1/13 | UMass | 7:00PM (NESN/ESPN+)

[RhowdyRam02]

This team is like an object lesson for fans who go off about why isn’t that guy getting minutes? (not Ish related) why don’t they let that guy take more threes? why doesn’t that guy handle the point? For every question, they have a guy do it and then it’s like well that’s awful, don’t do that again. But then they do it again! Either they look better in practice and aren’t carrying it over to games, or it’s bad everywhere and there are no adjustments. Because there aren’t defined roles, it looks chaotic and no one trusts each other.

I think this team competes- they’ve come back from deficits and there are times they’ve fought back. That’s a start, but again, they are 13 games and months of practice in to a rare (this season) uninterrupted stretch.

Looking at the schedule, they could win 3 of the next 4, and the end of their schedule looks favorable with Fordham and fan-less game on Hawk Hill.

This team should absolutely win all of the next 4, no excuses. 166 NET George Mason at home, at 205 Duquesne who no longer has Sincere Carry, vs 260 George Washington, and at 194 La Salle. Even the fifth game, at 117 Dayton isn't as tough as it would normally be considered. Those are the 9th, 11th, 13th, 10th, and 8th ranked teams in the A10 by NET respectively. If we can't sweep 9, 10, 11, and 13 in this conference then I don't know what we're even doing here anymore. Then again, if you asked me before yesterday's game I would have said that we should win 5 of the next 6, so...

[steveystuds06]

Win four in a row? Keep in mind if it wasn't for a questionable 3 pt foul call for Fatts, we would have lost to a bad St Joes team without their best player...I don't have much confidence that Baron, oh I mean Cox can lead this team to four straight. I expect some surprise wins and bad losses.

[RhowdyRam02]

In fairness, I didn't say they'll do it, I just said there's no excuse not to

[steveystuds06]

In fairness, I didn't say they'll do it, I just said there's no excuse not to

100%

[steviep123]

Just strange. I felt bad for Walker after the miss as he walked away quickly to the locker room. Nobody trying to console him from URI - not players or coaches.

Not how you build confidence in players or team.

Not true - I saw a couple of teammates go to console Walker before tv cut away.

[steveystuds06]

Just strange. I felt bad for Walker after the miss as he walked away quickly to the locker room. Nobody trying to console him from URI - not players or coaches.

Not how you build confidence in players or team.

Not true - I saw a couple of teammates go to console Walker before tv cut away.

I did as well. He pushed a few guys off of him.. He was clearly devastated.

[steviep123]

Just strange. I felt bad for Walker after the miss as he walked away quickly to the locker room. Nobody trying to console him from URI - not players or coaches.

Not how you build confidence in players or team.

Not true - I saw a couple of teammates go to console Walker before tv cut away.

I did as well. He pushed a few guys off of him.. He was clearly devastated.

yes, thanks for mentioning that...I didn't think to see it was clear he wanted to be left alone.

[Billyboy78]

We can blame the coach for the 16 steals by UMASS but Johnson, Leggett, Martin and Harris has zero turnovers total.
Carey had 3 all of which were outright steals off the dribble in the half court offense. He was not bringing the ball up the court, ie point guard.
Degray, Fernandes and Garcia each stripped Carey for breakaways. All 3 first year players for umass. Carey now with 25 turnovers for the year. A few games back the announcer said turnovers was why he was no longer at Syracuse. So no surprise here.

Betrand had 2 balls stolen off the dribble. Fatts had 2 stolen off the dribble.

UMASS seemed to know they could steal before the game. 16 steals is huge. URI in history has only exceeded 16 steals in a game a handful of times. 20 is the record for URI. Nothing in the record books about opponents stealing against us.

While it’s “on the Coach” and easy to blanket blame the Coach, some players like Leggett, Martin and Johnson are not losing the ball to steals.

A lot of it is dribbling into traffic. When a player does that, he should immediately see his ass on the bench. The coach should then tell the player why he was removed from the game. I don't see any of that. It's called teaching.

[Billyboy78]

We can blame the coach for the 16 steals by UMASS but Johnson, Leggett, Martin and Harris has zero turnovers total.
Carey had 3 all of which were outright steals off the dribble in the half court offense. He was not bringing the ball up the court, ie point guard.
Degray, Fernandes and Garcia each stripped Carey for breakaways. All 3 first year players for umass. Carey now with 25 turnovers for the year. A few games back the announcer said turnovers was why he was no longer at Syracuse. So no surprise here.

Betrand had 2 balls stolen off the dribble. Fatts had 2 stolen off the dribble.

UMASS seemed to know they could steal before the game. 16 steals is huge. URI in history has only exceeded 16 steals in a game a handful of times. 20 is the record for URI. Nothing in the record books about opponents stealing against us.

While it’s “on the Coach” and easy to blanket blame the Coach, some players like Leggett, Martin and Johnson are not losing the ball to steals.

Context is important too. Leggett and Harris only played 9 minutes each. DJ is very much a spot up shooter and hardly has the ball in his hands. I’m not trying to take anything away from them, but obviously primary ball handlers will always have “more” turnovers. That being said the level of turnovers is obviously unacceptable.

