2/11 | Dayton | 7:30PM (CBSSN)

[adam914]

I don’t think Mikesell is very good. He hasn’t played well in the games I have watched recently. He shoots 27.9% from three. Avgs 9.3 ppg and 4.9rebs. He is 1-18 from three in his last eight games and 4-24 in A10 play. Fire away. Avg 7.5 ppg in A10 play.

In general I agree with you. I just see a potential matchup problem that could be exploited. It works the other way to though. Hopefully whoever he has to cover can take advantage offensively on the inside and rebounding.

That doesn’t make sense. 6’7” white guy that likes to shoot the three but is 1-18 in last eight games concerns you from a match up standpoint. If you read the post by the Dayton fan, the reason Dayton has struggled offensively lately is because of Mikesell and Chatman.

And picking Rhody’s 8th man and player with the lowest minutes per game to defend Mikesell doesn’t make sense either. Mekhi plays 13 minutes per game and is really struggling offensively.

Noted, my Mikesell concern does not make sense to you. I'm ok with that. We played them twice last year. He had one good game and one bad game, so its not like its totally out of the realm of possibility that he plays well against us.

As for Mekhi, I stated pretty clearly "Tough physical player coming on for spurts". I realize he plays 13 minutes per game, hence the use of phrase "coming on for spurts". I think covering Mikesell for those 13 minutes (assuming they are on the court together) could be effective. I'm not sure what his offensive struggles have to do with that. Its not like I was saying we should start him.

[bigappleram]

Landers is probably the bigger role guy to be concerned with. 6’5/6’6 undersized forwards have hurt us this year. Choh from Brown, Cayo from Richmond, Weathers from Duquesne all had big games against us. All have very similar games as Landers. Watson the Michigan transfer off the bench is also a concern, can really shoot it and doesn’t need much space to get his shot off.

[ElbertC2020]

I'm reading ALOT of our other threads and I'm loving the enthusiasm, but I decided to comment on this thread because the ONLY thing that matters is beating Dayton....or atleast getting so far into their head that they are horrified to walk into Kingston. Getting one of the games matters for seeding and I want to hit this team so hard in our two matchups that when Obi is lacing up in the league next year hes still thinking about the time a 5'9 kid from Rhody ruined his storybook season.

[Martyf250]

I’m in NH for the week. Is there a way to stream this to my phone? CbsS have a free stream?

[rhodyfan3000]

I've been going with ridiculously over the top illegal pirate stream for CBS SN all season long. Hasn't failed yet. (crosses fingers)

[rhodyfan3000]

I'll send you the link. I've never tried to get this on a phone, so not sure if you are going to have the same success rate.

[bigappleram]

I’ve stream CBSSN on phone and laptop but only via my cable subscription

[rhodyfan3000]

I have ATT TV, formerly Direct TV Now, and to get CBS SN, you actually have to change your plan to two tiers above the one I currently have (grandfathered into). So, it's the hot feed for me.

But, if you do have CBS SN already on your cable or streaming plan, you can just get their app and log in.

[UD90]

Thought some on this board might get a kick out of this article.

https://www.daytondailynews.com/sports/ ... BWBb7RfVL/

I mentioned it earlier, but I expect Jacob to develop into a real special player. You can never predict a lottery pick. We knew Obi was special, but this is a once in a lifetime season for Dayton. The cool thing about Obi is he how he just loves to play and have fun doing it. Obi is a great kid. Great for the community and a team player.

Apparently Jacob is no different. He's already poking Obi. I look forward to watching this. I wouldn't bet this game either way.

Reading through the posts - the assessment is pretty accurate regarding both Chatman and Mikesell. They have struggled from the perimeter in conference play, but they have played well in most other aspects. Both are capable of lighting it up. We just haven't seen it in a month.

Btw - Ibi Watson is the best offensive player on the team. He can go for 30 if called upon. Tshimanga is getting better every game, but still has some development left. At 6'11 270 he gets some dumb fouls. His minutes have been increasing as our leads have allowed Grant to tinker with the line ups.

