The Transfer Carousel - 2020-21

[rhodyblue12]

Man, Jairus Hamilton in the portal. Good talent to be had.

[Billyboy78]

21-9, 2nd/3rd in the A10 behind #3 Dayton, with 7 bodies. I think we will be fine once the roster fills out for next season (and it will fill out) hopefully with players better than the ones we’ve lost (which isn’t a tall task)

You keep talking about only having 7 bodies. Who should take responsibility for the fact that we only had 7 bodies?

[DC_Rams]

Everyone involved. But we made some quality lemonade out of it.

[NYGFan_Section208]

.......next transfer up......so, now where do we go for glue or for a Swiss Army knife?

That's the spirit, 105.

[section(105)]

Man, Jairus Hamilton in the portal. Good talent to be had.

......the only JH I wanna see in this portal.......not ours.....

[ramster]

This Long Transfer was discussed 2 weeks ago -

Don't be surprised if one or two transfer out after this season.

Oh no....

Oh yes.

You have sources inside that know I’m guessing?

Not that I think it’s much of a loss, but I was told by a booster to your program that Long is a likely transfer.

Why would long transfer ?
He gets enough playing time for the productivity he has brought this year
Do we have a coaching problem ?
This is just speculation tho - it’s not like it’s fact - I guess we will see

I truthfully know nothing except what I was told by this gentleman who is generally pretty plugged in to the URI program. Who knows.

I have zero connections within the team however i did attend the George Mason game and the above statement might hold some truth based on something i observed at the Mason game. At one point Long went to the bench and seemed pretty frustrated. Someone in the crowd directly in front of me, which i thought to be one of the player’s mothers, yelled to either Long or Harris and said “it’s only until the end of the year keep your head up”. I thought it was odd at the time and thought maybe Long was injured. JH was riding a stationary bike behind the bench at the same time so i wasn’t 100% sure if they were talking to Long or JH because i was talking to my buddy while it transpired. Maybe it wasn’t anything but it stuck out to me and i was thinking at the time either injury frustration or possible transfer. If i had to guess they were talking to Long. Hopefully nothing to it but i guess we will see.

This was the discussion on Long possibly transferring that took place 2 weeks ago in this same thread - all back on Page 2

I think some credit is due for PC Friars for bringing this to the table 2 weeks ago. A Poster named PCFriars knows things before we do?
Rhody Sody also provided some key info that now makes sense

I had heard from someone also about the same time as PC Friars

I also watched the body language of Long the last two weeks. He is a pretty level headed, calm and steady player but he seemed a bit disenchanted when he went to the bench and sat down. I felt something was not right and he might very well be transferring out.

I think we talk often about Martin, Russell and Dowtin playing so many minutes and getting worn out. But then I see Cox playing those guys still when we are way ahead or way behind as in the Dayton games. It just doesn't make sense to me at times why the Bench guys don't get more minutes and we complain that the Starters are getting too many and getting too worn out.

[UCH21377]

21-9, 2nd/3rd in the A10 behind #3 Dayton, with 7 bodies. I think we will be fine once the roster fills out for next season (and it will fill out) hopefully with players better than the ones we’ve lost (which isn’t a tall task)

You keep talking about only having 7 bodies. Who should take responsibility for the fact that we only had 7 bodies?

Didn't we have 8? Jeff, Fatts, Ty, Cyril, Jermaine, Toppin, Long, Walker?

[Billyboy78]

21-9, 2nd/3rd in the A10 behind #3 Dayton, with 7 bodies. I think we will be fine once the roster fills out for next season (and it will fill out) hopefully with players better than the ones we’ve lost (which isn’t a tall task)

You keep talking about only having 7 bodies. Who should take responsibility for the fact that we only had 7 bodies?

Didn't we have 8? Jeff, Fatts, Ty, Cyril, Jermaine, Toppin, Long, Walker?

Ask DC Rams.

[section(105)]

.......math was always a challenge here.....

[ramster]

1-Russell
2-Dowtin
3-Langevine
4-Harris
5-Martin

6-Long
7-Toppin
8-Walker

It was an 8 man location through the A10 Conference Play. Was not 7, unless someone sat out like Dowtin Summer Game violation penalty, Langevine injury
8 is a good number. Problem is 6,7,8 are not getting as many minutes as they should while we complain the Starters are getting a lot.

