1/27 | UMass Minutemen | 2 PM (Stadium Network)

[TruePoint]

You said YOU couldn’t wrap your head around. That’s a Personal demon if you can’t shake it. Maybe demon is the wrong word...but you get my point.

I don’t, actually. I have no idea what your point is. Why don’t you go yell at the people hammering the coach rather than arguing with me about seemingly nothing.

TP, get out of your feelings dude. I wasn’t even arguing with you, your whole post was about not being able to get past us losing to UMASS....because it’s UMASS. it wasn’t a knock or a slight....geezus.

My whole point was about the effort. I’m mad they lost to UMass because UMass stinks, not because they are UMass. As I said, the St Joe game last year and the Fordham game two years ago similarly pissed me off - the common thread is if you played the game like it mattered the other team was not good enough to beat you in all three games.

[Rhody83]

The had one of their worst 20 minutes offensively in the first half with 9 FG and 10 turnovers. They followed that with their worst 20 minutes defensively in the sevond half giving up 1.53 points per possession on 64% shooting.

[DC_Rams]

I don't put much blame on Cox for today.

He is showing that he can make some nice second half offensive adjustments both today and in the VCU game.

Just that the defense gave it back in the 2nd half against UMass. Last time I checked DC can't play defense out there...…that was on the players.

He can ride the wild pony all he wants, but the guys have to give the effort no matter what he does.

Cox deserves some heat today for not playing Omar a little more. He should give him as much leash to make mistakes as he does others. Omar once again came in firing and knocked one down. Why not sure how much fruit he bears? Other than that, getting beat on defense is not something Cox can control. He yelled his head off at those kids in the huddle today.

One day we acknowledge it’s a rebuild and we are okay with double digits losses, but when we actually take the losses, we don’t come to grips with how it has happened. We are lacking experience on all fronts. Bad scout? Maybe? Bad in-game coaching? Maybe. Personal player accountability? Maybe.

We are going to lose at least 5-7 more games this year, and Cox will be back, reloaded and ready with arguably one of the biggest teams in the A10. Ill accept the turbulence if eventually it will take us back to the promised land.

[DC_Rams]

I don’t, actually. I have no idea what your point is. Why don’t you go yell at the people hammering the coach rather than arguing with me about seemingly nothing.

TP, get out of your feelings dude. I wasn’t even arguing with you, your whole post was about not being able to get past us losing to UMASS....because it’s UMASS. it wasn’t a knock or a slight....geezus.

My whole point was about the effort. I’m mad they lost to UMass because UMass stinks, not because they are UMass. As I said, the St Joe game last year and the Fordham game two years ago similarly pissed me off - the common thread is if you played the game like it mattered the other team was not good enough to beat you in all three games.

TP, UMASS beat Providence at the Dunk. Shit happens brother. That’s what happens sometimes when D1 athletes battle on the court. There may not be a rhyme or reason other than they figured out how to put the ball in the basket more times than us. We live in a world where UMBC beat UVA by double digits...in March. Contrary to popular belief, crazier things have happened.

[Rhody83]

I don’t, actually. I have no idea what your point is. Why don’t you go yell at the people hammering the coach rather than arguing with me about seemingly nothing.

TP, get out of your feelings dude. I wasn’t even arguing with you, your whole post was about not being able to get past us losing to UMASS....because it’s UMASS. it wasn’t a knock or a slight....geezus.

My whole point was about the effort. I’m mad they lost to UMass because UMass stinks, not because they are UMass. As I said, the St Joe game last year and the Fordham game two years ago similarly pissed me off - the common thread is if you played the game like it mattered the other team was not good enough to beat you in all three games.

You could add Stony Brook and Bucknell in that group this year. There will probably be others.

What if it isn’t effort? Rhody’s offense has had many stretches this year where they struggle to get a good shot.
On defense there were two things noticeable today. First - the biggest was when they doubled out top, UMass moved the ball quickly taking advantage of the second rotation - they found the wide open man (often Pierre). Second - UMass players beat their defender off the dribble to the basket (Clergeot & Pipkins).

