The David Cox Era

[DC_Rams]

I also don't see anyone saying "Cox should be doing this..." in any of the posts above -- all i see are some fans, with varying degrees of basketball competency, offering up their own opinions on potential areas of improvement or change. I think that's pretty much what you see on 99.9% of all internet fan boards.

Just go read the game threads BAR. There are TONS.

[ramster]

I only recall Cyril hitting 1 shot from beyond 3 feet. But no doubt he has been a better finisher around the rim this year.

As for DCRAMS, isn't that what this and any message board is for? Conjecture. I can't speak for anyone else, but I can tell you that this isn't my first rodeo and I am able to dissect the game beyond the average fan. And I think there are others on here that can as well. I'm not saying that to be an asshat, just to say I am not throwing around ideas that aren't grounded in a knowledge of the game at a decently high level. If we are to listen to you, and just trust the staff, what the hell do we have a board here for and what are we talking about. Why not end every thread with, 'trust the staff'. And again this is all for conversation purposes, not in an attempt to even hint that I know more than our staff who gets paid to do this job.

Huge difference between conjecture, and simply saying “just do what I say, and it will work”. Like I said, Monday morning QB’ing is fun. It’s what fans and sports enthusiasts do, but assuming you have the remedy for all the teams problems right at the tip of your fingertips, is ludicrous. What makes it even more ludicrous, is that some propel their own disdain, from building their own hype and from a couple likes from fellow like minded posters.

I didn’t mean to imply that we, as fans/supporters, don’t know diddly, but projecting hindsight theories into reality via keaneyblue.com will always make you SOUND like a genius, or like someone who knows a little something, ESPECIALLY, when we lose.

In the end, we are all left chasing our own tail.

Carry on, by all means fellas, just don’t forget we all clock in somewhere other than the Ryan Center on a day to day basis.

Jim Baron and Jerry De Gregorio clocked in at Keaney/Ryan too, but trust me, posters here knew better than these two guys many times
I loved Hurley, but my criticism was pretty minor:
- Rarely ever changed the starting line up even though he said paly in practice would help to decide who started
- Automatic removal of a player in the 1st half once 2nd foul was picked up - NO exceptions. Already Cox has gone against this practice
- Landed a high majority of the players he recruited - great BUT could always wonder if he had failed more maybe he could have landed some higher level players
I could be wrong on these minor criticisms of Hurley but I would welcome him back in .00000000001 seconds.

As for Cox, and admittedly it is very, very early........almost too early for anyone to pass much of any judgement, including me:
- I like that he has gone after some highly rated guys, you could say out of our comfort zone, but I would prefer he try to gauge just how high a player we can land at URI. Even if he did not land several I am happy he tried
- Too much dribbling by Russell, players tending to stand and watch, especially slow, long dribbling at half-court accomplishing nothing
- Lowest 3 point shooting % of all D1 Programs ranked #351. Dowtin would drive in the lane and dish out to players out at the 3 point line with pin point accuracy almost placing the ball in the perfect place in the shooters chest. Shooter had plenty of time to look, aim and launch. Many or our 3 point attempts are being made either slightly off balance, considerably off balance, with not as much time to get it off as last year. Plus many 3 pointers are being launched after dribbling 1 on 1 - last year it was more Dowtin getting the ball to the open player.
- Time for Dowtin to take a greater control of the ball handling and passing. Not saying PG or SG or anything, just Cox needs to get Dowtin more assists
- Defensively we are not as aggressive. Need to put more focus on defense - some of our guards and to some extent big men, need to be more physical and quicker defensively

[NYGFan_Section208]

I also don't see anyone saying "Cox should be doing this..." in any of the posts above -- all i see are some fans, with varying degrees of basketball competency, offering up their own opinions on potential areas of improvement or change. I think that's pretty much what you see on 99.9% of all internet fan boards.

Surely, you jest?

