Jermaine Harris - Season Expectations

[theblueram]

Bone, we need to hit some home runs soon. Sure we have Woods who was a 4* when we signed him. Not much chatter on him lately. But if we want to be a relevant National team, the recruits need to start happening to get the talking heads talking.

[rambone 78]

Like I said, Cox has to start winning.....if we meet or exceed expectations this season, that helps on the recruiting trail.

DC is still pretty much an unknown quantity as a head coach.

Even Dan, who had the name, didn't exactly kill it recruiting wise for a while.

Most of his recruits were 3 stars....and Terrell was on a 2nd chance. And a few were whiffs.

[bigappleram]

Everyone has some whiffs. We have a lot of talent in the pipeline right now, but always have to keep refueling. Cox is a good recruiter, if he wins the talent will follow.

But Bone even with a few whiffs this would be Dan’s recruiting resume, how the talent got here is neither here nor there.

Terrell- 4 star
EC- 4 star
Robinson & Iverson- former 4 stars
Hassan, Cyril, Jarvis, Dowtin- 3 stars

In a 5 year span (discounting his first year) that’s a pretty good run of talent infused into the program. That needs to continue. If he can recruit at an AAC/BE talent level and get them to the A10 we will keep winning. That is what Dan did.

[KevanBoyles]

If ratings mean anything, URI’s recruiting classes have improved over the last four years. In 2016 (Dowtin and Langivine class) the recruits were ranked by 247Sports in the .83 to .85 range. 2017 class (Fatts) was a .88. 2018 class (excluding Harris as an outlier) was just below .89. 2019 was in the .87 to .88 range when we whiffed on Walker and Bishop) and 2020 currently at .88. You can go back to 2015 and the numbers are lower (excluding Terrell). So the trend is higher and the next hurtle is the .90 barrier which it appears the coaches were chasing last year with Walker, Bishop, etc. (2013 was a clear outline with EC and Hassan.) and getting back to the dance will be the shot in the arm we need to do it.

[theblueram]

Like I said, Cox has to start winning.....if we meet or exceed expectations this season, that helps on the recruiting trail.

DC is still pretty much an unknown quantity as a head coach.

Even Dan, who had the name, didn't exactly kill it recruiting wise for a while.

Most of his recruits were 3 stars....and Terrell was on a 2nd chance. And a few were whiffs.

wasn't DH's first recruit class EC and Hassan?

[rambone 78]

So far the early returns on the freshmen are promising....especially Toppin.

Was Toppin even ranked?

Leggett's going to be a good one I think...not as sure about Wood.

Overall recruiting is in a good place. Just need to bring in a couple bigs...and that's a toughie.

[Victorino]

Confidence is extremely important in sports, particularly basketball. I believe Jermaine badly needs a boost by stringing together a few improved games, and that bashing him on this board is counter productive.

[79RhodyFan]

Breakout game from Harris tomorrow night. He gets 14 points (mostly from mid-range ) and 8 rebounds. URI wins by 2!!!!

[section(105)]

Breakout game from Harris tomorrow night. He gets 14 points (mostly from mid-range ) and 8 rebounds. URI wins by 2!!!!

........hhhhhhuuuummmm, check your CBD oil, maybe is tainted!!........Go Rhody.....

[Running Ram]

Confidence is extremely important in sports, particularly basketball. I believe Jermaine badly needs a boost by stringing together a few improved games, and that bashing him on this board is counter productive.

this

[PeterRamTime]

Dont forget we saw glimpses last year in the Brown game and VCU game.

He just needs to make his first shot and keep from fouling himself out.

Maybe we can run a play for him early.

[rambone 78]

JH is a very fragile player...and I don't mean physically.

[TruePoint]

Confidence is extremely important in sports, particularly basketball. I believe Jermaine badly needs a boost by stringing together a few improved games, and that bashing him on this board is counter productive.

I agree with your point about confidence, and I especially agree that bashing a kid - especially an inexperienced player carrying high expectations and having battled injuries - is super counterproductive. Maybe I’m just Pollyanna-ish, but it’s not how I think fans should approach college sports. I don’t really even get 1990s-style talk radio calling fans who want to crush “millionaire athletes” that are pros unless the issue is effort/attitude and not skill/results (i.e., crushing Kyrie last year vs crushing David Price in 2017). But at least those guys are pros. I totally appreciate our fans that are emotionally invested in URI sports like I am, but if you care about URI sports you should also realize that we are not the Celtics, and we are not even Duke or Kentucky.

