2/27 | St. Joe's Hawks | 7PM (CBSSN) (Senior Night)

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 6 years ago

Well if they needed a wake up call they sure got it.

My issue with this is, we have 5 seniors who all play a lot.....self motivation shouldn't be an issue.

RF1 · Unread post by **RF1** » 6 years ago

That loss was pretty historic not just by URI standards.

rhodysurf · Unread post by **rhodysurf** » 6 years ago

Even when they drove to the hoop they missed. Berry was missing everything. Cyril missed a bunch.

It is unbelievable the level of missing that occured.

They need that full week off after davidson

Billyboy78 · Unread post by **Billyboy78** » 6 years ago

I don't know why every team doesn't play zone for the majority of the time against us. Our strength on offense is obviously our athletic guards taking it to the basket. I imagine we'll be seeing a lot more of it when teams look at that tape.

Rhodysk · Unread post by **Rhodysk** » 6 years ago

Thinking about last nights game still pisses me off.
I was hoping when I woke up this morning it was just a bad dream..

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 6 years ago

Billyboy78 wrote:I don't know why every team doesn't play zone for the majority of the time against us. Our strength on offense is obviously our athletic guards taking it to the basket. I imagine we'll be seeing a lot more of it when teams look at that tape.

A10 teams generally play man defense......guard oriented league.....but it happens [playing a zone] often enough where we shouldn't react like we've never seen one before.

We have played well at times against zones before. So there's that.

Just a nightmare all around.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 6 years ago

The way we're playing defense should actually be a bigger concern.....spread offenses are killing us.

Our D has almost always been good enough to keep us in games even when we haven't shot the ball well.

Where has that gone?

RF1 · Unread post by **RF1** » 6 years ago

Might actually be good that last night was the final home game of the season. May need the nine months off before next game to completely wipe out the memory of that horrific performance.

Blue Man · Unread post by **Blue Man** » 6 years ago

That game was so bad I don’t know how you could take anything - good or bad (though there was lots of bad) from it.

Burn the tapes, bury the ashes, move on to Friday.

adam914 · Unread post by **adam914** » 6 years ago

I think the whole Senior Night thing did likely play some role in this, but I think another part that shouldn't be overlooked is clinching the regular season title last game to. I think the combination of those two things together created a perfect storm of sorts where we just weren't ready for this one. We may lose on Friday, but if we do I don't think it will be for any of the same reasons we lost last night. This game at Davidson was always going to be a tough one either way.

Obadiah · Unread post by **Obadiah** » 6 years ago

Sorry I don’t see any good coming out of this. The boo birds are out and more important, so are the CBB movers and shakers,

adam914 · Unread post by **adam914** » 6 years ago

Obadiah wrote:Sorry I don’t see any good coming out of this. The boo birds are out and more important, so are the CBB movers and shakers,

Yeah, I would agree that nothing really "good" comes out of it, but we do still have the opportunity to soften the blow. Win Friday and win the A10 tourney and it drastically lessens the impact of this loss in my opinion.

Keatgsr07 · Unread post by **Keatgsr07** » 6 years ago

Billyboy78 wrote:I don't know why every team doesn't play zone for the majority of the time against us. Our strength on offense is obviously our athletic guards taking it to the basket. I imagine we'll be seeing a lot more of it when teams look at that tape.

^^^^^ thoughts exactly. I'm completely fearful that our offense has been figured out.

TulaneGradRamFan · Unread post by **TulaneGradRamFan** » 6 years ago

Not having ever been a matriculated student at URI, I don't know anything about "senior night". What happens during senior night?
Is it some big dinner and then speeches and I gather, (as I watched part of the tape someone posted on another thread), the seniors enter the Ryan Center after they are introduced and everyone applauds?

Is there a ton of food served? If they gorged on food the way Americans do on holidays and at Thanksgiving, all it makes you want to do is sleep if not at least relax. I can see how they might not have been ready to play an important game right after an event like that... and any team playing against them would have a huge advantage. I'm just curious.

Perhaps from now on, to avoid this from ever happening again, they should change it to "Senior Day" and have a special breakfast and ceremonies and then the seniors can rest and recover from the event and have time to get ready and focused for the game that night.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 6 years ago

Nothing good comes out of it because we did nothing good. Even Jeff didn't play well.

The more I think about last night, the more bizarre it gets. We could have shot better with blindfolds on.

