'16 LA PF Mike Layssard Jr. (URI Signed NLI)

[rodfromcranston]

Good thing Charles Barkley was lean, eh?

[ATPTourFan]

Yep, compare him to a hall-of-fame freak athlete who had skills and smarts to be a force down low, even while technically undersized.

[rodfromcranston]

Check out pictures of Adrian Dantley and Mark Aguirre when they were in college.
Or Tractor Traylor at Michigan.
Plenty of guys who didn't look like Dwight Howard in college, and
were successful.

[Seawrightspostgame]

All these kids will be fine. I am hoping they are more than fine and end up great.

Dowtin and Cyril both played at nationally competitive programs. Much more seasoning.

[ATPTourFan]

I will assume that if Layssard was capable of playing this year the staff would have had him on the floor because they want to win games. What other explanation could there be?

[TruePoint]

Check out pictures of Adrian Dantley and Mark Aguirre when they were in college.
Or Tractor Traylor at Michigan.
Plenty of guys who didn't look like Dwight Howard in college, and
were successful.

Can you help me understand what your point is here? I honestly don't get it. Is it that since four or five doughy-bodied guys were good, then every other doughy-bodied guy will automatically be good and deserves to play?

[rodfromcranston]

If he was that bad, then :
A. why was he recruited?
B. why wasn't he red-shirted?
An entire season of eligibility, by the boards.

http://www.complex.com/sports/2011/12/t ... a-history/

[Da_Process_Survivor]

Check out pictures of Adrian Dantley and Mark Aguirre when they were in college.
Or Tractor Traylor at Michigan.
Plenty of guys who didn't look like Dwight Howard in college, and
were successful.

or Glen Davis and Craig Smith...both of which were shorted a "few" pounds at their listed weights of 290 and 250 respectively...

Side note, I forgot how dominant Smith really was...2,300 points and 1,100 rebounds in 4 years at BC.

edit, even in our own conference now look at Holloway. limited minutes because of his size, but still put up 10 and 5 as a sophomore in 19mpg

[the_one_mike]

I don't think "thin-ness" was the issue. It was fitness. He just didn't appear to be in good enough shape, at least to me as an observer from afar. The goal is not to get him skinny, it's to get his body harder and leaner.

He also just didn't have the opportunity that Dowtin or Langevine had, who both initially got meaningful minutes when starters went down. Layssard didn't have that happen in front of him.

I'm looking forward to seeing what this guy can do if he gets himself ready to play and gets the opportunity.

Well, obviously what I was implying was fitness. They're basketball players, not models. The reason I said "thin" specifically is because you don't necessarily have to be at a particular weight to be in or out of shape. You said yourself, "appear" to be in shape. I'm gonna guess that means you thought he was a bit chunky... considering he never played enough minutes to get a true sample size of his fitness on the floor

That said, the opportunity to get him out there proposed itself a multitude of times during the season from what I saw. Akele had quite a few stinker games early in the year, Iverson wasn't playing his best until A10 play, Hass went down for a short period of time.

I remember after the LaSalle game being ready to pull my hair out at Danny's comments. He said the team looked flat, didn't want to play, etc etc... My thought was... why the hell is your top recruit seeing no minutes then? Your regular guys look flat? Next man up! 2 minutes into the second half of that game he pulled a full second line sub... and THEY were flat after a couple minutes. I was begging to see this kid at that point. Obviously I'm not on the team, I'm not there at practice, and there are other factors involved in getting playing time... but to assert there weren't opportunities to get him minutes just isn't accurate to me.

The most troubling thing is that he lost the year of eligibility for less than a half of basketball. At least Tertsea got that year of eligibility back. It leads me to believe they didn't intend to hold him out and he just isn't shaping out to be the player we thought he was.

I will assume that if Layssard was capable of playing this year the staff would have had him on the floor because they want to win games. What other explanation could there be?

That's what worries me. But a guy like Andre Berry has proven he can provide valuable minutes in the past and still doesn't get any rip.

[rodfromcranston]

OK, here's what I said. Maybe you can understand this:
彼らは大学にいたときにエイドリアン ・ ダントリーとマーク · アギーレの写真をチェックしてください。
またはミシガン トラクター トレーラー。
大学では、ドワイト ・ ハワードのような見ていない奴と
成功しました。

[Seawrightspostgame]

I bet Cyril clearly put himself in that 3rd big guy in the game spot before the season.

Then they decided they would keep one guy from shirting just in case they needed him if people got hurt.