[ramster]

Everyone involved. But we made some quality lemonade out of it.

8 Bodies played in the regular rotation. Not 7.

[ramster]

Long Statistics
31-93 FG = 33%
7-24 3P = 29%
23-42 FT = 54%
5 assists, 20 turnovers
7 blocks
21 steals
3.1ppg, 2.3rpg

Some mentioned it earlier, Long did not have stellar shooting statistics in HS, but of course all hope you improve on your skills.

If Mekhi did not think he would get adequate playing time next year it’s best for both parties to agree to part

Must ask the question though, if so many players are coming in, and not seeing the playing time they think they should get and THEN they go to another school and see little playing time there either (Omar Silverio at Hofstra, Michael Tertsea at Gannon, etc) then one must look at our judging capability at the high school/prep level because these guys basically never had what it takes.

[ramster]

I guess you can keep saying all these guys have awful families who are influencing them to make poor decisions or they’re flawed as people. Might be relevant in some cases. Even if that is true, is something missing in recruiting or in how the vision of the team and program is being communicated afterwards? You can complain about “kids today” and the current state of college basketball, but teams still have to field a full roster and try to keep some continuity.

One has to wonder about our capability of selecting players. How do we miss on both Gregory Hammond and Mekhi Long? We hardly got to know ya.

A lot to replace next year.


Langevine
Dowtin

Martin
Russell
Harris

Toppin
Walker
Long

[steveystuds06]

Everyone involved. But we made some quality lemonade out of it.

We sure did for 23 games. If only the season ended then....

[rambone 78]

What ramster is saying about player evaluation/recruiting makes sense.

A lot of Cox's recruits aren't panning out for various reasons.

Either staff was overrating their potential, or not developing them.....

Questions have certainly been raised about the development of our bigs.

One thing's for sure....have we recruited any good shooters during Cox's tenure?

We can hope that Leggett at least will break the mold.....same for Sheppard.

[Seawrightspostgame]

I thought Long the freshman was better than Tate the sophomore fwiw.

Oof. That’s a tough take, IMO. I liked Long fine enough for what he was but I guess I missed something that a lot of other fans saw - I doubt you’re the only one with this opinion, but I just didn’t see it.

I don't think its an endorsement of Long as much as an indictment on Tate. Tate just didn't have it.

[ramster]

I thought Long the freshman was better than Tate the sophomore fwiw.

Oof. That’s a tough take, IMO. I liked Long fine enough for what he was but I guess I missed something that a lot of other fans saw - I doubt you’re the only one with this opinion, but I just didn’t see it.

I don't think its an endorsement of Long as much as an indictment on Tate. Tate just didn't have it.

Agreed
Tate didn’t have it
Long had a better chance at improving here than Tate
Both of course are gone but I’d take Long over Tate all day Long - especially on defense

[rhodyblue12]

Tray Jackson in the portal. Michigan kid. I think we were at least mentioned with him last year.

[SandorClegane]

This will probably be the new normal at every school. If you don’t start or play enough or get along with the coach or like the weather, the NCAA has made it very easy for you to move schools. Everyone is going to have to get used to it until the NCAA changes its mind again and implements some completely new policy.

[rhodyblue12]

Tray Jackson in the portal. Michigan kid. I think we were at least mentioned with him last year.

He is 6’8”, super athletic and can shoot it. This would be a great replacement for Long.

[ramster]

Looking at his stats for his Sophomore year he averaged 7.6 points per game and 10.4 rebounds per game


Looking at individual games to see if anything stood out - the St Louis Game - a tough team to play that finished 4th in A10 and rebounds very tough

Vs St Louis on January 29 Ed Croswell had:
24 points on 10-16 FG, 4-7 FT
18 rebounds - 9 offense, 9 defense
2 blocks
2 steals
played 38 minutes

I was on campus yesterday working with students for 3 hours and picked up The Collegian. Not a mention at all of Ed in there, even in the write-up on the Bonnies game. I would have thought a story on one of your top players leaving would at least merit a sentence in The Collegian.

In any case...talking to current students there gives an interesting picture of things. The general consensus from current students: his choice to leave immediately, took teammates by surprise, felt nitpicked in practices by Ash, he quit on his teammates, don't understand why he left with a few games remaining. This seems to align with other things I've heard from people closer to it.