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 6 years ago

adam914 wrote:I think the whole Senior Night thing did likely play some role in this, but I think another part that shouldn't be overlooked is clinching the regular season title last game to. I think the combination of those two things together created a perfect storm of sorts where we just weren't ready for this one. We may lose on Friday, but if we do I don't think it will be for any of the same reasons we lost last night. This game at Davidson was always going to be a tough one either way.

I agree with all of this, and will also add that it wasn't just the celebration of last Friday and the festivities of last night, but also everything in between. This game last night was treated by the coaches, players, media and fans as a coronation of the team and a fete of the senior players. It was well-earned, but the team clearly lost focus and took its eyes off the ball. The basketball game was treated as an afterthought and the team wasn't mentally prepared to be challenged. When they were, they were not prepared to respond (they actually didn't start terribly but got continuously worse as the game went on).

It is going to cost them seeding and ruin a night they will remember forever, it wasn't an inexpensive lesson. Hopefully they learn it, at least.

Seawrightspostgame · Unread post by **Seawrightspostgame** » 6 years ago

adam914 wrote:
Obadiah wrote:Sorry I don’t see any good coming out of this. The boo birds are out and more important, so are the CBB movers and shakers,
Yeah, I would agree that nothing really "good" comes out of it, but we do still have the opportunity to soften the blow. Win Friday and win the A10 tourney and it drastically lessens the impact of this loss in my opinion.

Agreed

EDIT: NO IMPACT if they win the A10 and next game. Even if there is a drop in seeding.

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 6 years ago

TulaneGradRamFan wrote:Not having ever been a matriculated student at URI, I don't know anything about "senior night". What happens during senior night?
Is it some big dinner and then speeches and I gather, (as I watched part of the tape someone posted on another thread), the seniors enter the Ryan Center after they are introduced and everyone applauds?

Is there a ton of food served? If they gorged on food the way Americans do on holidays and at Thanksgiving, all it makes you want to do is sleep if not at least relax. I can see how they might not have been ready to play an important game right after an event like that... and any team playing against them would have a huge advantage. I'm just curious.

Perhaps from now on, to avoid this from ever happening again, they should think about changing it to "Senior Day" and have a special breakfast and ceremonies and then the seniors can rest and recover from the event and have time to get ready and focused for the game that night. Then maybe at the end of the game they can introduce each of the seniors.

I think this is the second or third time I’ve seen you post something about eating too much having an effect on the game. I don’t know if this is joke that I’m not getting or something, but assuming you’re serious the game is the Senior Night event. It isn’t like a separate banquet before the game or something.

Billyboy78 · Unread post by **Billyboy78** » 6 years ago

Possibly a large serving of humble pie.

TulaneGradRamFan · Unread post by **TulaneGradRamFan** » 6 years ago

O.K. Thanks for the clarification on whether or not food was a big part of Senior night. I posted twice because no one answered my question the first time. I'm just trying to make sense of how the whole team was so out of sorts to explain why they all played so poorly. Food or something that they all participated in or were exposed to might explain it.

RhowdyRam02 · Unread post by **RhowdyRam02** » 6 years ago

I know people on here love saying the word zone because they think it makes them look like a basketball mastermind, but the zone, and really St. Joe's, had nothing to do with our losing last night. This was all on us, we beat us. Disagree with me? Then explain how the vaunted St. Joe's zone held us to 50% (9-18) from the line. We couldn't hit anything despite open looks and though our defense wasn't at our best it was certainly better than their shooting percentages indicate. Perfect storm loss.

There's nothing to take from last night's game and there's no "blueprint" other than if we shoot like shit and you hit way more shots than you should you'll beat us, probably by a lot.

adam914 · Unread post by **adam914** » 6 years ago

TruePoint wrote:
adam914 wrote:I think the whole Senior Night thing did likely play some role in this, but I think another part that shouldn't be overlooked is clinching the regular season title last game to. I think the combination of those two things together created a perfect storm of sorts where we just weren't ready for this one. We may lose on Friday, but if we do I don't think it will be for any of the same reasons we lost last night. This game at Davidson was always going to be a tough one either way.
I agree with all of this, and will also add that it wasn't just the celebration of last Friday and the festivities of last night, but also everything in between. This game last night was treated by the coaches, players, media and fans as a coronation of the team and a fete of the senior players. It was well-earned, but the team clearly lost focus and took its eyes off the ball. The basketball game was treated as an afterthought and the team wasn't mentally prepared to be challenged. When they were, they were not prepared to respond (they actually didn't start terribly but got continuously worse as the game went on).