Then they factored in that Layssard was better than Tertsea. Tertsea long term projects to benefit more because he's really tall and I believe came to basketball later.

Layssard being better and the staff thinking he could be the most game ready of the two throughout the year.

IDK why the guys that didn't play as freshman on a experienced team that was 3 points away from the Sweet Sixteen are so controversial.

[the_one_mike]

I bet Cyril clearly put himself in that 3rd big guy in the game spot before the season.

Then they decided they would keep one guy from shirting just in case they needed him if people got hurt.

Then they factored in that Layssard was better than Tertsea. Tertsea long term projects to benefit more because he's really tall and I believe came to basketball later.

Layssard being better and the staff thinking he could be the most game ready of the two throughout the year.

IDK why the guys that didn't play as freshman on a experienced team that was 3 points away from the Sweet Sixteen are so controversial.

Well, first, I don't think anybody said this is a "controversy." That's pretty strong language that wasn't used until you just did...

Second, people did get hurt. Still didn't see much of him in that stretch...

The rest, I totally agree with. In terms of rostering it wouldn't make sense to red shirt both of them... but I don't think there was initially a plan to redshirt EITHER of them from what I understand. To redshirt Tertsea one would assume they think that extra year would be more beneficial to him... as in he's likely a hard worker, comparatively. That's Danny's kind of guy.

Dowtin and Cyril both played at nationally competitive programs. Much more seasoning.

I think that this is the most important thought you shared... Neither Dowtin or Cyril got heavy minutes to start the year. It was sparing minutes and they earned more over time -- it would be safe to attribute that partially to the experience with a higher level of basketball before arriving at Rhody.

[Seawrightspostgame]

I think that this is the most important thought you shared.

Yikes, thought rating.

[RhowdyRam02]

I bet Cyril clearly put himself in that 3rd big guy in the game spot before the season.

Then they decided they would keep one guy from shirting just in case they needed him if people got hurt.

Then they factored in that Layssard was better than Tertsea. Tertsea long term projects to benefit more because he's really tall and I believe came to basketball later.

Layssard being better and the staff thinking he could be the most game ready of the two throughout the year.

IDK why the guys that didn't play as freshman on a experienced team that was 3 points away from the Sweet Sixteen are so controversial.

Is that actually how redshirting works though? I didn't think it was a formal list that had to be submitted or anything, I think coaches just let reporters know for public relations. For instance, even if he didn't declare this a redshirt year for Layssard ahead of time, if Mike didn't play he could redshirt. And even though it was announced Tertsea was redshirting before the year, if he was pressed into action he could still play. They wouldn't have needed to keep him sidelined just because they said he wouldn't play.

Personally I think the handling of Layssard was Dan's biggest misstep this year. Someone before mentioned that part of it might have been to separate Layssard and Tertsea's graduating classes, and that could be valuable, but I just hate the idea of wasting a year of someone's eligibility for 23 minutes. Not nearly enough time to give him needed experience going forward, and could really hurt to lose a year if he ends up being what the coaching staff was hoping he'd be when they recruited him.

[rodfromcranston]

RR02, you are right.
Redshirting is not a formal thing.
In 1998-99, Harrick intended to redshirt
Tip Vinson.
Then the NCAA clearing house declared Zach Marbury
ineligible, and Harrick was forced to use Vinson.
In theory, Hurley could have redshirted both Laysard
and Tertsea, and still used them if there was a
need for them at some point.
Not sure balancing classes justifies costing anyone
an entire year of eligibility, though.

[the_one_mike]

Yikes, thought rating.

Huh?

I just hate the idea of wasting a year of someone's eligibility for 23 minutes. Not nearly enough time to give him needed experience going forward, and could really hurt to lose a year if he ends up being what the coaching staff was hoping he'd be when they recruited him.

My thoughts exactly. He appears to be ready offensively but it looks like Cyril took his spot on the floor because of defensive and rebounding prowess. He has that motor, and it's awesome. Still wish we got to see more than one half of basketball out of Laysarrd if he's to lose a year of eligibility because of it.

That said, the deficiencies of other players ahead of him may have ironically also hurt his playing time in the end. Danny had to prepare the guys he has to play basketball -- and when they weren't playing their best those minutes became valuable. Akele showed serious improvement near the end of the season and I'm sure Laysarrd getting more minutes would have impeded that progress.

Give and take, I suppose.

[bigappleram]

Ask ARD why he didn't play this year.
His high school competition was subpar. Defensively he was lost in our system. Both from an aptitude standpoint and also a fitness one.
That's ok though, it doesn't mean he's useless or make you question why we recruited him.
The list of Freshmen bigs that don't see the floor is dozens and dozens of names deep.