[KevanBoyles]

I’m interested to see what Coach Cox does to try to get us out of our shooting slump. One idea I have been playing with is starting Jeff at the one with Fatts coming off the bench and a combination of Thompson, Martin, and Silverio playing the 2-3. I also kind of like the idea of having Thompson come off the bench to give our defense a spark. This doesn’t mean that Fatts and Thompson wouldn’t get their minutes, It just means they’ll be playing slightly different roles. Two years ago when Stan and Christian came off the bench at about the 14 minute mark of the first half it was a great shot in the arm to our defense. I think Christian and Fatts can do the same thing. This will help them focus on their defense and chill out on their scoring. It will also help the freshman to gain confidence. Yes, I know this may fall flat but one thing is for sure, you can’t continue to do the same thing and expect different results.

[Rhody83]

The starting lineup is not changing for the Holy Cross game.

[Obadiah]

Then expect the same results.

[TruePoint]

Has there been guys coming off the bench setting the world on fire? I don’t think shuffling the starting lineup or the rotation, or changing guys roles, is going to be the answer. The answer is going to come from guys making more shots. There are coaching things to do, for sure, but I think those things are more along the lines of coaxing better performances out of the players, both by putting them in positions where it’s easier to succeed schematically and by getting them over whatever is going on psychologically with guys that is causing them to shoot at a rate far lower than they are capable of.

[Rhodymob05]

Marcus Smart is now starting for the Celtics and it’s working, who would have though? Now start Harris.

[Rhody83]

Marcus Smart is now starting for the Celtics and it’s working, who would have though? Now start Harris.

Harris has been starting. I am guessing you meant someone else.

[reef]

I really thought Martin was going to be a really decent 3 point shooter. Seemed from all his high school video he had a decent jumper with lots of range and who could forget when he went toe to toe with Cam Reddish

[TruePoint]

He may be, reef. His career is in its infancy still at this point.

Guys - not just freshmen, but all players even at the next level - can go thru 6 game stretches where they don’t play well or go cold from the floor. And specifically for Martin, freshmen very frequently (way more frequently than not) are not who they will eventually be as soon as they step on the floor for the first time.

I’m fully aware that at some point, maybe a month from now, I won’t be able to keep running this excuse out. And if that comes to pass, I will own it. I just honestly think that, unfortunately but maybe not coincidentally, we have guys slumping/getting off to slow starts combined with the normal freshman learning curve happening simultaneously in the early going. I am pretty confident (but certainly not 100% sure) that things will even out and the team will be fine, and that by the end of February they’ll be pretty close to what most here expected they’d be by that time.

[KevanBoyles]

Has there been guys coming off the bench setting the world on fire? I don’t think shuffling the starting lineup or the rotation, or changing guys roles, is going to be the answer. The answer is going to come from guys making more shots. There are coaching things to do, for sure, but I think those things are more along the lines of coaxing better performances out of the players, both by putting them in positions where it’s easier to succeed schematically and by getting them over whatever is going on psychologically with guys that is causing them to shoot at a rate far lower than they are capable of.

With Jeff being the primary facilitator they (Martin, Silverio, Fatts, and Thompson) should be put in better positions to score.

[rhodylaw]

He may be, reef. His career is in its infancy still at this point.

Guys - not just freshmen, but all players even at the next level - can go thru 6 game stretches where they don’t play well or go cold from the floor. And specifically for Martin, freshmen very frequently (way more frequently than not) are not who they will eventually be as soon as they step on the floor for the first time.

I’m fully aware that at some point, maybe a month from now, I won’t be able to keep running this excuse out. And if that comes to pass, I will own it. I just honestly think that, unfortunately but maybe not coincidentally, we have guys slumping/getting off to slow starts combined with the normal freshman learning curve happening simultaneously in the early going. I am pretty confident (but certainly not 100% sure) that things will even out and the team will be fine, and that by the end of February they’ll be pretty close to what most here expected they’d be by that time.

I am thinking that a large part of the problem is that it is December 7th and we have played only 6 games. Such a small sample size, but we are “deep” into the non-conference schedule. We could have won at Providence and at Charlston with mildly better shooting.

[Rhodymob05]

Marcus Smart is now starting for the Celtics and it’s working, who would have though? Now start Harris.

Harris has been starting. I am guessing you meant someone else.