I love the Celtics, but I’ve never been a Celtic and don’t have anything in common with the guys that are Celtics. But I have been a URI student, and so my relationship to and with the URI basketball team and its players is different than it is with the Celtics. I want them to win more than I could ever want the Celtics to win (and I want the Celtics to win A LOT), but I’ll never attack a kid wearing a URI jersey unless he disgraced the school. And there’s nothing that any of these guys could do on the court that would rise to that level.

People can and should define their own relationship to the school and the basketball team, but I have to be honest that some of the criticisms that people level here against our players makes me wince.

[phipsiGD'11]

Confidence is extremely important in sports, particularly basketball. I believe Jermaine badly needs a boost by stringing together a few improved games, and that bashing him on this board is counter productive.

I agree with your point about confidence, and I especially agree that bashing a kid - especially an inexperienced player carrying high expectations and having battled injuries - is super counterproductive. Maybe I’m just Pollyanna-ish, but it’s not how I think fans should approach college sports. I don’t really even get 1990s-style talk radio calling fans who want to crush “millionaire athletes” that are pros unless the issue is effort/attitude and not skill/results (i.e., crushing Kyrie last year vs crushing David Price in 2017). But at least those guys are pros. I totally appreciate our fans that are emotionally invested in URI sports like I am, but if you care about URI sports you should also realize that we are not the Celtics, and we are not even Duke or Kentucky.

I love the Celtics, but I’ve never been a Celtic and don’t have anything in common with the guys that are Celtics. But I have been a URI student, and so my relationship to and with the URI basketball team and its players is different than it is with the Celtics. I want them to win more than I could ever want the Celtics to win (and I want the Celtics to win A LOT), but I’ll never attack a kid wearing a URI jersey unless he disgraced the school. And there’s nothing that any of these guys could do on the court that would rise to that level.

People can and should define their own relationship to the school and the basketball team, but I have to be honest that some of the criticisms that people level here against our players makes me wince.

Well said. Could not agree more.

[DeanDome88]

Confidence is extremely important in sports, particularly basketball. I believe Jermaine badly needs a boost by stringing together a few improved games, and that bashing him on this board is counter productive.

I agree with your point about confidence, and I especially agree that bashing a kid - especially an inexperienced player carrying high expectations and having battled injuries - is super counterproductive. Maybe I’m just Pollyanna-ish, but it’s not how I think fans should approach college sports. I don’t really even get 1990s-style talk radio calling fans who want to crush “millionaire athletes” that are pros unless the issue is effort/attitude and not skill/results (i.e., crushing Kyrie last year vs crushing David Price in 2017). But at least those guys are pros. I totally appreciate our fans that are emotionally invested in URI sports like I am, but if you care about URI sports you should also realize that we are not the Celtics, and we are not even Duke or Kentucky.

I love the Celtics, but I’ve never been a Celtic and don’t have anything in common with the guys that are Celtics. But I have been a URI student, and so my relationship to and with the URI basketball team and its players is different than it is with the Celtics. I want them to win more than I could ever want the Celtics to win (and I want the Celtics to win A LOT), but I’ll never attack a kid wearing a URI jersey unless he disgraced the school. And there’s nothing that any of these guys could do on the court that would rise to that level.

People can and should define their own relationship to the school and the basketball team, but I have to be honest that some of the criticisms that people level here against our players makes me wince.

Well said. Could not agree more.

I have a very large distinction between how I communicate about a student athlete and a professional athlete. Just because we pay for tickets etc. does not make these guys professional athletes. I have never said any URI player sucked or should not be on the team etc. and find it distasteful at best. I will discuss players strengths and weaknesses but in a respectful way usually focusing on the positive. I have got to admit that I thought the "Greek god of fouls" line that I read on here was funny. Hopefully the young man had a good sense of humor.

