litmus test for recruits there are a bunch of Jimmy Baron types we will just never get involved with who could have helped us immensely. It is an approach that is rooted in Hurley's basketball philosophy, but I happen to not really agree with it.

Billyboy78 · Unread post by **Billyboy78** » 9 years ago

We do know that Dan is open to getting players like that, as 4 is a shooter and not a good defensive player.

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 9 years ago

Yes, I think he recognized the need for that type of player and went out and addressed the need. I definitely credit him for that, but they still haven't recruited that type of guy as a four year player. I don't even feel like I'm criticizing him, it is just a philosophical disagreement about roster construction, and I recognize there are many ways to build a winning roster.

Billyboy78 · Unread post by **Billyboy78** » 9 years ago

Is Dowtin a shooter?

adam914 · Unread post by **adam914** » 9 years ago

From the Washington Post article on his commitment...

"While Dowtin marks the fourth verbal pledge to Rhode Island’s 2016 class in the last 15 days, he’s the lone guard in that bunch. The Rams, along with George Mason and Wichita State, were intrigued by Dowtin’s shooting touch as well as his ability to play effectively at both guard positions."

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 9 years ago

We'll see. I thought of Dowtin as a combo guard whose main selling point was versatility and well-roundedness, not as a spot-up shooter, but maybe I'm wrong.

Unread post by **ATPTourFan** » 9 years ago

So the question really is, what was easier to develop quickly into an elite force for Dan in this rebuild from the ashes left from Baron? Offense or Defense?

The answer is defense, so that was the priority in the choices made through recruiting in the first few seasons here.

Would anyone argue that he rebuilt this program incorrectly, given the situation and his strengths? The win totals jumped dramatically each year from the 8 to 15 to 23 and this year was set up for another jump before losing our top weapon.

Those same seasons, our efficiency rankings were the following:

Code: Select all

  Yr   D-PPP  O-PPP  Wins
12-13  164th  211th    8
13-14   59th  191st   15
14-15    9th  196th   23
15-16   10th  152nd  ???

So now that the program is in a much better place, Dan will have access to players who have higher skill on both sides of the ball.

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 9 years ago

Also, I still think Garrett will leave URI being thought of as a good shooter.

Billyboy78 · Unread post by **Billyboy78** » 9 years ago

TruePoint wrote:Also, I still think Garrett will leave URI being thought of as a good shooter.

I think that knee/ankle injury is really affecting his shot. He had a couple of awful looking shots in Cancun. He's a much better shooter than that.

ace · Unread post by **ace** » 9 years ago

I hear they have a guy named Elbert coming in next year. Sounds like he could really contribute.

Unread post by **ATPTourFan** » 9 years ago

No, Ace, they're shutting this program down due to the failed rebuild. All monies will flow to our football team.

Billyboy78 · Unread post by **Billyboy78** » 9 years ago

ace wrote:I hear they have a guy named Elbert coming in next year. Sounds like he could really contribute.

Yeah, he's a pretty good prospect.

adam914 · Unread post by **adam914** » 9 years ago

ace wrote:I hear they have a guy named Elbert coming in next year. Sounds like he could really contribute.

I doubt it, Hurley can't recruit offensive weapons I hear.

adam914 · Unread post by **adam914** » 9 years ago

TruePoint wrote:We'll see. I thought of Dowtin as a combo guard whose main selling point was versatility and well-roundedness, not as a spot-up shooter, but maybe I'm wrong.

Yeah, probably not spot-up shooter necessarily, but sounds like he has a decent shot at least.

theblueram · Unread post by **theblueram** » 9 years ago

How does he compare to Thompson?

ram1980 · Unread post by **ram1980** » 9 years ago

All the preseason hoopla said Thompson was our shooter.. Won't even take a shot.. AKA Butler before him... Akele was a great athlete that was going to do big things.. Only played garbage time against MD.. Yeah they are freshman.. Yeah it takes time.. Oh yeah Fazekas producing big time for PC.. It's time to stop the post season hype and get players on the court producing.. Next year is the make or break year for this regime.. This years team is not that good.. I still question Hurley's ability to coach on the offensive end.... Sorry like Rod says not tasting the koolaid right now

theblueram · Unread post by **theblueram** » 9 years ago

Agreed. EC going down is not a free pass.