Truthfully I don’t know what the fix is. Obviously comes down to coaching/schemes on some level, and then execution and player accountability.

Regardless of people’s opinions Cox will likely get this season and next to figure it out (or not figure it out). You think we’re frustrated? Can only imagine how he feels

That's why there should be only one primary ball handler on this team, as has been pointed out by Blue Man. Shepherd, Carey and Betrand are all too careless with the ball. If Fatts is the primary ball handled, he will have a few turnovers. That is expected, as you pointed out, from being the primary ball handler. If the others that I mentioned are the primary ball handlers, who are much more careless with the ball than Fatts, there will be a lot more turnovers. That's what is happening. I'm not sure why the coaches can't recognize this.

[KingstonLane]

We can blame the coach for the 16 steals by UMASS but Johnson, Leggett, Martin and Harris has zero turnovers total.
Carey had 3 all of which were outright steals off the dribble in the half court offense. He was not bringing the ball up the court, ie point guard.
Degray, Fernandes and Garcia each stripped Carey for breakaways. All 3 first year players for umass. Carey now with 25 turnovers for the year. A few games back the announcer said turnovers was why he was no longer at Syracuse. So no surprise here.

Betrand had 2 balls stolen off the dribble. Fatts had 2 stolen off the dribble.

UMASS seemed to know they could steal before the game. 16 steals is huge. URI in history has only exceeded 16 steals in a game a handful of times. 20 is the record for URI. Nothing in the record books about opponents stealing against us.

While it’s “on the Coach” and easy to blanket blame the Coach, some players like Leggett, Martin and Johnson are not losing the ball to steals.

Context is important too. Leggett and Harris only played 9 minutes each. DJ is very much a spot up shooter and hardly has the ball in his hands. I’m not trying to take anything away from them, but obviously primary ball handlers will always have “more” turnovers. That being said the level of turnovers is obviously unacceptable.

Truthfully I don’t know what the fix is. Obviously comes down to coaching/schemes on some level, and then execution and player accountability.

Regardless of people’s opinions Cox will likely get this season and next to figure it out (or not figure it out). You think we’re frustrated? Can only imagine how he feels

That's why there should be only one primary ball handler on this team, as has been pointed out by Blue Man. Shepherd, Carey and Betrand are all too careless with the ball. If Fatts is the primary ball handled, he will have a few turnovers. That is expected, as you pointed out, from being the primary ball handler. If the others that I mentioned are the primary ball handlers, who are much more careless with the ball than Fatts, there will be a lot more turnovers. That's what is happening. I'm not sure why the coaches can't recognize this.

Anything is worth a shot right? I don’t think this stat exists but would be interested to see time of possession on an individual player basis to get a sense of the current disparity

That being said we do have to remember Fatts has some sort of lingering injury (severity unknown). Could be the coaching staff is trying to “manage” his minutes from an intensity perspective as well. Again that’s pure speculation from my part but it does seem so wildly obvious that Fatts should have the ball more often than not otherwise.

[eli#10]

Fun? Ain''t any fun for me watching shit shows like last night.
Cannot remember watching someone like Walker who makes a lot of good plays but also make too many horrendous bad plays with the ball. Last night he an uncontested lay up but decided not to shoot it and turned over and we all know what happened at the buzzer.

[BlackDogRants]

Read through most of the thread and I got to the end having one major issue with those who keep writing "expectations are too high", "what did you expect", "we were picked to finish 6th"... on and on.

Fine! You win. Our expectations were too high.

HOWEVER - While I am willing to concede that expectations were maybe set too high you people have to admit we are not getting any better. There is no progress nor improvement game to game and that is a problem that cant be fixed or explained by simply saying, "well what did you expect?".

This program has real issues and its beyond talent, recruiting, practice gyms, COVID, scheduling, money, private charters and whatever other excuse you can try to dig up. Its a lack of direction, a lack of identity, and a lack of a winning culture.

UCONN turning it around under Hurley is proof of just how important coaching is. They had all the bells and whistles we are longing for - and then some! Private planes, top tier facilities, money, recruitment, competitive league, name recognition... Yet the program was unremarkable for years. Hurley comes in and after 3 years you have a ranked, tournament caliber team. What does that say?

Its simple - its coaching.

[section(105)]

.......I am beginning to think so......yes.

[Blue Man]

Read through most of the thread and I got the end with one glaring issue with those who keep writing "expectations are too high", "what did you expect", "we were picked to finish 6th"... on and on.

Fine! You win. Our expectations were too high.

HOWEVER - While I am willing to concede that expectations were maybe set too high you people have to admit we are not getting any better. There is no progress nor improvement game to game and that is a problem that cant be fixed or explained by simply saying, "well what did you expect?".

This program has real issues and its beyond talent, recruiting, practice gyms, COVID, scheduling, money, private charters and whatever other excuse you can try to dig up. Its a lack of direction, a lack of identity, and a lack of a winning culture.

UCONN turning it around under Hurley is proof of just how important coaching is. They had all the bells and whistles we are longing for - and then some! Private planes, top tier facilities, money, recruitment, competitive league, name recognition... Yet the program was unremarkable for years. Hurley comes in and after 3 years you have a ranked, tournament caliber team. What does that say?

Its simple - we need a coach.

