Your Pick for the next Head Coach (2018)

[Rhodymob05]

I think our freshman will be a pleasant surprise. Enough to dance.

We need 1 guy to be a starter day 1, another to 2 to be in the rotation. I think JH is good enough to start day 1, Tate is solid enough If a body and skill set to play day 1. I am not worried if the class stays in tact. We will be top 4 A10 with a top 10 OOC schedule. When you think about last year we really only beat PC and Seton Hall in the OOC and people were gushing about it because the SOS was so high.

Don’t forget Cyril and EC missed OOC losses too. I’m not going to judge them 100% when they weren’t 100%.

[rhodylaw]

I think our freshman will be a pleasant surprise. Enough to dance.

We need 1 guy to be a starter day 1, another to 2 to be in the rotation. I think JH is good enough to start day 1, Tate is solid enough If a body and skill set to play day 1. I am not worried if the class stays in tact. We will be top 4 A10 with a top 10 OOC schedule. When you think about last year we really only beat PC and Seton Hall in the OOC and people were gushing about it because the SOS was so high.

Don’t forget Cyril and EC missed OOC losses too. I’m not going to judge them 100% when they weren’t 100%.

The point of the post was not to denigrate what they did last year, just to point out that even though the non-conference looks tough we really only need to win a couple tough games (of which there are many scheduled) to have a good resume. Plus no one in conference will be as good as West Virginia and the best of the league may be as good as PC, Nevada, Alabama etc. These young guys will be ready for the conference schedule. Fatts, Dowtin, Cyril alone is the best core in the league.

[Running Ram]

Really it's the same formula every year, and this year we almost did it with good OOC strength...

win all home games, regardless of opponent's quadrant
win all quad 2 and below on the road
split quad 1 road and neutral games

if you have a good Sos this will make you a top 25 team

[Ramulous]

I expect some growing pains early with a new coach and new roles for our returning players......I expect us to gel in time to make a run at the tournament title in March.....

....People here are under-estimating how good the A10 will be next year.....I predict 5 NCAA bids for the league....

....I really look forward to the year after next when we might be a top 20 type of team....

[OrangeRam]

Seems the players want Coach Cox, they have to believe in their coach.. Coach Cox has my vote.

[Seawrightspostgame]

I've said it before. I like that Cox is touted as the smart guy and the hard worker for player development.

Aside from that. Programs likely do better if they hire a competent assistant off their own bench so that the program never has an exodus. Problem is if that assistant is terrible or the head coach (Baron) is so bad that the assistants aren't really head coach material.

Pivotal moment for URI.

[theblueram]

I guess the situation is we take a spin with Cox, who will have a great class coming in with experience already in place. Or, we hire another assistant, the roster blows up and we are a complete rebuild. So we either win now because Cox can do it, or we don't win for like 3 years, and that is also questionable. Plus, we have been on the 19's for over a year.

[CTRamfan]

I've given this some thought. My list in order of most likely to succeed.

1. David Cox.......He wants the job. Everything we know about him is good. He can recruit at a high level. Very important.
2. James Jones......A good game coach and has recruited well with the academic limitations at an Ivy League school.
3. Tommy Amaker.......DITTO
4. Bill Coen......A career long recruiter, plus head coaching experience with recent success.
5. John Becker.......A consistent winner. My concern, the A10 would be a big step up in recruiting.

[eli#10]

David Cox, David Cox, David Cox it has got to be him.

[ElmCityRhody]

bump

[hrstrat57]

Flawed poll originally. We had zero shot at Nate Oats. Season is not over report card is incomplete, progress reports only.

Bad bump....

[Rhode_Island_Red]

Even after watching this steaming pile of dog droppings, the thought of Little Ricky is still enough to make me puke.

[Blue Man]

Here’s my thought on this/my hope:

I haven’t heard really where the NCAA money has gone.

Perhaps it’s gone to other athletic programs (would’ve been another reason for Danny to want to leave).

But - and this is a huge but - what if Thorr stashed the money for a possible buyout/new coach if Danny had left?

What if the search didn’t turn up anyone Thorr thought was a slam dunk hire and he decided he’d give Dave a shot he deserved, while stashing money for a buyout just in case?

