Jacob Toppin Transferring....

[rhodyfan3000]

I'm saying, if Dayton wants him, let him go there. Why block it. It is sentimental value, and sure they are going to have warm feelings for the Toppins. He's not going to be the second coming of Obi, but in a good system they could squeeze out a little more from him then we did. And Dayton is a good system.

I think it would be a classy move.

Why, you think he is going to be the difference between us winning or losing against Dayton? Obi was a lottery pick, with a point guard who is also bordering on a first round/second round pick with an entire support crew surrounding him.

[Rhodyram]

I really want to enjoy following and supporting this team and it’s almost impossible to do that right now. Very frustrating.

[rhodyfan3000]

If this is the new norm I am not sure I even want to continue following college basketball.
Can we even field a full team without the transfers now?
With the attention span, the need for instant gratification and work ethic of Gen
Z's This transfer rule is like throwing a match to a kid sitting in a bath-tub full of gasoline.
If it wouldn't screw us so badly I almost wish this transfer rule wouldn't go into effect for another year.
WTF?!?

I think you just have to ride the wave and not get caught flat footed when it breaks on the shoreline.

For all of the angst against Coach Cox, I think he is the right man for right now to best negotiate this transition.

[RamStock]

I'm saying, if Dayton wants him, let him go there. Why block it. It is sentimental value, and sure they are going to have warm feelings for the Toppins. He's not going to be the second coming of Obi, but in a good system they could squeeze out a little more from him then we did. And Dayton is a good system.

I think it would be a classy move.

Why, you think he is going to be the difference between us winning or losing against Dayton? Obi was a lottery pick, with a point guard who is also bordering on a first round/second round pick with an entire support crew surrounding him.

Why should we do anything for anyone? No one has done a thing for URI or given a rats ass what happens. Everyone does what is best for them.

[rhodyfan3000]

Not for Dayton, for Jacob. But whatever, I told you before, we are the nice guys. Why be angry about this stuff?

[wpbrown8267]

I have zero faith that we can keep anyone at this point. Our guys clearly don't think Cox can get them to that next level. We are in a good enough conference where we should be able to keep our fucking starters. I understand we are going to lose some guys but this turnover is outrageous.

Cox can recruit but what's the point if you can't keep anyone... We won't have a team next year if the rule doesn't pass

Exactly! Why get excited about anything we have coming in and if they are good they aren’t staying with us. We can develop them for a bigger problem I guess. Maybe we can get money for being a developmental program

Yup, this is ruining college basketball

I absolutely love college b-ball, i mean love it, just as all of you do. I think we'll become a farm system to the P5, if we recruit and bring in a kid thats good (3 star). It's really touvh to get excited for an upcoming season when year over year the turnover rate will be 40-60%. This absolutely sucks, this transfer rule (when it passes) is going to rip my guts out on a sport I am in love with

This is like joining a start up on groundhog day every year and then getting shit canned months later to then do it all over again the following year

[sevegny7]

Funny how half the fan base came out of hibernation today to be negative as usual. And were no where to be seen the last two weeks. You guys think Iowa State is a bad program? Kansas State? What about Temple? Nebraska? Mississippi St? All these programs have the same turnover as us. If you do not think this is not the new normal you are just not paying attention. To me this speaks more to our lack of support to our basketball program. Of course your going to be lured to the shiny bells and whistles of the other programs who invest in their program. The administration has dropped the ball in investing in the program after the Hurley era and march madness appearances. No Practice facility, no increase in assistant coaches salary and no charter flight increases.

Show your work on those other programs

URI issues have to do with not aligning the funding of the program after the march madness and Hurley era. We dont have the nice shiny practice facility...still not increasing our charter flights...still have not added increased budget for assistant coaches. We have not aligned our expectations with real time program investments. I have stated this numerous times the supporting administration and Thorr Bjorn is more to blame imo. I have stated this prior to last year before any of this transfer stuff happened.


The money we gained by the NCAA trips have not been witnessed or tracked. And with other programs going above and beyond with everything to support the program we are slipping back. This is not imo a major coaching problem.


An awful coach would have lost all these players and had nothing come in to replace them.


My source for transfer portal is directly from the Watch Stadium site. If you do not believe me check it out yourself.

All the programs listed below are good Power 5 programs with good coaches. Temple in AAC which is a good program at our level. I do not think anyone paying attention would call Bruce Weber a bad coach, Ben Howland, Steve Prohm or Fred Hoiberg. So why are they experiencing it too if it is only happening at URI like you guys make it out to be? Coaching is not the common denominator. Several of the players below are significant contributors or starters.