It is going to cost them seeding and ruin a night they will remember forever, it wasn't an inexpensive lesson. Hopefully they learn it, at least.

Right, exactly. It seemed as if perhaps they expected it to be a celebration and for St. Joe's to be a willing participant in the party, and then when they weren't there was no response. I think in the end the story of last nights game will be less about how or why it happened and more about how they respond to it.

steviep123 · Unread post by **steviep123** » 6 years ago

TulaneGradRamFan wrote:O.K. Thanks for the clarification on whether or not food was a big part of Senior night. I posted twice because no one answered my question the first time. I'm just trying to make sense of how the whole team was so out of sorts to explain why they all played so poorly. Food or something that they all participated in or were exposed to might explain it.

All senior night is, is a recognition of all the seniors associated with the team on the court before the game. This typically can include, Rammettes, Cheerleaders, band members, etc, and people like EZ Buckets who ended 10 years of being the spirit master and emcee on the mic. It culminates with saying good bye to the seniors on the team being escorted on the court by family and friends. It's a good chance for the fans to cheer on the seniors one last time in their career.

there is no special pre game banquet or anything I'm aware of.

Seawrightspostgame · Unread post by **Seawrightspostgame** » 6 years ago

but the FOOD!

NYGFan_Section208 · Unread post by **NYGFan_Section208** » 6 years ago

TulaneGradRamFan wrote:O.K. Thanks for the clarification on whether or not food was a big part of Senior night. I posted twice because no one answered my question the first time. I'm just trying to make sense of how the whole team was so out of sorts to explain why they all played so poorly. Food or something that they all participated in or were exposed to might explain it.

Actually, I thought that the pre-game meal on Senior Night was a chance for all the seniors to go head-to-head with Joey Chestnut in a hot dog eating contest right before the game. Is that not still the case?

RhodyRam86 · Unread post by **RhodyRam86** » 6 years ago

RhowdyRam02 wrote:I know people on here love saying the word zone because they think it makes them look like a basketball mastermind, but the zone, and really St. Joe's, had nothing to do with our losing last night. This was all on us, we beat us. Disagree with me? Then explain how the vaunted St. Joe's zone held us to 50% (9-18) from the line. We couldn't hit anything despite open looks and though our defense wasn't at our best it was certainly better than their shooting percentages indicate. Perfect storm loss.

There's nothing to take from last night's game and there's no "blueprint" other than if we shoot like shit and you hit way more shots than you should you'll beat us, probably by a lot.

rhowdy...I think the problem is we are just not a very good jump shooting team. EC can hit a 3, but he makes his money going to the hoop. Fatts has had a few good scoring games, but more often than not, he is in the 1-5 range outside. He too scores most of his points at the basket. My eyes tell me JG was our most consistent 3 point shooter. He hasn't scored in 3 games. JD...may develop as a good shooter, but he's not there yet. Stan has been slumping. Jared is a good shooter and can score from anywhere.

I watched the broadcast on TV last night when I got home from the game. We average 6 made 3s a game. We are 13th in the country on total points coming from 2 pointers. So if I'm an opponent, I'm going to take away what URI does best...I'm going to pack in a zone and let URI beat me from outside. If they have a decent shooting night I lose. It's a pick your poison. While we like to limit other teams in their 3 point shooting, I think other teams should do just the opposite to us.
Last night URI took 29 3 pointers. I think EC took one from Ballentine Hall. I don't think I had a complaint with any of the others. Saint Joe's zone isn't like one of those vaunted Syracuse zones. They just said...We'll give you, uncontested, all the 3s you want, but you aren't getting to the basket.

We may have problems in the future if a team plays zone on defense and protects the ball well enough on offense to stop us from getting turnovers and some easy buckets.

.

hrstrat57 · Unread post by **hrstrat57** » 6 years ago

I don’t recall a single contested 3 all our shots were wide open. Can’t think of a single forced 3 point shot.

Gotta have 10-29 high school teams shoot that, hell my youth hoop teams I coached shot that. Bizarre!

Terrell had success attacking the zone on the baseline.
Can’t dribble straight into the teeth of that, gotta make shots.

Saw a 8 yr old kid made one from farther than Ballentine at half time.

Aside from the lazy ass passes we beat ourselves with bricks. Although to be fair the number of shots that went halfway down was nuts.