The other side of this is that we need to stop with the low level contracts. You want the Dan Hurley’s of the world to stay? You need to do two things:

1) invest in your program - we’re now in the minority of schools in our conference that don’t have practice facilities either under construction or in use. We STILL don’t charter to every away game.

2) pay the coach. I still will swear to this day that if we offered the 2018 contract to Dan Hurley in 2017 - he doesn’t leave. The last contract we offered him is a first class contract and if we want those guys, that’s what it costs.

Otherwise well be stuck in this awful place where we hit on one guy, pay him too late, watch him leave, and then get to watch us sink down again.

[Billyboy78]

I don't think Dave would have received 5 years guaranteed (as someone has reported here, is this true?) if this were the case.

[McRam]

what was reported was that he had a "five year deal" it said it was 300k base salary , 225k in gate receipts, 125k in athletic department appearances,
and 50k for media apperances. Obviously, we do not know what is guaranteed or for how long.
It could be the 300k is guaranteed and the other400k is not . eg if he is not coach would he still be entitled to a percentage of gate receipts.

Is the actual contract public record?

[Bill Koch]

what was reported was that he had a "five year deal" it said it was 300k base salary , 225k in gate receipts, 125k in athletic department appearances,
and 50k for media apperances. Obviously, we do not know what is guaranteed or for how long.
It could be the 300k is guaranteed and the other400k is not . eg if he is not coach would he still be entitled to a percentage of gate receipts.

Is the actual contract public record?

URI is entitled to pay the full balance of the contract if a change is made prior to the end of the third season. The following two years require only a payout of the base salary remaining, which is $300,000 annually.

[Section104]

what was reported was that he had a "five year deal" it said it was 300k base salary , 225k in gate receipts, 125k in athletic department appearances,
and 50k for media apperances. Obviously, we do not know what is guaranteed or for how long.
It could be the 300k is guaranteed and the other400k is not . eg if he is not coach would he still be entitled to a percentage of gate receipts.

Is the actual contract public record?

URI is entitled to pay the full balance of the contract if a change is made prior to the end of the third season. The following two years require only a payout of the base salary remaining, which is $300,000 annually.

So after this season would be a 2.8 million buyout, followed by 2.1 million after next season, 1.4 after year 3, and 300k after year 4...ouch.

[Rhodymob05]

Okay so with Coach Cox staying put, is there anything else URI can do to improve this program? Staff, facility anything?

[TruePoint]

what was reported was that he had a "five year deal" it said it was 300k base salary , 225k in gate receipts, 125k in athletic department appearances,
and 50k for media apperances. Obviously, we do not know what is guaranteed or for how long.
It could be the 300k is guaranteed and the other400k is not . eg if he is not coach would he still be entitled to a percentage of gate receipts.

Is the actual contract public record?

URI is entitled to pay the full balance of the contract if a change is made prior to the end of the third season. The following two years require only a payout of the base salary remaining, which is $300,000 annually.

So after this season would be a 2.8 million buyout, followed by 2.1 million after next season, 1.4 after year 3, and 300k after year 4...ouch.

Unless there is specific language in the contract stating otherwise, if the full 700k is guaranteed for the first three years and then only 300k is guaranteed for the final two years, then the cost to terminate the contract would be 2M this year, 1.3M after next year year, 600k after year three and 300k after year four. There should also be other language in the contract dealing with offsets and generally you would not have to pay a lump sum on the day the contract is terminated - you can pay it out over a period of time. You can also borrow the money, you don’t need a booster to write a check or have the cash on hand at the time.

Also, as much as I get (and to an extent share in) the frustration people are feeling right now, I saw the title of this thread and that there were 67 replies and thought it was a new thread from today and was about to dust off Ban Bazooka. Please do not start speculating on coaching changes or player transfers during the season. Thank you.

Lastly, I saw someone say we weren’t interested in Nate Oats. I think this gets it backwards. I think we’d have walked to Buffalo to offer Oats the job; he put out word pretty early on that he was not interested in our job or any other open job last offseason.

[Billyboy78]

Okay so with Coach Cox staying put, is there anything else URI can do to improve this program? Staff, facility anything?