Just watched the URI-VCU game on espn+. Still impressed with how URI rebounds. Hoping we are able to get some easy buckets in transition if we are able to snag a few 50/50balls.

[luke]

To UD 90 , I agree with everything you are saying . To 83 , you better not discount Mikesell . He is the glue and usually finds a way to help them win with a rebound or put back even when having an off night shooting . You can't measure Mikesell's value with stats alone. He is very clutch and always around the hoop for layups and put backs , especially in the end game. As UD 90 says Watson is their best shooter , but his percentage goes down when he is
heavily contested on threes . Can't leave him to help out on drives EVER . And that applies to Crutcher as well . The rest are not as good from three
unless they have a completely uncontested three. I think URI is tougher Physically including OBI . Langevine et al have to take advantage .Make it a war
the same as Saint Louis did . URI has more talent than Saint Louis and can win this game if they attack them as they did VCU in the Ryan Center.

[FDshoes]

Is it tuesday yet?

[luke]

Some interesting facts for the two teams over the past 5 games . If you assumed that Dayton would be the higher scoring team you would be wrong .
And if you assumed that Rhode Island would have given up fewer points you would be wrong again . URI has averaged 80.2 points and allowed 68.4
points for a plus 11.8 points per game. Dayton has averaged 77.4 points and allowed 65.8 points for a plus 11.6 per game. Surprising , huh ?
Additionally , if you assumed that during A 10 play that Dayton was the better 3 point shooting team again you would have missed the mark . URI
is shooting .354 from three and Dayton is shooting .344 from three in A 10 play. But Dayton does claim the lead on overall fg % at .514 to URI at
.446. So there's that. So recently Rhody's offense has been better than Dayton's , and URI has the slight edge in spread as mentioned at +11.8 to + 11.6.
Not that you can make much of this but it is fun to consider how perception is often different than reality.

[reef]

Great stuff here I am expecting a war come Tuesday night !!

[ATPTourFan]

I’m in NH for the week. Is there a way to stream this to my phone? CbsS have a free stream?

Sign up for a free trial week of youtubeTV which has CBSSN.
Then you just need an internet connection.

[ATPTourFan]

Is it tuesday yet?

So grateful we didn’t have to wait a full week for this game.

Rhody is playing with house money this time. The real pressure game is when the Flyers come to Kingston.

[section(105)]

Is it tuesday yet?

........I thought it was, I put the garbage out today......wife is looking for a “home” for me now......totally focused on the game......Go Rhody.......

[RhodyRamFan69]

Kind of random thought, but thought it was interesting that Jacob Toppin decided to go to URI after watching Obi play at the Ryan Center last year. The score of that game was 77-48 an absolute drubbing by any definition. It's hard to image an 18 year old thinking to himself "wow I want to play here for 4 years" after watching the Rams get their doors blown off. I'm not sure if he's been asked this question before, but I would be curious to hear his answer. Perhaps something our friend Mr. Koch can assist with?

[Billyboy78]

I have ATT TV, formerly Direct TV Now, and to get CBS SN, you actually have to change your plan to two tiers above the one I currently have (grandfathered into). So, it's the hot feed for me.

But, if you do have CBS SN already on your cable or streaming plan, you can just get their app and log in.

I just switched to DISH from Direct. 2 year contract for less than 100/month for almost the same package as DIRECT that I was paying 145/month. But DISH does have CBBSN in that package. The only downside is that no NBCSB because of a long term dispute, so no Celtics, and no NFL Ticket. But for almost 50 a month less and that I can see so many A10 games now, It's worth it. After these 2 years, I'm probably going to a streaming service.

[rhodyfan3000]

Yeah, DISH isn't going to work for me, but thanks for the info. Besides, once you go to streaming, there really isn't any turning back.

[Rhode_Island_Red]

Two things for our defense:
-- Don't bite on fakes.
-- Don't leave that left corner open (which is the same thing we've been saying about Dayton for the last 20 years).