...and we had no plan for Demery which was just as equally bizarre.

luke · Unread post by **luke** » 6 years ago

I would also like to reference Rollie Massimino and Villanova 1985 . villanova ended up losing that Pittsburgh game by 30 and the coach
took out all the starters in the second half. they ecked their way into the NCAA Tournament going I believe 20-10 in the regular season .
they opened against Dayton in the UD Arena and scraped by 42-40 . They then ran the table in the rest of the Tournament finishing it
off with the Championship win over Patrick Euing and Georgetown , the prohibitive favorite as the defending champion . so take heart
Ram players and fans . the dream can still be fulfilled and a National Championship is still possible . But the team and the fans have to
believe it . As i said last year they could win out and win the A10 after the losses to LASALLE and FORDHAM . They did it. I know I am
an extreme optimist , but once again after such a horrific loss , a NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP IS still POSSIBLEif the players and fans believe
and dedicate themselves to it

theblueram · Unread post by **theblueram** » 6 years ago

Not being at the game, and only catching bits on tv and the occasional score, there seems to be no explanation for this showing. So completely opposite to how this team has been all year. I'm dismissing it. The knowledge that even if we scored zero points we are still dancing in March is keeping me level headed.

Seawrightspostgame · Unread post by **Seawrightspostgame** » 6 years ago

Soon enough all the games will be survive and advance. Will be fun.

Obadiah · Unread post by **Obadiah** » 6 years ago

In addition to our dismal shooting and equally bizarre is that St. Joe's ranks #331 nationally on 3 point shooting percentage!

reef · Unread post by **reef** » 6 years ago

I think our shooting got in our heads a little bit

I think once we started bricking we pressed a bit and it got contagious

Just need to get in the gym and get shots up we have good 3 point shooters

UCH21377 · Unread post by **UCH21377** » 6 years ago

Blue Man wrote:That game was so bad I don’t know how you could take anything - good or bad (though there was lots of bad) from it.

Burn the tapes, bury the ashes, move on to Friday.

I'm with Blue Man on this. We were so ridiculously bad that to me this game is almost an outlier. That being said, the one thing that makes me really nervous is the way we reacted to their zone. We really looked lost. I think the intensity will return on Friday. If not then maybe we do have reason to be concerned.

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 6 years ago

I think a lot of the looking lost was a result (as opposed to a cause) of our being completely unable to make anything from the floor. A lot of the 3 looks we got were good looks in the flow of the offense, and nothing would drop. I felt like we were one or two shots from being back in the game and racing ahead for the entire first half until about the 3 minute mark. But as each of the shots that would have put us back in position clanged off, and as St Joe's continued to make and even luck into baskets on their end, they started to believe in what was going on and so did we. That shift in emotion and energy and confidence is really what turned the game so ugly, IMO, much more so than any strategic shortcoming or talent deficit.

the_one_mike · Unread post by **the_one_mike** » 6 years ago

They returned to hero ball on offense last night. Poor ball movement, the normal passing lanes were filled so we fell in love with the 3.

There was a giant soft spot in that defense all night if we just attacked from the elbow and dumped it in back door when the big stepped up. I know, easy in theory... problem is, they tried this maybe 3 times all night and scored twice.

Live and learn. This was a big lesson for Danny above all else, IMO -- the moment seemed to be bigger than the game and the result shows that. I don't see him letting the leash get that long again. Bench should have been cleared before the end of the first half, though. The seniors were playing like shit, last home game of their career or not.

RhodysRelevant · Unread post by **RhodysRelevant** » 6 years ago

TruePoint wrote:I think a lot of the looking lost was a result (as opposed to a cause) of our being completely unable to make anything from the floor. A lot of the 3 looks we got were good looks in the flow of the offense, and nothing would drop. I felt like we were one or two shots from being back in the game and racing ahead for the entire first half until about the 3 minute mark. But as each of the shots that would have put us back in position clanged off, and as St Joe's continued to make and even luck into baskets on their end, they started to believe in what was going on and so did we. That shift in emotion and energy and confidence is really what turned the game so ugly, IMO, much more so than any strategic shortcoming or talent deficit.

well said, some of those shots off of drives they made you just knew it was their night. it happens, lets move on. but it was some of the worst offense i have ever seen.

luke · Unread post by **luke** » 6 years ago

You nailed it TRUEPOINT and RHODYRELEVENT. It was just one of those games where everything went right for the Hawks and nothing went right for the Rams . it happens and especially basketball where so much depends on confidence and relaxed play . just the slightest bit of tension can throw off a
shooter and missing shots compounds the stress and anxiety . Let's see how Friday goes.