Temple=

Justyn Hamilton
Quentin Jackson JR
Josh Pierre Louis
Monty Scott

Iowa st=

Marcedus Leech Jr
Terrence Lewis
Caleb gill
Zion Griffin
Luke Anderson

Kansas St=

Carter Diarra
James LOve III
Nigel Shadd
David Sloan
Shaun William's

Nebraska=

Dachon Burke Jr
Samari Curtis
Jervay Green
Cam Mack


Mississippi st=

Devin butts
EJ Datcher
Keyshawn Feazell
Elias King
Prince Oduro

[RamStock]

I have zero faith that we can keep anyone at this point. Our guys clearly don't think Cox can get them to that next level. We are in a good enough conference where we should be able to keep our fucking starters. I understand we are going to lose some guys but this turnover is outrageous.

Cox can recruit but what's the point if you can't keep anyone... We won't have a team next year if the rule doesn't pass

Exactly! Why get excited about anything we have coming in and if they are good they aren’t staying with us. We can develop them for a bigger problem I guess. Maybe we can get money for being a developmental program

Yup, this is ruining college basketball

I absolutely love college b-ball, i mean love it, just as all of you do. I think we'll become a farm system to the P5, if we recruit and bring in a kid thats good (3 star). It's really touvh to get excited for an upcoming season when year over year the turnover rate will be 40-60%. This absolutely sucks, this transfer rule (when it passes) is going to rip my guts out on a sport I am in love with

This is like joining a start up on groundhog day every year and then getting shit canned months later to then do it all over again the following year

I have loved it also. My parents are from CT and were huge
Uconn fans. We have gone to 10-12 final fours and saw Uconn win three national titles in person. He hated what college basketball became a couple years ago and stopped watching other than some URI games. Getting Hurley and going back to the Big East did nothing for him. The sport has gone bad quick

[URIRecruitingInfo]

Right now, there's 3 teams that have had 8 players enter the portal this year (California Baptist, UAB, Wichita State), there's 8 schools that have had 6 players enter the portal. We're one of about 20 schools that have had 5 players enter the portal. It's not great company.

[DC_Rams]

Funny how half the fan base came out of hibernation today to be negative as usual. And were no where to be seen the last two weeks. You guys think Iowa State is a bad program? Kansas State? What about Temple? Nebraska? Mississippi St? All these programs have the same turnover as us. If you do not think this is not the new normal you are just not paying attention. To me this speaks more to our lack of support to our basketball program. Of course your going to be lured to the shiny bells and whistles of the other programs who invest in their program. The administration has dropped the ball in investing in the program after the Hurley era and march madness appearances. No Practice facility, no increase in assistant coaches salary and no charter flight increases.

Show your work on those other programs

URI issues have to do with not aligning the funding of the program after the march madness and Hurley era. We dont have the nice shiny practice facility...still not increasing our charter flights...still have not added increased budget for assistant coaches. We have not aligned our expectations with real time program investments. I have stated this numerous times the supporting administration and Thorr Bjorn is more to blame imo. I have stated this prior to last year before any of this transfer stuff happened.


The money we gained by the NCAA trips have not been witnessed or tracked. And with other programs going above and beyond with everything to support the program we are slipping back. This is not imo a major coaching problem.


An awful coach would have lost all these players and had nothing come in to replace them.


My source for transfer portal is directly from the Watch Stadium site. If you do not believe me check it out yourself.

All the programs listed below are good Power 5 programs with good coaches. Temple in AAC which is a good program at our level. I do not think anyone paying attention would call Bruce Weber a bad coach, Ben Howland, Steve Prohm or Fred Hoiberg. So why are they experiencing it too if it is only happening at URI like you guys make it out to be? Coaching is not the common denominator. Several of the players below are significant contributors or starters.


Temple=

Justyn Hamilton
Quentin Jackson JR
Josh Pierre Louis
Monty Scott

Iowa st=

Marcedus Leech Jr
Terrence Lewis
Caleb gill
Zion Griffin
Luke Anderson

Kansas St=

Carter Diarra
James LOve III
Nigel Shadd
David Sloan
Shaun William's

Nebraska=

Dachon Burke Jr
Samari Curtis
Jervay Green
Cam Mack


Mississippi st=

Devin butts
EJ Datcher
Keyshawn Feazell
Elias King
Prince Oduro

More logic? Crazy stuff....

[Seawrightspostgame]

If you got offered a trade of the guys we have going out the door for the guys coming into the door you have to take it. At least for the guys coming in and the guys leaving at this very moment.

[Seawrightspostgame]

Toppin left because we got Malik Martin and Tres Berry in the same week, and his dreams of slipping seamlessly into Tyrese's old starting job went poof.

His brother plays like an NBA player. He is physical, emotional, is deadly from three point land. Jacob isn't that. He shows flashes and wasn't a guarantee to start with the new blood coming in.