[Running Ram]

Doombone, I love you, but Boo Hsssss. Crack pot psychology and comments about fragility. None of us know Jermaine, most have never even had a conversation with the young man. I probably know more about you than you do him. Which part of your good senses told you it would be a good idea to call a young man whom you know next to nothing about "fragile?" It does seem like JH needs a boost of confidence, calling him mentally fragile is the opposite.
Part of the issue on this board in my opinion, is most of the "adults" don't remember how intense our emotions were when we were around the age of these kids.
It's one thing to comment about team and play and coaching and program and athletic departments and even to call out the adults involved as fragile or whatever, but the players that go to work for us, for our entertainment, are kids, they're just friggin kids man with strong emotions and a lot of stress, I think many dismiss how stressful this time of life can seem when living through it.

[Brian]

Like I said, Cox has to start winning.....if we meet or exceed expectations this season, that helps on the recruiting trail.

DC is still pretty much an unknown quantity as a head coach.

Even Dan, who had the name, didn't exactly kill it recruiting wise for a while.

Most of his recruits were 3 stars....and Terrell was on a 2nd chance. And a few were whiffs.

wasn't DH's first recruit class EC and Hassan?

No, technically it was Jordan Hare, Mike Aaman, Alwayne Bigby

[NYGFan_Section208]

Like I said, Cox has to start winning.....if we meet or exceed expectations this season, that helps on the recruiting trail.

DC is still pretty much an unknown quantity as a head coach.

Even Dan, who had the name, didn't exactly kill it recruiting wise for a while.

Most of his recruits were 3 stars....and Terrell was on a 2nd chance. And a few were whiffs.

wasn't DH's first recruit class EC and Hassan?

No, technically it was Jordan Hare, Mike Aaman, Alwayne Bigby

Any relation to Clayton Bigsby?

[Rhodymob05]

This guy showed up and I was pleased. Still some awful fouls and shot selections but he played well.

[RIFan]

Step in right direction for sure.

[rambone 78]

Yes good game for him.....keep it up.

[RamStock]

I really hope he continues to develop. I can remember how excited everyone was when he picked URI over Xavier. He got off to a nice start which I mentioned would be big for his confidence. He made a few mistakes, but so did everyone else on the team. It will be huge if he can contribute like he did last night.

[URI2006_Andy]

There’s a different dynamic to this team when Harris is on the court and playing with energy. (WV game, 1st half yesterday). He clearly can do it against good competition.

[rhodyblue12]

Agreed. He looked really solid. Happy for Jermaine.
I hope his confidence is high as a result of his play. This is a game he can build on.

[reef]

Absolutely he showed some encouraging signs keep it up JH

[OldSchoolRhody]

Agreed. He looked really solid. Happy for Jermaine.
I hope his confidence is high as a result of his play. This is a game he can build on.

Could be huge for us and him... needs to bring that fire to every game... especially PC!

[ace]

Like I said, Cox has to start winning.....if we meet or exceed expectations this season, that helps on the recruiting trail.

DC is still pretty much an unknown quantity as a head coach.

Even Dan, who had the name, didn't exactly kill it recruiting wise for a while.

Most of his recruits were 3 stars....and Terrell was on a 2nd chance. And a few were whiffs.

wasn't DH's first recruit class EC and Hassan?

No, technically it was Jordan Hare, Mike Aaman, Alwayne Bigby

“Technically,” it was Hare, Aaman, Bigby, Onyekaba, Minnis, Reischel, Biruta, and Munford. Logically, it was Butler, Matthews, and Martin.

[steviep123]

Wasn't Hare recruited by Baron?

[ace]

Wasn't Hare recruited by Baron?

Yeah, he initially committed to Baron, and Preston was the lead assistant on him. That’s why it’s kind of a grey area when deciding what a coach’s first class is.

Speaking of Preston- everything seemed to shake out ok for him after his name was brought up in the recruiting investigations, didn’t it? So much of that stuff continues to make no sense.

[ramster]

Wasn't Hare recruited by Baron?

Yeah, he initially committed to Baron, and Preston was the lead assistant on him. That’s why it’s kind of a grey area when deciding what a coach’s first class is.

Speaking of Preston- everything seemed to shake out ok for him after his name was brought up in the recruiting investigations, didn’t it? So much of that stuff continues to make no sense.

And wasn’t Matthews also initially recruited by Preston and Baron?