*Martin sorry

[TruePoint]

Has there been guys coming off the bench setting the world on fire? I don’t think shuffling the starting lineup or the rotation, or changing guys roles, is going to be the answer. The answer is going to come from guys making more shots. There are coaching things to do, for sure, but I think those things are more along the lines of coaxing better performances out of the players, both by putting them in positions where it’s easier to succeed schematically and by getting them over whatever is going on psychologically with guys that is causing them to shoot at a rate far lower than they are capable of.

With Jeff being the primary facilitator they (Martin, Silverio, Fatts, and Thompson) should be put in better positions to score.

I think the idea that Jeff hasn’t had the ball in his hands enough is fair but way overstated here. He’s had it a lot and hadn’t done a ton with it. It’s become a cause celebre here and people have really latched onto it, but putting the ball in his hands more will not be a panacea.

[KevanBoyles]

Progress, not perfection. I think the problem lies in what I will refer to as Jeff “sharing“ the point guard position with Fatts. My proposal makes Jeff the point guard and Fatts a wing focusing on defense. I think to get out of their shooting slump you have to shake things up a bit. At this point any progress is better than no progress.

[RhowdyRam02]

Exactly. Getting the ball into Jeff's hands more and out of Fatts' hands more is good for the team.

[TruePoint]

Idk, you develop a plan over the course of months heading into the season, what is the right time to abandon it? I’d probably wait for more returns before I made drastic changes. The idea shouldn’t be what will produce the best result against Holy Cross tomorrow, but rather what scenario gives you the highest upside over the long term, and they obviously determined before the season that scenario was having Jeff and Fatts share ball handling duties. If you want to adjust the ratios a little bit and see if that helps, I think that’s fine.

[FattsAndFurious]

We're shooting 8% lower from 3 than the worst teams in the country last year. No matter what, we're due for some regression to the mean

[RhowdyRam02]

Idk, you develop a plan over the course of months heading into the season, what is the right time to abandon it? I’d probably wait for more returns before I made drastic changes. The idea shouldn’t be what will produce the best result against Holy Cross tomorrow, but rather what scenario gives you the highest upside over the long term, and they obviously determined before the season that scenario was having Jeff and Fatts share ball handling duties. If you want to adjust the ratios a little bit and see if that helps, I think that’s fine.

Well their plan was obviously and self-evidently wrong, anyone watching last year knew it would have been a bad idea, and after Providence Cox said he needed to change his offensive strategy and everything was on the table. If you think making our point guard the point guard is the wrong strategy you disagree with Cox the first six games of the year. If you think we shouldn't be making wholesale changes you disagree with Cox' comments after the Providence game.

[TruePoint]

So just so we are on the same page here, I am not David Cox, and as such it wasn’t my plan, it isn’t my job to defend the plan on the merits and I am entitled to disagree with something David Cox says after a game.

Having said that, if I had to guess at what the thinking is with respect to Fatts and Jeff, I think they are focused the fact that Fatts has a higher ceiling as a ball-dominant 1 that can create for himself and others than as an off the ball guy dependant on spot-up opportunities to get shots up, rather than on who is a better point guard Jeff or Fatts? Because Jeff is a better pure point guard, that is obvious. The calculation there is that you’re depending on Fatts to be one of your leading scorers, if not THE leading scorer, and you really need that from him to have any chance at being good, so they’re trying to put him in a situation where he can succeed rather than put him in a situation where he is completely wasted. The obvious issue is that Fatts has responded by shooting about 10% from the floor and clearly if that continues you just have to abandon the idea that he’s going to be an important player for you at all and at that point you can move him totally off the ball or down to the end of the bench. But also, if we do get to that point, the season is over. If we are going to have any chance at hitting our absolute ceiling, you have to get something from Fatts so it is important to get him the opportunities to give that to you. Giving up on him is giving up on the season.

[RhowdyRam02]

To be clear I'm not giving up on Fatts. When others were calling for his benching I was saying that I'd like to see what he did with Jeff as the point guard helping him to find his offense. And I'm not giving up on Fatts being a point guard on this team in the future if he can clean up his shot selection. He takes too many bad shots and looks for his own offense too much right now to be an effective point guard for the team, even if that is best for his long term upside, which is debatable. The highest upside for this team, not just Fatts, has Jeff as the point guard. It helps Fatts find his offense within his already expanded role and puts the freshman in the best position to find their game having a floor general in place.