This could be close. His confidence doesn't match his game. I don't think you can stress enough the fact that he didn't come close to contending for the All A10 Freshman team. He just has athletic potential. I don't know if his permitter play can be better than the guys we have on the permitter or the interior can be better than the interior guys. Or that the combo he has will realize itself in some productive way.

[DC_Rams]

We all loved Jacob because of his “potential”, not for what he actually did. He was just a freshman. He has a bright future. All the best to him and his family.

[bigappleram]

70%+ of people's reason for quitting their job is due to their manager, not the work they are doing, their colleagues or the environment they work in.
I don't think it's that different with college basketball players either. Great coaches form great relationships and bonds with their players, and that is the only thing that will keep them loyal. Especially in this day and age of player movement. IMO this is somewhere between "it's happening everywhere" and the "sky is falling". But it's moving more towards the something is rotten in Denmark currently, and there is just no way at this point to think otherwise.

[DevRam]

70%+ of people's reason for quitting their job is due to their manager, not the work they are doing, their colleagues or the environment they work in.
I don't think it's that different with college basketball players either. Great coaches form great relationships and bonds with their players, and that is the only thing that will keep them loyal. Especially in this day and age of player movement. IMO this is somewhere between "it's happening everywhere" and the "sky is falling". But it's moving more towards the something is rotten in Denmark currently, and there is just no way at this point to think otherwise.

And 100% of employers get paid. Not these guys.

[RF1]

Not for Dayton, for Jacob. But whatever, I told you before, we are the nice guys. Why be angry about this stuff?

Other programs such as Georgetown do not extend the same courtesy to URI. Why then should URI bend over for others?

[DC_Rams]

70%+ of people's reason for quitting their job is due to their manager, not the work they are doing, their colleagues or the environment they work in.
I don't think it's that different with college basketball players either. Great coaches form great relationships and bonds with their players, and that is the only thing that will keep them loyal. Especially in this day and age of player movement. IMO this is somewhere between "it's happening everywhere" and the "sky is falling". But it's moving more towards the something is rotten in Denmark currently, and there is just no way at this point to think otherwise.

Dumbest analogy I’ve seen today.

This is no way near the same.

[phipsiGD'11]

Cox is the only thing keeping this program relative from my seat.
If I am going to fire anyone, it is Bjorn. As the AD you need to be able to put your perennial program in the best position to succeed. He hasn't done that in the almost decade he has been here.

[rhodylaw]

I am not going to lie - this one hurts me a lot. I thought Jacob was going to blow up next year (although it is possible he wouldn't - rarely is the sibling of a top 5 player as good the original). He was on my list of potential transfers that would make me think we have a problem.

I would be a lot more upset and think we have a real problem if we had not landed 3 really good transfers already. Transfers who once they are here cannot leave without sitting out. I think this is our game from now on. We need to land the kids who try P5 first and don't get minutes (which will increase with the rule change), grab kids from lower than A10 conference that have shown ability at the college level and deal with the fact that our lower rated recruits who do well are more likely to leave. In the end we may actually wind up with a better quality team if we do this right because we will be getting top 75 players who would rarely come here in the past who are probably still really good players but just will not get to see the floor with top 30 players on the team. If we win with that team our better recruits will want to stay.

[Section104]

70%+ of people's reason for quitting their job is due to their manager, not the work they are doing, their colleagues or the environment they work in.
I don't think it's that different with college basketball players either. Great coaches form great relationships and bonds with their players, and that is the only thing that will keep them loyal. Especially in this day and age of player movement. IMO this is somewhere between "it's happening everywhere" and the "sky is falling". But it's moving more towards the something is rotten in Denmark currently, and there is just no way at this point to think otherwise.

I agree with this. I do think the fact that everyone is home and we’re approaching a possible immediate transfer is a perfect storm for good, young, players looking elsewhere.

Jacob is literally quarantined with the NPOY, fresh off a 2 loss season (2 wins against Rhody), who will be a lottery pick. That makes it pretty easy to be open to new surroundings. The players would still be in class in RI if it was business as normal. Unfortunate timing doesn’t help us here.

[Rhody15]

I am not going to lie - this one hurts me a lot. I thought Jacob was going to blow up next year (although it is possible he wouldn't - rarely is the sibling of a top 5 player as good the original). He was on my list of potential transfers that would make me think we have a problem.

I would be a lot more upset and think we have a real problem if we had not landed 3 really good transfers already. Transfers who once they are here cannot leave without sitting out. I think this is our game from now on. We need to land the kids who try P5 first and don't get minutes (which will increase with the rule change), grab kids from lower than A10 conference that have shown ability at the college level and deal with the fact that our lower rated recruits who do well are more likely to leave. In the end we may actually wind up with a better quality team if we do this right because we will be getting top 75 players who would rarely come here in the past who are probably still really good players but just will not get to see the floor with top 30 players on the team. If we win with that team our better recruits will want to stay.

