David Cox

[Bos8]

We have no one to connect with the players and it shows. TJ can but is so green. Sutton and Carroll are way too passive and I just don’t see either of them having deep relationships with our guys. Who knows about younger Carroll but I don’t suspect he gets much respect from our guys.

IMO he needs someone in their mid to late 30s that is seasoned enough but also in touch with the modern player and game. He needs what he was to Hurley, someone to push him, challenge him, that brings something to the party (ie recruiting, Xs and Os, player development).

Which, I would argue (other than the age description!) Kevin Sutton meets. Again, I'm not as familiar with the inner working of their relationship, but Kevin Sutton has really solid reputation in the coaching community. Beyond player development, he is always noted for his ability to connect and build relationship with his players.

That seems to go counter against all the transfer outs we have seen over the last three years.

Out of curiosity, who has stated they transferred due to a lack of relationship with an assistant coach? Did any of them transfer even due to a lack of a relationship with the head coach?

[bigappleram]

I personally think player development is one of those things that largely falls on the player. These guys almost all have "trainers back home" they work with in the off season. In terms of in season so much of the staff time has to be spent on team concepts that I just don't think a ton goes into player development that isn't squarely on that players shoulders. Their work ethic, desire to work at all hours, openness to the parts of their game that need work, etc etc. Like did anyone on our staff make Jimmy Baron a great shooter or did that just come from countless hours in the gym on his own time working on his craft. The staff's job is to develop the team, not the individual skills IMO. That has to be player driven. So I don't fault, nor praise a staff, for how a player develops.

[Bos8]

I personally think player development is one of those things that largely falls on the player. These guys almost all have "trainers back home" they work with in the off season. In terms of in season so much of the staff time has to be spent on team concepts that I just don't think a ton goes into player development that isn't squarely on that players shoulders. Their work ethic, desire to work at all hours, openness to the parts of their game that need work, etc etc. Like did anyone on our staff make Jimmy Baron a great shooter or did that just come from countless hours in the gym on his own time working on his craft. The staff's job is to develop the team, not the individual skills IMO. That has to be player driven. So I don't fault, nor praise a staff, for how a player develops.

I think you are on the right track, but I also think it's typically the assistant coach to take the skill development and fit it within the system the team runs. Jimmy Baron can work on catching and hitting a 3 off the down screen all day, but if it isn't part of our offense, it's up to the assistant coach to work that skill to fit within the offense. (Or, it's up to the coaching staff to adjust the offense to play to that strength)
But in general, I agree. If guys aren't motivated enough to get in the gym on their own, they probably wont improve the way that they should.

[theblueram]

Which, I would argue (other than the age description!) Kevin Sutton meets. Again, I'm not as familiar with the inner working of their relationship, but Kevin Sutton has really solid reputation in the coaching community. Beyond player development, he is always noted for his ability to connect and build relationship with his players.

That seems to go counter against all the transfer outs we have seen over the last three years.

Out of curiosity, who has stated they transferred due to a lack of relationship with an assistant coach? Did any of them transfer even due to a lack of a relationship with the head coach?

I just compare the transfers between this coach and the last one. Seems to be night and day.

[RhowdyRam02]

I see people mentioned shake up the staff quite a bit. Just out of curiosity, what would that entail to please everyone? A huge part of the assistant coach dynamic is their relationship with the head coach, the trust the head coach has in them etc etc. My thoughts with little to no insider information.

Kevin Sutton- Super well respected within the basketball community. Rumored to be in the mix for mid major jobs. I really don't think you let him go, but I could see him choosing to leave if he is getting a promotion to a head coaching job/going somewhere with a significant raise.

TJ- Seems to be hard working, does a solid job with recruiting, building relationships with the fans/players etc. Would the community be upset if he is let go? Possibly.

Carroll's- Are they a "two for one" situation? In his first year, it would seem drastic to blame much on him. How many qualified candidates, that Coach Cox has a relationship with, are itching for the third assistant spot at URI? Again, I have no insight into his day to day contributions to whats going on. I do remember he could absolutely shoot it in High School, didn't do much in college.