[Bill Koch]

Kind of random thought, but thought it was interesting that Jacob Toppin decided to go to URI after watching Obi play at the Ryan Center last year. The score of that game was 77-48 an absolute drubbing by any definition. It's hard to image an 18 year old thinking to himself "wow I want to play here for 4 years" after watching the Rams get their doors blown off. I'm not sure if he's been asked this question before, but I would be curious to hear his answer. Perhaps something our friend Mr. Koch can assist with?

No media access prior to Tuesday. No opportunity to ask that question or any others. I did manage to get a couple postgame quotes Saturday from David Cox and Cyril Langevine, but you won't see anything else.

[adam914]

Kind of random thought, but thought it was interesting that Jacob Toppin decided to go to URI after watching Obi play at the Ryan Center last year. The score of that game was 77-48 an absolute drubbing by any definition. It's hard to image an 18 year old thinking to himself "wow I want to play here for 4 years" after watching the Rams get their doors blown off. I'm not sure if he's been asked this question before, but I would be curious to hear his answer. Perhaps something our friend Mr. Koch can assist with?

No media access prior to Tuesday. No opportunity to ask that question or any others. I did manage to get a couple postgame quotes Saturday from David Cox and Cyril Langevine, but you won't see anything else.

Hey Bill, is that odd that there is no media access or is it just because of the tight turnaround and travel between games Saturday and Tuesday?

[phipsiGD'11]

Two things for our defense:
-- Don't bite on fakes.
-- Don't leave that left corner open (which is the same thing we've been saying about Dayton for the last 20 years).

Completely agree with both points Red.
Will add the need to continue to limit 3s. Make them beat us inside. Has worked a lot these past 10 games, of course those games were not against talent like Dayton.

[steviep123]

Kind of random thought, but thought it was interesting that Jacob Toppin decided to go to URI after watching Obi play at the Ryan Center last year. The score of that game was 77-48 an absolute drubbing by any definition. It's hard to image an 18 year old thinking to himself "wow I want to play here for 4 years" after watching the Rams get their doors blown off. I'm not sure if he's been asked this question before, but I would be curious to hear his answer. Perhaps something our friend Mr. Koch can assist with?

No media access prior to Tuesday. No opportunity to ask that question or any others. I did manage to get a couple postgame quotes Saturday from David Cox and Cyril Langevine, but you won't see anything else.

Hey Bill, is that odd that there is no media access or is it just because of the tight turnaround and travel between games Saturday and Tuesday?

That's the question I have. I don't remember this happening before.

[Billyboy78]

No media access prior to Tuesday. No opportunity to ask that question or any others. I did manage to get a couple postgame quotes Saturday from David Cox and Cyril Langevine, but you won't see anything else.

Hey Bill, is that odd that there is no media access or is it just because of the tight turnaround and travel between games Saturday and Tuesday?

That's the question I have. I don't remember this happening before.

I would say they are locked down and locked in.

[bigappleram]

They also are flying out today so probably would have been tough to jam in a media session. Assume the last 2 days were serious game prep and staff wanting no distractions. I’m fine with that given the circumstances.

[steviep123]

They also are flying out today so probably would have been tough to jam in a media session. Assume the last 2 days were serious game prep and staff wanting no distractions. I’m fine with that given the circumstances.

Fair enough...if they are practicing today then flying out right after, then there is no time for media. Understandable. But I just wish someone would say that instead of supposed secrecy.

[Blue Man]

They also are flying out today so probably would have been tough to jam in a media session. Assume the last 2 days were serious game prep and staff wanting no distractions. I’m fine with that given the circumstances.

I don't know enough of the details - but is a "media session" really that big of a drain on the team? I always figured it was 5-10 minutes after a practice. But I legitimately don't know.

Either way, it's just strange. Would love to get more insight and hype ahead of the game from the boys - but if Coach Cox thinks this is the best way to keep the team focused and get a win - fine by me!

The other thing is maybe he doesn't like the fact that a bench freshman is getting thrown into the limelight too early ahead of a matchup. He doesn't want Jacob to be thrown into a situation he might not be able to handle?

Either way just strange. Whatever.

JUST WIN.

[Rhodyram]

I was fairly surprised that they even came back to campus. Flew back Saturday afternoon/evening-on campus Sunday-fly out Monday.....

