April Fools Day, 1999

Rhodyhooopz · Unread post by **Rhodyhooopz** » 7 years ago

Still the weirdest day in my life with a horrible outcome. Finally 18 years later we have found redemption

NYGFan_Section208 · Unread post by **NYGFan_Section208** » 7 years ago

Great thread...would recommend going back to post 1 here for anyone else that's still somewhat 'new'....

Billyboy78 · Unread post by **Billyboy78** » 7 years ago

NYGFan_Section208 wrote:Great thread...would recommend going back to post 1 here for anyone else that's still somewhat 'new'....

NYG, Harrick had us coming off of an elite 8 with one of the top recruiting classes in the country coming in. We were about to become a national powerhouse. It all ended that day 18 years ago.

NYGFan_Section208 · Unread post by **NYGFan_Section208** » 7 years ago

Yep, and I do remember some of that, but not with anywhere near the specifics...but, (finally) out of the ashes they come...

theblueram · Unread post by **theblueram** » 7 years ago

My head hurts seeing this again. But things are looking up.

Rhody74 · Unread post by **Rhody74** » 7 years ago

Reviving this thread is just plain cruel.

RF1 · Unread post by **RF1** » 7 years ago

Rhody74 wrote:Reviving this thread is just plain cruel.

The dark clouds and no NCAA appearances are now behind us. Good days ahead. This thread does not bother me in the same way it did prior to March-2017.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 7 years ago

It bothers me, because of the idiotic hire they made
to replace Harrick, and compounded it by
hiring CFL.
We'll never get those years back, and we lived through
the results of what occurred on April 1, 1999 for
18 years.

RhodeIslandRams · Unread post by **RhodeIslandRams** » 7 years ago

rodfromcranston wrote:Yeah, and Jerry D told the idiots in charge that HE could keep the recruits!
Those donkeys should have been fired for getting suckered like that.
Just THE most atrocious hire in D-1 history.

For the young guys here, let me add emphasis to what Rod says here. Jerry D. , to even an untrained eye, HAD NO IDEA what he was doing. Almost anyone on this board would be a better coach, and sadly I'm not exaggerating. Every word he said was embarrassing. It was by far the most painful time to watch Rhody in my lifetime. I'm not being mean, Jerry might be a good guy, but please find some 'tape' on his and watch it. In fact if anyone has a news conference or anything you should share it for those of us strong enough to see it.

I promise it will make you very happy with those who run the program these days

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 7 years ago

At practices, when Harrick, Larry Farmer, and Tom Penders Jr. were
working hard with the players, Jerry D would be
waddling around on his phone, and sometimes, just leave.
I have a friend, whose young son was getting autographs after
practice.
Everyone, including Lamar, signed.
Not Jerry D. He rudely brushed off the kid.
That was typical of him.

reef · Unread post by **reef** » 7 years ago

Just read through all this post to relive the pain

I had no idea that Petro pulled the offer that would have gotten Harrick back , what a loser Ronny Petro was

I am in the camp that wanted Harrick here for a few more years to bring us to the promised land and deal with potential ramifications later

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 7 years ago

To this day, I have no idea why Petro pulled that offer. I don't think it's ever been explained why.

Rod, any idea?

rhodyruckus · Unread post by **rhodyruckus** » 7 years ago

A Tommy Boy hire if there ever was one...

Specs on the rotary girder

Rhodyhooopz · Unread post by **Rhodyhooopz** » 7 years ago

Can this thread be locked and put away for good? I hate just looking at the date

ramfan85 · Unread post by **ramfan85** » 7 years ago

rodfromcranston wrote:At practices, when Harrick, Larry Farmer, and Tom Penders Jr. were
working hard with the players, Jerry D would be
waddling around on his phone, and sometimes, just leave.
I have a friend, whose young son was getting autographs after
practice.
Everyone, including Lamar, signed.
Not Jerry D. He rudely brushed off the kid.
That was typical of him.

Sure wish I had that autograph now. Never know when you might run out of toilet paper.

RF1 · Unread post by **RF1** » 5 years ago

It was exactly twenty years ago today. I can still remember listening to sports radio on my drive home from work that afternoon. It was such a day of twists and turns and an emotional roller coaster with moments of exhilaration and later despair. Reading back on this thread I started five years ago, it makes you miss the personal perspective of URI basketball history that Rod could always offer.