I've never seen Sutton mentioned for another job, I have no idea what he brings to the table, he was responsible for the Greek God of Fouls fiasco, at 56 he's not exactly an up and comer and someone likely to grow in his position and none of the staffs he have been a part of have been exactly world beaters.

In 2 years at James Madison they made 0 tournaments. In 2 years at Old Dominion they made 0 tournaments. In 2 years at George Washington they made 0 tournaments. In three years at Georgetown they made 1 tournament. In two years at Pitt they made 0 tournaments as he was part of the disastrous Kevin Stallings era there. In 2 plus years here, 0 tournaments. 13 plus years as a college assistant, 1 tournament.

Honestly I was never super impressed by John Carroll's resume. He was Duquesne head coach from 89-95 (0 tournament appearances) and was an assistant with the Celtics during the beginning of the Walker/Pierce era. His one really successful stint was back in the mid 80's as an assistant at Seton Hall. That's 30 years ago now

[Rhodyram]

From what I heard Sutton does have excellent relationships with the players and they like him. He is well connected and respected in the basketball community and it should not be a surprise that other schools would look at him as a candidate.

[RhowdyRam02]

It only surprises me because I've literally never heard him linked to a head coaching position and his resume isn't exactly amazing looking at years to tournament appearances

[Billyboy78]

Austin Carroll supposedly has good connections in New England. What has that brought us? Are we even involved with a single recruit right now from New England? When Ty was here and Preston before him, we were involved with lots of New England players. That brought us Jared, Jarvis (prepped here) and Dana. The last players I remember us being involved with were Alexis Reyes and Terrence Clark (he wasn't coming here, but...), and that started before Austin was here. Who is he recruiting? Anyone? Look at the recruiting section and tell me who he is recruiting? Is he just here because of his father?

[Blue Man]

To be fair I'm certainly not tied into any coaching circles so I don't know what's up or down in that space.

What I do know is that Dan Hurley was here for 6 years. In that time he had Bobby Hurley go to Buffalo as an HC. He had Preston Murphy go to BC and then Creighton. He had Luke Murray go to Xavier. He had Antonio Reynolds Dean go to Clemson.

David Cox has had one coach move on, and that was to a holding cell. (Obviously an oversimplification, but it's kinda funny in the context of all of this).

The point being is that Hurley could clearly identify coaching talent but didn't have the budget to retain them. That was one of his biggest problems here, that we didn't invest enough and he couldn't keep talented guys. But he kept finding them, Cox included.

Typically if an AC here is good enough, you'll hear about it because they'll be targeted by other programs - or they'll just straight up go to other programs because we can't offer anywhere near enough.

Of course, it's pathetic what our staff is paid, hence the turnover of talented guys. DPO gets $38k, DBO $46k, and our ENTIRE assistant coaches pool is $425k. If you divide that equally, that's $141k per coach. FYI Luke Murray was offered $160k, double what he was making here. Preston went from $135k to $200k. Antonio Reynolds Dean was offered $257k to be an Assistant Coach at Clemson.

The larger point is that no one on our staff has ever been linked to, interviewed at, or jumped to another program of a higher merit like we have seen in the recent past. They are so underpaid relative to the market, that if they had the talent to make more, they'd be gone.

[Rhody15]

Austin Carroll supposedly has good connections in New England. What has that brought us? Are we even involved with a single recruit right now from New England? When Ty was here and Preston before him, we were involved with lots of New England players. That brought us Jared, Jarvis (prepped here) and Dana. The last players I remember us being involved with were Alexis Reyes and Terrence Clark (he wasn't coming here, but...), and that started before Austin was here. Who is he recruiting? Anyone? Look at the recruiting section and tell me who he is recruiting? Is he just here because of his father?