[eli#10]

What do you do with a player who shoots 4 or 5 terrible off balance jump shots in one game with plenty of time left on the shot clock. You sit him right. I don't think this example is much different than a forward getting 7 turnovers in a game with charging fouls or losing the ball when dribbling into traffic which has been happening most of the season. Time for the coach to have a heart to heart talk with the player and let him know that sitting on the bench will happen if the same type of turnovers continue.

[Mongo]

Yuck

[RamStock]

Sounds like those are personal demons only YOU can overcome. A loss is a loss is a loss in my book. Yeah, this was bad, but UMASS played a solid game, and we played motivated offensively....defensively, not so much. It. Fucking. Happens.

A loss is just a loss this year because it doesn’t mean a thing for their tournament chances if they win 10 in a row or lose 10 in a row. If a team like St. Bonaventure lost a game like this last year in February they would have been on the other side of the bubble. They were played with great effort against VCU and it was a game that built to the future, but we just can’t shoot. How is that going to change? Martin is the only guy I see improving to the point of making a difference next year in terms of outside shooting.

You’re falling victim to the moment if you think that a team that returns all players getting minutes and plays freshmen 60+ minutes per game isn’t going to be better next year. It would be one thing if this team were 4-14 or something, in which case I wouldn’t be enthusiastic about what we are building. But this team is, today aside, pretty damn competitive for where they are in the rebuild cycle.

They probably won’t ever be one of the best perimeter shooting teams in the country, but there are lots of ways to be a good team. I don’t think they are far away from being a good team THIS YEAR, but their youth and inexperience make it hard for them to string together long stretches where they are playing to their potential even within individual games, never mind for stretches of games in a row. That is something that veteran teams tend to do. This shouldn’t be a mystery to fans of this program because we literally just went thru this cycle all the way to completion.

I am pissed about the effort today, but it’s not because now I suddenly think this is a talentless team. It’s actually for the exact opposite reason. Sometimes you’re going to struggle even when you are engaged, but if you show up to the game seemingly disinterested you give yourself no chance. And that’s what URI had today, and i find that infuriating as a fan.

I agree with you and do believe there will be improvement and hopefully continuity by now he end of the year. I just question their ceiling with this bad of outside shooting. When they won on Wednesday they had a great effort with only one three point shot made against a pretty good team. That will be hard to sustain on a consistent effort and will lead to games like today. We all hope that next year they can compete for a bid. I guess we will see what happens. They need to find a way to get easier points going forward.

[DC_Rams]

What do you do with a player who shoots 4 or 5 terrible off balance jump shots in one game with plenty of time left on the shot clock. You sit him right. I don't think this example is much different than a forward getting 7 turnovers in a game with charging fouls or losing the ball when dribbling into traffic which has been happening most of the season. Time for the coach to have a heart to heart talk with the player and let him know that sitting on the bench will happen if the same type of turnovers continue.

You do that when have someone on the bench who can fill the void. When you don’t, *shrug*

I promise you, if Mike Tertsea can’t do it in practice, the only minutes he will see is solely during garbage time

[TruePoint]

TP, get out of your feelings dude. I wasn’t even arguing with you, your whole post was about not being able to get past us losing to UMASS....because it’s UMASS. it wasn’t a knock or a slight....geezus.

My whole point was about the effort. I’m mad they lost to UMass because UMass stinks, not because they are UMass. As I said, the St Joe game last year and the Fordham game two years ago similarly pissed me off - the common thread is if you played the game like it mattered the other team was not good enough to beat you in all three games.

You could add Stony Brook and Bucknell in that group this year. There will probably be others.

What if it isn’t effort? Rhody’s offense has had many stretches this year where they struggle to get a good shot.
On defense there were two things noticeable today. First - the biggest was when they doubled out top, UMass moved the ball quickly taking advantage of the second rotation - they found the wide open man (often Pierre). Second - UMass players beat their defender off the dribble to the basket (Clergeot & Pipkins).

Stony Brook, for sure.