[cRAM4finals]

Watched the first half of the Alabama game to review Jermaine’s game. Here’s the summary’s:
18:21 moving catch 12 ft right wing, lowers left shoulder, contact, spin, offensive foul. Could have gone in facing basket, chose to widen stance backing down
17:59 22 seconds on shot clock. 3pt attempt no good. Pretty early for anyone to shoot here, never mind him - from 25 feet
17:48 Alabama drives lane looking to pass at bucket. Harris leaves feet underneath for block. Pass receiver misses shot but Harris now out of position. Bama gets easy rebound 2feet away. Shot goes in and shooter fouled by Harris. 2 fouls already. Groundhog Day
To the bench Tate replaces
11:22 in for Langevine
Receives ball left top near 3. short pass to fatts, nice screen left, then right. Fatts makes 20 footer
Uri 10-0 run. Not much from him needed during this period
10:00 comes from weak side low to defend Javian Davis dunk. Davis missed dunk. Harris could have been called for foul. Lucky not to pick up 3rd here
Fatts down court, Harris slow to follow, late to rebound - Touches out of bounds. Could have had inside position had he hustled to get rebound and put back
Defense, high hedge, slow to switch down, gets screened and doesn’t challenge layup which was probably smart so not to pick up his 3rd
9:27 20 seconds. Harris 3 attempt right top misses. Another long shot early in a possession for him.
8:48 gets pass top of key left, drives right and called for traveling. Might have been fouled
To the bench
4:45 back in
4:19 right underneath the hoop on D, doesn’t challenge layup, mishandles rebound because he’s too far underneath. Who positions themself under the rim? Guys 5 on 5 pickup know better
3:15 defends Alex Reese on drive spin, who takes mini hook, good. It was ok defense though
2:54 Saunters back on defense. Bama Is quick up the floor, drives lane and Harris is late getting there, he backs (hops backwards) down the lane to defend, and fouls. Basket good. His 3rd. Lack of attention, purpose, and hustle is the cause for the basket and foul
To the bench

So it goes. It’s a game that seems to lack passion. It seems like everything that came before this for him was too easy to require work and effort and athleticism.

He needs a paradigm shift. Like this:
Work harder.
Sprint back on defense.
On offense look for open gaps in the paint to slide into, to receive a pass and continue to the hoop facing the rim.
The width of your defensive stance shouldn’t be 1.5 x your shoulder width. It makes you slower and shorter. Slide into position, don’t jump or bound there which increase chances of fouling.
You probably shoot 35% from 3 in practice, but you are zero of 16 in 2 years on the floor. That’s why you’re open. Don’t take those shots unless there’s 2 seconds on the clock.
Imagine yourself having to play well enough to earn a starting role.
Play your next play like it’s the final 2 minutes of an A10 championship game.

I’m sure his coaches are saying the same, and maybe before he loses his starting position he might incorporate some of these key thoughts into his game prep. Then maybe he (and URI fans) will get out of his game what was always expected. We all want him to be better.

[reef]

Seemed to take a minor step back after Maryland game

Be nice if he can hit a 17 footer

[Rhody72]

Start Tate!

[Rhody Guy]

Thanks coach

[ramster]

Watched the first half of the Alabama game to review Jermaine’s game. Here’s the summary’s:
18:21 moving catch 12 ft right wing, lowers left shoulder, contact, spin, offensive foul. Could have gone in facing basket, chose to widen stance backing down
17:59 22 seconds on shot clock. 3pt attempt no good. Pretty early for anyone to shoot here, never mind him - from 25 feet
17:48 Alabama drives lane looking to pass at bucket. Harris leaves feet underneath for block. Pass receiver misses shot but Harris now out of position. Bama gets easy rebound 2feet away. Shot goes in and shooter fouled by Harris. 2 fouls already. Groundhog Day
To the bench Tate replaces
11:22 in for Langevine
Receives ball left top near 3. short pass to fatts, nice screen left, then right. Fatts makes 20 footer
Uri 10-0 run. Not much from him needed during this period
10:00 comes from weak side low to defend Javian Davis dunk. Davis missed dunk. Harris could have been called for foul. Lucky not to pick up 3rd here
Fatts down court, Harris slow to follow, late to rebound - Touches out of bounds. Could have had inside position had he hustled to get rebound and put back
Defense, high hedge, slow to switch down, gets screened and doesn’t challenge layup which was probably smart so not to pick up his 3rd
9:27 20 seconds. Harris 3 attempt right top misses. Another long shot early in a possession for him.
8:48 gets pass top of key left, drives right and called for traveling. Might have been fouled
To the bench
4:45 back in
4:19 right underneath the hoop on D, doesn’t challenge layup, mishandles rebound because he’s too far underneath. Who positions themself under the rim? Guys 5 on 5 pickup know better
3:15 defends Alex Reese on drive spin, who takes mini hook, good. It was ok defense though
2:54 Saunters back on defense. Bama Is quick up the floor, drives lane and Harris is late getting there, he backs (hops backwards) down the lane to defend, and fouls. Basket good. His 3rd. Lack of attention, purpose, and hustle is the cause for the basket and foul
To the bench

So it goes. It’s a game that seems to lack passion. It seems like everything that came before this for him was too easy to require work and effort and athleticism.