PlayMikeMotenMore · Unread post by **PlayMikeMotenMore** » 6 years ago

luke wrote:You nailed it TRUEPOINT and RHODYRELEVENT. It was just one of those games where everything went right for the Hawks and nothing went right for the Rams . it happens and especially basketball where so much depends on confidence and relaxed play . just the slightest bit of tension can throw off a
shooter and missing shots compounds the stress and anxiety . Let's see how Friday goes.

Partially agree. Sometimes one team is really good (St. Joe's) and one team is really bad (URI) on a particular night. That does happen and that's why we love watching upsets in the NCAA tournament.

But to have a supposedly top-20 team lose by 30 at home to a below average A-10 team...well as history has shown, that's only happened once. So what you saw last night doesn't just happen.

Normally when a really good team plays poorly at home against a bad team playing above their head, then the really good team can lose by 10-12 points maybe, 15 points perhaps, 20 points would be unlikely. But by 30 points, well that's unheard of.

PlayMikeMotenMore · Unread post by **PlayMikeMotenMore** » 6 years ago

TruePoint wrote:
PlayMikeMotenMore wrote:
Blue Man wrote:
Suck ass guy who comes on the board only after losses.
Because saying anything remotely "critical" after a win is forbidden. One is only allowed to note poor ball movement, too reliant on 3-point shooting, or poor interior defense after losses. Those things are ignored if URI wins.

Sky is falling when URI loses...sunshine and balloons when URI wins. There's no grey area.
People are critical of the team all the time. There are very few fanboys here. Obviously this year the positive posts have outnumbered the negative ones - how much criticism do you expect to see during the best season the program has had in a long time, possibly ever? It would be absurd if after every game all anybody did here was bemoan and belabor the things that didn't go perfectly (although some people here do seemingly try).

The reason why people give you a hard time is not because you make criticisms. It's because you ONLY make criticisms. In however many years you've been posting here, there have been literally zero signs that you are in any way invested in the team doing well. You come here after losses and talk shit..this is a fan site...how do you think the fans here are going to react to that? Somebody points out that you only come here after losses, and your explanation for that is you aren't allowed to criticize after wins - which is (1) not true and (2) revealing of your relationship to this program, which begs the question of why you come here at all.

If anyone here were as consistently positive as you are negative, you would (pretty fairly) call them fanboys. So what does that make you? Fortunately there is nobody here as consistently positive as you are negative. Even ramster is critical more frequently than you are complimentary. Unfortunately, there is you.

One can enjoy the season and the results of every win while still offering observations of breakdowns, lack of execution, faulty decision-making, etc. One can do both. People give me a had time because I make criticisms like there's something wrong with offering criticisms? Without criticisms, you guys would be like a Fox News echo chamber just telling each other whatever makes you feel well without looking at some realities.

Should we all come on a message board after wins and offer up only positives? What's the point of the board if you can't have divergent viewpoints and observations? To just come on here and post "great game by Jeff" or "Fats shot well." Well duh, what's the point of 50 people offering up the same obvious observations? Nobody is adding to the conversation by repeating the same stuff over and over. (Don't we get annoyed with announcers who do that?)

I try to offer up facts to be digested. Some people don't like that and take that as offensive to URI's program. Those who disagree offer up name-calling. Name calling reflects poorly on the fan base and this message board. I'd rather read posts from people who have a differing opinion supported by facts than read posts from people who just come on here with name-calling and cussing.

If you don't think Dan Hurley or any good coach isn't looking at dissecting each game (including wins) for what they can do better and where they broke down, then you don't understand coaches. Coaches are negative people by nature, even when things are going well. You can call me a lot of things (which people do) but I prefer to think of myself as a worry wart. I'm always looking at what can be done better and where things can improve. If that makes me a bad guy and a bad fan, so be it.

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 6 years ago

A few thoughts:

1. If you watch these games and after every single one of them you can only come up with negative observations and zero positive observations, especially during a season where the team you are watching is dominating and performing as one of the best two dozen or so programs in the country, then that is an indication that you do not understand what you are watching and you don't have any credibility.

2. If you think everyone comes on this board after games and says "great game by Jeff" or "Fatts shot well," then you're obviously not reading what other people are posting here. Many, many posters are doing exactly what you think you're doing and what you think we need you to do - offer objective assessments of the team that includes both general and specific criticisms, after both wins and losses. The difference between you and these other posters is that their assessments also include observations of things that the team has done well, or individual players, or coaches. Further, if you really felt your voice was needed to counterbalance the runaway positivity, wouldn't it make more sense for you to show up after wins when you think we are participating in a love-in to impart that wisdom, rather than exclusively after losses when everyone here is melting down and throwing around criticisms of the team like they are promo t-shirts during a timeout?