Look, I think that this team may get marginally better offensively as the individual players improve their games year over year, but we aren’t going to be an offensive juggernaut with this core. That is not really a debate. Even if this team is really good next year, we probably won’t be immune to frustratingly long scoring droughts. But to your point about the defense, the first thing is a coaching thing - if UMass picked up a tendency and exploited it, then the coaches have to correct for it. That’s sports, it happens. The second thing, about guys just getting torched off the dribble and giving up easy penetration, that is the thing that I really noticed and is basically what I’m referring to when I say that we lacked effort and it didn’t look like we were engaged. I don’t think UMass is uniquely talented in that regard; a better effort would have shut a lot of that down and probably made a significant impact on the outcome of the game.

[Rhody83]

Coach happy with Thompson

[DC_Rams]

My whole point was about the effort. I’m mad they lost to UMass because UMass stinks, not because they are UMass. As I said, the St Joe game last year and the Fordham game two years ago similarly pissed me off - the common thread is if you played the game like it mattered the other team was not good enough to beat you in all three games.

You could add Stony Brook and Bucknell in that group this year. There will probably be others.

What if it isn’t effort? Rhody’s offense has had many stretches this year where they struggle to get a good shot.
On defense there were two things noticeable today. First - the biggest was when they doubled out top, UMass moved the ball quickly taking advantage of the second rotation - they found the wide open man (often Pierre). Second - UMass players beat their defender off the dribble to the basket (Clergeot & Pipkins).

Stony Brook, for sure.

Look, I think that this team may get marginally better offensively as the individual players improve their games year over year, but we aren’t going to be an offensive juggernaut with this core. That is not really a debate. Even if this team is really good next year, we probably won’t be immune to frustratingly long scoring droughts. But to your point about the defense, the first thing is a coaching thing - if UMass picked up a tendency and exploited it, then the coaches have to correct for it. That’s sports, it happens. The second thing, about guys just getting torched off the dribble and giving up easy penetration, that is the thing that I really noticed and is basically what I’m referring to when I say that we lacked effort and it didn’t look like we were engaged. I don’t think UMass is uniquely talented in that regard; a better effort would have shut a lot of that down and probably made a significant impact on the outcome of the game.

We will have 4 guys coming in next year that the staff believes can relieve this core of their duties when they are fucking up. Right now we only have a strong 7 player roatation. That’s it.

[Rhody83]

Cox made a comment at the presser that Rhody’s defense has been good all year. That is not true. Koch put in his tweet that they have allowed greater than 1.00 points per possession six times this year and are 1-5 in those games. The only win was Harvard when Fatts hit the 3 in the last seconds.

[eli#10]

Why can't you do it if there is not a suitable player on the bench? You need to teach a lesson. It is known as short term pain for a long term gain.

[DC_Rams]

Why can't you do it if there is not a suitable player on the bench? You need to teach a lesson. It is known as short term pain for a long term gain.

Teach them a lesson? I’m not sure how well that works for college age kids. Any proof as to when this theory has worked? Punishing players that you know are capable of playing better for a kid you know is not capable of any better?! I still feel that hurts the team more.

[Rhody83]

DC, I support your thoughts but Coach Cox needs his top 7 to play better - less turnovers, better offensive movement & more consistent defense. Today, there were stints where he took someone out because of a poor plays and then a minute later took the sub out because of poor plays. I am not blaming him for doing thst. It happened with Cyril and Harris and then Martin (defensive lapse) and Tate (defensive play).

If Jeff and Fatts both have poor games offensively we are going to struggle.

[DC_Rams]

DC, I support your thoughts but Coach Cox needs his top 7 to play better - less turnovers, better offensive movement & more consistent defense. Today, there were stints where he took someone out because of a poor plays and then a minute later took the sub out because of poor plays. I am not blaming him for doing thst. It happened with Cyril and Harris and then Martin (defensive lapse) and Tate (defensive play).

If Jeff and Fatts both have poor games offensively we are going to struggle.

Totally agree. I was under the impression that Eli was saying Leviton should come in when Fatts is Fatts’ing. That wouldn’t prove anything...it’d be just like openly saying, I’m waving the white flag today.