All 3 of them will be able to grad transfer if they so wish.

[rambone 78]

70%+ of people's reason for quitting their job is due to their manager, not the work they are doing, their colleagues or the environment they work in.
I don't think it's that different with college basketball players either. Great coaches form great relationships and bonds with their players, and that is the only thing that will keep them loyal. Especially in this day and age of player movement. IMO this is somewhere between "it's happening everywhere" and the "sky is falling". But it's moving more towards the something is rotten in Denmark currently, and there is just no way at this point to think otherwise.

This is what I'm thinking too.

Something is fundamentally wrong here.

Yeah the guys leaving are saying nice things about the staff, but that to me smells of a coverup.

There's got a be either one or more common reasons why this is happening.....it's not just because everybody is doing it.

It's not just the lack of program improvements...this team didn't seem to like each other that much.

You can blame individuals, but it's also the coach's responsibility to put the pieces together, and it sure seemed like that didn't get done.

Could it be Cox's deference to Fatts, and the strong possibility that would be the case again next season?

And now that it looks like we will be a team of strangers next season [if there is one], will we even be any good with so many unproven players at the D1 level?

That might cause Fatts to leave too, seeing that we aren't likely to make the NCAA's?

No matter who we ultimately bring in, how long will they stay?

Like Billyboy said, I'm beginning to seriously doubt my commitment to this program, for the first time in a very long time.

If this is a harbinger of the future for URI BB, then it's a very sad time indeed.

In reply to those who are saying well Cox is bringing in good talent to replace them and should get credit for that, that's OK except for the fact that if the problems are internal, those players will experience it too and leave soon also.

[rhodyruckus]

Jesus H, I gotta stop coming back here, the highs and lows are EXCESSIVE right now.

[Rhody72]

It would have surprised me if Toppin had stayed. Going forward, the program lacks on-court leadership. I would not want to play on the team next season after having seen how they played last year and the two players I wouldn't have missed are the only two returning.

[rambone 78]

Want to add that Thorr should be spending a lot of time on the phone with Cox, trying to find out just what the hell is going on.

If the problem is the staff, then something has to be done, and soon.

Getting honest feedback from the guys who just left and remaining players should be a priority also. If the stories are different between the players and the staff, that's telling.

Eventually the truth will come out. It always does.

[rhodyfan3000]

It would have surprised me if Toppin had stayed. Going forward, the program lacks on-court leadership. I would not want to play on the team next season after having seen how they played last year and the two players I wouldn't have missed are the only two returning.

Noted. I know you don't like Fatts, but the guy would be a consensus preseason All-American. You'll just have to suffer him one more year. You've had to suffer much worse in 30 something years, admit it.

[adam914]

There is plenty of blame to go around for the dumpster fire that is now Rhode Island basketball, but to simply absolve Cox of any responsibility for this is crazy to me. It's true that Thorr and the administration deserve some blame to, they have not done what it takes to invest properly in this program. But Cox knew what job he was taking. He had been here for years as an assistant and knew exactly what the job would entail.

I said this at the time and I'll say it again since I am being proven right repeatedly...we had the guy here who could put the pressure on the school/donors to get the investments we needed, and we let him get away. It takes that kind of coach to keep the school from falling back into their usual ways. Instead, we settled on a coach who is more comfortable sitting back and making excuses for why he isn't succeeding at his job then actually doing what it takes to change it. In fact, he was given a much better program then Hurley was when he got here, and he still hasn't been able to keep it going.

[NJRhodyFan]

This one definitely stings the most. I think Toppin has a lot of upside, but he clearly believes that something bigger and better is out there for him. Same with Martin. Best of luck to both of them, although admittedly I could care less how their college careers turn out at this point. They're no longer part of the Rhody family so it's best to just turn the page and not dwell on what could have been.

On that note, I'm very excited about the players we have coming in. The Mitchell twins, Malik Martin and Berry (assuming they all sign) will hopefully breathe new life into this program. Who knows, maybe we end up better off with those guys versus the players that left. Stranger things have happened and these are indeed strange times that we find ourselves in.

I'm not giving up on Cox just yet. The guy has been dealing with gut punch after gut punch, but he keeps pulling himself off the mat. Let's hope this new roster as a whole has more of a team-centric attitude. God knows we can use more players like Jeff and Cyril. Maybe a few of these transfers and incoming freshman will really surprise us. Time will tell. This is a new era of college basketball ladies and gentlemen, so let's adapt and make the best of it.