The fact we are a state school in NE in a Top 8 conference and aren’t recruiting or getting any New England talent should sound the alarm. With all the prep schools, you would think we’d be all over those kids.

[Billyboy78]

Austin Carroll supposedly has good connections in New England. What has that brought us? Are we even involved with a single recruit right now from New England? When Ty was here and Preston before him, we were involved with lots of New England players. That brought us Jared, Jarvis (prepped here) and Dana. The last players I remember us being involved with were Alexis Reyes and Terrence Clark (he wasn't coming here, but...), and that started before Austin was here. Who is he recruiting? Anyone? Look at the recruiting section and tell me who he is recruiting? Is he just here because of his father?

The fact we are a state school in NE in a Top 8 conference and aren’t recruiting or getting any New England talent should sound the alarm. With all the prep schools, you would think we’d be all over those kids.

He played at Brewster, one of the best prep programs in the country. That's where Jared played. You'd think we'd at least be involved with some of their kids.

[phipsiGD'11]

#BringPrestonBack

(If you couldn't tell I'm probably the only millenial who doesn't have twitter or Instagram so my #s suck)

[CamsRams]

Did anybody listen to the Coaches Show tonight?

[theblueram]

Did anybody listen to the Coaches Show tonight?

Was there a show?

[RI_Bred]

Did anybody listen to the Coaches Show tonight?

Was there a show?

LOL. Damn I wish I knew there was one, I would've listened. Love to hear the excuses...

[NYGFan_Section208]

Cox seemed a bit more animated tonight but still has no clue when to call timeouts

He better not lose to St Joe or who knows what will happen ??

Lose the game after that?

[Rhode_Island_Red]

I haven’t listened, but can only imagine the hard-hitting questions Steve asked him.

[Jersey77]

I haven’t listened, but can only imagine the hard-hitting questions Steve asked him.

Yes, usually don't get much from those shows. They are very scripted and as I said before the questions are extremely vanilla.

[section(105)]

......the pod cast is available on the whjj site......just listened, no questions from Steve on these; preplanned PT minutes or rotations, nothing about Fatts extend of injury and resting him, nothing about use of time outs......I was not actually expecting much from a Steve on these......Coach did say Fatts is “far from” 100%, but could not put a number on his health/injury, also he is a warrior, and He is gonna play if able.......Coach did mention Carey is “struggling” due to lost time being off, and needs more buy in into what team system is......this was part of a run down on each player.....the rest was Coach speak about SLU game and going forward on rest of season......Steve did acknowledge the success of URI leading nation on games played and Covid protocols......I probably missed something.....

[LoveThoseRams]

......the pod cast is available on the whjj site......just listened, no questions from Steve on these; preplanned PT minutes or rotations, nothing about Fatts extend of injury and resting him, nothing about use of time outs......I was not actually expecting much from a Steve on these......Coach did say Fatts is “far from” 100%, but could not put a number on his health/injury, also he is a warrior, and He is gonna play if able.......Coach did mention Carey is “struggling” due to lost time being off, and needs more buy in into what team system is......this was part of a run down on each player.....the rest was Coach speak about SLU game and going forward on rest of season......Steve did acknowledge the success of URI leading nation on games played and Covid protocols......I probably missed something.....

He seemed to have a lot of good things to say about Betrand also...I'm hoping we will see it at some point.
Also spoke of Tres and Ileri and how they will be contributors next season.

[Rhodyhooopz]

here's the rundown on the coaches show:

Steve: Hey Coach, I love you
Coach: Thanks Steve you're a great guy too
Steve: Coach flowers are pretty and rainbows are cool too
Coach: Steve we fought hard, worked hard but just struggled a little. We will work harder and try harder
Steve: Thanks Coach. Did I tell you I love you? Join us next week on the Dave Cox coaches show.

[RF1]

It will be interesting to watch for any movement in the URI coaching staff this off season. Assistant coaches typically do not have much job security as their contracts are usually short term with no generous buyout. They also make far less money so they have no real financial safety net. They therefore are more concerned about their immediate future. If they were to start leaving, it could be a sign that they do not have confidence that Cox will be able to right the ship and they chose to jump before it sinks.