I just want to know what Sutton and Carroll are doing to help this team improve. I think we were all excited for both of these hires. Is it working?

[TruePoint]

Okay so with Coach Cox staying put, is there anything else URI can do to improve this program? Staff, facility anything?

If there aren’t changes on the coaching and support staff after this season I will shocked.

[RamStock]

Okay so with Coach Cox staying put, is there anything else URI can do to improve this program? Staff, facility anything?

I just want to know what Sutton and Carroll are doing to help this team improve. I think we were all excited for both of these hires. Is it working?

It looks like nothing. Very disappointed with what they have brought. They got to enjoy some free meals at the Coast Guard and other restaurants for the coaches show. Without knowing the behind the scenes with the team these coaches remind me more of outdated dinosaurs in today’s game

[section(105)]

Okay so with Coach Cox staying put, is there anything else URI can do to improve this program? Staff, facility anything?

.......sure, more donations, seat licenses, parking fees, raise ticket prices, find a sugar daddy, get more from the GA, all this stuff we have kicked around before, do not see any of these happening, so we spin our wheels for a few years hoping a bargain basement coach gets a major recruit to be like EC( come here as a pioneer to build something)catches lightning in a bottle......then we know the script, they leave for more salary, bigger job and we start the wash rinse dry cycle all over again......

[hrstrat57]

URI is entitled to pay the full balance of the contract if a change is made prior to the end of the third season. The following two years require only a payout of the base salary remaining, which is $300,000 annually.

So after this season would be a 2.8 million buyout, followed by 2.1 million after next season, 1.4 after year 3, and 300k after year 4...ouch.

Unless there is specific language in the contract stating otherwise, if the full 700k is guaranteed for the first three years and then only 300k is guaranteed for the final two years, then the cost to terminate the contract would be 2M this year, 1.3M after next year year, 600k after year three and 300k after year four. There should also be other language in the contract dealing with offsets and generally you would not have to pay a lump sum on the day the contract is terminated - you can pay it out over a period of time. You can also borrow the money, you don’t need a booster to write a check or have the cash on hand at the time.

Also, as much as I get (and to an extent share in) the frustration people are feeling right now, I saw the title of this thread and that there were 67 replies and thought it was a new thread from today and was about to dust off Ban Bazooka. Please do not start speculating on coaching changes or player transfers during the season. Thank you.

Lastly, I saw someone say we weren’t interested in Nate Oats. I think this gets it backwards. I think we’d have walked to Buffalo to offer Oats the job; he put out word pretty early on that he was not interested in our job or any other open job last offseason.

As I said we had no shot at Nate Oats.....

[SmartyBarrett]

Okay so with Coach Cox staying put, is there anything else URI can do to improve this program? Staff, facility anything?

I just want to know what Sutton and Carroll are doing to help this team improve. I think we were all excited for both of these hires. Is it working?

I was a bit confused at the time that two solid, veteran head coaches were so readily available. Doesn't seem as confusing anymore.

[TruePoint]

Okay so with Coach Cox staying put, is there anything else URI can do to improve this program? Staff, facility anything?

I just want to know what Sutton and Carroll are doing to help this team improve. I think we were all excited for both of these hires. Is it working?

I was a bit confused at the time that two solid, veteran head coaches were so readily available. Doesn't seem as confusing anymore.

Said the exact same thing to someone this weekend. Impressive (or at least long) resumes, both. But that may be the extent of what they bring to the table.

[Billyboy78]

At most, I want one veteran assistant coach. I want two, young, hungry assistants out recruiting.

[reef]

I admit I was one of the 13 that voted for Slick Rick but I was ok with the Cox hire . I am not ok with the Cox hire now

[RhowdyRam02]

I was always surprised how much love those hires received. Sutton's last three jobs were assistant at GW for the beginning of the Lonergan era, assistant at Georgetown toward the end of an era that was bad enough to get John Thompson's son fired and then assistant at Pitt during the Kevin Stallings era. Everybody was excited that John Carroll coached for the Celtics, apparently forgetting how bad things were before Doc Rivers when they were well on the way to spoiling the prime of Paul Pierce's career. There should have been massive red flags but people had blinders on because of an unearned "in Cox we trust" mindset

[RhowdyRam02]

At most, I want one veteran assistant coach. I want two, young, hungry assistants out recruiting.