Rhodyram · Unread post by **Rhodyram** » 5 years ago

Rod's posts are gold in this thread.

Rhodyhooopz · Unread post by **Rhodyhooopz** » 5 years ago

Ugghhh Not again. Still too painful after 20 years.

Rhody74 · Unread post by **Rhody74** » 5 years ago

For URI Fans of a certain age .... painful dates are 11/22/63, 9/11/01, and 4/1/99.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 5 years ago

Rhody74 wrote: ↑5 years ago For URI Fans of a certain age .... painful dates are 11/22/63, 9/11/01, and 4/1/99.

How true.

Add to those dates the 1978 Duke and 1998 Stanford games.

All will live in infamy.

steviep123 · Unread post by **steviep123** » 5 years ago

What made it more painful is not hiring a good replacement which led to the Baron error.

Taylor Swift · Unread post by **Taylor Swift** » 5 years ago

steviep123 wrote: ↑5 years ago What made it more painful is not hiring a good replacement which led to the Baron error.

Da Process!

RhowdyRam02 · Unread post by **RhowdyRam02** » 5 years ago

Rhody74 wrote: ↑5 years ago For URI Fans of a certain age .... painful dates are 11/22/63, 9/11/01, and 4/1/99.

I don't know, feels a little odd to link a botched basketball coaching situation with a Presidential assassination and a terrorist attack that killed almost 3000 people. Especially where the two dates don't seem to have any tie in with URI

Rhody74 · Unread post by **Rhody74** » 5 years ago

Lighten up Francis. I was joking how URI fans view the Harrick debacle.

bkoeppen · Unread post by **bkoeppen** » 5 years ago

i'm on the young side - who was in the recruiting class we lost when Harrick - not sure why i want to continue to rip off this bandage but curious to know.

EZBuckets · Unread post by **EZBuckets** » 5 years ago

Ugh this thread haunts me every year when it gets bumped up...yet I always go back and read thru the whole thread...

I was only 13 when this whole thing went down so though I remember it all vividly - I'm not privy to the inside story of how it all unfolded behind the scenes. It may be time for me to sit down with the old man now that he's retired and see if he'll share the details.

One thing I will say- there was definitely other coaches interested in the job before Jerry got the job. One in particular was young and has gone on to be insanely successful and a top coach in the country. What could have been....

URI96 · Unread post by **URI96** » 5 years ago

bkoeppen wrote: ↑5 years ago i'm on the young side - who was in the recruiting class we lost when Harrick - not sure why i want to continue to rip off this bandage but curious to know.

Jason Kapono was one rumored to be coming

steviep123 · Unread post by **steviep123** » 5 years ago

EZBuckets wrote: ↑5 years ago Ugh this thread haunts me every year when it gets bumped up...yet I always go back and read thru the whole thread...

I was only 13 when this whole thing went down so though I remember it all vividly - I'm not privy to the inside story of how it all unfolded behind the scenes. It may be time for me to sit down with the old man now that he's retired and see if he'll share the details.

One thing I will say- there was definitely other coaches interested in the job before Jerry got the job. One in particular was young and has gone on to be insanely successful and a top coach in the country. What could have been....

To play the guessing game on EZ's statements, I'm thinking who would have been a young future coach at that time. Mark Few comes to mind - that was the same year that Gonzaga broke out, reaching the Elite 8 and a Cinderella. Dan Monson was the coach that season, and left for Minnesota. Mark Few was an assistant and was hired as head coach on July 26th, 1999. Few definitely fits the description EZ talks about.

It would be great to know the details.

bkoeppen · Unread post by **bkoeppen** » 5 years ago

URI96 wrote: ↑5 years ago
bkoeppen wrote: ↑5 years ago i'm on the young side - who was in the recruiting class we lost when Harrick - not sure why i want to continue to rip off this bandage but curious to know.
Jason Kapono was one rumored to be coming

https://www.southcoasttoday.com/article ... /303199940 found an article that highlights the other guys - don't recognize the other recruits outside of kapano, but the context of this article ruined my day. so painful to know we were so close to establishing a national power

bigappleram · Unread post by **bigappleram** » 5 years ago

EZBuckets wrote: ↑5 years ago Ugh this thread haunts me every year when it gets bumped up...yet I always go back and read thru the whole thread...

I was only 13 when this whole thing went down so though I remember it all vividly - I'm not privy to the inside story of how it all unfolded behind the scenes. It may be time for me to sit down with the old man now that he's retired and see if he'll share the details.