[JimSidd]

Perhaps this team isn’t mature enough to win away from the Ryan Center, where there is no home crowd to pump them up when they face some adversity. They did turn things around in the second half at LaSalle, but that’s about it. I won’t be surprised if they don’t win another road game. They may win at St Joe’s, as the Hawks may have packed it in by then, but I don’t see them winning at Duquesne, Dayton, VCU or Davidson.
Speaking of Davidson, I think I saw more back cutting in ten minutes of yesterday’s game at St Louis than I have in all the URI games this year. I’ll say it for the thousandth time: there is way too much standing around on offense: it makes the team easier to defend. You can’t tell me that Davidson as a unit are better ball handlers than URI. Excluding Cyril, all the other players should be able to handle that type of offense.
I predicted a 9-9 conference record in the contest and I’ll stick with it.

[PeterRamTime]

I'm hoping that Omar will be getting more minutes here in the future.

I think hes done more than enough to prove he can take some minutes from the other guards.
Let Dowtin and Fatts rest a little more.

Give Omar some shots!

He and Rese are pure!

[RamStock]

Perhaps this team isn’t mature enough to win away from the Ryan Center, where there is no home crowd to pump them up when they face some adversity. They did turn things around in the second half at LaSalle, but that’s about it. I won’t be surprised if they don’t win another road game. They may win at St Joe’s, as the Hawks may have packed it in by then, but I don’t see them winning at Duquesne, Dayton, VCU or Davidson.
Speaking of Davidson, I think I saw more back cutting in ten minutes of yesterday’s game at St Louis than I have in all the URI games this year. I’ll say it for the thousandth time: there is way too much standing around on offense: it makes the team easier to defend. You can’t tell me that Davidson as a unit are better ball handlers than URI. Excluding Cyril, all the other players should be able to handle that type of offense.
I predicted a 9-9 conference record in the contest and I’ll stick with it.

I didn't even realize who they had left on the road. You are right in terms of maybe St.Joes 50/50 game, but it would be a surprise if they won any of the other road games. The standing around comment is competetly true. They end up waiting until the end of the shot clock and then take a poor shot. There aren't too many Princeton coached offense out there today. If you watch a lot of the teams nationally this is a common problem for a good amount of the college basketball teams. Dan Hurley had that problem here last year also, but had more options that could create their own shot which masked this.

[eli#10]

Not talking about Leviton for Fatts or Jeff. As much as it would hurt put in Preston for Cyril. Of course it would hurt in the short term but what about the long term. 7 turnovers in 34 minutes equals the bench in my book. His teammates cannot be happy with all the same turnovers game after game. Do we really want to see this over and over for the next year and a half?

[RhodysRelevant]

Not talking about Leviton for Fatts or Jeff. As much as it would hurt put in Preston for Cyril. Of course it would hurt in the short term but what about the long term. 7 turnovers in 34 minutes equals the bench in my book. His teammates cannot be happy with all the same turnovers game after game. Do we really want to see this over and over for the next year and a half?

to much going on for me to pay close attention to the game today (and sounds like i don't want to watch the replay really) but perhaps cyril feels like he has to do too much as far as off the dribble or from the high post areas. I wish we would get out and run more than we do, but its already been pointed out your half court game is going to struggle when you can't shoot the 3.

[JimSidd]

RamStock, you are right about this being a problem for many college teams .... possibly due to AAU ball and players trying to emulate the NBA iso ball and shooting lots of threes.
You’re also correct about this being a problem with last year’s team, especially in late game situations. With two daughters starting at the school last year, I went to almos all the home games, saw all the televised road games and went to the A10 tournament, saw I saw that happen a lot. They had enough veteran leadership and just enough three point shooting to make it work.
It’s probably heresy to compliment PC, but I do like the flex cut offense they run around the paint at times.

[rambone 78]

Maybe this is an overly simplistic take....but standing around on offense has been URI's MO when Baron was coach, Hurley, and now Cox.....