3. I don't understand where you are getting the idea from that you are "offering up facts to be digested." You are offering up observations and opinions, without much in the way of empirical data in support. I'm sure that you regard your opinions so highly that in your mind they are facts, but they are not. The substance of all of your observations and opinions are generic, and the tone and type are predictable. (If you want to compare other people to FOX News, maybe don't steal their go-to move of having a predetermined take that you're going to stick to regardless of what information informs the situation.)

4. The clear implication that I am getting from what you're saying here is that you feel we need your particular brand of negativity, whether we know it or not, to balance out our unquestioning and unwavering faith in the infallibility of the team and its coaches. Allow me to disabuse you of this comically absurd belief. As I've already pointed out, there is plenty of criticism of the team and coaches after both wins and losses from regular posters, which you would know if you actually read the board like everyone else here. Unlike you, these posters have credibility here because they have shown they are capable of having more than one type of observation about this program, and importantly they've also shown they are invested in the program's success. In addition, many of these posters have proven they know the game of basketball by making intelligent, cogent, sound observations about the game; the same cannot be said for you. In the years that you have been polluting our board with luke warm troll takes, never once have you come across as possessing any significant basketball knowledge (your illustrious youth basketball coaching exploits aside). Nobody respects or cares about your observations because, in addition to them being predictably mean spirited and negative, they've mostly just been bad from a basketball perspective. They are not revealing of any special knowledge or insight about the game or the players that you're watching (if you are even watching). Basically, what you say about this team is consistently and reliably the basketball version what someone would say about a person that slept with their significant other, whether it had any factual basis or not.

5. Bringing up Dan Hurley in defense of your relentless negativity here is hilarious because (a) he is as complimentary of his players as anybody here would be on their best day, and (b) to the extent that he is critical and worrying about identifying and fixing flaws - which, as you point out, all coaches do - there is a crucial difference between you and him, and that is that he actually is the coach and, to the best of my knowledge, you are not. That doesn't mean you can't have critical takes, but spare us the "all of us coaches are just negative by nature" nonsense.

Da_Process_Survivor · Unread post by **Da_Process_Survivor** » 6 years ago

luke wrote:You nailed it TRUEPOINT and RHODYRELEVENT. It was just one of those games where everything went right for the Hawks and nothing went right for the Rams . it happens and especially basketball where so much depends on confidence and relaxed play . just the slightest bit of tension can throw off a
shooter and missing shots compounds the stress and anxiety . Let's see how Friday goes.

it wasnt entirely just one of those nights though.

If they had played their normal game and simply bricked all night, then sure. but they were passive, uninterested and gave up in the 1st half. they looked satisfied out there, which is the most unsettling thing about the game

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 6 years ago

Da_Process_Survivor wrote:
luke wrote:You nailed it TRUEPOINT and RHODYRELEVENT. It was just one of those games where everything went right for the Hawks and nothing went right for the Rams . it happens and especially basketball where so much depends on confidence and relaxed play . just the slightest bit of tension can throw off a
shooter and missing shots compounds the stress and anxiety . Let's see how Friday goes.
it wasnt entirely just one of those nights though.

If they had played their normal game and simply bricked all night, then sure. but they were passive, uninterested and gave up in the 1st half. they looked satisfied out there, which is the most unsettling thing about the game

I really don't agree with this. I think it's easy to see that as a fan when you're watching and getting frustrated by all the misses, but I think to the extent you saw them being passive and disinterested while the game was still in reach, you're reading something into a situation that wasn't there in order to make sense of it. If I'm recalling the sequence correctly, they had cut it to 10 just under the 4 minute TO, and EC rimmed out a jumper from the right baseline that looked like it was all the way down before it popped out, and then St Joe's went down the other end, coughed the ball up against pressure D and it squirted right to a Joe's player under the basket for an easy 2. That was the point, I think, where some frustration set in for the players. Joe's scored the next however many points and the rout was on. I do think that the Rhody players did decide at some point that the game was a lost cause and that's why the final score was so lopsided, but I didn't think it happened while the game was still within reach based on my observations.