Hey man - it's our fault. Our expectations are obviously unrealistic. Being good after 3 years with a coach who had been here for one of the best 4 year runs in program history? Keeping players that you recruit for longer than 2 years?

After watching a program get resurrected from the dead and seeing them tangibly improve year over year, how could we possibly expect a championship caliber program, handed over to a coach that was part of the resurrection, to continue to be good?

We should just be happy we have a basketball team, obviously. Whatever "bar" was set doesn't matter because Covid. We're the only program in the country that has had to deal with these challenges.

[RhowdyRam02]

Another problem with the what did you expect, expectations are too high line of thinking is that they're looking at this year in a vacuum instead of Cox' entire tenure. The expectations from everyone, and the whole point of hiring Cox, was that if we hired him there would be no rebuild and we'd dance in his first three seasons. There isn't a single person that thought those were unfair expectations. No rebuild and one tournament appearance in three years was the bare minimum that was expected, and most people thought we'd dance last year, this year, and we'd keep building. If we hired someone other than Cox people warned us there would be a massive rebuild. Well we've had a massive rebuild, we didn't dance in his first year, we were outside of the bubble picture when last year ended, we certainly aren't on track to dance this year, and there's no resemblance to the culture Dan built here. We've been bad enough that the very bare minimum is now considered unfair expectations two and a half years in

[ace]

Damn, I’m already sad for James and y’all are bringing me down and it’s too early to drink (to be clear- because I’m at work, not because I have any kind of standards at all).

[Blue Man]

Another problem with the what did you expect, expectations are too high line of thinking is that they're looking at this year in a vacuum instead of Cox' entire tenure. The expectations from everyone, and the whole point of hiring Cox, was that if we hired him there would be no rebuild and we'd dance in his first three seasons. There isn't a single person that thought those were unfair expectations. No rebuild and one tournament appearance in three years was the bare minimum that was expected, and most people thought we'd dance last year, this year, and we'd keep building. If we hired someone other than Cox people warned us there would be a massive rebuild. Well we've had a massive rebuild, we didn't dance in his first year, we were outside of the bubble picture when last year ended, we certainly aren't on track to dance this year, and there's no resemblance to the culture Dan built here. We've been bad enough that the very bare minimum is now considered unfair expectations two and a half years in

michael scott.gif (215.98 KiB) Viewed 1235 times

[Rhody_NYCT]

Too many turnovers again. Too many missed free throws. We had opportunities down the stretch. Very disappointing.

[Jersey77]

Read through most of the thread and I got the end with one glaring issue with those who keep writing "expectations are too high", "what did you expect", "we were picked to finish 6th"... on and on.

Fine! You win. Our expectations were too high.

HOWEVER - While I am willing to concede that expectations were maybe set too high you people have to admit we are not getting any better. There is no progress nor improvement game to game and that is a problem that cant be fixed or explained by simply saying, "well what did you expect?".

This program has real issues and its beyond talent, recruiting, practice gyms, COVID, scheduling, money, private charters and whatever other excuse you can try to dig up. Its a lack of direction, a lack of identity, and a lack of a winning culture.

UCONN turning it around under Hurley is proof of just how important coaching is. They had all the bells and whistles we are longing for - and then some! Private planes, top tier facilities, money, recruitment, competitive league, name recognition... Yet the program was unremarkable for years. Hurley comes in and after 3 years you have a ranked, tournament caliber team. What does that say?

Its simple - we need a coach.

Hey man - it's our fault. Our expectations are obviously unrealistic. Being good after 3 years with a coach who had been here for one of the best 4 year runs in program history? Keeping players that you recruit for longer than 2 years?

After watching a program get resurrected from the dead and seeing them tangibly improve year over year, how could we possibly expect a championship caliber program, handed over to a coach that was part of the resurrection, to continue to be good?

We should just be happy we have a basketball team, obviously. Whatever "bar" was set doesn't matter because Covid. We're the only program in the country that has had to deal with these challenges.

I fully get that DH at this time, is a better head coach than Cox, he also has more head coaching experience and his father has one of the best reputations in the industry, which helped his basketball IQ. This position was a stepping stone for him, so get over it.
But to compare his situation at UConn to URI is ridiculous. They have all the resources, considered a blue-blood program winning 4 national championships since 1998-99, deep runs in the NCAAT, and so on.
He has the funds available to hire top notch assistants, with deep connections and coaching experience.
He also has access to some of top recruits in the country because of their league and history.
Thorr wants to avoid another total rebuild so he will stick with Cox for awhile, hoping the pieces fall into place.
Remember if Cox leaves so does our entire roster again, not sure we want that to happen.
Hurley wasn't perfect either, many fans after 4 years were questioning the hire, especially with his emotional outbursts.
Let's move on from the Hurley talk, he isn't coming back.

[URI_05]

Read through most of the thread and I got the end with one glaring issue with those who keep writing "expectations are too high", "what did you expect", "we were picked to finish 6th"... on and on.

Fine! You win. Our expectations were too high.

HOWEVER - While I am willing to concede that expectations were maybe set too high you people have to admit we are not getting any better. There is no progress nor improvement game to game and that is a problem that cant be fixed or explained by simply saying, "well what did you expect?".