[steviep123]

Agreed....I was holding back on writing this, because I didn't want to be taken the wrong way. I love having Jacob here and he's going to be a good one. But right now he is an important bench player but not one of the main stars or a starter. His minutes are very important and we need him, but it's not like both Toppin's are starters/biggest stars of their teams. Obi is, Jacob isn't yet. This Toppin vs. Toppin narrative is more of an incorrectly hyped narrative. If Obi is still here next year and Jacob has a breakout sophomore season, then absolutely. Roll with it. But right now it's more Obi vs. Fatts. Let brother vs. brother come later when ready. Now, watch me eat my words and Jacob has a breakout game (which would be great)! I understand CBSSN mentioning it, but to me it's not a huge deal yet, but rather a side narrative and a fun story.

[bigappleram]

They also are flying out today so probably would have been tough to jam in a media session. Assume the last 2 days were serious game prep and staff wanting no distractions. I’m fine with that given the circumstances.

Fair enough...if they are practicing today then flying out right after, then there is no time for media. Understandable. But I just wish someone would say that instead of supposed secrecy.

I'm not sure there is secrecy, the team doesn't post official announcements about media availability and then in this case goes hush. The only reason anyone is even aware is bc Bill mentioned it. I assume most of you guys are Pats fans so can't see given the way that franchise handles the media how any of you can really have beef with Cox deciding 36 hours to prepare for our biggest game of the year is where the focus should lie.

Agree with BlueMan that perhaps he didn't want the Jacob and Obi story to take even more of a life of its own than it already has...it's a nice story but Obi is a potential POY and Jacob is a role playing Frosh, this really isn't the brothers showdown that it is being made out to be by the media simply bc of the vastly different roles each of them plays for their team. But it's a nice media story so people are running with it.

[ramster]

Along with baby picture of Fatts

[steviep123]

They also are flying out today so probably would have been tough to jam in a media session. Assume the last 2 days were serious game prep and staff wanting no distractions. I’m fine with that given the circumstances.

Fair enough...if they are practicing today then flying out right after, then there is no time for media. Understandable. But I just wish someone would say that instead of supposed secrecy.

I'm not sure there is secrecy, the team doesn't post official announcements about media availability and then in this case goes hush. The only reason anyone is even aware is bc Bill mentioned it. I assume most of you guys are Pats fans so can't see given the way that franchise handles the media how any of you can really have beef with Cox deciding 36 hours to prepare for our biggest game of the year is where the focus should lie.

Agree with BlueMan that perhaps he didn't want the Jacob and Obi story to take even more of a life of its own than it already has...it's a nice story but Obi is a potential POY and Jacob is a role playing Frosh, this really isn't the brothers showdown that it is being made out to be by the media simply bc of the vastly different roles each of them plays for their team. But it's a nice media story so people are running with it.

That's what I was trying to say above in my post about the Toppin vs. Toppin showdown was incorrectly hyped - you said it much better!

[adam914]

They also are flying out today so probably would have been tough to jam in a media session. Assume the last 2 days were serious game prep and staff wanting no distractions. I’m fine with that given the circumstances.

Fair enough...if they are practicing today then flying out right after, then there is no time for media. Understandable. But I just wish someone would say that instead of supposed secrecy.

I'm not sure there is secrecy, the team doesn't post official announcements about media availability and then in this case goes hush. The only reason anyone is even aware is bc Bill mentioned it. I assume most of you guys are Pats fans so can't see given the way that franchise handles the media how any of you can really have beef with Cox deciding 36 hours to prepare for our biggest game of the year is where the focus should lie.

Agree with BlueMan that perhaps he didn't want the Jacob and Obi story to take even more of a life of its own than it already has...it's a nice story but Obi is a potential POY and Jacob is a role playing Frosh, this really isn't the brothers showdown that it is being made out to be by the media simply bc of the vastly different roles each of them plays for their team. But it's a nice media story so people are running with it.

Yeah I was honestly just curious, so figured I'd see if Bill had any further details. Either way it's not a big deal in my opinion. I assumed it was either just a lack of time thing due to travel, or a "we're locked in" type of thing. Both of which make perfectly good sense to me.