Da_Process_Survivor · Unread post by **Da_Process_Survivor** » 6 years ago

TruePoint wrote:
Da_Process_Survivor wrote:
luke wrote:You nailed it TRUEPOINT and RHODYRELEVENT. It was just one of those games where everything went right for the Hawks and nothing went right for the Rams . it happens and especially basketball where so much depends on confidence and relaxed play . just the slightest bit of tension can throw off a
shooter and missing shots compounds the stress and anxiety . Let's see how Friday goes.
it wasnt entirely just one of those nights though.

If they had played their normal game and simply bricked all night, then sure. but they were passive, uninterested and gave up in the 1st half. they looked satisfied out there, which is the most unsettling thing about the game
I really don't agree with this. I think it's easy to see that as a fan when you're watching and getting frustrated by all the misses, but I think to the extent you saw them being passive and disinterested while the game was still in reach, you're reading something into a situation that wasn't there in order to make sense of it. If I'm recalling the sequence correctly, they had cut it to 10 just under the 4 minute TO, and EC rimmed out a jumper from the right baseline that looked like it was all the way down before it popped out, and then St Joe's went down the other end, coughed the ball up against pressure D and it squirted right to a Joe's player under the basket for an easy 2. That was the point, I think, where some frustration set in for the players. Joe's scored the next however many points and the rout was on. I do think that the Rhody players did decide at some point that the game was a lost cause and that's why the final score was so lopsided, but I didn't think it happened while the game was still within reach based on my observations.

true, but also in that sequence where it went from 10 to 20 before the half they got beat down the floor a few times and didnt rotate on D leaving wide open 3s. That's where I was seeing the quit. If you want to call it being frustrated instead, sure call it that.

maybe it was more being satisfied than quitting. but they definitely looked like 'oh well, we're already the champs'

My thing in that sequence is we never see this team get out hustled that many times in a row. They didnt seem to have the same urgency and intensity trying to recover from defensive lapses. Big thing too was they got zero loose balls. There is some luck of the bounce, but hustle wins out on 50/50 balls.

its just jarring because its a first for a Hurley team. we havent seen them pack it in before, even the 1st 2 years the bad teams still fought and clawed for the full 40

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 6 years ago

Dan said at the show that the players looked sad yesterday morning.......and they were expecting a huge chewing out but Dan didn't do that....I think Dan knew deep down that it was his fault he didn't have the team ready to play due to all of the distractions since they won the conference title, leading up to the senior night ceremonies.

He also said WHEN we win the title next year, things will be done differently, including possibly having senior night ceremony after the game, not before.

section(105) · Unread post by **section(105)** » 6 years ago

......the heightened status of the program, handling all those senior nite program builders emotions, winning the A-10 regular season with games to spare, the team aggressive urgency seemed usually seen was not there, all new things for Dan to handle himself.......

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 6 years ago

105 agreed, but the thing that bothers me the most about that game...was the 2nd half....you would think that after the ending to the first half, we would have picked up the intensity to start the 2nd....Dan said he expected that to happen....nothing.

Just made zero sense on so many levels....you would have thought the "emotions" of senior night would have been long gone by then, and let's get back in this game would have been the priority?

NJRhodyFan · Unread post by **NJRhodyFan** » 6 years ago

rambone 78 wrote:105 agreed, but the thing that bothers me the most about that game...was the 2nd half....you would think that after the ending to the first half, we would have picked up the intensity to start the 2nd....Dan said he expected that to happen....nothing.

Just made zero sense on so many levels....you would have thought the "emotions" of senior night would have been long gone by then, and let's get back in this game would have been the priority?

Right, that's what's most concerning for me. It's like they just gave up entirely. I watched the Davidson/St. Bonnie game immediately following our debacle, and Aldridge and Grady were playing on another level. They did not look like the same players we faced a few weeks ago. We better wake up and bring it tomorrow night because Davidson seems to be peaking at the right time.

wpbrown8267 · Unread post by **wpbrown8267** » 6 years ago

rambone 78 wrote:105 agreed, but the thing that bothers me the most about that game...was the 2nd half....you would think that after the ending to the first half, we would have picked up the intensity to start the 2nd....Dan said he expected that to happen....nothing.

Just made zero sense on so many levels....you would have thought the "emotions" of senior night would have been long gone by then, and let's get back in this game would have been the priority?

yeah rambone, thats what seemed different to me about the 2nd half, the lack of response. By no means was I expecting a great comeback like the duquesne game, but i figured there would be a run, the intensity would be 10x because they got thoroughly embarrassed in the 1st half, and maybe by the end of the game we lose by 6-10 pts.