At the beginning of the year Dan said Dowtin was going to surprise people and Cyril was the most ready to contribute this year. How anyone can question his judgment after watching the season and realizing both of those things played themselves out to a tee. When Layssard did see the floor did he do anything that made you think he should play more and Kuran, Hassan or Cyril should play less? NO. Forgetting whether he was ready to contribute, who would you have taken minutes from?

This is such bad hyperbole, the coaches see these kids for hundreds of hours and 99.9% of the time a coach is not sitting someone that can help the team win.

[RhowdyRam02]

All of that is fine and I'm not going to argue with it. That being said, why would you then play him 23 garbage minutes this year when you could have redshirted him with Tertsea?

[bigappleram]

Because you were the coach of the same team the previous season that was decimated by injuries. And when pressed had to play Andre Berry for large stretches out of pure desperation. IMO Layssard was a "break glass in case of emergency" player this year, and luckily we did not have an emergency.

[RhowdyRam02]

Apparently redshirting isn't like putting a player on IR. They didn't need to play him 3 minutes against Dartmouth, 6 against Marist, 6 at St. Louis, 2 against St. Joe's, 2 at Duquesne, 1 at St. Joe's, 2 in the A10 against Davidson and 1 against Creighton. They could have sat him and if they had an emergency brought him in. They burned a year for no good reason.

[rodfromcranston]

So what? Laysard still could have been redshirted and
if an emergency arose, then he could have played.
Nobody looks good in garbage time.
How many minutes did Laysard play with the first unit?
NONE!
So no fans have ever been right and a coach wrong about a player?
Tim Welsh was going to redshirt Ryan Gomes.
He put him in a game, due to injuries, in December.
Gomes dominated the game and was a fixture from then on.
To say, "We went to the NCAAs, so our coach must be infallible", is
way off base.
Go on Duke, Kansas ,or Kentucky's boards and see fans
doubting moves of NCAA championship coaches.

[URI2006_Andy]

I'm not saying this is the case here but a coach may want to limit redshirting to guys he thinks will help in year 5 and choose not to redshirt guys who could be eating up a roster spot in year 5.

[bigappleram]

Yes once in a while a fan who has a tertiary view of what is going on can be right. All other times they are probably wrong.
IMO this is the latter. Ask ARD, who recruited him, if he should have been playing. And again, are you suggesting more time on the bench for Hassan or Cyril to see what this kid can do with the first team?

[Rhodymob05]

I'm giving this kid a shot, before Cyril played, I thought he was just another 6'8 pawn and now he's a starter next season in my opinion.

[RAM67]

Is it possible that the player refused to redshirt?

[rodfromcranston]

Hassan and Langevine played center on this team.
There were plenty of times Iverson got into early and deep foul trouble.
If you think Akele was a great injection off the bench, fine.
Based on all the hoopla about his game, when he was recruited and
after he signed, some of those minutes could have gone to
Laysard, especially in the earlier lower D-1 opponent games.
Nobody proves anything sitting one the bench.
Some guys are lousy practice players.
I highly doubt if ARD has a say as to who plays or not.
I'm sure he'd like to have seen the guy he recruited, play just a bit
more than he did.

[josephski]

Yes once in a while a fan who has a tertiary view of what is going on can be right. All other times they are probably wrong.
IMO this is the latter. Ask ARD, who recruited him, if he should have been playing. And again, are you suggesting more time on the bench for Hassan or Cyril to see what this kid can do with the first team?

No, I don't think that's what anyone is suggesting. The question is why bother playing him at all when you could redshirt him? As others have said, the coaching staff could have sat Layssard all year and if an injury did occur then you play him if you need to. Playing a guy 23 minutes all season as a freshman is a complete waste of a year of eligibility.

[RhowdyRam02]

Is it possible that the player refused to redshirt?

Refused how exactly? He can't put himself in a game, if he could I'm sure he would have played himself more than 23 minutes. He could have threatened a transfer, but what scenario do you think he'd be more upset by, not playing and having 4 years of eligibility or getting walk on minutes and having 3 years of eligibility?

[TruePoint]

Whether Layssard redshirted last year has literally nothing to do with how he will do next year, or the year after, or the year after. So why don't we worry about whether he should have redshirted last year when it will actually matter - in the spring of 2020. Not that we can do any more about then than we can now, but it just doesn't seem like the biggest deal in the world. I'm sure they didn't just forget that they could redshirt him, so obviously there is a reason they didn't.