One thing I will say- there was definitely other coaches interested in the job before Jerry got the job. One in particular was young and has gone on to be insanely successful and a top coach in the country. What could have been....

I believe you are referencing Jay Wright? Dave Cowens was also interested, and a host of others bc we had just run off back to back to back NCAA appearances, Elite 8, then the Lamar Odom year, etc.

RF1 · Unread post by **RF1** » 5 years ago

steviep123 wrote: ↑5 years ago
EZBuckets wrote: ↑5 years ago Ugh this thread haunts me every year when it gets bumped up...yet I always go back and read thru the whole thread...

I was only 13 when this whole thing went down so though I remember it all vividly - I'm not privy to the inside story of how it all unfolded behind the scenes. It may be time for me to sit down with the old man now that he's retired and see if he'll share the details.

One thing I will say- there was definitely other coaches interested in the job before Jerry got the job. One in particular was young and has gone on to be insanely successful and a top coach in the country. What could have been....
To play the guessing game on EZ's statements, I'm thinking who would have been a young future coach at that time. Mark Few comes to mind - that was the same year that Gonzaga broke out, reaching the Elite 8 and a Cinderella. Dan Monson was the coach that season, and left for Minnesota. Mark Few was an assistant and was hired as head coach on July 26th, 1999. Few definitely fits the description EZ talks about.

It would be great to know the details.

More likely someone from the northeast like Jay Wright who was then at Hofstra.

bigappleram · Unread post by **bigappleram** » 5 years ago

It was Jay Wright, he was the coach of Hofstra at the time and a hot young star in the profession. He left Hofstra in 2001 to take over Nova.

ramster · Unread post by **ramster** » 5 years ago

bkoeppen wrote: ↑5 years ago
URI96 wrote: ↑5 years ago
bkoeppen wrote: ↑5 years ago i'm on the young side - who was in the recruiting class we lost when Harrick - not sure why i want to continue to rip off this bandage but curious to know.
Jason Kapono was one rumored to be coming
https://www.southcoasttoday.com/article ... /303199940 found an article that highlights the other guys - don't recognize the other recruits outside of kapano, but the context of this article ruined my day. so painful to know we were so close to establishing a national power

Kapono changed his mind and went to UCLA then the NBA
Kroenke went on to Missouri
Kartelo changed his mind and went to Notre Dame - see link
Another guy we were strongly after was 6’11” Jabari Smith from a Jr College in Atlanta. Some said he was 7’. Smith went on to play at LSU.
Schea Cotton was once ranked #2 in the nation in HS. He had challenges with his SAT for years but we likely could have ended up with him. He got hurt one summer playing against Lamar Odom in AAU. Eventually landed at Alabama
Tony Cole from Batan Rouge LA came to Rhode Island to potentially play for URI but needed grades. He enrolled at CCRI in Warwick and played but got kicked out. He then went to Georgia following Harrick but troubles there too. Excellent player with lightening speed.

Those were truly amazing times.

https://und.com/news/2000/12/19/Kartelo ... Times.aspx
Kartelo played for the Winchendon School in Winchendon, Mass., for the 1998-99 academic year. He caught the eye of many collegiate coaches, including then-Rhode Island head coach Jim Harrick and then-Kansas assistant coach Matt Doherty.
Kartelo was set to enroll at Rhode Island before Harrick left. Soon after, Doherty was hired at Notre Dame. Harrick's resignation led to Kartelo dealing with the first of many changes in his life as he eventually signed with that Kansas assistant who was now the head coach at Notre Dame. He became the first signing of the Doherty era at Notre Dame

RhowdyRam02 · Unread post by **RhowdyRam02** » 5 years ago

bkoeppen wrote: ↑5 years ago
URI96 wrote: ↑5 years ago
bkoeppen wrote: ↑5 years ago i'm on the young side - who was in the recruiting class we lost when Harrick - not sure why i want to continue to rip off this bandage but curious to know.
Jason Kapono was one rumored to be coming
https://www.southcoasttoday.com/article ... /303199940 found an article that highlights the other guys - don't recognize the other recruits outside of kapano, but the context of this article ruined my day. so painful to know we were so close to establishing a national power

Schea Cotton played on year at Alabama, averaging 15.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per game and was second team all conference. Ivan Kartelo played two years at Notre Dame and two years at Purdue and averaged 5.7 points and 6 rebounds per game his senior year. Marshall Williams played one year at NC State before knee injuries got him. Josh Kroenke played at Missouri and didn't do much there, but he's gone on to become President of the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche thanks to his family's ties to WalMart

RhowdyRam02 · Unread post by **RhowdyRam02** » 5 years ago

bigappleram wrote: ↑5 years ago It was Jay Wright, he was the coach of Hofstra at the time and a hot young star in the profession. He left Hofstra in 2001 to take over Nova.

