IS ANYONE HAPPY YET !

[CTRamfan]

...................???

As I see it, Coach Cox is getting off to a good start as a head coach....,.not to mention the few bumps.

The eight key players are each contributing in ways Coach has hoped.

Key pieces for next year are on track to contribute then.

The Program present and future seems solid.


Do any of you who are auditioning for "hosts" jobs on EEI/EVI, still feel the need to criticize the program, school, staff, players,, recruits, each other ?
...........Hopefully we can capture your thoughts here, so that the rest of KB is more enjoyable without the rampant negativity......This has been a great season [except for the Brown game] so far for me.....I don't like Kool Ade.

[Rhodymob05]

NCAA OR BUST

[RhowdyRam02]

No, not yet. It's tournament or bust this year. They're playing well and making headway to that, so I'll be positive, but that's the bar and it has to be cleared

[TruePoint]

I’ll agree that the jury has to stay out until we get to the end of the year, but hard to say that the coach isn’t living up to expectations so far. It feels like we are on the way to what I had hoped for in the post-Hurley era. If we can keep our season on its current trajectory and make the tournament, we’ll have pulled off the successful transition and I think cemented ourselves as one of the premier programs in the conference for the time being. Obviously the Tate/Brown/Richmond week was tough, but overall the season is playing out almost exactly how I expected it to coming in: the OOC was hard and barring a really exceptional win we were going to come out of it short on resume but battle-tested and ready to make up bubble ground in conference. That’s exactly what has happened to this point, but we have a lot of work still to do and not sure it’s time to spike the football just yet. Eyes on the prize.

[URI2006_Andy]

I think Cox is doing a great job and I’m glad he’s here even when I am complaining about something.

[steviep123]

Here's what I was thinking about earlier. I know it's over 20 years ago, but if we had our resume today in the mid to late 90s, we'd probably be talked about as already in and ours to not screw up instead of we still need to play our way in, but getting closer. That is because back that, Xavier, UMass, Temple, GW and St. Joe's were all teams that in most years were pretty good teams that had a shot of making the tourney or at least be near the bubble. That's 5 teams most talked about in the preseason. Now it's really just VCU and Dayton year to year (and hopefully Rhody going forward), so there's less room for error than there was in the past. I think that's why we aren't happy yet, in the past we'd already be in the right position and have to play ourselves out of it (which we often did under Baron). That's the sense I get. Of course this is all from memory with no real research, so I could be badly mistaken.

[ElmCityRhody]

kudos to Coach Cox

he has put us in a great position and deserves all the accolades

it is now basically feb 1

ncaa is in our own hands

that is the reality so w the ncaa in our own hands

this season has now been a pleasant surprise and has become ncaa or bust to me

SEIZE THE DAY

sooo much more to gain by the NCAA vs NIT - it is not even comparable

SEIZE THE DAY

[ElmCityRhody]

[bigappleram]

I really liked seeing Fatts IG post today that said "One game at a time."

[Rhody74]

If you’re a URI fan and not happy you need to get a life. Still there’s lots of work to do beginning Friday

[steviep123]

Oh, I'm happy....with the team, the coaching, the players, etc. They have their destiny basically controlled. Keep winning and the bid will come. The only thing I'm not thrilled with is the A10 not being in the position to have more than 2 or 3 bids this year or for the foreseeable future. As I mentioned in the past, 4 or 5 bids was possible, so if URI had a similar record then, they would be considered on the inside already. Now they are not. I guess it doesn't matter. You control what you can, that is playing the games. They put themselves in a great position. Now, go for the jugular!

[Taylor Swift]

You know we will never reach a point here where 100% of regular posters will be happy.

We could have Fatts score 50 points on Friday and someone would STILL come across with some baloney like, "yeah that three that he made, he looked a little off-balance, yeah I am not so sure. Not seeing improvement."

[Section104]

You know we will never reach a point here where 100% of regular posters will be happy.

We could have Fatts score 50 points on Friday and someone would STILL come across with some baloney like, "yeah that three that he made, he looked a little off-balance, yeah I am not so sure. Not seeing improvement."

Still won't compare to 72 critiquing Jimmy Baron's free throw form.

[Blue Man]

I'M SO HAPPY!!!!