He needs a paradigm shift. Like this:
Work harder.
Sprint back on defense.
On offense look for open gaps in the paint to slide into, to receive a pass and continue to the hoop facing the rim.
The width of your defensive stance shouldn’t be 1.5 x your shoulder width. It makes you slower and shorter. Slide into position, don’t jump or bound there which increase chances of fouling.
You probably shoot 35% from 3 in practice, but you are zero of 16 in 2 years on the floor. That’s why you’re open. Don’t take those shots unless there’s 2 seconds on the clock.
Imagine yourself having to play well enough to earn a starting role.
Play your next play like it’s the final 2 minutes of an A10 championship game.

I’m sure his coaches are saying the same, and maybe before he loses his starting position he might incorporate some of these key thoughts into his game prep. Then maybe he (and URI fans) will get out of his game what was always expected. We all want him to be better.

On the red items. The first foul fans in the Ryan Center were not happy, neither was Cox or the URI bench. Cox waited for the Older Ref to come down the court and gave him a long earful. Cox was clearly angry. I thought it was a bad call.
Second call was iffy too but not like the first one.
Harris has stopped picking guys up at the top of the key and beyond as he often did last year. Never understood why Cox would let him do that Harris himself would do that and pick up cheap, unnecessary fouls but this has stopped this year, at least for now.

For blue item:
I don’t think the 3-point attempt was from 25 feet. It was not an excessively long 3 point attempt. The ball went in and out - just missed - which you didn’t mention.
Harris is a good shooter. He was the top Free Throw Shooter on the team last season in just his Freshman Year. He shot 76.2%. He is 2-2 this year on FTs. He had another 3 point attempt that rattled in and out vs Alabama. If he misses a 3 point attempt, I have never seen David Cox get mad. Cox knows Harris is a good shooter. If Cox didn’t want Harris shooting 3Ps you wouldn’t know it. He does not take him out or yell at him.
I disagree that the opposing team just lets Harris shoot the 3P shot purposefully, especially when the balls are on target rattling in and out.
If and when he hits the 3 then the opposition defense will need to come out further thus opening up the inside. He hasn’t hit the 3P yet, but be patient because he can hit it, time will show that - Harris is only just starting his Soph year.

For green:
Harris has Played 14, 21, 14 minutes. Sounds like you want him playing less?
Harris had 10 points and 5 rebounds vs Maryland in 21 minutes. No embarrassment there vs #7 team in country.
Harris moves well for a big man. He works aggressively to get open, stretches his long arms out calling for the call and seldom gets the pass down low from our guards. If he stops or slows down trying to get open I can’t blame him but he seems to keep trying to show the guards he is open for now.

I don’t see the players on the bench exhibiting anything but support for Harris. If Cox wants Harris not starting I’ve not seen signs of that. Harris starts every game and every 2nd half.

Tate is (1-8) on 3Ps.

Harris is our tallest player. He is stronger than last year, he is playing better defense than last year. Harris and Langevine form an impressive size tandem inside. I’d give them both time. Both big men seem to get the most criticism of all URI players on this board. Langevine led both teams in Assists in the Alabama game with 6 Assists. 6 Assists!! His FT shooting was outstanding and clutch. Give both of these big men time. I’m not even remotely close to having Harris not start - I want him on the floor more and more - working in reducing fouls to get more PT. He will be fine. I’d never want to lose him to transfer-never. And I’d let him have the freedom to shoot 3Ps just as Cox and the Coaching Staff are currently doing. They know he can shoot.

[section(105)]

.......I would like to see a few games where the Harris playing time is not reduced by picking up early fouls.......