The uptempo offense that was promised just hasn't materialized for the most part.

These kids just play better on the move....they look lost when they're just standing there.

Yes, the inability to make 3's doesn't help....when you shoot them at 25% like this team does, you just aren't very good.

And when they don't play defense, those problems are magnified....Cox can't wave a magic wand and make them play with intensity...that has to come from inside each player...and we aren't seeing that right now.

[EGram]

BTW this is "EGRAM" I forgot my Password over the past summer but as that Godfather quote goes... Please don't change my name back admin as i actually like this one..


I think Fatts needs to be to be read the riot ACT. He plays frankly like a talented short highschooler who is unwilling to do the thing to make it at this level. Frankly, he is Jon Severe 2.0 but with a NCAA team full of excellent Gs are a frosh to hide him,.

I would tell him he had the next 6 months to get his act together or I would. Meaning no insane steal attempts, off-balance shots, and general terrible 3 point shooting. IF the idea is for him to suck his way to Storrs it ain't gonna happen...

AS it currently stands his best chance might be with way to New Rochelle like Severe 1.0... Now as some of you know I graduated from Iona and have a few contacts there... The last few weeks i've heard Fatts is to IONA rumors running among my group. Many think he would be ideal for the program, la- Salle is the "contender" but i personally think even given conference issues 99% would take =Iona, as the offense suits him, he would have a legit shot at the tourny, oh and not be 200 feet away from maybe the worse ghetto in the north east...

[Rhody72]

Young teams with bad losses happens all the time. Harris and Fatts have not played up to expectations, and CT didn't get better by not playing for 2 years. The coming off-season swelled heads will recede and play will improve for those who care.

[hrstrat57]

URI does not run the baseline. It's like we think it is illegal.

[KevanBoyles]

We don’t defend it either.

[Seawrightspostgame]

This team no matter the opponent has a .500 effort and ability to win. They show up half the time. It's tied to maturity and mental stamina. Teams overcome that with coaching or leaders on the floor. URI hasn't overcome much this year. They showed up a couple times. Younger guys are flashing and getting better. Older guys also flash and their floor is higher but their play is up and down.

[Blue Man]

Coach happy with Thompson

My problem with this "this was there super bowl" comment is that it sort of excuses this loss/throws the hands up and says "well they played harder than us because they're having a tough year."

Two things - 1) the whole A10 is having a hard year - so does that mean when we play the other 8 teams that SUUUUUUUCK in the A10 that we just have this "it's their super bowl" excuse built in? How about just show up and play hard? Now we've lost 2 "super bowls" and I can't wait for the other ones!

2) If this keeps up, we will end up being in the sub-.500 column and will need our "super bowl" effort for games. Is that what it takes?

Again, I think Cox can figure it out and I get he and the players are inexperienced. My main concern and complaint is that there are too many common themes that aren't being addressed that are still costing us games -
1) CT's playing time - taking him out of the starting lineup doesn't mean anything if you play him 30 mins a night. As a "leader" his effort is noticeably disappointing at times, punctuated by good plays - just not frequently enough to warrant the minutes he gets over some of the freshmen who are showing real promise and more importantly real effort.
2) Harris' playing time. The kid is yet to foul out of a game because he sits the final 10 minutes with 3 or 4 fouls. That's not exactly going to help his experience. It also doesn't help the team when you're throwing CT in at the 4 or over-using Cyril.
3) Over-reliance on Langevine - I get this is a bit muddier because we're thin in the frontcourt - but why isn't Harris playing? Why not even Preston?? You can't tell me having a tired, stone-handed Cyril in for 30+ helps us win games no matter how many double-doubles he gets.
4) Omar's playing time - he's legitimately our 2nd best 3 point shooter at the moment behind Martin. Every time he's brought in he makes a 3. We're the worst team in the country at shooting 3's - AND WE STILL WANT TO TAKE THEM, so why isn't he getting more burn? His defense is bad? We allowed 1.20 PPP last game and he played a minute. Doesn't sound like his defense was a problem but he still didn't see the floor.