This program has real issues and its beyond talent, recruiting, practice gyms, COVID, scheduling, money, private charters and whatever other excuse you can try to dig up. Its a lack of direction, a lack of identity, and a lack of a winning culture.

UCONN turning it around under Hurley is proof of just how important coaching is. They had all the bells and whistles we are longing for - and then some! Private planes, top tier facilities, money, recruitment, competitive league, name recognition... Yet the program was unremarkable for years. Hurley comes in and after 3 years you have a ranked, tournament caliber team. What does that say?

Its simple - we need a coach.

Hey man - it's our fault. Our expectations are obviously unrealistic. Being good after 3 years with a coach who had been here for one of the best 4 year runs in program history? Keeping players that you recruit for longer than 2 years?

After watching a program get resurrected from the dead and seeing them tangibly improve year over year, how could we possibly expect a championship caliber program, handed over to a coach that was part of the resurrection, to continue to be good?

We should just be happy we have a basketball team, obviously. Whatever "bar" was set doesn't matter because Covid. We're the only program in the country that has had to deal with these challenges.

I fully get that DH at this time, is a better head coach than Cox, he also has more head coaching experience and his father has one of the best reputations in the industry, which helped his basketball IQ. This position was a stepping stone for him, so get over it.
But to compare his situation at UConn to URI is ridiculous. They have all the resources, considered a blue-blood program winning 4 national championships since 1998-99, deep runs in the NCAAT, and so on.
He has the funds available to hire top notch assistants, with deep connections and coaching experience.
He also has access to some of top recruits in the country because of their league and history.
Thorr wants to avoid another total rebuild so he will stick with Cox for awhile, hoping the pieces fall into place.
Remember if Cox leaves so does our entire roster again, not sure we want that to happen.
Hurley wasn't perfect either, many fans after 4 years were questioning the hire, especially with his emotional outbursts.
Let's move on from the Hurley talk, he isn't coming back.

It doesn't matter if the entire roster leaves if we're not winning anyway... I hate it when people think like that. That's how we ended up with Baron forever.

[ngriff]

May be an unpopular opinion but I want Ish to start at point and fatts to move to the bench. Ish is a better in every category accept free throws and hitting crazy layups. Ish is far more efficient and is also the future so we may as well develop him in this season that likely will have no NCAAT

[Rhodymob05]

Free throws and defense. Fatts is great on the ball. Ish has gotten burned.

[Blue Man]

Hey man - it's our fault. Our expectations are obviously unrealistic. Being good after 3 years with a coach who had been here for one of the best 4 year runs in program history? Keeping players that you recruit for longer than 2 years?

After watching a program get resurrected from the dead and seeing them tangibly improve year over year, how could we possibly expect a championship caliber program, handed over to a coach that was part of the resurrection, to continue to be good?

We should just be happy we have a basketball team, obviously. Whatever "bar" was set doesn't matter because Covid. We're the only program in the country that has had to deal with these challenges.

I fully get that DH at this time, is a better head coach than Cox, he also has more head coaching experience and his father has one of the best reputations in the industry, which helped his basketball IQ. This position was a stepping stone for him, so get over it.
But to compare his situation at UConn to URI is ridiculous. They have all the resources, considered a blue-blood program winning 4 national championships since 1998-99, deep runs in the NCAAT, and so on.
He has the funds available to hire top notch assistants, with deep connections and coaching experience.
He also has access to some of top recruits in the country because of their league and history.
Thorr wants to avoid another total rebuild so he will stick with Cox for awhile, hoping the pieces fall into place.
Remember if Cox leaves so does our entire roster again, not sure we want that to happen.
Hurley wasn't perfect either, many fans after 4 years were questioning the hire, especially with his emotional outbursts.
Let's move on from the Hurley talk, he isn't coming back.

It doesn't matter if the entire roster leaves if we're not winning anyway... I hate it when people think like that. That's how we ended up with Baron forever.

“So does our entire roster” like Cox has had a recruit stay longer than 2 years. 8 transfers in the first 2 years but hold onto Cox for roster continuity.

I’m not saying get rid of him, but he needs to change his system or we have to. Doesn’t matter what your roster looks like if you can’t recognize how to put your players in positions that maximize their strengths and mask their weaknesses.

[steveystuds06]

I'm very confused by the if Cox leaves our entire roster leaves comments considering he's barely kept his players.

[SmartyBarrett]

Context is important too. Leggett and Harris only played 9 minutes each. DJ is very much a spot up shooter and hardly has the ball in his hands. I’m not trying to take anything away from them, but obviously primary ball handlers will always have “more” turnovers. That being said the level of turnovers is obviously unacceptable.