[rhodyfan3000]

In the meantime, Cox is pulling in a recruiting class that dwarfs any recruiting class I remember in all my years as a fan. Granted, I've only been following the program since Penders/Skinner, but he's got 6 on the board and looking at definitely 7, possibly 8.

If Cox worked a NFL Draft Day War Room, he would be the highest rated commodity in that aspect of football, as a comparison.

[DC_Rams]

There is plenty of blame to go around for the dumpster fire that is now Rhode Island basketball, but to simply absolve Cox of any responsibility for this is crazy to me. It's true that Thorr and the administration deserve some blame to, they have not done what it takes to invest properly in this program. But Cox knew what job he was taking. He had been here for years as an assistant and knew exactly what the job would entail.

I said this at the time and I'll say it again since I am being proven right repeatedly...we had the guy here who could put the pressure on the school/donors to get the investments we needed, and we let him get away. It takes that kind of coach to keep the school from falling back into their usual ways. Instead, we settled on a coach who is more comfortable sitting back and making excuses for why he isn't succeeding at his job then actually doing what it takes to change it. In fact, he was given a much better program then Hurley was when he got here, and he still hasn't been able to keep it going.

BECAUSE HIS NAME ISN'T DAN HURLEY!! People came here to play for Dan Hurley, NOT URI because it was some famed institution.

He has to make his own name. His first two years have been shaky retention wise but he has produced two winning seasons and was still on the cusp of fighting for a tourney birth.

Read the article today on YURVIEW. Hassan Martin gave Cox high praise. Said he’s a great developer. A few kids have referred to him as a “father figure” (Jeff, Fatts, Tyrese)

[NYGFan_Section208]

So in addition to a shitty OOC home schedule, we will be entertained by players that no one has ever seen before at URI.

And the team shall be calllllllled...the NOHEHOHs

No
One
Has
Ever
Heard
Of
Him

Since there's nothing really left to talk about...
I'll see all of you in November, assuming of course that there is a November, and my tickets don't get lost in the mail.
I guess there will be one guy on the floor I've heard of, but if it's zero I won't be surprised.
Stay safe all of you, good luck, and GO UNIFORMS!!!

It's pronounced No-He-Ho's (the third H is silent)

[rhodyfan3000]

Never heard of that. what is that, the NY Giants after they lost Beckham Jr. and Eli?

[sevegny7]

Funny thing is if cox regroups like he did last time with the malik martin... the twins... and berry. People will be talking out of their other side of their mouth. And praising him up and down. Or disappearing until the next negative thing they see.

[sevegny7]

Some people are just still sour they didnt get their duffle bag boy in Rick Pitino and have held it against Cox from day one

[josephski]

Show your work on those other programs

URI issues have to do with not aligning the funding of the program after the march madness and Hurley era. We dont have the nice shiny practice facility...still not increasing our charter flights...still have not added increased budget for assistant coaches. We have not aligned our expectations with real time program investments. I have stated this numerous times the supporting administration and Thorr Bjorn is more to blame imo. I have stated this prior to last year before any of this transfer stuff happened.


The money we gained by the NCAA trips have not been witnessed or tracked. And with other programs going above and beyond with everything to support the program we are slipping back. This is not imo a major coaching problem.


An awful coach would have lost all these players and had nothing come in to replace them.


My source for transfer portal is directly from the Watch Stadium site. If you do not believe me check it out yourself.

All the programs listed below are good Power 5 programs with good coaches. Temple in AAC which is a good program at our level. I do not think anyone paying attention would call Bruce Weber a bad coach, Ben Howland, Steve Prohm or Fred Hoiberg. So why are they experiencing it too if it is only happening at URI like you guys make it out to be? Coaching is not the common denominator. Several of the players below are significant contributors or starters.


Temple=

Justyn Hamilton
Quentin Jackson JR
Josh Pierre Louis
Monty Scott

Iowa st=

Marcedus Leech Jr
Terrence Lewis
Caleb gill
Zion Griffin
Luke Anderson

Kansas St=

Carter Diarra
James LOve III
Nigel Shadd
David Sloan
Shaun William's

Nebraska=

Dachon Burke Jr
Samari Curtis
Jervay Green
Cam Mack


Mississippi st=

Devin butts
EJ Datcher
Keyshawn Feazell
Elias King
Prince Oduro

More logic? Crazy stuff....

Yea because Mississippi State and Nebraska are real basketball powerhouses that we should model our program after.

Also for added context, 4 out of 5 of those schools finished bottom 3 in their conference. Usually teams who are good, and projected to still be fairly good, don’t have this many transfers.

And Mississippi St, the only team to not finish bottom 3 in their conference, had one player who averaged 10 min/game transfer. The other guys were under 5 min/game.