Unread post by **SGreenwell** » 9 years ago

ram1980 wrote:All the preseason hoopla said Thompson was our shooter.. Won't even take a shot.. AKA Butler before him... Akele was a great athlete that was going to do big things.. Only played garbage time against MD.. Yeah they are freshman.. Yeah it takes time.. Oh yeah Fazekas producing big time for PC.. It's time to stop the post season hype and get players on the court producing.. Next year is the make or break year for this regime.. This years team is not that good.. I still question Hurley's ability to coach on the offensive end.... Sorry like Rod says not tasting the koolaid right now

All freshmen don't develop in a linear fashion. If they did, recruiting would be a lot easier. I think you can get a good feel for a freshman's peak after a full season of games and minutes, but this early, things are still way up in the air. For comparison's sake last year, Garrett cracked 20 minutes played twice in his first eight games. If Thompson is still averaging 0.6 PPG and 12.6 MPG at the end of the year, that's more concerning, but it's not unusual this year even with EC's injury.

Another comparison - Matthew Butler's high for MP was 21, and he only played 10+ minutes in 10 of his 43 games (plus 20ish DNPs), despite weaker overall rosters. So, from a staff perspective, they seemingly have more confidence in his abilities or their scouting of Thompson than they did with Butler.

theblueram · Unread post by **theblueram** » 9 years ago

SG, They don't have a choice.

ramster · Unread post by **ramster** » 9 years ago

adam914 wrote:
TruePoint wrote:We'll see. I thought of Dowtin as a combo guard whose main selling point was versatility and well-roundedness, not as a spot-up shooter, but maybe I'm wrong.
Yeah, probably not spot-up shooter necessarily, but sounds like he has a decent shot at least.

Jeff hit 55 three pointers his junior year.
Can play both shooting and point guard.
Will be interesting to follow Jeff and our other 3 signees as they play out their senior season.
Jeff will play against some strong competition. Notable benchmark game will be against 18th ESPN ranked Kobi Simmons PG in January.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/rec ... asketball/

Unread post by **SGreenwell** » 9 years ago

theblueram wrote:SG, They don't have a choice.

I think the roster situation was worse when Butler was here, and they still wouldn't play him. Or, for a non-position specific comparison, Ifeanyi Onyekaba didn't get minutes even when Martin and Watson and Biruta were in foul trouble at times last year.

theblueram · Unread post by **theblueram** » 9 years ago

Look we've seen it. Kids can light it up in high school. They get here in the A10 and it is so far over their head. Nothing against the kids but, this ain't the MAAC or NEC. You are going up against guys trying to make the NBA. This league isn't for everyone.

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 9 years ago

Every guy is not recruited for the same reasons or with the expectations. Some guys are projects with huge upside, some guys are ready to play but have lower ceilings because of physical limitations or what have you. Some guys are more ready to play right away because they played in a high level prep league, some guys have to adjust to the speed of the game and the size of the players. Some guys happen to be in a role that puts them in a great position to do well right away, some guys might be forced into a role that doesn't fit perfectly with his skill set. We should try to be a little more sophisticated about how we think about what guys may or may not amount to as players. There are many many more guys in college basketball who look overmatched when they first arrive (or would if they got on the floor) but turn out to be good players than there are guys that step in and contribute right away.

Unread post by **SGreenwell** » 9 years ago

theblueram wrote:Look we've seen it. Kids can light it up in high school. They get here in the A10 and it is so far over their head. Nothing against the kids but, this ain't the MAAC or NEC. You are going up against guys trying to make the NBA. This league isn't for everyone.