[Rhodymob05]

I can't stand where this team is at and I can't stand the coaching performance, but the reality in my opinion:

Best case scenario

1. Cox Improves, possibly makes new staff hires, players stay. Recruiting is stable.

Worst case scenario

2. Cox is fired, which begins an unpredictable path to a deeper rebuild process. Players leave, recruiting is stalled, success is pushed back 2-3 seasons. New hire - Unknown.

[eli#10]

I can't stand where this team is at and I can't stand the coaching performance, but the reality in my opinion:

Best case scenario

1. Cox Improves, possibly makes new staff hires, players stay. Recruiting is stable.

Worst case scenario

2. Cox is fired, which begins an unpredictable path to a deeper rebuild process. Players leave, recruiting is stalled, success is pushed back 2-3 seasons. New hire - Unknown.

Agree with this scenario. Staff changes should be a major consideration. The chance of me having a real good weekend and dinner tomorrow night increased greatly with the news that the Davidson game was cancelled.

[SmartyBarrett]

If they were to start leaving, it could be a sign that they do not have confidence that Cox will be able to right the ship and they chose to jump before it sinks.

Or it could be they have been asked to leave. If there's some assistant turnover this offseason, my first thought would be that it's a positive, not a negative.

[RhowdyRam02]

I can't stand where this team is at and I can't stand the coaching performance, but the reality in my opinion:

Best case scenario

1. Cox Improves, possibly makes new staff hires, players stay. Recruiting is stable.

Worst case scenario

2. Cox is fired, which begins an unpredictable path to a deeper rebuild process. Players leave, recruiting is stalled, success is pushed back 2-3 seasons. New hire - Unknown.

Worst case scenario is Cox is kept, doesn't improve, and we continue to be mediocre at best. Or Baron 2.0. You'd think after the Baron and Hurley eras people would realize how destructive consistent mediocrity can be and how rebuilding isn't always a bad thing, but here we are

[gazakaza]

For anyone who liked Moreys article, we had Morey on our show this week and talking a little bit more about the team, and focusing primarily on the article.

[bigappleram]

DC isn’t going anywhere, nor should he (yet).
Our best hope is that he shakes up the staff and that we retain the most impt players (Mitchell’s, Ish, Twan, Shepp if he’s open to another year).

[Gonebarongone]

I can't stand where this team is at and I can't stand the coaching performance, but the reality in my opinion:

Best case scenario

1. Cox Improves, possibly makes new staff hires, players stay. Recruiting is stable.

Worst case scenario

2. Cox is fired, which begins an unpredictable path to a deeper rebuild process. Players leave, recruiting is stalled, success is pushed back 2-3 seasons. New hire - Unknown.

Agree with this scenario. Staff changes should be a major consideration. The chance of me having a real good weekend and dinner tomorrow night increased greatly with the news that the Davidson game was cancelled.

Saying this is the best case scenario fails to take into account the fact that A. the right coach can convince the right core to stay and, maybe more importantly, college basketball now has the professional free agency part to it. The right guy can immediately raise the talent level. You basically laid out the reason to hire Cox in the first place and that, while it may turn out OK, is not the best case scenario. And I would push back on whoever was the guy that made the comment that player development is not on the coach. That is absolutely nuts. Yes, a guy can do drills on his own, shoot on his own, etc. But, guess what, almost every D1 player actually works pretty hard behind the scenes. Not everyone but most. The right coach structures that time in a way to max out these hours. They evaluate what exactly they need to work on. What's wrong with their post footwork, what's wrong with that Euro step, why are you coming off screens like that. Not to mention the cerebral part of the game. Player development for 18-22 year olds is a huge deal as it relates to coaching.

[Blue Man]

Let’s be clear, the “worst case” scenario is a constant “David Cox can get us over the hump if x, y, z - extend him.”