I get growing pains, but the point of them is to GROW from them. These issues have been here and apparent to everyone for months.

[spookydog]

2) Harris' playing time. The kid is yet to foul out of a game because he sits the final 10 minutes with 3 or 4 fouls.

FYI - He fouled out of the PC & WV games
(but I understand & agree with the point you are making)

[Blue Man]

2) Harris' playing time. The kid is yet to foul out of a game because he sits the final 10 minutes with 3 or 4 fouls.

FYI - He fouled out of the PC & WV games
(but I understand & agree with the point you are making)

Yeah total hyperbole there. Honestly shocked it's only 2.

I wish there were a stat for usage rate/floor appearance in the last 8 minutes of a game. Seems like he's never in there.

[TruePoint]

BTW this is "EGRAM" I forgot my Password over the past summer but as that Godfather quote goes... Please don't change my name back admin as i actually like this one..


I think Fatts needs to be to be read the riot ACT. He plays frankly like a talented short highschooler who is unwilling to do the thing to make it at this level. Frankly, he is Jon Severe 2.0 but with a NCAA team full of excellent Gs are a frosh to hide him,.

I would tell him he had the next 6 months to get his act together or I would. Meaning no insane steal attempts, off-balance shots, and general terrible 3 point shooting. IF the idea is for him to suck his way to Storrs it ain't gonna happen...

AS it currently stands his best chance might be with way to New Rochelle like Severe 1.0... Now as some of you know I graduated from Iona and have a few contacts there... The last few weeks i've heard Fatts is to IONA rumors running among my group. Many think he would be ideal for the program, la- Salle is the "contender" but i personally think even given conference issues 99% would take =Iona, as the offense suits him, he would have a legit shot at the tourny, oh and not be 200 feet away from maybe the worse ghetto in the north east...

Uhhhh....welcome back?

[steviep123]

Coach happy with Thompson

My problem with this "this was there super bowl" comment is that it sort of excuses this loss/throws the hands up and says "well they played harder than us because they're having a tough year."

Two things - 1) the whole A10 is having a hard year - so does that mean when we play the other 8 teams that SUUUUUUUCK in the A10 that we just have this "it's their super bowl" excuse built in? How about just show up and play hard? Now we've lost 2 "super bowls" and I can't wait for the other ones!

2) If this keeps up, we will end up being in the sub-.500 column and will need our "super bowl" effort for games. Is that what it takes?

Again, I think Cox can figure it out and I get he and the players are inexperienced. My main concern and complaint is that there are too many common themes that aren't being addressed that are still costing us games -
1) CT's playing time - taking him out of the starting lineup doesn't mean anything if you play him 30 mins a night. As a "leader" his effort is noticeably disappointing at times, punctuated by good plays - just not frequently enough to warrant the minutes he gets over some of the freshmen who are showing real promise and more importantly real effort.
2) Harris' playing time. The kid is yet to foul out of a game because he sits the final 10 minutes with 3 or 4 fouls. That's not exactly going to help his experience. It also doesn't help the team when you're throwing CT in at the 4 or over-using Cyril.
3) Over-reliance on Langevine - I get this is a bit muddier because we're thin in the frontcourt - but why isn't Harris playing? Why not even Preston?? You can't tell me having a tired, stone-handed Cyril in for 30+ helps us win games no matter how many double-doubles he gets.
4) Omar's playing time - he's legitimately our 2nd best 3 point shooter at the moment behind Martin. Every time he's brought in he makes a 3. We're the worst team in the country at shooting 3's - AND WE STILL WANT TO TAKE THEM, so why isn't he getting more burn? His defense is bad? We allowed 1.20 PPP last game and he played a minute. Doesn't sound like his defense was a problem but he still didn't see the floor.

I get growing pains, but the point of them is to GROW from them. These issues have been here and apparent to everyone for months.

My problem with this "this was there super bowl" comment is that it sort of excuses this loss/throws the hands up and says "well they played harder than us because they're having a tough year."