[DC_Rams]

Cox literally just stated that he is OK with Jermaine shooting 3’s. He’s confident in him, and he believes the Rhody faithful will be happy once he/we see them start to fall. Said he even told Jermaine to shoot the 3rd three he took in the bama game.

[reef]

He must be hitting them in practice

I don’t mind him taking open outside shots

[adam914]

Two of those the other night were 3/4 of the way down and popped out to. If they happen to fall we're probably talking all week about how great it is that he added 3 point range to his game. I definitely don't see any issue with him taking 2-3 per game if he is left wide open like that again.

[Billyboy78]

I'd like to see a little more arch on Jermaine's outside shot. Those two that rattled in and out against Alabama might go in with a little more arch. Very fixable. Jeff has worked on that in his years here. He's not as much line drive as he used to be.

[ramster]

Cox literally just stated that he is OK with Jermaine shooting 3’s. He’s confident in him, and he believes the Rhody faithful will be happy once he/we see them start to fall. Said he even told Jermaine to shoot the 3rd three he took in the bama game.

Glad to hear. It’s obvious that Cox and the players have respect for Harris’ game. I don’t see Harris moving out of his starting position. We would benefit from more Harris playing time, not less.

[cRAM4finals]

Watched the first half of the Alabama game to review Jermaine’s game. Here’s the summary’s:
18:21 moving catch 12 ft right wing, lowers left shoulder, contact, spin, offensive foul. Could have gone in facing basket, chose to widen stance backing down
17:59 22 seconds on shot clock. 3pt attempt no good. Pretty early for anyone to shoot here, never mind him - from 25 feet
17:48 Alabama drives lane looking to pass at bucket. Harris leaves feet underneath for block. Pass receiver misses shot but Harris now out of position. Bama gets easy rebound 2feet away. Shot goes in and shooter fouled by Harris. 2 fouls already. Groundhog Day
To the bench Tate replaces
11:22 in for Langevine
Receives ball left top near 3. short pass to fatts, nice screen left, then right. Fatts makes 20 footer
Uri 10-0 run. Not much from him needed during this period
10:00 comes from weak side low to defend Javian Davis dunk. Davis missed dunk. Harris could have been called for foul. Lucky not to pick up 3rd here
Fatts down court, Harris slow to follow, late to rebound - Touches out of bounds. Could have had inside position had he hustled to get rebound and put back
Defense, high hedge, slow to switch down, gets screened and doesn’t challenge layup which was probably smart so not to pick up his 3rd
9:27 20 seconds. Harris 3 attempt right top misses. Another long shot early in a possession for him.
8:48 gets pass top of key left, drives right and called for traveling. Might have been fouled
To the bench
4:45 back in
4:19 right underneath the hoop on D, doesn’t challenge layup, mishandles rebound because he’s too far underneath. Who positions themself under the rim? Guys 5 on 5 pickup know better
3:15 defends Alex Reese on drive spin, who takes mini hook, good. It was ok defense though
2:54 Saunters back on defense. Bama Is quick up the floor, drives lane and Harris is late getting there, he backs (hops backwards) down the lane to defend, and fouls. Basket good. His 3rd. Lack of attention, purpose, and hustle is the cause for the basket and foul
To the bench

So it goes. It’s a game that seems to lack passion. It seems like everything that came before this for him was too easy to require work and effort and athleticism.

He needs a paradigm shift. Like this:
Work harder.
Sprint back on defense.
On offense look for open gaps in the paint to slide into, to receive a pass and continue to the hoop facing the rim.
The width of your defensive stance shouldn’t be 1.5 x your shoulder width. It makes you slower and shorter. Slide into position, don’t jump or bound there which increase chances of fouling.
You probably shoot 35% from 3 in practice, but you are zero of 16 in 2 years on the floor. That’s why you’re open. Don’t take those shots unless there’s 2 seconds on the clock.
Imagine yourself having to play well enough to earn a starting role.
Play your next play like it’s the final 2 minutes of an A10 championship game.

I’m sure his coaches are saying the same, and maybe before he loses his starting position he might incorporate some of these key thoughts into his game prep. Then maybe he (and URI fans) will get out of his game what was always expected. We all want him to be better.

On the red items. The first foul fans in the Ryan Center were not happy, neither was Cox or the URI bench. Cox waited for the Older Ref to come down the court and gave him a long earful. Cox was clearly angry. I thought it was a bad call.
Second call was iffy too but not like the first one.
Harris has stopped picking guys up at the top of the key and beyond as he often did last year. Never understood why Cox would let him do that Harris himself would do that and pick up cheap, unnecessary fouls but this has stopped this year, at least for now.