URI's turnover rate (percentage of individual possessions that end with turnovers)

Sheppard: 29.4%
Walker: 28.0
Carey: 26.6
Leggett: 20.6
Mitchell: 19.5
Betrand: 18.4
Russell: 15.3
Harris: 14.4
Johnson: 14.2
Martin: 11.8

[Jersey77]

I fully get that DH at this time, is a better head coach than Cox, he also has more head coaching experience and his father has one of the best reputations in the industry, which helped his basketball IQ. This position was a stepping stone for him, so get over it.
But to compare his situation at UConn to URI is ridiculous. They have all the resources, considered a blue-blood program winning 4 national championships since 1998-99, deep runs in the NCAAT, and so on.
He has the funds available to hire top notch assistants, with deep connections and coaching experience.
He also has access to some of top recruits in the country because of their league and history.
Thorr wants to avoid another total rebuild so he will stick with Cox for awhile, hoping the pieces fall into place.
Remember if Cox leaves so does our entire roster again, not sure we want that to happen.
Hurley wasn't perfect either, many fans after 4 years were questioning the hire, especially with his emotional outbursts.
Let's move on from the Hurley talk, he isn't coming back.

It doesn't matter if the entire roster leaves if we're not winning anyway... I hate it when people think like that. That's how we ended up with Baron forever.

“So does our entire roster” like Cox has had a recruit stay longer than 2 years. 8 transfers in the first 2 years but hold onto Cox for roster continuity.

I’m not saying get rid of him, but he needs to change his system or we have to. Doesn’t matter what your roster looks like if you can’t recognize how to put your players in positions that maximize their strengths and mask their weaknesses.

It is too early for the get rid of Cox talk and I think we are rushing to judgment on how this roster will grow into a cohesive team.
I think the turnover problem will get corrected and players will become accountable. We have shown in the Seton Hall game that we are capable of doing a much better job in that regard.
Cox does have an advantage of keeping this core with all the transfers, because they will have to sit out if they leave after this year.
If Cox is gone then it is a free for all, because waivers are usually granted due to coaching changes.
I am still very optimistic about next season, this year has been a total mess much of it out of our control.
The 2 top teams in our conference are on Covid pause.
None of the players this year have the opportunity to play in front of fans and feed off the crowd.
I would be surprised if there will be a large coaching turnover this year based upon their team's performances this season..

[Rhodymob05]

Could Cox make changes to his own staff? We almost never mention assistant coaches like we used to under Hurley.

[URIGONZO]

I just saw comparison made between Cox and Baron. That does NOT bode well for Cox. That is a scathing indictment.

[Jersey77]

Could Cox make changes to his own staff? We almost never mention assistant coaches like we used to under Hurley.

Many assistant coaching changes are made when they choose to leave for more money, higher profile program, or promotion.
In our case, we have a very limited budget for assistants so Cox has to make due. He is comfortable with Sutton, likes the youth enthusiasm of both TJ and Austin, also TJ is an alumni and Austin because of his father.

[RamStock]

May be an unpopular opinion but I want Ish to start at point and fatts to move to the bench. Ish is a better in every category accept free throws and hitting crazy layups. Ish is far more efficient and is also the future so we may as well develop him in this season that likely will have no NCAAT

It will never happen, but I would have no problem with that. We are not going to the NCAA tourney with Fatts starting similar to the previous two years so why not play guys who will be here in the future that could get valuable experience. Cox should do anything to shake things up. Better shot of Hurley coming back to coach than Ish starting over Fatts.

[Ibn34]

Could Cox make changes to his own staff? We almost never mention assistant coaches like we used to under Hurley.

Many assistant coaching changes are made when they choose to leave for more money, higher profile program, or promotion.
In our case, we have a very limited budget for assistants so Cox has to make due. He is comfortable with Sutton, likes the youth enthusiasm of both TJ and Austin, also TJ is an alumni and Austin because of his father.

His staff is the biggest problem this program has, quiet as it’s kept. You’re only as good as your support! Cox receives no in game support. There isn’t any substitutional teaching taking place, when guys come out the game. Obviously, there isn’t much development taking place, because most of the 2-3 year guys are not any better. And he doesn’t appear to be getting much discipline/structure support from these guys on the staff as well. Because if he were, it would look different than it does. I’d be shocked if there aren’t staff changes. At least 2 of those guys need to be gone!

[Billyboy78]

Could Cox make changes to his own staff? We almost never mention assistant coaches like we used to under Hurley.

Many assistant coaching changes are made when they choose to leave for more money, higher profile program, or promotion.
In our case, we have a very limited budget for assistants so Cox has to make due. He is comfortable with Sutton, likes the youth enthusiasm of both TJ and Austin, also TJ is an alumni and Austin because of his father.

His staff is the biggest problem this program has, quiet as it’s kept. You’re only as good as your support! Cox receives no in game support. There isn’t any substitutional teaching taking place, when guys come out the game. Obviously, there isn’t much development taking place, because most of the 2-3 year guys are not any better. And he doesn’t appear to be getting much discipline/structure support from these guys on the staff as well. Because if he were, it would look different than it does. I’d be shocked if there aren’t staff changes. At least 2 of those guys need to be gone!

Agree. But we also need money to hire some quality coaches.

[4Diffs]

Context is important too. Leggett and Harris only played 9 minutes each. DJ is very much a spot up shooter and hardly has the ball in his hands. I’m not trying to take anything away from them, but obviously primary ball handlers will always have “more” turnovers. That being said the level of turnovers is obviously unacceptable.