[Blue Man]

Link to the CBS Sports article:

https://www.cbssports.com/college-baske ... er-portal/

Look at the last quote from Cox: "The only way to curb that is to win even more, and to build the resources that we need. We have won at a very competitive level in my two years as head coach but we need to continue to invest in the program."

Maybe we should start directing our venom at Thorr instead of Cox.

It's above Thorr...

We should be directing venom at the university though. Support the 1 program we have that can make you money so the whole athletic department can prosper.

Thorr can only control what is budgeted to him.

If the University won't give it, and the donors won't give it - there's only so much Thorr can do.

We've got billionaires and multiple 8 figure guys attached to this university. Unfortunately none of them care about the basketball program like anyone on this message board. Just remember they couldn't be bothered to assist Hurley in building this program until he was already out the door. I wouldn't expect any help from them now.

Just embrace the suck.

[adam914]

There is plenty of blame to go around for the dumpster fire that is now Rhode Island basketball, but to simply absolve Cox of any responsibility for this is crazy to me. It's true that Thorr and the administration deserve some blame to, they have not done what it takes to invest properly in this program. But Cox knew what job he was taking. He had been here for years as an assistant and knew exactly what the job would entail.

I said this at the time and I'll say it again since I am being proven right repeatedly...we had the guy here who could put the pressure on the school/donors to get the investments we needed, and we let him get away. It takes that kind of coach to keep the school from falling back into their usual ways. Instead, we settled on a coach who is more comfortable sitting back and making excuses for why he isn't succeeding at his job then actually doing what it takes to change it. In fact, he was given a much better program then Hurley was when he got here, and he still hasn't been able to keep it going.

BECAUSE HIS NAME ISN'T DAN HURLEY!! People came here to play for Dan Hurley, NOT URI because it was some famed institution.

He has to make his own name. His first two years have been shaky retention wise but he has produced two winning seasons and was still on the cusp of fighting for a tourney birth.

Read the article today on YURVIEW. Hassan Martin gave Cox high praise. Said he’s a great developer. A few kids have referred to him as a “father figure” (Jeff, Fatts, Tyrese)

A few things...

1.) Nothing in my original post said anything about getting players to come play here, so I'm not sure why that's relevant to what I said. My comment was in relation to getting the administration to invest what is needed in the program.

2.) That's fine if he has to make his own name. I guess I just think that after back to back NCAA tourney appearances, and the program being as strong as it had been in decades, that we shouldn't have been left with a coach that needs to learn on the job and kill all that momentum.

3.) I read the article already this morning. Hassan's experience with Cox is as an assistant coach, and I agree with Hassan that Cox was a great assistant coach.

[DC_Rams]

There is plenty of blame to go around for the dumpster fire that is now Rhode Island basketball, but to simply absolve Cox of any responsibility for this is crazy to me. It's true that Thorr and the administration deserve some blame to, they have not done what it takes to invest properly in this program. But Cox knew what job he was taking. He had been here for years as an assistant and knew exactly what the job would entail.

I said this at the time and I'll say it again since I am being proven right repeatedly...we had the guy here who could put the pressure on the school/donors to get the investments we needed, and we let him get away. It takes that kind of coach to keep the school from falling back into their usual ways. Instead, we settled on a coach who is more comfortable sitting back and making excuses for why he isn't succeeding at his job then actually doing what it takes to change it. In fact, he was given a much better program then Hurley was when he got here, and he still hasn't been able to keep it going.

BECAUSE HIS NAME ISN'T DAN HURLEY!! People came here to play for Dan Hurley, NOT URI because it was some famed institution.

He has to make his own name. His first two years have been shaky retention wise but he has produced two winning seasons and was still on the cusp of fighting for a tourney birth.

Read the article today on YURVIEW. Hassan Martin gave Cox high praise. Said he’s a great developer. A few kids have referred to him as a “father figure” (Jeff, Fatts, Tyrese)

A few things...

1.) Nothing in my original post said anything about getting players to come play here, so I'm not sure why that's relevant to what I said. My comment was in relation to getting the administration to invest what is needed in the program.

2.) That's fine if he has to make his own name. I guess I just think that after back to back NCAA tourney appearances, and the program being as strong as it had been in decades, that we shouldn't have been left with a coach that needs to learn on the job and kill all that momentum.

3.) I read the article already this morning. Hassan's experience with Cox is as an assistant coach, and I agree with Hassan that Cox was a great assistant coach.

Again, your third statement doesn’t stick because Hassan obviously vouched for Cox as a coach. PERIOD.

[sevegny7]

Did you follow Nebraska transfers that they landed this off season Trey mcgowens? Kobe king? Kobe webster? Tremendous transfer commits that have not hurt them one bit. They didnt care people transferred out they took in power 5 commits from wiscy and pitt.