OK, but in that situation who is doing game planning and developing the players you already have on campus?

[Billyboy78]

At most, I want one veteran assistant coach. I want two, young, hungry assistants out recruiting.

OK, but in that situation who is doing game planning and developing the players you already have on campus?

Hopefully a new veteran assistant, along with the head coach and the two young assistants. Whatever the combination, it's not working now.

[Tjrams91]

Please cease and desist with the “overboard” calls for a coaching change! Give me a break!? For those whose are calling for Pitino..are you feeling ok? Just when we get the program back on a solid track, you want to bring in a coach so dirty,he has to go coach in Greece??! Sorry, but that is not a good look for any program unless they want to own that baggage!!

Secondly, I agree that more questions have arisen instead of answers regarding the assistant coaches!?? More needs to be asked of them and I’m sure that that will also work out as time moves on. Again, I challenge anyone to show me a better first year record at URI at this stage, under the same circumstances, players leaving, etc? Not going to happen.

Lastly, please let’s keep our focus on reality based solutions instead of wishing for the stars or in Pitino’s case, begging for disaster! Coach Cox is the man for the job! We all understand the first year coaching woes and we owe it to him, the university, and the young players to back him this year and support the player development that is undoubtedly taking place! #letsgetawintomorrow #GO RHODY

[DC_Rams]

You all act as though Hurley made lemonade out of lemons. He had a 4 year class, that beared fruit. Hurley had a hand in the product you see on the floor. His success rate and experience as a head coach may have garnered an extra win or two, but for the most part this team is what it is. I don’t know how anyone can come to these extreme conclusions after Cox being on the job for 8 months. We have a rotation of 6-7 guys that can actually contribute. Next year we will have a minimum of 9 rotation guys. Big difference, will allow for flexibility in the lineup along with a host of other things. One thing for sure, I will not write off these kids and believe that they will not continue to develop in the off season. I’m a glass half full/optimist. As I have said in the past, after season 2, and no progress, all bets are off. After year one? It’s just stupid, imo.

Call me a honk or whatever, just my .02.

[RhowdyRam02]

There is zero fact based evidence this year or in his experience that shows Cox is the man to run a division one basketball program. He's got a great resume as an assistant, but any assessment right now that concludes he can handle this job is based on hopes and dreams, not reality

[Billyboy78]

You all act as though Hurley made lemonade out of lemons. He had a 4 year class, that beared fruit. Hurley had a hand in the product you see on the floor. His success rate and experience as a head coach may have garnered an extra win or two, but for the most part this team is what it is. I don’t know how anyone can come to these extreme conclusions after Cox being on the job for 8 months. We have a rotation of 6-7 guys that can actually contribute. Next year we will have a minimum of 9 rotation guys. Big difference, will allow for flexibility in the lineup along with a host of other things. One thing for sure, I will not write off these kids and believe that they will not continue to develop in the off season. I’m a glass half full/optimist. As I have said in the past, after season 2, and no progress, all bets are off. After year one? It’s just stupid, imo.

Call me a honk or whatever, just my .02.

Wouldn't you expect to see at least a little bit of improvement and development during the season, rather than regression?

[RhowdyRam02]

You all act as though Hurley made lemonade out of lemons. He had a 4 year class, that beared fruit. Hurley had a hand in the product you see on the floor. His success rate and experience as a head coach may have garnered an extra win or two, but for the most part this team is what it is. I don’t know how anyone can come to these extreme conclusions after Cox being on the job for 8 months. We have a rotation of 6-7 guys that can actually contribute. Next year we will have a minimum of 9 rotation guys. Big difference, will allow for flexibility in the lineup along with a host of other things. One thing for sure, I will not write off these kids and believe that they will not continue to develop in the off season. I’m a glass half full/optimist. As I have said in the past, after season 2, and no progress, all bets are off. After year one? It’s just stupid, imo.

Call me a honk or whatever, just my .02.

Continue to develop in the off-season? What development is occurring during the season that makes you feel it's appropriate to use the word continue?