Just to be clear, are you writing off Thompson and Akele specifically, or making a statement in general...? I mean, I agree with you that some players they've recruited clearly haven't been A-10 talents. (Butler and Iffy specifically, although they came in at the program's nadir.)

I think Hurley's done a really good job in general though, since if you look at his initial roster at URI, he ultimately inherited zero quality players from Baron: http://www.gorhody.com/sports/m-baskbl/2011-12/roster - Billy Baron, McKoy and Jordan Hare left at various points, Andre Malone and Malesevic were talented but erratic, Buchanan was a great leadership guy but a sixth man, and the rest went to lower D1 programs or out of college hoops (Vedder, Powell, Rayvon Harris, Shengelia).

theblueram · Unread post by **theblueram** » 9 years ago

I think Akele can be a real talent in this league. He has the height and athleticism to be a really good player. I'm not sold on Thompson. He seems tepid and guard play in this league will devour that. Not writing either off. But these two need to contribute and now.

adam914 · Unread post by **adam914** » 9 years ago

If you guys are expecting to get recruits that will be instant big time scorers from day 1 when you have guys like EC, Garrett and Terrell as sophomores and juniors at their position ahead of them then you might want to start rooting for Kentucky or Duke.

ram1980 · Unread post by **ram1980** » 9 years ago

I don't think anyone is looking for the freshman to be instant stars, but in the situation this team continues to find themselves in they need to be at least contributors quickly or the preseason pomp and circumstance goes by the boards ..

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 9 years ago

ram1980 wrote:I don't think anyone is looking for the freshman to be instant stars, but in the situation this team continues to find themselves in they need to be at least contributors quickly or the preseason pomp and circumstance goes by the boards ..

Not sure what situation they continue to find themselves in. Losing their best player 9 minutes into the season is pretty unique as far as I can recall. Not sure that you can (or should) plan for that.

josephski · Unread post by **josephski** » 9 years ago

adam914 wrote:If you guys are expecting to get recruits that will be instant big time scorers from day 1 when you have guys like EC, Garrett and Terrell as sophomores and juniors at their position ahead of them then you might want to start rooting for Kentucky or Duke.

Yea it seems like people were expecting Thompson to be as good as EC, Garrett and Terrell when they were freshman. Hurley could promise those three guys big minutes and a possible starting spot by the end of the year. We're not a big enough name yet where we'll get very good freshman who don't mind sitting on the bench.

DeanDome88 · Unread post by **DeanDome88** » 9 years ago

TruePoint wrote:
ram1980 wrote:I don't think anyone is looking for the freshman to be instant stars, but in the situation this team continues to find themselves in they need to be at least contributors quickly or the preseason pomp and circumstance goes by the boards ..
Not sure what situation they continue to find themselves in. Losing their best player 9 minutes into the season is pretty unique as far as I can recall. Not sure that you can (or should) plan for that.

It hurts to lose EC but for this team losing Martin would have been impossible to overcome.

DeanDome88 · Unread post by **DeanDome88** » 9 years ago

josephski wrote:
adam914 wrote:If you guys are expecting to get recruits that will be instant big time scorers from day 1 when you have guys like EC, Garrett and Terrell as sophomores and juniors at their position ahead of them then you might want to start rooting for Kentucky or Duke.
Yea it seems like people were expecting Thompson to be as good as EC, Garrett and Terrell when they were freshman. Hurley could promise those three guys big minutes and a possible starting spot by the end of the year. We're not a big enough name yet where we'll get very good freshman who don't mind sitting on the bench.

I predict that Thompson has a college career somewhere in the middle of that pack.

Billyboy78 · Unread post by **Billyboy78** » 9 years ago

It'd be nice to see some '17 recruits at the game tomorrow to see what the atmosphere cane be like at the RC. Jermaine Samuels would be the perfect guy to build the team around going forward. Do we have a realistic shot at him? He's been here before. Maybe he'll be here tomorrow.

ramster · Unread post by **ramster** » 9 years ago

adam914 wrote:If you guys are expecting to get recruits that will be instant big time scorers from day 1 when you have guys like EC, Garrett and Terrell as sophomores and juniors at their position ahead of them then you might want to start rooting for Kentucky or Duke.