I wonder how long we would have been able to hang onto him if we had gone in that direction

bigappleram · Unread post by **bigappleram** » 5 years ago

RhowdyRam02 wrote: ↑5 years ago
bigappleram wrote: ↑5 years ago It was Jay Wright, he was the coach of Hofstra at the time and a hot young star in the profession. He left Hofstra in 2001 to take over Nova.
I wonder how long we would have been able to hang onto him if we had gone in that direction

At that time Nova didn't have the prestige it has now (that he built) but it still was a Big East school with a Chip in their history. So I'd say if he came in and was successful in 99-00 he wouldn't have been too long for Rhody either. Maybe same thing, Nova job opens and he's gonzo. If he was a candidate from Hofstra he would have been an even stronger candidate with A10 experience.

RF1 · Unread post by **RF1** » 5 years ago

bigappleram wrote: ↑5 years ago
RhowdyRam02 wrote: ↑5 years ago
bigappleram wrote: ↑5 years ago It was Jay Wright, he was the coach of Hofstra at the time and a hot young star in the profession. He left Hofstra in 2001 to take over Nova.
I wonder how long we would have been able to hang onto him if we had gone in that direction
At that time Nova didn't have the prestige it has now (that he built) but it still was a Big East school with a Chip in their history. So I'd say if he came in and was successful in 99-00 he wouldn't have been too long for Rhody either. Maybe same thing, Nova job opens and he's gonzo. If he was a candidate from Hofstra he would have been an even stronger candidate with A10 experience.

I don't think Wright had any interest in URI two years later in 2001 when the job was again open after Jerry D got dumped. He had just come off his two best seasons at Hofstra and was angling for a higher profile job. That was when he got the Villanova job. He was such a commodity then that he had zero interest in the URI job as he had bigger sights. I don't think he would have stayed long in Kingston if he had been hired in 1999. He was always destined for a higher profile gig.

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 5 years ago

He may not have stayed long but it would have totally changed the trajectory of our program. If he was good enough here for a year or two or three to move up to a Villanova-type of job, then you can be damn sure that our next coach would not have been Jim Baron.

steviep123 · Unread post by **steviep123** » 5 years ago

Wright is another guy that made sense. I do remember him being interviewed or someone else (I can't remember the details) saying that Wright was looking for something a little more high profile than URI. That might have been in 2001 as someone suggested. Man, if we got Wright in 1999 instead of the buffoon, even if only for 3 or 4 years, we'd have been much better and never have fallen into a long drought. Hopefully that will never happen again.

steviep123 · Unread post by **steviep123** » 5 years ago

TruePoint wrote: ↑5 years ago He may not have stayed long but it would have totally changed the trajectory of our program. If he was good enough here for a year or two or three to move up to a Villanova-type of job, then you can be damn sure that our next coach would not have been Jim Baron.

Agreed!

Billyboy78 · Unread post by **Billyboy78** » 5 years ago

IIRC, Harrick had 3 McDonald's All-Americans coming in and one other highly rated player.

Rhodygirl2 · Unread post by **Rhodygirl2** » 5 years ago

While this thread was painful to see bumped up again this time I actually read from the beginning and learned that Petro rescinded the offer. I had no idea and it does change my view a bit on Harrick although he still has the mark of a cheater in my mind.

I don’t remember how I heard what was going on but I remember calling in updates to my family and friends because I was crazy enough to go to Mackal for the press conference. I remember thinking “let me go sneak around see what’s going on” and then was surprised to find I could just walk in and go up there. I was only a few years out of school and didn’t know if it was because I still looked like a student athlete although there would be no good reason to be up on that floor except to snoop.

I was so confused and too shy to ask anyone and just was trying to eavesdrop to figure it out. Then so so depressed when the outcome was clear.

Now I can at least let go of some of the negativity toward Harrick I’ve held on to since that day.