[Seawrightspostgame]

So, what's going on in the David Cox Era?

[Rhody83]

Well their plan was obviously and self-evidently wrong, anyone watching last year knew it would have been a bad idea, and after Providence Cox said he needed to change his offensive strategy and everything was on the table. If you think making our point guard the point guard is the wrong strategy you disagree with Cox the first six games of the year. If you think we shouldn't be making wholesale changes you disagree with Cox' comments after the Providence game.

Cox did not say he needed to change his offesive strategy after the PC game. Show me the quote or anything like that.

Cox responded to a question from Bill Koch in the press conference. Cox said, “the staff has to sit down and evaluate everything and that anything is on the table”.

[theblueram]

Well their plan was obviously and self-evidently wrong, anyone watching last year knew it would have been a bad idea, and after Providence Cox said he needed to change his offensive strategy and everything was on the table. If you think making our point guard the point guard is the wrong strategy you disagree with Cox the first six games of the year. If you think we shouldn't be making wholesale changes you disagree with Cox' comments after the Providence game.

Cox did not say he needed to change his offesive strategy after the PC game. Show me the quote or anything like that.

Cox responded to a question from Bill Koch in the press conference. Cox said, “the staff has to sit down and evaluate everything and that anything is on the table”.

Will Cox just adjust how his personnel are running his sets? Or are rotational changes in the cards?

“Anything goes at this point,” he said.

[Rhody83]

In his interview with the media on Tuesday (video is in another thread), Cox said they need to improve in a lot of areas on offense. He mentioned execution, pace and shot selection. He also mentioned getting up more shots in practice in game like conditions. In a different segment they talked about watching video and working on shooting mechanics.

[The Dude]

Thus far (as of Holy Cross game), I'm a believer in Coach Cox. I feel I've seen steady improvement since the Brown game.

[Billyboy78]

Is it a coincidence that every player is having their worst shooting season ever? Honestly beginning to think there’s something off in practice/fitness training that would effect an entire team. Makes sense.

Chase does this for a living. I don't. But I still disagree with lifting on game day. I don't even like lifting in-season. But game day? Definitely not. Just my opinion. ..

[bigappleram]

None of the players are in that video. No way are any of them lifting on a game day.

[Billyboy78]

None of the players are in that video. No way are any of them lifting on a game day.

You have to read the comments. He said if someone wanted to lift on game day, they could.

[Taylor Swift]

None of the players are in that video. No way are any of them lifting on a game day.

You have to read the comments. He said if someone wanted to lift on game day, they could.

Chase referred to a “priming session” if they wished, doubt any of the guys did. He’s probably not going to get into it with anyone on Twitter anyway. I’m actually shocked to see he’s holding a 110lb barbell. Extremely rare in a hotel gym for ones I’ve seen.

[reef]

Yeah I am guessing it's just Chase getting a workout in and not the players on game day

[Seawrightspostgame]

Must be nice carpet to not be allowed to wear his shoes

[Rhody83]

Must be nice carpet to not be allowed to wear his shoes

Haha. I don’t know if you have picked it up on the team workout video but most of the players have their shoes off. Must be a Chase thing.

[Taylor Swift]

Must be nice carpet to not be allowed to wear his shoes

Haha. I don’t know if you have picked it up on the team workout video but most of the players have their shoes off. Must be a Chase thing.

It’s a weight lifting thing in general -helps with weight distribution.

[SandorClegane]

I wanted to point out the fact that Cox managed this game as well as could be. I loved the substitutions, game plan worked well. Reminded me of a high school field hockey game with all the whistles, but he deserves credit on how this game went down. I couldn’t help but think that Danny (and myself for that matter) would have been tossed toward the end of the 1st half. Happy with the win. Team and coach looked comfortable out there. Loved seeing coach a bit more animated. Need more of that.