URI's turnover rate (percentage of individual possessions that end with turnovers)

Sheppard: 29.4%
Walker: 28.0
Carey: 26.6
Leggett: 20.6
Mitchell: 19.5
Betrand: 18.4
Russell: 15.3
Harris: 14.4
Johnson: 14.2
Martin: 11.8

Holy Moly. Are you serious? Sheppard has a higher rate than turnover machines Walker and Carey? I find that shocking and explains a lot. Wow Sheppard has been terrible. And it is not like his other worldly defense makes up for it.

Frankly the above stat explains it all. I have been yelling since week 6 (well not really I have stayed off this board for my own sanity) that Carey is unplayable and Walker is a turnover machine. But if Sheppard is now worse than the both of them, there you go. That is why this team is terrible with the ball.

All I know is I missed most of the game last night but I did see overtime. And Fatts and Sheppard were flat out terrible in over time and are the reasons why they lost. If Leggett is in the game for Sheppard they win that game. And sorry Fatts has been HORRIBLE this year. And he was brutal again last night. Four for 13. When I have a few minutes I will break down the overtime and the plays made by him and the four shots that were not close to going in. Yes blame everybody else, but with the way Sheppard and Russell are playing we are not very good. This is a guards game and our guards have been terrible. Carey is beyond playable, that leaves Ish. I would even give Berry some run if he can play a lick of defense. That alone would be a major upgrade on that side of the ball.

But come on, no way, there is a worse player on this team than Walker and Sheppard when it comes to turnovers. Say it aint so.

[theblueram]

That turnover by Sheppard on the final drive was fugly.

[Ibn34]

Many assistant coaching changes are made when they choose to leave for more money, higher profile program, or promotion.
In our case, we have a very limited budget for assistants so Cox has to make due. He is comfortable with Sutton, likes the youth enthusiasm of both TJ and Austin, also TJ is an alumni and Austin because of his father.

His staff is the biggest problem this program has, quiet as it’s kept. You’re only as good as your support! Cox receives no in game support. There isn’t any substitutional teaching taking place, when guys come out the game. Obviously, there isn’t much development taking place, because most of the 2-3 year guys are not any better. And he doesn’t appear to be getting much discipline/structure support from these guys on the staff as well. Because if he were, it would look different than it does. I’d be shocked if there aren’t staff changes. At least 2 of those guys need to be gone!

Agree. But we also need money to hire some quality coaches.

There are some truly quality high school, prep school, aau, D1/D2/D/3, and juco coaches out there that won’t break the bank. And tbh, this coaching staff doesn’t need any retreads. Guys that have been around forever, doing just enough to continue getting checks. Probably need to go find assistants that are hungry to prove themselves in this game. And that doesn’t take big money to get that done.

[Billyboy78]

That turnover by Sheppard on the final drive was fugly.

And then just stop as if the game was over instead of fouling, leaving somebody else to foul.

[RhowdyRam02]

Context is important too. Leggett and Harris only played 9 minutes each. DJ is very much a spot up shooter and hardly has the ball in his hands. I’m not trying to take anything away from them, but obviously primary ball handlers will always have “more” turnovers. That being said the level of turnovers is obviously unacceptable.

URI's turnover rate (percentage of individual possessions that end with turnovers)

Sheppard: 29.4%
Walker: 28.0
Carey: 26.6
Leggett: 20.6
Mitchell: 19.5
Betrand: 18.4
Russell: 15.3
Harris: 14.4
Johnson: 14.2
Martin: 11.8

Senior
Redshirt junior
Redshirt sophomore
Freshman
Sophomore
Junior
Senior
Junior
Redshirt junior
Junior

It feels like this roster is too old to be turning it over this much, on two different fronts. One, they should have enough experience and talent to just be able to take care of the ball better, and two, how much better will it really get going forward with this roster unless fundamental changes are made? Are you really going to see big jumps from players who are in the third year or more of playing college basketball if something big isn't changed?

[Ibn34]

That turnover by Sheppard on the final drive was fugly.

That just can’t happen with the game on the line. That’s all toughness right there. Jeremy, as talented as he is, lacks toughness.

[ram1980]

A lot of the turnovers seem to be driving into traffic than saying now what I do... How about find the open man with the PASS and stop putting yourself in the oh no situation. I get the idea of dribble penetration but these guys don't seem to get the idea of kick out to the open man or find a cutter that's open because of a double team. They panic and turnover city happens. When they try to pass some of the decisions are head scratching and a lot of times spacing is poor..

[Rhody72]

...
You were wanting URI AD to lock in Cox for the long term about a month ago. Still thinking so?

Yes, we can do no better. Cox needs to grow and learn. The last time we quit on an AAU-type coach we got CFL. I will change my opinion if Ish leaves. Cox needs the right mentor. Cox is no dummy; quality person.

[ace]

Many assistant coaching changes are made when they choose to leave for more money, higher profile program, or promotion.
In our case, we have a very limited budget for assistants so Cox has to make due. He is comfortable with Sutton, likes the youth enthusiasm of both TJ and Austin, also TJ is an alumni and Austin because of his father.

His staff is the biggest problem this program has, quiet as it’s kept. You’re only as good as your support! Cox receives no in game support. There isn’t any substitutional teaching taking place, when guys come out the game. Obviously, there isn’t much development taking place, because most of the 2-3 year guys are not any better. And he doesn’t appear to be getting much discipline/structure support from these guys on the staff as well. Because if he were, it would look different than it does. I’d be shocked if there aren’t staff changes. At least 2 of those guys need to be gone!