We did get a player like that in Iverson who will become a big time scorer, just came via the transfer route.

Billyboy78 · Unread post by **Billyboy78** » 9 years ago

Chris Herren Jr. scored 37 points a couple of nights ago. Time to get on this kid. Oh, by the way, he was 15-16 from the free throw line. He's in 10th grade.

bressler3south · Unread post by **bressler3south** » 9 years ago

Billyboy78 wrote:Chris Herren Jr. scored 37 points a couple of nights ago. Time to get on this kid. Oh, by the way, he was 15-16 from the free throw line. He's in 10th grade.

He probably watched game tapes of what's his name....Paul Pierce.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 9 years ago

This is in relation to the quality of recruits that Dan has brought in.

TP is right when he says URI isn't going to get 5 stars that are basically NBA ready, and fill up the stat sheet from day one. That's obvious, it will never happen, no matter how good we get someday.

Sometimes, at our level, it's more about who you can get, versus who you REALLY want.

3 stars and occasional 4 stars that are late bloomers, or so is hoped. You never really know until they do it.

Some of Dan's recruits have worked out great. Others have been good, but are missing key components of an all around game [like shooting from the field and FT's.]

Some have developed substantially since they came here, and some have not.

Overall, we haven't had enough players reach the level where we have the depth of talent necessary to take that last step toward the payoff.

Dan's been here 4 years, the players now are all his. That's one complete cycle. Of course we only have 2 seniors, and both of them are transfers. So he still hasn't had a 4 year player here.

Next year that changes. Hass will be a senior, and it would have been EC's last year until the injury.

So I guess you could say the jury is still out when it comes to Dan's recruiting. But that's about to change.

Unread post by **ATPTourFan** » 9 years ago

Cant count the first season here as his first recruiting year. first real year netted EC and Hass. they are juniors and thats why he hasnt had a four year player yet. but keep worrying

ramster · Unread post by **ramster** » 9 years ago

ATPTourFan wrote:Cant count the first season here as his first recruiting year. first real year netted EC and Hass. they are juniors and thats why he hasnt had a four year player yet. but keep worrying

Agree. First year he was hired in April when all players were signed already. He got the transfers to come in Minnis, Munford, Reischel.
First year was Mathews and Martin who are Juniors now.

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

Billyboy78 wrote:Chris Herren Jr. scored 37 points a couple of nights ago. Time to get on this kid. Oh, by the way, he was 15-16 from the free throw line. He's in 10th grade.

Another strong performance was by Pilgrim's Tyrone Weeks JR as he netted 27 points with 14 rebounds in a win at Johnston. Son of former UMASS star and URI assistant. Only a Soph.

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

ramster wrote:
Billyboy78 wrote:Chris Herren Jr. scored 37 points a couple of nights ago. Time to get on this kid. Oh, by the way, he was 15-16 from the free throw line. He's in 10th grade.
Another strong performance was by Pilgrim's Tyrone Weeks JR as he netted 27 points with 14 rebounds in a win at Johnston. Son of former UMASS star and URI assistant. Only a Soph.

Johnston plays Division III in Rhode Island.

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

adam914 wrote:If you guys are expecting to get recruits that will be instant big time scorers from day 1 when you have guys like EC, Garrett and Terrell as sophomores and juniors at their position ahead of them then you might want to start rooting for Kentucky or Duke.

Just to revisit this discussion. I think CT and Akele have stepped up pretty well. Back in November, CT wouldn't even take a shot. I'm not a fan of Alpha-dog in college hoops. Recruit each class to the highest possible. If an upperclassmen goes down to injury, I would hope we have depth behind them to step in and contribute. Maybe not as much as the former, but enough to not disintegrate the season. The last two games show promise that we have that kind of depth. Great recruiting thus far.