LaSalle Basketball 12 page thread on thisxdeparture.....
https://explorertown.proboards.com/thre ... ng?page=12


Cooley is loading up on transfers

[DC_Rams]

He’s going to Providence.

[rambone 78]

Would be nice if we get a couple...…..we're open for business with 4 available...…

Some programs are moving quickly.

A lot of these transfers have a pretty good idea where they want to go even before they announce they are leaving.

Wonder if we are at the top of anyone's list?

[TruePoint]

Oof. That’s a tough take, IMO. I liked Long fine enough for what he was but I guess I missed something that a lot of other fans saw - I doubt you’re the only one with this opinion, but I just didn’t see it.

I don't think its an endorsement of Long as much as an indictment on Tate. Tate just didn't have it.

Agreed
Tate didn’t have it
Long had a better chance at improving here than Tate
Both of course are gone but I’d take Long over Tate all day Long - especially on defense

This is, in my opinion, an absolutely wild take. Tate is probably more polished as an offensive player now than Long will be at any point in his career. To me, Tate’s biggest issue was that he never got the extended minutes he would have needed to settle in and get comfortable and I’m not sure there was a solution to that here since he was caught in a logjam and was a bit of a tweener and wasn’t the top option as a 3 or as a 4. He also brought an amount of physicality that Long will not ever be able to bring. Long was more athletic and a more capable on-ball perimeter defender, for sure. I guess it is a little bit of my bias that I value offensive skill way more than defensive ability (and probably why I’ve frequently been frustrated with the types of players we recruit and give minutes to under Dan and Dave), but from my perspective it’s really not even close between Tate and Long.

[UCH21377]

Doesn’t matter they’re both on the “gone so they must suck” list

[RamStock]

Doesn’t matter they’re both on the “gone so they must suck” list

Correct. That seems to be how it works

[ramster]

I don't think its an endorsement of Long as much as an indictment on Tate. Tate just didn't have it.

Agreed
Tate didn’t have it
Long had a better chance at improving here than Tate
Both of course are gone but I’d take Long over Tate all day Long - especially on defense

This is, in my opinion, an absolutely wild take. Tate is probably more polished as an offensive player now than Long will be at any point in his career. To me, Tate’s biggest issue was that he never got the extended minutes he would have needed to settle in and get comfortable and I’m not sure there was a solution to that here since he was caught in a logjam and was a bit of a tweener and wasn’t the top option as a 3 or as a 4. He also brought an amount of physicality that Long will not ever be able to bring. Long was more athletic and a more capable on-ball perimeter defender, for sure. I guess it is a little bit of my bias that I value offensive skill way more than defensive ability (and probably why I’ve frequently been frustrated with the types of players we recruit and give minutes to under Dan and Dave), but from my perspective it’s really not even close between Tate and Long.

A wild take?
Look at his FG, 3P and FT shooting percentages
Compare Longs Stats to Tate’s Stats
Shouting percentages
Blocked Shots
Rebounds
Steals

I did it

By conclusion is I’d take long over Tate.

And remember you are comparing Tate who was in his second year to Ling who was in just his first

[TruePoint]

Yeah, like I said - wild to me based on my opinion of both players, but I definitely recognize others see it differently.

The stats are what they are, and even in a relatively small sample there are differences in how guys are used and the role they are being asked to fill. But for me it doesn’t take a lot to just do a side-by-side of two guys’ numbers and conclude who has been better so far and that’s not really what I’m arguing anyways. Based on what I’ve seen with my own eyes from both of them, if I were putting a team together and had to choose one or the other of them, I’d pick Tate and I wouldn’t really have to think that much about it. And again, I recognize not everyone feels the same way.

[hrstrat57]

Tate was a huge loss agree...

Still all so bizarre really.

[DevRam]

Very sad, Tate loved URI and I think he would have been a great 6th man off the bench for us to provide some energy. He seemed like a 4 year player here unlike some of the other people we know but it is all just unfortunate.

[Seawrightspostgame]

Check their stat lines, they are basically the same. Tate was worse his sophomore year than his below average freshman year. His playing style and body didn't match up.