Agree. But we also need money to hire some quality coaches.

Cox has more money in his assistant coaches salary pool than the previous coach. I know the problem was that those guys got hired away, but they got them to start with.

[RhowdyRam02]

...
You were wanting URI AD to lock in Cox for the long term about a month ago. Still thinking so?

Yes, we can do no better. Cox needs to grow and learn. The last time we quit on an AAU-type coach we got CFL. I will change my opinion if Ish leaves. Cox needs the right mentor. Cox is no dummy; quality person.

Doing anything that increases Cox' potential buyout at this point is ridiculous, unearned, and could be crippling. We already can't raise the funds for a bare bones practice facility. You increase his buyout and you either turn him into CFL because we can't afford to move on or you spend a very finite resource for us on buying him out and then things get tougher for the next guy because we don't have the facilities. It's not like anyone else is going to be looking to sign him at this point. Move on or let him play out the string, no extensions until we make the tournament

[Billyboy78]

His staff is the biggest problem this program has, quiet as it’s kept. You’re only as good as your support! Cox receives no in game support. There isn’t any substitutional teaching taking place, when guys come out the game. Obviously, there isn’t much development taking place, because most of the 2-3 year guys are not any better. And he doesn’t appear to be getting much discipline/structure support from these guys on the staff as well. Because if he were, it would look different than it does. I’d be shocked if there aren’t staff changes. At least 2 of those guys need to be gone!

Agree. But we also need money to hire some quality coaches.

Cox has more money in his assistant coaches salary pool than the previous coach. I know the problem was that those guys got hired away, but they got them to start with.

Inflation

[Jersey77]

His staff is the biggest problem this program has, quiet as it’s kept. You’re only as good as your support! Cox receives no in game support. There isn’t any substitutional teaching taking place, when guys come out the game. Obviously, there isn’t much development taking place, because most of the 2-3 year guys are not any better. And he doesn’t appear to be getting much discipline/structure support from these guys on the staff as well. Because if he were, it would look different than it does. I’d be shocked if there aren’t staff changes. At least 2 of those guys need to be gone!

Agree. But we also need money to hire some quality coaches.

Cox has more money in his assistant coaches salary pool than the previous coach. I know the problem was that those guys got hired away, but they got them to start with.

He does, not talking a huge amount, he also worked out his own salary negotiation to adjust for his assistants.

[theblueram]

...
You were wanting URI AD to lock in Cox for the long term about a month ago. Still thinking so?

Yes, we can do no better. Cox needs to grow and learn. The last time we quit on an AAU-type coach we got CFL. I will change my opinion if Ish leaves. Cox needs the right mentor. Cox is no dummy; quality person.

We can do no better? How about Darian DeVries at Drake? SMH.

[bigappleram]

He has a weak staff and that is on him.
He needs someone akin to what he was to Dan. Close to an associate HC that brings experience and energy. We’ve got two old heads and two rookies, really bad dynamic.

[ace]

He has a weak staff and that is on him.
He needs someone akin to what he was to Dan. Close to an associate HC that brings experience and energy. We’ve got two old heads and two rookies, really bad dynamic.

TJ is a great third assistant for his age and experience in that side of the game.

And that’s all I’ll say about the staff.

[KingstonLane]

Context is important too. Leggett and Harris only played 9 minutes each. DJ is very much a spot up shooter and hardly has the ball in his hands. I’m not trying to take anything away from them, but obviously primary ball handlers will always have “more” turnovers. That being said the level of turnovers is obviously unacceptable.

URI's turnover rate (percentage of individual possessions that end with turnovers)

Sheppard: 29.4%
Walker: 28.0
Carey: 26.6
Leggett: 20.6
Mitchell: 19.5
Betrand: 18.4
Russell: 15.3
Harris: 14.4
Johnson: 14.2
Martin: 11.8

Senior
Redshirt junior
Redshirt sophomore
Freshman
Sophomore
Junior
Senior
Junior
Redshirt junior
Junior

It feels like this roster is too old to be turning it over this much, on two different fronts. One, they should have enough experience and talent to just be able to take care of the ball better, and two, how much better will it really get going forward with this roster unless fundamental changes are made? Are you really going to see big jumps from players who are in the third year or more of playing college basketball if something big isn't changed?

The “year” of most of our players doesn’t tell an accurate story

Sheppard - senior who hasn’t played D1 ball in 2 years
Walker - junior with extremely limited playing time as freshmen and sat out 1st semester of last season
Carey - essentially didn’t play last year and saw his role diminish over his freshmen year
Leggett - Freshmen
Mitchell - sophomore who bared played last year
Betrand - junior
Fatts - senior
Harris - junior
Johnson - junior who is playing his first year of D1 basketball
Martin - junior

I say all of this to add context. Fatts, betrand, Harris, and Martin are really the only 4 players on our roster with any sort of consistent development to this point. That’s not a debate. That’s a reality. You can be pissed at how this is our roster is constructed but it’s a completely different discussion

[Jersey77]

URI's turnover rate (percentage of individual possessions that end with turnovers)

Sheppard: 29.4%
Walker: 28.0
Carey: 26.6
Leggett: 20.6
Mitchell: 19.5
Betrand: 18.4
Russell: 15.3
Harris: 14.4
Johnson: 14.2
Martin: 11.8

Senior
Redshirt junior
Redshirt sophomore
Freshman
Sophomore
Junior
Senior
Junior
Redshirt junior
Junior

It feels like this roster is too old to be turning it over this much, on two different fronts. One, they should have enough experience and talent to just be able to take care of the ball better, and two, how much better will it really get going forward with this roster unless fundamental changes are made? Are you really going to see big jumps from players who are in the third year or more of playing college basketball if something big isn't changed?