For blue item:
I don’t think the 3-point attempt was from 25 feet. It was not an excessively long 3 point attempt. The ball went in and out - just missed - which you didn’t mention.
Harris is a good shooter. He was the top Free Throw Shooter on the team last season in just his Freshman Year. He shot 76.2%. He is 2-2 this year on FTs. He had another 3 point attempt that rattled in and out vs Alabama. If he misses a 3 point attempt, I have never seen David Cox get mad. Cox knows Harris is a good shooter. If Cox didn’t want Harris shooting 3Ps you wouldn’t know it. He does not take him out or yell at him.
I disagree that the opposing team just lets Harris shoot the 3P shot purposefully, especially when the balls are on target rattling in and out.
If and when he hits the 3 then the opposition defense will need to come out further thus opening up the inside. He hasn’t hit the 3P yet, but be patient because he can hit it, time will show that - Harris is only just starting his Soph year.

For green:
Harris has Played 14, 21, 14 minutes. Sounds like you want him playing less?
Harris had 10 points and 5 rebounds vs Maryland in 21 minutes. No embarrassment there vs #7 team in country.
Harris moves well for a big man. He works aggressively to get open, stretches his long arms out calling for the call and seldom gets the pass down low from our guards. If he stops or slows down trying to get open I can’t blame him but he seems to keep trying to show the guards he is open for now.

I don’t see the players on the bench exhibiting anything but support for Harris. If Cox wants Harris not starting I’ve not seen signs of that. Harris starts every game and every 2nd half.

Tate is (1-8) on 3Ps.

Harris is our tallest player. He is stronger than last year, he is playing better defense than last year. Harris and Langevine form an impressive size tandem inside. I’d give them both time. Both big men seem to get the most criticism of all URI players on this board. Langevine led both teams in Assists in the Alabama game with 6 Assists. 6 Assists!! His FT shooting was outstanding and clutch. Give both of these big men time. I’m not even remotely close to having Harris not start - I want him on the floor more and more - working in reducing fouls to get more PT. He will be fine. I’d never want to lose him to transfer-never. And I’d let him have the freedom to shoot 3Ps just as Cox and the Coaching Staff are currently doing. They know he can shoot.

Out of all of that, I’m surprised anyone got hung up on the 3’s and also that I might want him to play less. I want him to play better, smarter, and hustle more. My bigger complaint on the 3s is him shooting so early in the clock, both with 20 or more seconds left.

On the first foul, I was at the game and agreed with you and Cox, but the replay shows the shoulder go down before the contact and it looked like the call was correct.

His lack of hustle up and down the floor is a big gripe. Between the foul lines. This causes him to be late to defend when the ball is pushed up the floor and he is usually out of position which leads to easier hoops or fouls. Imagine if he beat his man dow the court on offense occasionally, what pressure that might put on an opposing D.

I don’t want him to play more or less minutes, I just want him to show some desire during the minutes he is out there.

[UCH21377]

Don’t where this “lack of hustle” thing is coming from don’t see that at all. What I see is a kid that tries hard enjoys playing and is well liked by his teammates. Maybe he’s not the fastest guy in the world but that’s not his fault. I’m all for him shooting threes. Think of the weapon we will have when those shots start falling. And the next two years I see him playing a stretch five sort of role which could create some matchup problems for our opponents. This kid will be fine. Give him time.

[ramster]

Fair enough. Some of my comments are not directed at you but to other responses made by other posters here. Some are saying bench him, some are saying play Tate instead and some are saying Harris shouldn’t be taking 3Ps at all.

On Fouls I agree. He needs to improve. I have noticed he is picking up his man later and not covering him well out to the 3 point line where last season he committed silly, unnecessary fouls. But I agree an area for improvement. He was upset by the calls at the bench as were fans and the Coaching staff. But end of day the calls are the calls. Two games he only has 3 fouls but still didn’t play so all of his not playing is due only to foul totals. Cox plays Harris less in 2nd half’s and more in first half’s from what I’ve seen.