Obviously everyone on here is happy. Literally every URI fan is happy. No one who's a URI fan is unhappy at this particular moment. 2nd place in the A10. A coach who clearly looks like he's building a skyscraper on the foundation his predecessor laid. A team that's starting to click and playing it's way into the tournament, enjoying it's 3rd longest winning streak in over a decade.

What I don't get is why people either have to be 100% happy or 100% negative? Like having a frustrating moment mid-game is a natural reaction as someone emotionally tied to anything. People can critique things while still being happy with the overall picture.

This isn't an either/or scenario.

Everyone on this message board is in the same boat of excitement, because we're all fans of the program. This team is on their way to achieving everyone's goal of an NCAA tourney birth. That doesn't mean people aren't allowed to be frustrated during a game in the heat of the moment. Doesn't mean someone can't point out areas to improve.

That also doesn't mean that people aren't allowed to be realistic - i.e. "we're killing it now, I wish we didn't lose to Brown" or "we still have work left to do before we're a tournament team."

This is a message board. One of the better ones on the internet. People seem to be losing all context with regards to how terrible, negative, and filthy these things are by nature. Critiquing certain plays or decisions and swapping ideas or opinions on basketball is the literal reason this place exists. Questioning a play or a decision isn't treasonous. It's not negative. It's not being a hater. It's literally being a fan and loving this team and sport so much that we can't wait until the next game is played so we want to re-live, dissect, understand, share, and pass the time until the next one.

Be thankful we have the community that we do, with moderators who let just about everything related to this team and basketball fly.

[ElmCityRhody]

i am drinking this kool aid

well said

[steviep123]

I'M SO HAPPY!!!!

Obviously everyone on here is happy. Literally every URI fan is happy. No one who's a URI fan is unhappy at this particular moment. 2nd place in the A10. A coach who clearly looks like he's building a skyscraper on the foundation his predecessor laid. A team that's starting to click and playing it's way into the tournament, enjoying it's 3rd longest winning streak in over a decade.

What I don't get is why people either have to be 100% happy or 100% negative? Like having a frustrating moment mid-game is a natural reaction as someone emotionally tied to anything. People can critique things while still being happy with the overall picture.

This isn't an either/or scenario.

Everyone on this message board is in the same boat of excitement, because we're all fans of the program. This team is on their way to achieving everyone's goal of an NCAA tourney birth. That doesn't mean people aren't allowed to be frustrated during a game in the heat of the moment. Doesn't mean someone can't point out areas to improve.

That also doesn't mean that people aren't allowed to be realistic - i.e. "we're killing it now, I wish we didn't lose to Brown" or "we still have work left to do before we're a tournament team."

This is a message board. One of the better ones on the internet. People seem to be losing all context with regards to how terrible, negative, and filthy these things are by nature. Critiquing certain plays or decisions and swapping ideas or opinions on basketball is the literal reason this place exists. Questioning a play or a decision isn't treasonous. It's not negative. It's not being a hater. It's literally being a fan and loving this team and sport so much that we can't wait until the next game is played so we want to re-live, dissect, understand, share, and pass the time until the next one.

Be thankful we have the community that we do, with moderators who let just about everything related to this team and basketball fly.

+ Infinity!

[rhodyfan3000]

I'm happy about the W yesterday. I'm happy with the way things are going so far.

I think Cox was a genius pick for coach, in hindsight.

I'm cautiously optimistic.

Definitely not ready to celebrate, however. Been hanging around the URI crowd since the late 80's. URI fans always want to celebrate too early. They climb halfway up the mountain and call it. Out come the kegs and balloons and tail gating paraphernalia. They kick Maine's ass in the first half of a football game and start to congratulate each other, just to watch Maine dominate in the second half and take their playoff spot. Etc, etc.

#FinishTheJobFirst

[rhodyfan3000]

#ThenCelebrate

[PeterRamTime]

With each win the further we go.

To make the tournament this year, given the eligibility issues, transfers and an emBARONSING loss to Brown, would be better than anything anybody could have dreamed of at the beginning of the year.

Cox is steadily proving to be a better coach than even Dan.

We may never know if Cox could have resurrected the program single handedly like Dan, but he really looks the part of one of those coveted next man up assistants programs like ours need to thrive.

I don't think anyone really expected Fatts to become one of the best players in the nation after his ANTARCTIC sophomore year. Now, I wouldn't say we are surprised that he is this good now, but that's not something any of us were really entertaining in our minds; Fatts ability to TAKE OVER AND TRANSCEND.