If you are a finesse player with a strong body it doesn't help your finesse game and vice a versa. Too stiff for the perimeter and was soft underneath.

All said and done, I wish we still had them both.

Between URI's empty roster spots, Brady's departure and this pandemic, things are tough for sports fans.

[rhodylaw]

Doesn’t matter they’re both on the “gone so they must suck” list

Correct. That seems to be how it works

No one thinks either guy sucked. In fact, I think almost everyone here would have liked to see Tate and Mekhi be four year players because we assumed they would be good role players as juniors and seniors.

[RamStock]

Doesn’t matter they’re both on the “gone so they must suck” list

Correct. That seems to be how it works

No one thinks either guy sucked. In fact, I think almost everyone here would have liked to see Tate and Mekhi be four year players because we assumed they would be good role players as juniors and seniors.

I think they both were going to be solid players as they got to their junior years. Neither was going to be a superstar, but I think Tate would have continued to develop offensively(this year it is tough to make an assessment with how little he played) and Long would have had great defensive assets for us. I get that both wanted 25 minutes a game, but we can just assume that it is no big deal when players leave

[ramster]

Agreed
Tate didn’t have it
Long had a better chance at improving here than Tate
Both of course are gone but I’d take Long over Tate all day Long - especially on defense

This is, in my opinion, an absolutely wild take. Tate is probably more polished as an offensive player now than Long will be at any point in his career. To me, Tate’s biggest issue was that he never got the extended minutes he would have needed to settle in and get comfortable and I’m not sure there was a solution to that here since he was caught in a logjam and was a bit of a tweener and wasn’t the top option as a 3 or as a 4. He also brought an amount of physicality that Long will not ever be able to bring. Long was more athletic and a more capable on-ball perimeter defender, for sure. I guess it is a little bit of my bias that I value offensive skill way more than defensive ability (and probably why I’ve frequently been frustrated with the types of players we recruit and give minutes to under Dan and Dave), but from my perspective it’s really not even close between Tate and Long.

A wild take?
Look at his FG, 3P and FT shooting percentages
Compare Longs Stats to Tate’s Stats
Shouting percentages
Blocked Shots
Rebounds
Steals

I did it

By conclusion is I’d take long over Tate.

And remember you are comparing Tate who was in his second year to Ling who was in just his first

I collected the data for Long and Tate to support my “absolutely wild take”
I have included in the spreadsheet:
Long Freshman Year - 30 games
Tate Career - 41 games
Tate Freshman Year - 33 games
Tate Sophomore Year - 8 games

• As for “Tate didn’t get enough minutes to show what he can do”, Tate got 519 minutes vs 398 for Long or 121 more minutes or 30% more in their Freshmen Years

• Tate better FG%: 40% vs 33%

• Tate better Assists 1.8 vs .5 per 40 min game

• Long better 3P%: 29% vs 27%

• Long better FT%: 55% vs 52%

• Long better Rebounds: 6.9 vs 6.8 per 40 min game

• Long better Steals: 2.1 vs .9 per 40 min game

• Long better Blocks: .7 vs .2 per 40 min game

My feeling was Long had more potential than Tate but both players displayed below average shooting percentages.

[RAM67]

That's pretty weak support for your "wild take".

[brady1]

Liked Tate’s game. Liked Long’s game. Really don’t blame Cox. Tate was self inflicted. Long is the new normal in college B-ball. In the new normal to be successful at URI you’re going to have to be good at picking up quality transfers each year in addition to your recruits.

GO RHODY!

[ramster]

Most, not all, have said Tate was better than Long and missed Tate.
I like Longs potential better than Tate primarily because Long is a better defensive player.

It’s not really support. It’s just the stats comparing the two

Long better in 5 of 7 categories. Might be weak support but supports my saying Ling was better.

I don’t get how some think Tate was so much better. But they can build their case too or just opinion-ate as is most often done.

But in the end I think neither would have started. Long a better chance than Tate.

[ramster]

That's pretty weak support for your "wild take".

TP called my opinion an absolutely wild take. I didn’t call anyone else’s opinion that.
I’m just trying to show how my preferring Long to Tate could make sense based on statistics between the two players.
Most here think Tate was better, no doubt.