[reef]

Way back in the day John Thompson didn’t allow freshmen to speak to the media Hoya paranoia they called it

[DC_Rams]

https://www.abc6.com/story/41678547/jac ... n-showdown

[adam914]

Do it for all us little brothers out there Jacob!

[RhowdyRam02]

Would they have even practiced yesterday after the game Saturday? If there was no practice there was probably no time the entire team was together formally, so there was probably no chance to have availability. I doubt it was anything more than that

[Martyf250]

I’ve stream CBSSN on phone and laptop but only via my cable subscription

Cox won’t let me Stream outside my house which is rediculous via contour

[Billyboy78]

Would they have even practiced yesterday after the game Saturday? If there was no practice there was probably no time the entire team was together formally, so there was probably no chance to have availability. I doubt it was anything more than that

Probably at least film study.

[Bill Koch]

Would they have even practiced yesterday after the game Saturday? If there was no practice there was probably no time the entire team was together formally, so there was probably no chance to have availability. I doubt it was anything more than that

There was generally media access prior to every game as recently as 2017-18. That changed last season -- one session per week, usually on Monday or Tuesday, and closed practices. Speaking for myself, I didn't push back almost out of compassion. The team was struggling. Asking the same questions each day almost felt like we were torturing the guys who had to talk -- Jeff, Cyril and Fatts specifically.

This season is different. You're on the cusp of the top 25. There is no better chance to promote your program and brand. Shouldn't that be maximized?

Also, the elephant in the room -- Providence. There is no shortage of folks who feel URI gets the short end compared to the Friars. Several of them note on this board each time I don't travel to a URI road game. Isn't now the time to at least make an attempt to permanently claim some of that market share? You're better than they are this season and, really, over the last four. You have a far greater chance of reaching the NCAA Tournament. This should be a perfect opportunity, not a burden.

Given the tight turnaround, I'm sure all of us would have understood if the players weren't available. But at the very least we should have heard from David Cox. It could have been Sunday or Monday, morning or night, on campus or at the airport or via conference call. I don't think 5-10 minutes is too much to ask to speak about your biggest game of the season to date.

I have postgame quotes from Saturday about Dayton -- sadly, I anticipated something like this might happen. I've shared those with Will and Colby out of a sense of professional fairness. But we won't be receiving any further insight, and that's a shame. I'm traveling to the game -- ultimately, I'm not the one losing out. It's my colleagues and all of you.

I would finish with this -- players and coaches are required to do press conferences the day before and the day between NCAA Tournament games. There are none bigger on the schedule. To say that access was denied in this case because of the significance of the upcoming game or tight window preceding it isn't a valid argument.

[steviep123]

Thanks Bill, as always, I appreciate your openness and fairness. It is too bad the team didn't have something, even if just one of the coaches.

[bigappleram]

Would they have even practiced yesterday after the game Saturday? If there was no practice there was probably no time the entire team was together formally, so there was probably no chance to have availability. I doubt it was anything more than that

There was generally media access prior to every game as recently as 2017-18. That changed last season -- one session per week, usually on Monday or Tuesday, and closed practices. Speaking for myself, I didn't push back almost out of compassion. The team was struggling. Asking the same questions each day almost felt like we were torturing the guys who had to talk -- Jeff, Cyril and Fatts specifically.

This season is different. You're on the cusp of the top 25. There is no better chance to promote your program and brand. Shouldn't that be maximized?

Also, the elephant in the room -- Providence. There are no shortage of folks who feel URI gets the short end compared to the Friars. Several of them note on this board each time I don't travel to a URI road game. Isn't now the time to at least make an attempt to permanently claim some of that market share? You're better than they are this season and, really, over the last four. You have a far greater chance of reaching the NCAA Tournament. This should be a perfect opportunity, not a burden.

Given the tight turnaround, I'm sure all of us would have understood if the players weren't available. But at the very least we should have heard from David Cox. It could have been Sunday or Monday, morning or night, on campus or at the airport or via conference call. I don't think 5-10 minutes is too much to ask to speak about your biggest game of the season to date.