Still a lot of work to do. I still think if we dont dance this year, then its do or die next year.

If we make it this year....oh boy

Cant see a lot of bad happening if that is the case!

[adam914]

Yup, definitely happy. Not sure I get the point of the thread though because I haven't seen anybody say they were unhappy with where we're at right now. Still 10 more regular season + conf tourney games to go though. Lots of work left to do.

[rhodylaw]

I bounce between happiness and panic - life as true Rhody fan! We will never be comfortable until selection Sunday. I can’t imagine being a Duke fan and knowing each year you will get in the tourney and the only question is how far you go.

[Blue Man]

I bounce between happiness and panic - life as true Rhody fan! We will never be comfortable until selection Sunday. I can’t imagine being a Duke fan and knowing each year you will get in the tourney and the only question is how far you go.

I think that is the most true. Happiness and panic is literally my life from November to March. Good to know I am not alone.

[PeterRamTime]

I bounce between happiness and panic - life as true Rhody fan! We will never be comfortable until selection Sunday. I can’t imagine being a Duke fan and knowing each year you will get in the tourney and the only question is how far you go.

Duke fans dont even know what the RPI or NET is and never will.

UNC fans are starting to learn...

[adam914]

I bounce between happiness and panic - life as true Rhody fan! We will never be comfortable until selection Sunday. I can’t imagine being a Duke fan and knowing each year you will get in the tourney and the only question is how far you go.

I think that is the most true. Happiness and panic is literally my life from November to March. Good to know I am not alone.

Haha well said. Although this is kind of how I am just about life in general, so it all fits very nicely!

[LoveThoseRams]

I am happy but know there is still a long road ahead.

What I am unhappy about, no, no, what I am furious about, is SO CALLED RHODY fans who publicly, on Twitter call one of our players a “huge disappointment”!!

It’s bad enough on KB, but on Twitter...WTF?

[RhodyKyle]

I am happy but know there is still a long road ahead.

What I am unhappy about, no, no, what I am furious about, is SO CALLED RHODY fans who publicly, on Twitter call one of our players a “huge disappointment”!!

It’s bad enough on KB, but on Twitter...WTF?

I've got the pitchforks and torches ready, I just need the name.

[LoveThoseRams]

I am happy but know there is still a long road ahead.

What I am unhappy about, no, no, what I am furious about, is SO CALLED RHODY fans who publicly, on Twitter call one of our players a “huge disappointment”!!

It’s bad enough on KB, but on Twitter...WTF?

I've got the pitchforks and torches ready, I just need the name.

Jak Brown @Imjakbrown

Should be @Imadouchenozzle

[theblueram]

I'm happy we have a HUGE game on Friday on ESPN at the Ryan Center against VCU with NCAAT implications. And there really isn't another college game worth watching but us that night.

[SlamRam]

I'm happy we beat Geo Mason....and now....

I'm very nervous about the VCU game.....if we win it.....I will be happy....and then will shift immediately into being nervous about the next game....

That is how long I can remain happy....one game....and not for long.....

[NYGFan_Section208]

#ThenCelebrate

#alwayscelebratelifeisgood

[SandorClegane]

I am happy but know there is still a long road ahead.

What I am unhappy about, no, no, what I am furious about, is SO CALLED RHODY fans who publicly, on Twitter call one of our players a “huge disappointment”!!

It’s bad enough on KB, but on Twitter...WTF?

I've got the pitchforks and torches ready, I just need the name.

Jak Brown @Imjakbrown

Should be @Imadouchenozzle

What kind of name is Jak. Jak prolly got beat up as a kid since his name was Jak. Now he’s getting revenge one tweet at a time. Oh Jak...

[rhodyfan3000]

You know what my problem is (besides watching too many Rocky re-runs?) I can't stand when people get too giddy in sports.

Like, hey, we have a 7 game win streak. That's big, let's throw a party!

You know what would be better than a 7 game win streak? That's an 8 game win streak.

It's like everyone turned into "Goofy Rocky" when it was time to fight Clubber Lang...



Mickey tries to warn him, and he plants a big fat sarcastic kiss on his cheek. Let's take the next game seriously. And then let's go ahead and take the game after that one seriously too. Lather, Rinse, Repeat, until the season is over.

"You wanna go out in style? Go out in one piece!"

[TruePoint]

Think that is called the Mamba Mentality, I think.