[reef]

Same thing people said before Harrick came here

Give me a coach with National championships and final 4s

I will bet in his 60s he is not going to screw up hos last shot

Instead we are stuck with David Cox a deer in headlights going nowhere but down in the weak A10

Think big we do

[Tjrams91]

Continue the development means, Fatts realizes he can’t throw up shots and he DEVELOPS his drive and passing skills. Cyril realizes that he can’t muscle every play and DEVELOPS solid moves in the post that get him more buckets! Not to mention continues to DEVELOP his free throws shooting ability.

Jermaine DEVELOPS his posting ability and begins to use his energy and motor to the good! DEVELOP Dana and Tyrese into more consistent players on both ends of the floor..even though Tyrese is playing solid defense now.

Oh, there is development all around this off season, and that also includes the coaching staff too! #nowheretogobutUP #GO RHODY

[Tjrams91]

There is zero fact based evidence this year or in his experience that shows Cox is the man to run a division one basketball program. He's got a great resume as an assistant, but any assessment right now that concludes he can handle this job is based on hopes and dreams, not reality

Listen to yourself?? Any assessment right now that concludes that Coach Cox CANT HANDLE this job is NOT reality based, after only 8 months on the job and in his first year! How good were you when you first started anything?? Let alone managing a big time Div 1 program? If you can admit that Coach Cox has an impressive assistant coach pedigree, why not give him a chance to show and prove? Jumping the gun with rash decisions, will only lead to miscalculated actions!

[ace]

I need to know how much caffeine our new friend TJrams91 consumes in a day. It seems like a lot.

[DC_Rams]

Same thing people said before Harrick came here

Give me a coach with National championships and final 4s

I will bet in his 60s he is not going to screw up hos last shot

Instead we are stuck with David Cox a deer in headlights going nowhere but down in the weak A10

Think big we do

That coach isn’t coming to URI. Ever.

[Tjrams91]

Haha!! Thanks! But only one iced coffee per day my man!!

[hrstrat57]

Kinda with TP here, could have convinced boosters to pony up for Oats maybe

We can’t be sure what took place even regarding Pitino. I heard lotsa stuff down here but nothing I could repeat at the time.

Bottom line it’s a bad/ too early thread bump, the man can easily save his job with a strong finish. I love me some tasty crow if it means we finish strong.

GoRhody.

TJ sounds like a insider (welcome)

[luke]

I don't think this thread being brought back is fair at all to a rookie head coach . I think we need to let Cox develop along with his players .
He will learn as his team learns and he will become a very good coach if he is given a full chance . He has been put in a very difficult spot
I think because the freshmen have not reached expectations, especially Harris . Often big men take a little time to develop . Wil Daniels,
Delroy and Hassan didn't set the world on fire right away . Hurley took some time to develop along with his players . Are we forgetting his
first three seasons when some on this board were ready to dump him too ? Unless you are Duke or Kentucky you don't bring in four freshmen
and send off six seniors and head back to the post season tournaments the next season. I'll admit that the hype given the freshmen before the
season lifted my expectations too high and left me frustrated, but now I realize it was a mistake and the solution is patience . and so I for one intend to be patient and I refuse to criticize the coach or the players for the rest of the season, however long that is. There will be a next year with the same coach and most of the same players and I anticipate it will have a happier ending.

[RhowdyRam02]

Continue the development means, Fatts realizes he can’t throw up shots and he DEVELOPS his drive and passing skills. Cyril realizes that he can’t muscle every play and DEVELOPS solid moves in the post that get him more buckets! Not to mention continues to DEVELOP his free throws shooting ability.

Jermaine DEVELOPS his posting ability and begins to use his energy and motor to the good! DEVELOP Dana and Tyrese into more consistent players on both ends of the floor..even though Tyrese is playing solid defense now.

Oh, there is development all around this off season, and that also includes the coaching staff too! #nowheretogobutUP #GO RHODY

Why are they waiting until the off-season to do that stuff, why not now? Why are we regressing now?