I have postgame quotes from Saturday about Dayton -- sadly, I anticipated something like this might happen. I've shared those with Will and Colby out of a sense of professional fairness. But we won't be receiving any further insight, and that's a shame. I'm traveling to the game -- ultimately, I'm not the one losing out. It's my colleagues and all of you.

I would finish with this -- players and coaches are required to do press conferences the day before and the day between NCAA Tournament games. There are none bigger on the schedule. To say that access was denied in this case because of the significance of the upcoming game or tight window preceding it isn't a valid argument.

Appreciate the insight as well, though I assume there was a reason behind the decision from DC. On the flip side I don't think publicity will be an issue if we go to Dayton and win.

[Obadiah]

Sorry, but I side with Koch and not David Cox on this one. There should be full media access before each game and not a canned weekly approach.

[steviep123]

I think you can side with Koch, and also think Cox has a good reason. They don't have to be mutually exclusive. I'm sure both are true.

[RAM67]

Coronavirus.

[adam914]

There was generally media access prior to every game as recently as 2017-18. That changed last season -- one session per week, usually on Monday or Tuesday, and closed practices. Speaking for myself, I didn't push back almost out of compassion. The team was struggling. Asking the same questions each day almost felt like we were torturing the guys who had to talk -- Jeff, Cyril and Fatts specifically.

This season is different. You're on the cusp of the top 25. There is no better chance to promote your program and brand. Shouldn't that be maximized?

Also, the elephant in the room -- Providence. There are no shortage of folks who feel URI gets the short end compared to the Friars. Several of them note on this board each time I don't travel to a URI road game. Isn't now the time to at least make an attempt to permanently claim some of that market share? You're better than they are this season and, really, over the last four. You have a far greater chance of reaching the NCAA Tournament. This should be a perfect opportunity, not a burden.

Given the tight turnaround, I'm sure all of us would have understood if the players weren't available. But at the very least we should have heard from David Cox. It could have been Sunday or Monday, morning or night, on campus or at the airport or via conference call. I don't think 5-10 minutes is too much to ask to speak about your biggest game of the season to date.

I have postgame quotes from Saturday about Dayton -- sadly, I anticipated something like this might happen. I've shared those with Will and Colby out of a sense of professional fairness. But we won't be receiving any further insight, and that's a shame. I'm traveling to the game -- ultimately, I'm not the one losing out. It's my colleagues and all of you.

I would finish with this -- players and coaches are required to do press conferences the day before and the day between NCAA Tournament games. There are none bigger on the schedule. To say that access was denied in this case because of the significance of the upcoming game or tight window preceding it isn't a valid argument.

Thanks for the additional background info!

[bigappleram]

Also, if as you say we have been better than PC over the last 4 years which I agree is true, and that hasn't changed the misconception or truth that we are second fiddle in our own state is 1 media day going to really do much? Some fans will still feel we are, KMac will still say things like the A10 is "pillow soft" and lob passive aggressive digs at us, and we will all wake up and go to sleep every day.

On the other hand I don't think we (URI) do ourselves many favors in the marketing and PR game and trying to win over hearts and minds of casual fans so this is probably another data point to support that.

[DC_Rams]

Sorry, but I side with Koch and not David Cox on this one. There should be full media access before each game and not a canned weekly approach.

I’m sure the Staff discussed it, and knows what’s best for the team and their focus. Folks will just have to Get over it.

[TruePoint]

Yeah, to weigh in on Bill’s and BAR’s points, certainly doing a media avail one time isn’t going to change the overall landscape in the state, but there is a cumulative effect. Just taking this one in isolation, if Dave made himself available for five minutes but channels 10 and 12 got a short clip they could throw into their sports package tonight and tomorrow, could that inform or remind some casual fans that URI is playing the #6 team in the country on national TV tomorrow night? And could their watching that game and if URI wins or plays well, encourage them to watch or attend more games? If we did media avails at the practice before every game, could that over time make us more present in the minds of the folks that read the projo or watch the local news? Idk, but I totally see Bill’s point.