[theblueram]

You know what my problem is (besides watching too many Rocky re-runs?) I can't stand when people get too giddy in sports.

Like, hey, we have a 7 game win streak. That's big, let's throw a party!

You know what would be better than a 7 game win streak? That's an 8 game win streak.

It's like everyone turned into "Goofy Rocky" when it was time to fight Clubber Lang...



Mickey tries to warn him, and he plants a big fat sarcastic kiss on his cheek. Let's take the next game seriously. And then let's go ahead and take the game after that one seriously too. Lather, Rinse, Repeat, until the season is over.

"You wanna go out in style? Go out in one piece!"

The last two were on the road. The next is back at home. I think the crowd will let them now.

[rhodyfan3000]

You know what else really grinds my gears?



Seeing how we just created a vent thread?

It really grates my ass that we don't get a second shot at Richmond, unless by luck in the A-10 Tourney.

They wiped the floor with our faces like a swiffer wet jet mop in our own building. BlueRam, we saw the home crowd's reaction to that one.

I really don't want to see that again.

[Running Ram]

I think Cox is doing a great job and I’m glad he’s here even when I am complaining about something.

This

[Taylor Swift]

SEIZE THE DAY ... CARPE DIEM !

One of the best movies

[The Dude]

[Running Ram]

IDK what folks think I am, in terms of happy, sad, mad, content, melancholy, excited, bored. I just know that anytime, through out the history of our community, someone mentions something as a reflection on the coach, someone else gets their backs up. And I mean this in general, not a shot at anyone currently. It happened with Baron, Hurles and now with Cox. Hell, I used to defend Mustachio, thought we got screwed out of a bid the year we went to the NIT finals. Before that Rod and I had a major battle about coach mustache back in the projo era. Being fanatic about something or someone often leads to our inability to complete rational discourse. I thought back then, if I admitted mustache had his flaws it took away from his strengths. I thought he did a good job running a program, so I wouldn't admit the significance of one February swoon after another. I was, yes, an blind optimist. Glad that's behind me. I coached some middle school basketball for a few years and it changed my perspective. Now, I get that some guys have a rigidness that only allows them to work within certain systematic parameters, now I can't stand a coach that can't or won't adapt. Cox is not that coach, still don't know his ceiling but I can tell you it's high, he's been very adaptable, taking the pieces and making wins, instead of forcing square pegs into round holes. So in general I'm happy he's our coach, even when I express for example, that our lack of roster depth is on Cox, I'm still happy he's our coach.

[rhodyfan3000]

I think Rod would have been impressed with the job Cox is doing.

He just wanted to win. You can argue there are different ways to go about winning, but it was clear very early on that Baron wasn't going to produce here. He basically came here to retire. His first steps were to make perfectly clear that he was dumbing down expectations to practically zero. And the administration at the time was perfectly fine with that. That's what drove Rod crazy about the whole situation.

You should have seen him the day Hurley was hired at Keaney Gym. That was a great day.

I think he would have pressed for a more experience coach than Cox, but he would have totally given him a chance to prove himself afterwards. And Cox has proven himself. I just hope, at the trajectory he is going, that he stays a few years.

[Running Ram]

It was nice having a year where we didn't have to worry about someone poaching our coach. That might be over sooner than we expected. Cox will be drawing attention as a great up and comer. Good problem to have if you're Rhody. Start looking to enhance his contract Mr. Bjorn.

[Blue Man]

It was nice having a year where we didn't have to worry about someone poaching our coach. That might be over sooner than we expected. Cox will be drawing attention as a great up and comer. Good problem to have if you're Rhody. Start looking to enhance his contract Mr. Bjorn.

The key is not letting it get to a “Danny” point.

If we dance it his year you double that mans money and contract length and guarantee him the charters, staff funding and practice facility we needed to keep Dan.

[RhowdyRam02]

It was nice having a year where we didn't have to worry about someone poaching our coach. That might be over sooner than we expected. Cox will be drawing attention as a great up and comer. Good problem to have if you're Rhody. Start looking to enhance his contract Mr. Bjorn.

The key is not letting it get to a “Danny” point.

If we dance it his year you double that mans money and contract length and guarantee him the charters, staff funding and practice facility we needed to keep Dan.