[eli#10]

Sounds like in addition to finding a spot on the staff for a recruiting coordinator (for you know who) we also need to create a position for a player personnel director (for you know who).
Here's hoping he is able to multi task.......

[bigappleram]

I don't know that answer josephski, maybe he promised the kid he wouldn't redshirt him...that does happen during recruiting.
Maybe he felt the kid's defense would eventually come around, and it just never did so he couldn't find him time. Who knows.
My only POV is that this is a subject that is easy to speculate about for fans, but difficult to really understand, unless you are watching hundreds of hours of practice to base your opinion on. There are dozens of FR big men around the country who were picking splinters all season, and will turn into very good players.

[rodfromcranston]

Hey, the troll slithers out of the slime he came from.
Gee, how unusual.
Adds jack shit to the conversation, as always.

[Seawrightspostgame]

I follow very closely one of the top NCAA football programs and people endlessly post about coaches burning a player's redshirt. IDK.

I feel like its the least productive type of criticism. IT usually happened in the past and nobody has a clue why player X was shirted and player B played 20 minutes burning their redshirt.

**But, another angle could be that DH anticipates Mike being really good. All of a sudden Mike is a redshirt junior graduating and URI has to re-recruit Mike because he can grad transfer? Could also have been weighed. IDK.

[rambone 78]

Next year will be huge for Layssard...he has to show improvement along with better conditioning in order to contribute.

If he rides the bench next season, especially with the team needing frontcourt help, that tells me he might not work out going forward.

Not saying he has to all of a sudden be a star, but he has to be good enough to at least play limited minutes.

[DeanDome88]

I follow very closely one of the top NCAA football programs and people endlessly post about coaches burning a player's redshirt. IDK.

I feel like its the least productive type of criticism. IT usually happened in the past and nobody has a clue why player X was shirted and player B played 20 minutes burning their redshirt.

**But, another angle could be that DH anticipates Mike being really good. All of a sudden Mike is a redshirt junior graduating and URI has to re-recruit Mike because he can grad transfer? Could also have been weighed. IDK.

Very interesting angle. I wish he had played more but Langevine really came on and Iverson had a really good second half to the season, so hopefully Layssard is not that far behind them in ability. It is tough for bigs to get playing time in this program. We are lucky if Dan will put two on the floor at a time. I like what quickness will do for you on a basketball court but size is real nice to have too.

[RAM67]

Is it possible that the player refused to redshirt?

Refused how exactly? He can't put himself in a game, if he could I'm sure he would have played himself more than 23 minutes. He could have threatened a transfer, but what scenario do you think he'd be more upset by, not playing and having 4 years of eligibility or getting walk on minutes and having 3 years of eligibility?

This could have occurred during the commitment process.

[Blue Man]

It also could do with spreading out the classes.

With ECs injury next year's class will lose 5 players. For continuity in building a program that stays at the top you don't want to continually lose 4 guy classes.

Tertsea redshirting means you now have a class of 3 which is much easier to deal with.

[Seawrightspostgame]

It also could do with spreading out the classes.

With ECs injury next year's class will lose 5 players. For continuity in building a program that stays at the top you don't want to continually lose 4 guy classes.

Tertsea redshirting means you now have a class of 3 which is much easier to deal with.

Good point. Could be something they tried to fix that was left over from that '10-'12 error. The Keaney Blue famous Fab Five.

[ace]

The coach is probably just jealous of his hair, tbh.

[ramster]

To listen to Dan's remarks regarding the Freshmen Big Men you can go to:

December 27th Coaches Show. Page 14 of the Coaches Show Thread. Dan Hurley speaks of Mike Layssard and Michael Tertsea for 5 minutes between the 28 and 33 minute mark. He also speaks Cyril Langevine.

http://920whjj.iheart.com/media/play/27575308/

To Summarize Dan's Comments on the Freshmen:

Michael Tertsea
- DH said both Tertsea and Layssard have been having double sessions including practice and skill sessions plus strength sessions with Daniel Marshall
- DH said Tersea has gotten so much better offensively
- He doesn't make the same mistake twice
- He is competitive and smart

Jeff Dowtin
- Probably lose at least one of the games at home in December if it were not for Jeff
- He is a reliable shot maker
- His mid range pull up game is really strong - quick release on his mid range jumper