Hustle comments I understand better from your comments. I’ll watch tonight more closely as I normally watch a lot of off the balk activity. You can’t do that on TV which is why I love the games live and especially watching bench and coaches reactions to plays. He hustles a lot inside in offense but he goes not get the ball thrown to him. Not sure why other than we don’t as a team pass well overall and we don’t tend to look inside to Langevine or to Harris. I’ll watch the hustle foul line to foul line more tonight. I think he needs to get better position and faster to avoid some of his fouls.

On 3Ps I’d agree he should look at not putting his shots up so quickly. I’m glad to hear from DC_Rams that Cox encourages Harris to shoot the 3Ps and especially the 3rd attempt after 2 misses. That in itself shows his HC believes in him and his shooting ability.

I’d like more minutes for Harris, 14,21,14 is not enough for my liking. So maybe if he addresses the hustle and silly foul issues his minutes will climb.

[cRAM4finals]

I thought he was better getting up and down the floor tonight. I had a tough time understanding if he missed assignments on helping defend drives down the middle of the lane or if it was someone else. We are usually so good helping in those situations but once NS got downhill past a defender up top, the lane was wide open for the score 3-4 times in the second half from the 16 minute mark until Cyril came back in.

Overall he had an up and down game. His hands were good receiving the ball; maybe tried to do too much a couple of times. Like the pass from Fatts through the defender’s legs, he made a great catch on that ball but tried to make a spin move and missed the shot. Fatts had a teaching moment with him at half court after that. I thought his defense was better although he got caught playing the high hedge twice when his man raced to the hoop for the pass and basket. He was so far out there is no way to get back to defend that. I thought he had a couple of nice rebounds, and a couple he missed because his hands weren’t strong enough to win them. Got a lot of minutes without being in foul trouble, which will help him improve.

[Rhody83]

I thought Harris had a very good game. 10 points in 24 minutes. He played solid D and was never in foul trouble. He was in control on the offensive end much more than he has been all year. He had the best game of the three Sophs by far.

[reef]

Yes pretty solid indeed , we can count on him at the line and no foul trouble tonight !!

[steveystuds06]

At the coaches show Cox said Rhody fans will eventually see Jermaine can hit 3s. I really think he needs a couple to fall and we will see his confidence pick up. The poor kid has shot the ball right down the hoop sometimes and it rolls out.

This idea that he lacks hustle is absolutely ridiculous. His court awareness on defense needs improvement, but he's working his ass off out there.

I love the fight from this team. It will win us a lot of games.

[ramster]

At the coaches show Cox said Rhody fans will eventually see Jermaine can hit 3s. I really think he needs a couple to fall and we will see his confidence pick up. The poor kid has shot the ball right down the hoop sometimes and it rolls out.

This idea that he lacks hustle is absolutely ridiculous. His court awareness on defense needs improvement, but he's working his ass off out there.

I love the fight from this team. It will win us a lot of games.

I agree. I’m siting there watching Harris more than any other player and I feel like I wasn’t at the same game reading the criticisms of Harris. I cannot believe the lack of hustle or effort criticisms.

Nichols State has athletic, quick players and several tunes went by their men driving to the basket. Sometimes the guards did not defend well but it seems Harris is getting blamed for their lack of defense.

[The Dude]

I think Harris has great potential. I also feel he is not quite where I had hoped he would be developmentally coming into his sophomore year after being pretty highly touted before coming here. Is he getting the 1 on 1 attention he needs to develop his big man/post up skills? I don't know. He certainly doesn't look sharp defensively. Against Nichols, the guards were getting beat, but there were still times where he was the last line of defense and it seemed like he hardly put his hands up to disrupt a shot. I know Cyril was in foul trouble but Harris had almost none at all at the time. I'm not sure what to think of him as a player at this point. I would've thought Cyril's defensive prowess would be rubbing off on him a little in practice. Part of the problem that I see is that he stands very upright, almost relying too much on his heigh alone to be enough to get rebounds and disrupt shots, whereas Cyril has some spring/jump to him. Harris looks like he needs a bit more bounce in his step or needs to load up a bit more when going to block a shot.
It appears to me like he's a bit gun shy because he always gets the whistle blown on him, but hasn't been able to figure out what he needs to do to reduce that, yet still be an effective defender. Just my observations. I really hope he improves significantly as the season goes on. This team needs another big man to be a threat in the tournament and to carry the load next year...especially with none currently coming in (next years class) at this time.