But only if we dance. No more Baron type contract extensions for coaches that don't dance

[Blue Man]

It was nice having a year where we didn't have to worry about someone poaching our coach. That might be over sooner than we expected. Cox will be drawing attention as a great up and comer. Good problem to have if you're Rhody. Start looking to enhance his contract Mr. Bjorn.

The key is not letting it get to a “Danny” point.

If we dance it his year you double that mans money and contract length and guarantee him the charters, staff funding and practice facility we needed to keep Dan.

But only if we dance. No more Baron type contract extensions for coaches that don't dance

Agreed. But let’s be completely clear. Dave Cox is no Jim Baron and the mere mention of those names together is an insult to this coach and this program.

Baron was aloof from the jump. He was a “safe” choice in a dumpster fire. He was a non-flammable piece of garbage that Petro was excited about because it wasn’t also on fire.

Baron had no answers or fire period. When I hear Cox speak after games and how he breaks the game down I honestly wonder how we ever wound up with Baron in the first place.

I understand your point but last year cox won more late season games in year 1 than Baron ever did in 11. Please never mention the two together again.

[rhodyfan3000]

Here's the Baron summary about as simple as I can make it:

From Baron's perspective, he believed that the URI BB coaching job was no different than any other job. To him, he merely wanted to maximize the number of years he stayed here, like you or anyone else would at your own job. He was happy to take the minimum ($600k?). I'm not entirely sure what the minimum was here for someone in his position, at this school, at that time, but he was happy to coast and make a low ball salary, so long as he could spread it out over 2 decades, that would be $600k x 20, is the way he saw it. He was an Anesthesiologist or a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon. Steady income each year, just 6 times more than the average Joe.

From Ron Petro and Robert Carothers view, he was plain oatmeal. He had a nice, safe, players go to school and graduate on time program at St. Bonaventure at the last outpost of modern civilization, where he still made the NIT once every few years. Petro must have figured, like many here on this site and throughout the fan base, that if he merely came here, he could turn that into the same program, except making the *NCAA tournament* every few years, because we had a new Arena, better resources, better location, better recruiting ground, etc, etc, etc. What they didn't count on, however, is (see paragraph above) Baron had no intention of elevating the expectations that high, and risk his nice cushy job, just for a couple of really successful years. Because when you produce that kind of success, people are going to expect it, all the time.

Which leads to Hurley and now Cox.

Hurley built a winner. Took him a few years. There was some grumbling right before they went to the NCAA back to back seasons, that he was taking too long and that he might not ultimately deliver. It probably took him one or two more seasons to get it going than he had originally intended, but he got there. That was always the goal.

Then Hurley left, because that is the ultimate result or conclusion for someone who builds a winner, just like at Xavier or wherever. When the coach explodes onto the scene there is going to be a big fish out there that can offer more. You can argue that UConn wasn't quite the monster deal that Penders cashed in on at Texas, but ultimately it will likely happen. And that's ok.

Now we have Cox. I don't want to even wager a guess as to how successful he might be and how fast, but so far it looks v good, and you have to be ready, someday, if he doesn't stay forever, to right back to the well with another Hurley OR Cox and not another Baron.

[steviep123]

At the risk of derailing this to a bash Baron thread, his hiring was akin to throwing good money after bad. But it would have all been okay if they had let him walk to take the Va Tech job. That long term contract making him CFL was what really killed everything.

[Rhody74]

Dan had the name and the drive to make URI Relevant again. But, frankly, I like Cox’s game coaching better, especially on offense. And it appears he is a bit more flexible on defense as well, throwing in a zone occasionally to keep the opponent off balance. If we dance he certainly deserves a raise and an extension.

[rhodyfan3000]

The recruiting really started when Hurley came here. And it hasn't dropped off since he left.

But more importantly than even recruiting... the coach needs drive. If a coach isn't self motivating and that drive isn't there, the recruits will never be something greater than a collection of parts that don't make a whole. It's on the coach to will them into something more, a real team, that is greater than the sum of it's parts.

And that's why we have a good reason to be optimistic now. so, you see, this thread comes around full circle.

[Smokinjimit]

The mark of a solid coach is that as the season goes on each player knows their roles. The players here are starting no understand their roles within the system.

Don’t underestimate how important this is.

[ramster]

Funny after the Brown and Richmond losses, at the beginning of this month, a poster asked how long was Cox’ Contract. Compliments were not flying in the direction of David Cox.

Now still in January posters are worried about how to keep David Cox

Amazing what a win streak will do