Even when he came to a game recently everyone was so excited and as I sat a few seats away I thought “traitor” and fumed.

So this thread turned into a nice little therapy - thanks!

rhodyruckus · Unread post by **rhodyruckus** » 5 years ago

Things were on an upward trend, it was late in my junior year and I was thinking with Odom and Harrick coming back for another year together we were looking at getting to the Final Four we had just missed in '98. Then the rug got pulled out BIG TIME. My course load was crazy, so after my full morning of classes I usually went back to my rental house and listened to Jim Rome (haha) while getting homework done. That afternoon I flipped around between the Score and various other stations to hear the proceedings and analysis. Needless to say I enjoyed the bar and party scene my senior year paying no mind to the basketball schedule!

rhodyruckus · Unread post by **rhodyruckus** » 5 years ago

It is sad both from how the Harrick legacy ended at Georgia, but also I believe with just one more year of the family structure of a college basketball team, Lamar could have had a totally different pro career and personal life as well. Instead he was let loose to the NBA lifestyle in a rough period of the sport in general. His game wasn't in vogue yet, and there were a lot more me-first players and bad veteran influences at the end of the '90s than the previous era as well as most players of today.

Blue Man · Unread post by **Blue Man** » 5 years ago

I've got nothing but gratitude for what Harrick did here, as he gave us the best URI team ever, the best URI win ever (beating #1 Kansas in the NCAAT with Paul Pierce will be tough to beat), and the most memorable URI shot ever (Odom to win the A10). Also, without Harrick we never get our arguably most nationally-famous and highest lottery picked player ever.

Had Harrick stayed who knows about how his transgressions may have negatively affected our program - as you could argue that URI has had more success than Georgia in basketball since that time (3 NCAA appearances +1 that was vacated in '02, 0 wins - 1 that was vacated in 02, 1 conference title) vs 2 NCAA appearances with 2 wins, 1 conference title, 1 great coaching hire, and what seems to be a 2nd great coaching hire with a team primed to make an NCAAT run, and no embarrassing vacated anything).

Ron Petro is much more of a problem here because as we know, the mark of any good program isn't retaining good coaches - it's continuing to hire good coaches. Ron threw Al Skinner out the door to watch him bring the Eagles to 7 NCAAT's and 6 wins. Sure made a deal with the devil to bring in a great coach with potential misdealings - but then buried this program with 1 terrible hire, and then 1 "eh" hire and then turned that around and gave said "eh" hire possibly the most program damaging and terrible contract in college basketball.

April fools day 99 should not be about Harrick leaving, it should be the mark of Petro burying this program for nearly 2 decades.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 5 years ago

The one thing that I've never been able to find out, was WHY did Petro withdraw the contract offer to Harrick at the last minute?

It's never been mentioned here, and for some reason I never asked Rod why either. If anyone would know it would have been him.

Rhodyhooopz · Unread post by **Rhodyhooopz** » 5 years ago

Rambone I can tell you this. It wasn't Petro who pulled the offer it was Carothers. Carothers didn't like the fact that Harrick was becoming bigger than the school. Petro at the time wasn't allowed to any big decisions without Carothers signing off on them.

Remember Carothers was the guy who dried the campus out.

phipsiGD'11 · Unread post by **phipsiGD'11** » 5 years ago

Rhodyhooopz wrote: ↑5 years ago Rambone I can tell you this. It wasn't Petro who pulled the offer it was Carothers. Carothers didn't like the fact that Harrick was becoming bigger than the school. Petro at the time wasn't allowed to any big decisions without Carothers signing off on them.

Remember Carothers was the guy who dried the campus out.

I've always blamed Carothers for all of URIs failures during my time in Kingston and now I can add this to that list. He has to be the worst thing to happen to URI ever. I remember the day he announced he was leaving, one of the best days of my college career. Made better only by hiring Dooley.

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 5 years ago

Carothers has a banner up in the Ryan. Frank Keaney, Ernie Calverley, Silk Owens, Steve Chubin, Sly, Tyson, Cuttino, etc., do not. It’s one of the dumbest (and dare I say most Rhody) things of all time.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 5 years ago

Yeah Carothers was also responsible for Jerry Duh and JB. Also the lame CFL contract.

His one good decision was approving the Harrick hire, but all of the other disastrous decisions when it came to the BB program more than cancel that out.

He more than lived up to his nickname as the Nutty Professor.