Cyril Langevine
- Positive comment about his 17 rebounds vs William & Mary with 7 being offensive rebounds. Said he has a shot to average 10+ rebounds per game which is rare
- He is competitive
- Strong motor
- Not scared
- Has a competitive arrogance about him
- Believes in himself
- Was coached at the Patrick School by a former Big 10 Coach Mike Rice

Mike Layssard
- Is really skilled and has really good potential
- Has the ability to shoot
- Was not exposed to a high level of HS Basketball and is learning some things for the first time
- We probably underestimated the adjustment for Mike
- Did not get the benefit of a HC like Mike Rice as Langevine received
- We have had lots of meetings with Mike as he has been discouraged at times
- Dan then reemphasized Mike's potential, how he is really skilled and has the ability to shoot



Looking at Mike's HS, he did not play the competitive, high level that Dowtin and Tertsea played in Washington DC and Langevine played in NJ
Mike's HS Northwood Lena has 700+ Students and is located in a rural, central part of the state.
Driving time from his HS:
3.5 hours to New Orleans
2.5 hours to Baton Rouge
1.5 hours to Shreveport
.5 hours to Alexandria

His HS finished 6-21 this season without Mike.

Comments at the time of his recruiting from this Coach:
Coach Brumfield ‏@Coach_Brumfield
Sad That He Wasn't Able To Stay In the Louisiana/ Texas Area
More
Coach Brumfield ‏@Coach_Brumfield
He Hasn't Even Reached His Full Potential, Has Never Been Well Coached or Pushed Beyond His Comfort Level. Good Pick Up.

Mike was a 3-star Rivals and 4-star ESPN

As a Junior, Mike made 1st Team All State Class 1A. By comparison Christion Thompson made 2nd Team All State as a Senior that same year. Mike made 1st Team again as a Senior.

Scholarship Offers for Mike came from the 5 Schools he narrowed to:
Rhode Island
SMU
Oklahoma
Memphis

Plus he also had Offers from:
Providence
Florida
Texas A&M
Clemson
Wichita State
Wake Forest
Mississippi State
Tulsa
New Mexico State
Clemson
Louisiana Tech
Buffalo
South Florida
Murray State
Northwestern State

I seem to remember ARD saying on a later Coach's Show that the Big men had a lot of work to do over the summer

Whether Tertsea, Layssard or both could or should have been red-shirted I leave that to the Coaches and the players themselves.

One thing we all agree on is that it takes Big Men longer to develop than guards. We know Martin and Iverson, being Seniors, were both going to get as many minutes as possible. Langevine stepped up as a more than adequate Freshman sub with Akele also playing some key minutes.

I seem to remember ARD mentioning on a later Coach's Show that Mike had a lot of work to do over the summer but I don't remember the exact show. He said on the Show that he was impressed by Langevine, Tertsea and Layssard.

[adam914]

Someone should tell that coach that it might not be smart to continue to say that his players "have never been well coached"

[bigappleram]

The list of big men that went from gathering splinters in their FR year to impact players in their JR/SR years is a long long list.

[Iggy1979]

In one of his recent interviews, talking about next year's team, DH said something to the effect: and we have good players that no one has seen yet. He could mean Fatts but it seemed to me he was talking about the big guys.

[Rhody83]

In one of his recent interviews, talking about next year's team, DH said something to the effect: and we have good players that no one has seen yet. He could mean Fatts but it seemed to me he was talking about the big guys.

It was his interview with Dan Yorke. He was talking about current players. Definitely referring to the big men that didn't play much this year.

[rambone 78]

He probably was referring to Fatts and Tertsea....not sure about ML....if he was good he would have played a damn sight more than he did last season....now I'm not saying he COULD be good as he matures....

[EGram]

I thought it's funny his HS coach said upon his committing to URI "Has never been well coached"

Way to believe in yourself.

[ramster]

I thought it's funny his HS coach said upon his committing to URI "Has never been well coached"

Way to believe in yourself.

That wasn't his HS Coach who said that

[EGram]

Comments at the time of his recruiting from this Coach:
Coach Brumfield ‏@Coach_Brumfield
Sad That He Wasn't Able To Stay In the Louisiana/ Texas Area
More
Coach Brumfield ‏@Coach_Brumfield
He Hasn't Even Reached His Full Potential, Has Never Been Well Coached or Pushed Beyond His Comfort Level. Good Pick Up.

Is that not his coach?

[ramster]

No, that was NOT his High School Coach OR his AAU Coach

His High School Coach was Troy Grigg (Proof in picture below)

His AAU Coach was BJ Johnson

No way his own Coach is going to say that about himself - even if it was true.

HS Coach.png