[TruePoint]

Sticking with Omar for a long stretch in the second half surprised me, but it did what it was intended to do: have Fatts and Jeff fresh for crunch time.

[The Dude]

David Cox coached an incredible game today. I'm a believer. The team never let up and never lost their cool despite facing a tough press the entire game and even taking a few shots to the face in the process. Guys were playing smart defense in the second half despite all the foul trouble.
Cox for President!

[reef]

Yeah I was wondering myself about Dowtin being out of the game there at 9 minutes mark and Omar was in committed a travel but then came back and hit a shot

As far as the tech on Cox he kind of ran really hard toward the baseline full of anger maybe close to the ref so the ref gave him a tech . To Cox defense he didn't question it and seemed to stay in control the rest of the game ???

[PeteRI]

Considering the preposterous number of fouls called from the opening tipoff, Coach C did a masterful job of juggling his lineup. And the players did an equally impressive job of beating the WV press and crashing the boards. A+++!!

[TruePoint]

Yeah I was wondering myself about Dowtin being out of the game there at 9 minutes mark and Omar was in committed a travel but then came back and hit a shot

As far as the tech on Cox he kind of ran really hard toward the baseline full of anger maybe close to the ref so the ref gave him a tech . To Cox defense he didn't question it and seemed to stay in control the rest of the game ???

I didn’t have a problem with the tech - either the decision to tech Cox by the ref or Cox losing it and earning the tech. I thought after that the game normalized somewhat (it still wasn’t well officiated, but if it had kept going the way it was before the tech, we’d all still be in Connecticut).

[SmartyBarrett]

Yeah I was wondering myself about Dowtin being out of the game there at 9 minutes mark and Omar was in committed a travel but then came back and hit a shot

As far as the tech on Cox he kind of ran really hard toward the baseline full of anger maybe close to the ref so the ref gave him a tech . To Cox defense he didn't question it and seemed to stay in control the rest of the game ???

I didn’t have a problem with the tech - either the decision to tech Cox by the ref or Cox losing it and earning the tech. I thought after that the game normalized somewhat (it still wasn’t well officiated, but if it had kept going the way it was before the tech, we’d all still be in Connecticut).

Agreed. I was shocked, however, that Huggins didn't get T'd up at any point. He was screaming and halfway onto the court at one point and they let it slide.

[Blue Man]

I think this is the earliest point in any of our last 4 head coaches careers that we can say they got their “statement” win.

West Virginia is a household name, and they will be a good Big 12 team this year.

Hurley had Nebraska after 3 years, Baron took 7 years for Syracuse, Jerry D had nothing.

Great win to keep them rolling into our chance for a first preseason tourney win!

[Da_Process_Survivor]

I think this is the earliest point in any of our last 4 head coaches careers that we can say they got their “statement” win.

West Virginia is a household name, and they will be a good Big 12 team this year.

Hurley had Nebraska after 3 years, Baron took 7 years for Syracuse, Jerry D had nothing.

Great win to keep them rolling into our chance for a first preseason tourney win!

Can argue for year 2 for Baron (USC) and year 2 for Hurley (down at LSU), but point remains. Cox is off to the fastest start of the bunch

[Blue Man]

I think this is the earliest point in any of our last 4 head coaches careers that we can say they got their “statement” win.

West Virginia is a household name, and they will be a good Big 12 team this year.

Hurley had Nebraska after 3 years, Baron took 7 years for Syracuse, Jerry D had nothing.

Great win to keep them rolling into our chance for a first preseason tourney win!

Can argue for year 2 for Baron (USC) and year 2 for Hurley (down at LSU), but point remains. Cox is off to the fastest start of the bunch

Certainly could argue it, I just don't view either of those schools as "household name basketball" schools. I figure if you know USC or LSU it's for football.

Fair point though.

[DC_Rams]

I think this is the earliest point in any of our last 4 head coaches careers that we can say they got their “statement” win.

West Virginia is a household name, and they will be a good Big 12 team this year.

Hurley had Nebraska after 3 years, Baron took 7 years for Syracuse, Jerry D had nothing.

Great win to keep them rolling into our chance for a first preseason tourney win!