Point being that we win the 2nd half for sleeping in the 1st half. I was surprised to see the same performance as the 1st

PlayMikeMotenMore · Unread post by **PlayMikeMotenMore** » 6 years ago

never once have you come across as possessing any significant basketball knowledge (your illustrious youth basketball coaching exploits aside). Nobody respects or cares about your observations because, in addition to them being predictably mean spirited and negative, they've mostly just been bad from a basketball perspective. They are not revealing of any special knowledge or insight about the gaTruTrume or the players that you're watching (if you are even watching). Basically, what you say about this team is consistently and reliably the basketball version what someone would say about a person that slept with their significant other, whether it had any factual basis or not.

TP...your post is laughable. Feel free to look at my previous posts. All I do is support my opinions with facts and then people stick their in the sand. My posts are "mean spirited and negative?" Really? Go search every single one of my posts and find me one instance where I've called a player, a coach, or even a poster on this board a name. I dare you. Go find one post where I've used foul language. Go ahead, look high and low. (I know you won't do it.) Because you won't find a single post that is like that. I don't do it.

As for game knowledge...as I've pointed, this high ball-screen offense lacks ball movement and action away from ball. Where are the flair screens? High/low action? Where is the curling action away from the ball so that they can catch going to the basket? Do they have any form of a motion offense? I see no post touches for URI's big men, where an offense operates inside and out. Record a game and count the number of passes per possession. Then take a stop watch and see how much time is spent dribbling going 1-on-1. Defensively, this team lacks size on the wings. Need somebody like Abdul Fox, Mike Brown, Joshua King...6'6-6'7" wing player. They will struggle against teams with two bigs who can high-low action. As a coach, has Hurley added anything to their offense and any wrinkles to give other teams things to think about? Or is this team as good and running the same stuff as they were in November? Those are all things I'm looking for. They are neither positive nor negative.

5. Bringing up Dan Hurley in defense of your relentless negativity here is hilarious because (a) he is as complimentary of his players as anybody here would be on their best day, and (b) to the extent that he is critical and worrying about identifying and fixing flaws - which, as you point out, all coaches do - there is a crucial difference between you and him, and that is that he actually is the coach and, to the best of my knowledge, you are not. That doesn't mean you can't have critical takes, but spare us the "all of us coaches are just negative by nature" nonsense.

So because I'm not THE coach I'm not allowed to view the team as the coach would? Is that what you're saying? Only he can offer critical takes of the URI team? What makes you the policeman of what I'm allowed to do? How many college coaches do you personally know? How many have you spoken to outside the URI bubble? Hurley should be complimentary of his players in public. He needs to protect them from the name calling that they hear out there...the name calling coming from many people who post here. If you don't think he's privately talking to his fellow assistants about players and poking/prodding players to get more out of them, then you never been around a Division One program very much. Negativism and paranoia go hand-in-hand.

http://www.masslive.com/umassbasketball ... coach.html

It's a great season and a team with a great record. I enjoy it, winning is much better than losing. Did they benefit from a down Atlantic 10 that perhaps inflated their record and their profile? Maybe. Can they get to the 2nd weekend of the NCAA tournament? Sure. If they don't, does it take away from their success? I say no.

To say someone you don't know is not "invested" in the program, how would you define invested? If I've been going to URI games since the 1970's, does that make me more or less invested? I'll ask you, the board policeman to offer your explanation.

Your message board arrogance is hilarious. I don't pretend to know anything about anybody who posts here. You and I are no better and no worse than anybody else, although you may think differently. Unless everybody on this board wants to show us their basketball credentials, I would politely request you refrain from being judgmental of others.

Go Rhody. (That's a positive.)

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 6 years ago

My appetite for a prolonged back and forth with you is at an all-time low right now. I said my piece. You post here only when the team plays poorly and people here are agitated, and it definitely looks to us like you are here to rub salt in the wounds. That isn't me being a board policeman; that is a near unanimous opinion here. I have a hard time believing you are ignorant to the way that comes across, but maybe you really don't realize it.

You don't break any rules - as you said, you don't curse or make personal attacks - so we haven't banned you or blocked you. My willingness to engage with you on this stuff is due solely to my hope that you will reconsider your approach or go away. You claim to be a life long, die hard fan who never misses a game, and for all I know that is the truth. You sure have a funny way of showing it, though. I sincerely welcome you to come here and take part in the conversation when things aren't going bad for the team - people with different perspectives are welcome as long as they are not deliberately antagonizing the rest of the fan base, and it would enhance your credibility when you want to fire off a hot take after a loss.

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