The “year” of most of our players doesn’t tell an accurate story

Sheppard - senior who hasn’t played D1 ball in 2 years
Walker - junior with extremely limited playing time as freshmen and sat out 1st semester of last season
Carey - essentially didn’t play last year and saw his role diminish over his freshmen year
Leggett - Freshmen
Mitchell - sophomore who bared played last year
Betrand - junior
Fatts - senior
Harris - junior
Johnson - junior who is playing his first year of D1 basketball
Martin - junior

I say all of this to add context. Fatts, betrand, Harris, and Martin are really the only 4 players on our roster with any sort of consistent development to this point. That’s not a debate. That’s a reality. You can be pissed at how this is our roster is constructed but it’s a completely different discussion

BEST POST TODAY
I am glad you put this into proper perspective

[steveystuds06]

It doesn't matter if the entire roster leaves if we're not winning anyway... I hate it when people think like that. That's how we ended up with Baron forever.

“So does our entire roster” like Cox has had a recruit stay longer than 2 years. 8 transfers in the first 2 years but hold onto Cox for roster continuity.

I’m not saying get rid of him, but he needs to change his system or we have to. Doesn’t matter what your roster looks like if you can’t recognize how to put your players in positions that maximize their strengths and mask their weaknesses.

It is too early for the get rid of Cox talk and I think we are rushing to judgment on how this roster will grow into a cohesive team.
I think the turnover problem will get corrected and players will become accountable. We have shown in the Seton Hall game that we are capable of doing a much better job in that regard.
Cox does have an advantage of keeping this core with all the transfers, because they will have to sit out if they leave after this year.
If Cox is gone then it is a free for all, because waivers are usually granted due to coaching changes.
I am still very optimistic about next season, this year has been a total mess much of it out of our control.
The 2 top teams in our conference are on Covid pause.
None of the players this year have the opportunity to play in front of fans and feed off the crowd.
I would be surprised if there will be a large coaching turnover based upon this season's performance.

I don't know what changes next year. We lose by far the best ball handler and opponents top assignment in Fatts. We most likely lose our second best ball handler and shooter in Shep. I love Ish, and he'll be fantastic, but he can't do it all. We may lead the country in turnovers next season.

My question is, what are you seeing from our coaching that makes you believe this team can take a step forward next season? Where do you see progress?

Coaching Philosophy- Guys have the green light to shoot any bad shot they want and can consistently play poor defense with no fear of losing minutes. What is our identity?! Either players aren't buying in (Cox's fault) or his gameplan/tactics prevent us from reaching our potential (Cox's fault). I think the sign of a good coach knows what your team's strengths and weaknesses are. We need to fit a system to our players, rather than fit players to our system.

When it comes to actual Xs and Os are you seeing improvement?? The worst to me is a coach who shows absolutely no flexibility when it comes to tactics. I felt Dan did this too much, but at least we consistently stuck to what we were good at... Not riding the hot hand, sitting players producing in games (Ish), keeping a player at the point when he's a walking turnover (Carey) all come to mind...Our timeouts make no sense. Our plays out of timeout are rarely successful. What do you see from an X's and O's standpoint that will make next year any different?

Are players being held accountable? Years ago, we were up 20 and had a bad turnover that leads to an easy layup. Dan called a timeout and ripped into our guys. Two minutes later, after JT drained an NBA 3, he let a guy blow past him for another layup. Dan calls timeout again and flipped. Our guys knew that we had to run our offense and stay locked in no matter what the score was under Dan. I don't see that under Cox. We can fight at times, but just like his coaching, it's very inconsistent. Why is everyone allowed to take dumb shots and miss defensive assignments with no repercussions? I'm starting to see more guys look disengaged on the floor and during timeouts. I watched our leader, Fatts, staring at the ground with his hands on his hips while Cox talked during the second half yesterday. If players aren't playing smart basketball, then they need to know they will be benched. I think Ish will give this team a tougher identity but will Cox recognize that the keys need to be turned over to him?

Progression- The biggest thing I've noticed under Cox is how extremely inconsistent we are. It wouldn't surprise me if we beat ST. Louis and lost to Fordham. I understand teams have cold nights, but the consistent turnovers and sloppy play on both ends are unacceptable. After our collapse last year and this season, it's clear to me I don't see progressions from our players and, more importantly, from our coaching staff. Whether it's the coaches he surrounds himself with or the players he's bringing in, it's not good enough. I see flashes of brilliance and ugliness.

I ask you again. Why does any of this change next season???