[NYGFan_Section208]

Doesn’t matter they’re both on the “gone so they must suck” list

Correct. That seems to be how it works

Well...only partly. Because then there's the other list of "gone, which proves we have a problem" list.
A lotta the departed seem to find their way on to both lists at some point.

[NYGFan_Section208]

Liked Tate’s game. Liked Long’s game. Really don’t blame Cox. Tate was self inflicted. Long is the new normal in college B-ball. In the new normal to be successful at URI you’re going to have to be good at picking up quality transfers each year in addition to your recruits.

GO RHODY!

bing-o...if ever there was a time for Slick...

[hrstrat57]

Tate’s competitiveness and on court attitude often lead to a level of play(and results) way beyond what you’d expect from his skill level. He didn’t get pushed around that’s for sure.

I’m sticking with Tate as a big loss to the program especially this past season.

Long was ok, replaceable serviceable 7th/8th man IMHO. His minutes climbed mainly due to Tate departure.

I expect Cox and staff will be able to replace both.

It will be interesting to see where M Long lands.

[ramster]

Doesn’t matter they’re both on the “gone so they must suck” list

Correct. That seems to be how it works

Well...only partly. Because then there's the other list of "gone, which proves we have a problem" list.
A lotta the departed seem to find their way on to both lists at some point.

Gone because of their families and handlers list
Gone because AAU makes them think they are better than they arelist
Gone because “kids these days” list
Gone because the people who rank these players overrated them and overhyped them. They didn’t live up to the hype list

[reef]

Tate was better on the offensive end for sure and Long was the better defender

Long would have needed to improve his outside shot and free throw %

[rhodylaw]

Call me when Fatts, Tyrese, Jermaine or Jacob transfers - the we have a real problem. What we have now is the same problem as 75% of schools out there, this the pandemic with transfers. It’s not just Rhody.

It feels weird because we didn’t have a lot of transfers DURING the Hurley years (there was some at the beginning). This was because everyone knew their role was to be in line for when the top 6/7 players graduated. When that time came and they still weren’t going to see minutes - transfers started happening again. Then we brought in a wave of players at once, which rarely works out with all guys from a class staying these days.

[DC_Rams]

That's pretty weak support for your "wild take".

TP called my opinion an absolutely wild take. I didn’t call anyone else’s opinion that.
I’m just trying to show how my preferring Long to Tate could make sense based on statistics between the two players.
Most here think Tate was better, no doubt.

We don’t agree often at all, but I do agree here. I preferred Long to Tate. I liked both guys and hope they succeed.

[NYGFan_Section208]

That's pretty weak support for your "wild take".

TP called my opinion an absolutely wild take. I didn’t call anyone else’s opinion that.
I’m just trying to show how my preferring Long to Tate could make sense based on statistics between the two players.
Most here think Tate was better, no doubt.

We don’t agree often at all, but I do agree here. I preferred Long to Tate. I liked both guys and hope they succeed.

I thought Long had more upside..then again, I think a lot of crazy ----.

[URI96]

TP called my opinion an absolutely wild take. I didn’t call anyone else’s opinion that.
I’m just trying to show how my preferring Long to Tate could make sense based on statistics between the two players.
Most here think Tate was better, no doubt.

We don’t agree often at all, but I do agree here. I preferred Long to Tate. I liked both guys and hope they succeed.

I thought Long had more upside..then again, I think a lot of crazy ----.

I agree. I am very disappointed in his decision to leave. I was super impressed with Long. Tate kind of had to go based on his off court exploits.

[UCH21377]

Both kids could have made contributions next year and beyond. We'll just have to wait and see how things wind up.

[ramster]

Tate was better on the offensive end for sure and Long was the better defender

Long would have needed to improve his outside shot and free throw %

They both would have needed to improve outside shot. Long was better than Tate in FT and 3P but not by much.

Offense comparison:
Tate better FG%: 40% vs 33%
Long better 3P%: 29% vs 27%
Long better FT%: 55% vs 52%
Tate better Assists 1.8 vs .5 per 40 min game

Defense comparison:
Long better Rebounds: 6.9 vs 6.8 per 40 min game
Long better Steals: 2.1 vs .9 per 40 min game
Long better Blocks: .7 vs .2 per 40 min game

[rambone 78]

As the Senate and Administration fiddles while Rome burns....so does the Rhody program.