I disagree with this statement. Looking at his other quotes, I think Cox meant that he told the team that UMass was going to be up for this game and they had to match or surpass their intensity, which they did not do. I don't think he was making excuses. But the rest of your post is spot on!

[RF1]

It seems many teams Rhody beat had no issues in Amherst:

Harvard won at UMass
Holy Cross won at UMass
St. Bonaventure won at UMass
LaSalle won at UMass

[RamStock]

Coach happy with Thompson

My problem with this "this was there super bowl" comment is that it sort of excuses this loss/throws the hands up and says "well they played harder than us because they're having a tough year."

Two things - 1) the whole A10 is having a hard year - so does that mean when we play the other 8 teams that SUUUUUUUCK in the A10 that we just have this "it's their super bowl" excuse built in? How about just show up and play hard? Now we've lost 2 "super bowls" and I can't wait for the other ones!

2) If this keeps up, we will end up being in the sub-.500 column and will need our "super bowl" effort for games. Is that what it takes?

Again, I think Cox can figure it out and I get he and the players are inexperienced. My main concern and complaint is that there are too many common themes that aren't being addressed that are still costing us games -
1) CT's playing time - taking him out of the starting lineup doesn't mean anything if you play him 30 mins a night. As a "leader" his effort is noticeably disappointing at times, punctuated by good plays - just not frequently enough to warrant the minutes he gets over some of the freshmen who are showing real promise and more importantly real effort.
2) Harris' playing time. The kid is yet to foul out of a game because he sits the final 10 minutes with 3 or 4 fouls. That's not exactly going to help his experience. It also doesn't help the team when you're throwing CT in at the 4 or over-using Cyril.
3) Over-reliance on Langevine - I get this is a bit muddier because we're thin in the frontcourt - but why isn't Harris playing? Why not even Preston?? You can't tell me having a tired, stone-handed Cyril in for 30+ helps us win games no matter how many double-doubles he gets.
4) Omar's playing time - he's legitimately our 2nd best 3 point shooter at the moment behind Martin. Every time he's brought in he makes a 3. We're the worst team in the country at shooting 3's - AND WE STILL WANT TO TAKE THEM, so why isn't he getting more burn? His defense is bad? We allowed 1.20 PPP last game and he played a minute. Doesn't sound like his defense was a problem but he still didn't see the floor.

I get growing pains, but the point of them is to GROW from them. These issues have been here and apparent to everyone for months.

Agree completely on Harris and Thompson.

Why not just let Harris play with 3 or 4 fouls? What are we saving him for? This is supposed to be a developmental year. Let Harris get as many minutes as possible. Who cares if he fouls out.

I know we are short on guard depth this year and Thompson will get some minutes, but just not sure what his status on this team will be after this season and would rather give minutes to Omar, Martin and Tate. I just have a tough time watching Thompson play. It always feels like he is going to make a boneheaded play.

[section(105)]

........Am I the crazy one,? if he sits because of getting 3-4 fouls, what’s the difference from sitting because of fouling out? Let him play it out as it might reduce CL turnover or two.....no?

[Iggy1979]

Not talking about Leviton for Fatts or Jeff. As much as it would hurt put in Preston for Cyril. Of course it would hurt in the short term but what about the long term. 7 turnovers in 34 minutes equals the bench in my book. His teammates cannot be happy with all the same turnovers game after game. Do we really want to see this over and over for the next year and a half?

I agree with Eli. The only cards a coach holds with with players is playing time. If Cyril can't hold onto the ball take him out for a bit and let him think about it on the bench. When Fatts sat down with 7 minutes to go I don't think I would've put him back in. That sends the message: you don't show up, you don't play. If you play like crap and still get 30 minutes, what's the incentive to play well?

[Rhodymob05]

I've noticed that about Harris, once hes in foul trouble he comes out as if Cox is saving him, but then sometimes he never comes back in, which is frustrating to the team and Harris.

[SmartyBarrett]

My problem with this "this was there super bowl" comment is that it sort of excuses this loss/throws the hands up and says "well they played harder than us because they're having a tough year."