Nebraska was under a bad coach in Tim miles and is in good hands with Fred Hoiberg the last year and a half. So you cant really look at it like that. Nebraska program is trending upwards in a big way regardless of their transfers. And will be in tournament next year or year after.

How about the year before that? Miss state Iowa state kansas state all made the tournament.

How come you conveniently skipped over kansas state? Didnt fit your argument I guess huh? Because they have a great coach and have made the tournament every year in the last 10 years except 2015 and 2016.

Funny because Iowa state has had one bad year in the tenure of Steve prohm but you dont mention that he has made the tourney 3 out of his five years there. So definitely not a program URI would want to be.
Dont want to model your program after that now would you?

[sevegny7]

URI issues have to do with not aligning the funding of the program after the march madness and Hurley era. We dont have the nice shiny practice facility...still not increasing our charter flights...still have not added increased budget for assistant coaches. We have not aligned our expectations with real time program investments. I have stated this numerous times the supporting administration and Thorr Bjorn is more to blame imo. I have stated this prior to last year before any of this transfer stuff happened.


The money we gained by the NCAA trips have not been witnessed or tracked. And with other programs going above and beyond with everything to support the program we are slipping back. This is not imo a major coaching problem.


An awful coach would have lost all these players and had nothing come in to replace them.


My source for transfer portal is directly from the Watch Stadium site. If you do not believe me check it out yourself.

All the programs listed below are good Power 5 programs with good coaches. Temple in AAC which is a good program at our level. I do not think anyone paying attention would call Bruce Weber a bad coach, Ben Howland, Steve Prohm or Fred Hoiberg. So why are they experiencing it too if it is only happening at URI like you guys make it out to be? Coaching is not the common denominator. Several of the players below are significant contributors or starters.


Temple=

Justyn Hamilton
Quentin Jackson JR
Josh Pierre Louis
Monty Scott

Iowa st=

Marcedus Leech Jr
Terrence Lewis
Caleb gill
Zion Griffin
Luke Anderson

Kansas St=

Carter Diarra
James LOve III
Nigel Shadd
David Sloan
Shaun William's

Nebraska=

Dachon Burke Jr
Samari Curtis
Jervay Green
Cam Mack


Mississippi st=

Devin butts
EJ Datcher
Keyshawn Feazell
Elias King
Prince Oduro

More logic? Crazy stuff....

Yea because Mississippi State and Nebraska are real basketball powerhouses that we should model our program after.

Also for added context, 4 out of 5 of those schools finished bottom 3 in their conference. Usually teams who are good, and projected to still be fairly good, don’t have this many transfers.

And Mississippi St, the only team to not finish bottom 3 in their conference, had one player who averaged 10 min/game transfer. The other guys were under 5 min/game.

Did you follow Nebraska transfers that they landed this off season Trey mcgowens? Kobe king? Kobe webster? Tremendous transfer commits that have not hurt them one bit. They didnt care people transferred out they took in power 5 commits from wiscy and pitt.

Nebraska was under a bad coach in Tim miles and is in good hands with Fred Hoiberg the last year and a half. So you cant really look at it like that. Nebraska program is trending upwards in a big way regardless of their transfers. And will be in tournament next year or year after.

How about the year before that? Miss state Iowa state kansas state all made the tournament.

How come you conveniently skipped over kansas state? Didnt fit your argument I guess huh? Because they have a great coach and have made the tournament every year in the last 10 years except 2015 and 2016.

Funny because Iowa state has had one bad year in the tenure of Steve prohm but you dont mention that he has made the tourney 3 out of his five years there. So definitely not a program URI would want to be.
Dont want to model your program after that now would you?

[CamsRams]

[phipsiGD'11]

"URI - Where mediocrity will never die"

[DC_Rams]

Did you follow Nebraska transfers that they landed this off season Trey mcgowens? Kobe king? Kobe webster? Tremendous transfer commits that have not hurt them one bit. They didnt care people transferred out they took in power 5 commits from wiscy and pitt.

Nebraska was under a bad coach in Tim miles and is in good hands with Fred Hoiberg the last year and a half. So you cant really look at it like that. Nebraska program is trending upwards in a big way regardless of their transfers. And will be in tournament next year or year after.

How about the year before that? Miss state Iowa state kansas state all made the tournament.

How come you conveniently skipped over kansas state? Didnt fit your argument I guess huh? Because they have a great coach and have made the tournament every year in the last 10 years except 2015 and 2016.

Funny because Iowa state has had one bad year in the tenure of Steve prohm but you dont mention that he has made the tourney 3 out of his five years there. So definitely not a program URI would want to be.
Dont want to model your program after that now would you?

Jesus...you and these sensible takes MUST STOP.