Can argue for year 2 for Baron (USC) and year 2 for Hurley (down at LSU), but point remains. Cox is off to the fastest start of the bunch

Certainly could argue it, I just don't view either of those schools as "household name basketball" schools. I figure if you know USC or LSU it's for football.

Fair point though.

I’ve been waiting to see a post from you that denounces your “drunken overreaction” after the Providence game. Has that happened yet?

Killed me to see that coming from you....I aspire to be the level of “fan” you are man lol....

[RhowdyRam02]

I think this is the earliest point in any of our last 4 head coaches careers that we can say they got their “statement” win.

West Virginia is a household name, and they will be a good Big 12 team this year.

Hurley had Nebraska after 3 years, Baron took 7 years for Syracuse, Jerry D had nothing.

Great win to keep them rolling into our chance for a first preseason tourney win!

Jerry D was a horrible coach, Baron took over a dumpster fire and scheduled softly out of conference outside of one game a year, and Hurley took over a dumpster that had an atomic bomb dropped on it.

[Blue Man]

Can argue for year 2 for Baron (USC) and year 2 for Hurley (down at LSU), but point remains. Cox is off to the fastest start of the bunch

Certainly could argue it, I just don't view either of those schools as "household name basketball" schools. I figure if you know USC or LSU it's for football.

Fair point though.

I’ve been waiting to see a post from you that denounces your “drunken overreaction” after the Providence game. Has that happened yet?

Killed me to see that coming from you....I aspire to be the level of “fan” you are man lol....

I figured I did it in the PC thread. I was at a friendsgiving party and chugged a glass of wine every time fatts missed a shot. Needless to say I was dead blackout by about 830. Pretty obvious it was an incredible drunken reaction and based on my overall body of posting it was extremely out of the norm.

If it would make you feel better I can go and resurrect it so it jumps to the top of the message board again so that everyone can relive that game, or we can all just move on with the knowledge that it was probably a really emotional and drunk post from a drunk stupid idiot.

Obviously the guy who preached patience into year 5 with Dan Hurley wouldn't be jumping to "this coach doesn't have it" by game 5 with Cox.

Not sure what else you need my lord, does this please thee or shall I humbly perform a walk of shame in front of thine castle?

[DC_Rams]

Certainly could argue it, I just don't view either of those schools as "household name basketball" schools. I figure if you know USC or LSU it's for football.

Fair point though.

I’ve been waiting to see a post from you that denounces your “drunken overreaction” after the Providence game. Has that happened yet?

Killed me to see that coming from you....I aspire to be the level of “fan” you are man lol....

I figured I did it in the PC thread. I was at a friendsgiving party and chugged a glass of wine every time fatts missed a shot. Needless to say I was dead blackout by about 830. Pretty obvious it was an incredible drunken reaction and based on my overall body of posting it was extremely out of the norm.

If it would make you feel better I can go and resurrect it so it jumps to the top of the message board again so that everyone can relive that game, or we can all just move on with the knowledge that it was probably a really emotional and drunk post from a drunk stupid idiot.

Obviously the guy who preached patience into year 5 with Dan Hurley wouldn't be jumping to "this coach doesn't have it" by game 5 with Cox.

Not sure what else you need my lord, does this please thee or shall I humbly perform a walk of shame in front of thine castle?

Bend the knee....LOL!

It’s all good man, just busting your balls.

[RhowdyRam02]

I think this is the earliest point in any of our last 4 head coaches careers that we can say they got their “statement” win.

West Virginia is a household name, and they will be a good Big 12 team this year.

Hurley had Nebraska after 3 years, Baron took 7 years for Syracuse, Jerry D had nothing.

Great win to keep them rolling into our chance for a first preseason tourney win!

Can argue for year 2 for Baron (USC) and year 2 for Hurley (down at LSU), but point remains. Cox is off to the fastest start of the bunch

Certainly could argue it, I just don't view either of those schools as "household name basketball" schools. I figure if you know USC or LSU it's for football.

Fair point though.

USC finished 2002-03 91st in RPI and LSU finished 2013-14 59th. Right now West Virginia is 40th, but I wouldn't be surprised if they drop