[theblueram]

Same thing people said before Harrick came here

Give me a coach with National championships and final 4s

I will bet in his 60s he is not going to screw up hos last shot

Instead we are stuck with David Cox a deer in headlights going nowhere but down in the weak A10

Think big we do

That coach isn’t coming to URI. Ever.

But we had one before. So, you really can't say ever.

[DC_Rams]

I don't think this thread being brought back is fair at all to a rookie head coach . I think we need to let Cox develop along with his players .
He will learn as his team learns and he will become a very good coach if he is given a full chance . He has been put in a very difficult spot
I think because the freshmen have not reached expectations, especially Harris . Often big men take a little time to develop . Wil Daniels,
Delroy and Hassan didn't set the world on fire right away . Hurley took some time to develop along with his players . Are we forgetting his
first three seasons when some on this board were ready to dump him too ? Unless you are Duke or Kentucky you don't bring in four freshmen
and send off six seniors and head back to the post season tournaments the next season. I'll admit that the hype given the freshmen before the
season lifted my expectations too high and left me frustrated, but now I realize it was a mistake and the solution is patience . and so I for one intend to be patient and I refuse to criticize the coach or the players for the rest of the season, however long that is. There will be a next year with the same coach and most of the same players and I anticipate it will have a happier ending.

My exact sentiments. Cox isn’t going anywhere after this season, or after the next 2, at MINIMUM. The cupboard is nearly bare. Next season, that excuse is GONE. Turning your back on a first year guy is absolutely ludicrous, ESPECIALLY since DH was treated the same way and he HAD experience. (And I’ll say it again, I love DH, still do)

[DC_Rams]

Same thing people said before Harrick came here

Give me a coach with National championships and final 4s

I will bet in his 60s he is not going to screw up hos last shot

Instead we are stuck with David Cox a deer in headlights going nowhere but down in the weak A10

Think big we do

That coach isn’t coming to URI. Ever.

But we had one before. So, you really can't say ever.

He wasn’t knocking on our door after DH left now was he? Those guys are looking for P5’s, not lateral moves.

[theblueram]

DH had exactly 2 years D1 experience. He only had 2 years more experience than Cox had. So a young coach, either Cox or Hurley, we are taking a chance on is going to be scrutinized.

[steveystuds06]

You all act as though Hurley made lemonade out of lemons. He had a 4 year class, that beared fruit. Hurley had a hand in the product you see on the floor. His success rate and experience as a head coach may have garnered an extra win or two, but for the most part this team is what it is. I don’t know how anyone can come to these extreme conclusions after Cox being on the job for 8 months. We have a rotation of 6-7 guys that can actually contribute. Next year we will have a minimum of 9 rotation guys. Big difference, will allow for flexibility in the lineup along with a host of other things. One thing for sure, I will not write off these kids and believe that they will not continue to develop in the off season. I’m a glass half full/optimist. As I have said in the past, after season 2, and no progress, all bets are off. After year one? It’s just stupid, imo.

Call me a honk or whatever, just my .02.

I agree that people seem to forget the growing pains we had with Dan as a coach. He definitely underachieved at times. I do believe the record would be similar with Dan as our coach but I don't believe the team would look this way.

Dan's teams got better. Even with a depleted roster I saw his guys develop. I saw a team bonding and connecting. A team that would run through a wall for their coach and their teammates.

I was actually defending Cox until recently. It's not about wins or losses it's about the eye test. The team is quitting on him. They are arguing and fighting in games. Some guys don't high five when they gut subbed out and walk to bench with their heads down. They look like they don't care what Cox is saying during huddles.

While watching Saturday there was a moment that stuck with me. 2 minutes were left, we called a timeout and the camera panned to our bench. Our guys looked like they could care less. I saw Tyrese looking up at the ceiling with a pout on his face. Dana and CT were talking to each other and not paying attention. Fatts was staring at his shoes. Jeff and Cyril seemed to be the only ones that seemed interested. All while Cox is drawing up a play in a key moment.

I then see Fordhams bench. Every single guy is focused on the head coach. They were locked in and looked like they were going to do whatever it takes to win. Laser focused. We may have a lot more talent, but I'd take that 100% of the time.

I do think it's fair to give Cox another year, but I wouldn't be upset if this was it. I hope i'm wrong. Go Rhody!