[Rhodymob05]

Even with the lack of money, and power conference prestige, we had a team that was ranked top 26-27th in the ENTIRE NATION, on the verge of an NCAA bid, defeating P5 schools including in state rival and conference juggernauts by double digits with sell out crowds. Just recruited a really solid back court and may have the largest front court in program history. The talent is there, the exposure is there, the fan interest is there, the students were there and yet the program and coaching is blamed. You all Saw Toppin this season, maybe the happiest guy on the court, always smiling, always cheering on his team. My point is, we bring up all the possible reasons, but none of them truly answer the question.

[josephski]

Did you follow Nebraska transfers that they landed this off season Trey mcgowens? Kobe king? Kobe webster? Tremendous transfer commits that have not hurt them one bit. They didnt care people transferred out they took in power 5 commits from wiscy and pitt.

Nebraska was under a bad coach in Tim miles and is in good hands with Fred Hoiberg the last year and a half. So you cant really look at it like that. Nebraska program is trending upwards in a big way regardless of their transfers. And will be in tournament next year or year after.

How about the year before that? Miss state Iowa state kansas state all made the tournament.

How come you conveniently skipped over kansas state? Didnt fit your argument I guess huh? Because they have a great coach and have made the tournament every year in the last 10 years except 2015 and 2016.

Funny because Iowa state has had one bad year in the tenure of Steve prohm but you dont mention that he has made the tourney 3 out of his five years there. So definitely not a program URI would want to be.
Dont want to model your program after that now would you?

And no one in the college basketball world would consider Nebraska a good basketball program. They have less tournament appearances in their program history than we do which definitely says something. And yea, most people wouldn't bet against Hoiberg succeeding there but it's a completely different situation than where we're at with Cox.

Kansas St - 2 wins in the Big 12 this year. If you're not able to understand what second point was, I'll repeat it: bad teams typically have more transfers. Four of the teams you included finished at the bottom of their conference. Mississippi St, the only team who had a good year, only lost players who played minimal minutes. Comparing apples to oranges but I guess that's logical to some people on here.

[adam914]

BECAUSE HIS NAME ISN'T DAN HURLEY!! People came here to play for Dan Hurley, NOT URI because it was some famed institution.

He has to make his own name. His first two years have been shaky retention wise but he has produced two winning seasons and was still on the cusp of fighting for a tourney birth.

Read the article today on YURVIEW. Hassan Martin gave Cox high praise. Said he’s a great developer. A few kids have referred to him as a “father figure” (Jeff, Fatts, Tyrese)

A few things...

1.) Nothing in my original post said anything about getting players to come play here, so I'm not sure why that's relevant to what I said. My comment was in relation to getting the administration to invest what is needed in the program.

2.) That's fine if he has to make his own name. I guess I just think that after back to back NCAA tourney appearances, and the program being as strong as it had been in decades, that we shouldn't have been left with a coach that needs to learn on the job and kill all that momentum.

3.) I read the article already this morning. Hassan's experience with Cox is as an assistant coach, and I agree with Hassan that Cox was a great assistant coach.

Again, your third statement doesn’t stick because Hassan obviously vouched for Cox as a coach. PERIOD.

What about my third statement doesn't stick? I said Hassan's experience with Cox was as an assistant coach. I'm pretty confident that's accurate. I also agree with Hassan's assessment of Cox from his time here. Cox was a great coach during Hassan's Rhody career. PERIOD.

[PeteRI]

My nephew is a Michigan alum. He just told me they're losing a starting guard and the player they thought would be their starting center. So it's even happening at the pinnacle.of P5 programs. How the hell can you root for your team when half the fucking squad bails on you every year?!

[theblueram]

So I'm guessing a Cox contract extension is not happening? No need anyways. Since we are in the "New Normal" which means the players aren't staying 4 years, so why does the coach have to have 4 years.

[PeteRI]

I blame social media. Now the 12th guy on your team acts like he's Zion Fucking Williamson on Instagram.

[SandorClegane]

70%+ of people's reason for quitting their job is due to their manager, not the work they are doing, their colleagues or the environment they work in.
I don't think it's that different with college basketball players either. Great coaches form great relationships and bonds with their players, and that is the only thing that will keep them loyal. Especially in this day and age of player movement. IMO this is somewhere between "it's happening everywhere" and the "sky is falling". But it's moving more towards the something is rotten in Denmark currently, and there is just no way at this point to think otherwise.

Dumbest analogy I’ve seen today.

This is no way near the same.

I think a better analogy would be if any of us wanted to transfer to Harvard after two years of going to school at URI in order to bolster our perspective job opportunities. Most people would probably look at that as a launching pad into your career. As much as you may like your teachers at Rhody, the brand recognition of Harvard is slightly better than URI in the academic field.
It still cracks me up how people nowadays talk about loyalty as if it’s still a factor in these decisions…