I disagree with this statement. Looking at his other quotes, I think Cox meant that he told the team that UMass was going to be up for this game and they had to match or surpass their intensity, which they did not do. I don't think he was making excuses. But the rest of your post is spot on!

That's kind of my take as well. Saying 'Super Bowl' sounds kind of trolly and maybe wasn't Cox's best choice of words, but I took it to mean that UMass approached this game with a sense of urgency that URI never matched. And given that they were 0-6, this shouldn't have been a surprise coming into the game. Put that on whomever you want, but I don't think it was an excuse as much as it was an explanation.

[Iggy1979]

I've noticed that about Harris, once hes in foul trouble he comes out as if Cox is saving him, but then sometimes he never comes back in, which is frustrating to the team and Harris.

Harris is more of a project than fans thought but not more than the staff thought. He played against weak competition in HS and has a lot to learn about the game. Cox is starting him but also bringing him along slowly. Great things to come, but not yet.

[Rhody83]

Cox did take Cyril out twice yesterday immediately after a turnover. His problem was that Harris missed defensive coverage shortly after so he pulled him and put Cyril back in. I agree with Iggy on Fatts. I was shocked he came back in so quickly. Rhody had cut the lead to 4 and I think Cox reacted thinking if Fatts plays well down the stretch we can win this. Rhody’s next two possessions were Jeff turnover followed by Fatts turnover. He pulled Omar to quick. The kid look dejected walking to the end of the bench.

Regarding Harris not coming back in, I think it is due to offensive performance and not fouls. When Rhody is losing Cox likes to go with a smaller lineup. Martin and Tate or Martin and Thompson. Yesterday Martin and Thompson were scoring.

[Seawrightspostgame]

They have lost all of the A10 losses at the rim. With rebounding, lay ups, inside play. It creates this 5-8 point margin they cant overcome. CT doesn't look great as a guard but he especially isn't doing anything as a 4. Basketball isn't that complicated. Trot the rest of the height you have on the bench out there to try and hold back those runs.

For instance Fatts was supposedly a world beater coming into this year and routinely gets his shot blocked or misses lay ups going into the lane. Why? because there are taller guys out there and it's easy for them to stop him. They aren't great defenders or understand the intricacies of mystical basketball. They just stand near the rim and punch his shot.

The heavy Umass guy made 2 jump hooks during one of their biggest runs and it was our defender standing between that guy and the basket and he just tossed the ball in. Standing there with your hands up isn't complicated. Suddenly our perimeter guys were trying to help on him and Umass shot like a million wide open three pointers. Then we couldn't stop anything.


And our blitzing the ball screen action doesnt work. So that doesnt need to be a prereq for guys to get on the floor.

[bigappleram]

Harris hasn't yet figured out what type of offensive player he wants to be at this level. Not physical enough to be a banger, not fluid/skilled enough to be a stretch 4. I do think his future is as more of a finesse offensive guy, he's more wiry than bulky....compare him to a Hassan French on SLU or Watson on PC, both of those guys are much stronger than Jermaine will ever be. The fact that he is a bit of a tweener is making the learning curve a bit longer, but I do agree with Iggy that it will come in time and he will be very good.

[Rhodymob05]

Harris has posted up and hit that running hook shot in the paint a number of times. I see his game at 5-15ft from the basket. Tim Duncan like. He'll get there. Most of his fouls have been on the bump outs on help defense, stupid fouls. He works his ass off and those fouls totally deflate his game. I can picture big improvements when cleaning up his game.

[rhodysurf]

PLAY OMAR MORE

[reef]

Yeah I agree CT needs less time maybe less than 20 minutes a game

I also want to see more of JH and Omar

[spookydog]

PLAY OMAR MORE

I know I would do whatever he says...



Oh wait...wrong Omar


My bad

[adam914]

Omar's coming yo!

[Rhody83]

Yeah I agree CT needs less time maybe less than 20 minutes a game

I also want to see more of JH and Omar

I would like to see all three of those things as well. But ....
Buckle up because you aren’t going to see this. Coach Cox is complementing Thompson on his defense and he scored 12 points.