That’s what happened with Baron.

You either have the guy or you don’t.

But Baron’s team didn’t completely lose the message until the very end. Hence the change.

Baron came into a similar situation as Hurley from a rebuild.

Cox came into a turnkey top-of-conference scenario.

Hiring coaches to keep players is how we got Jerry D. Is that really what we want to base Dave Cox’s career off of here?

[RIFan]

Some people are born leaders and others are born supporting cast...there is nothing wrong with either, it's knowing what your strengths are and getting the most out of them. I think Cox was a top tier assistant and recruiter...that is a highly valuable job. I think he is struggling mightily transitioning to the main chair and it appears he is still the main recruiter. So trying to do 2 jobs at once...wasnt Hurley the closer and Cox the hunter? Seemed to work well. That way Hurley still had the head coach mystique and Cox had the friend relationship. Now he's trying to straddle both sides as well as learn how to coach a game...wasn't he paying attention in the second seat?

[rambone 78]

Cox is going to get the benefit of the doubt from Thorr and co. when it comes to next season.

This season and the months leading up to it saw a huge upheavel from normal.

Whatever the reasons were for players leaving after last season, the fact is, Cox had several glaring holes to fill, and not much time to do it.

And recruiting was a lot different, what with no visits and relationship building etc.

So DC went out and got guys to come here, with way more uncertainty around how good these guys really were, and how they would fit into the team.

He had some success {Mitchells] but some look like they aren't panning out.

So it looks like we have a bunch of individuals rather then a team, when it comes to playing together.

Of course, as has been said, to get them to come here, Cox probably had to promise guaranteed PT for them.

And that has been a disaster.

However, this does NOT absolve Cox of making many poor decisions as a coach.

His sub patterns, use of time outs, lack of adjustments, and I could go on for a while......this HAS to get better, a lot better, next season.

The heat should be on him to not only improve in many areas, but to straighten out the rotation, plus bring in a couple recruits that will address some of the glaring needs this teams has.

So to sum up, Cox was put in a tough spot...but so far, he's mucked it up big time, but he still has a chance to solve issues and stay, but the clock is ticking....or it SHOULD be ticking, imo.

[bigappleram]

Continuity is more important than keeping a certain player or players. KenPom tracks the stat and roster continuity is one of the biggest arbiters of success the following season. Ironically we hired for that but here in Year 3 our team entered the season with an abysmal continuity stat given we only returned 1 player (Fatts) who logged 20+ minutes per game last year and produced stats. 2 other bit players in terms of past production (Walker and Harris) were our only roster continuity from previous season. The Jerry D hire was about keeping Lamar, 1 player. 1 special player but 1 player. The DC hire was about keeping a core of the program (Jeff, Cyril and Fatts) as well as the highest rated recruiting class the school had seen in a long time, if not ever and turning the reigns over to someone who on paper was qualified for the role. How those recruits/players turned out is a moot point in describing the environment in which DC was hired. There was no slam dunk hire at the time and any inference of that is revisionist history.

[Jersey77]

Cox is going to get the benefit of the doubt from Thorr and co. when it comes to next season.

This season and the months leading up to it saw a huge upheavel from normal.

Whatever the reasons were for players leaving after last season, the fact is, Cox had several glaring holes to fill, and not much time to do it.

And recruiting was a lot different, what with no visits and relationship building etc.

So DC went out and got guys to come here, with way more uncertainty around how good these guys really were, and how they would fit into the team.

He had some success {Mitchells] but some look like they aren't panning out.

So it looks like we have a bunch of individuals rather then a team, when it comes to playing together.

Of course, as has been said, to get them to come here, Cox probably had to promise guaranteed PT for them.

And that has been a disaster.

However, this does NOT absolve Cox of making many poor decisions as a coach.

His sub patterns, use of time outs, lack of adjustments, and I could go on for a while......this HAS to get better, a lot better, next season.

The heat should be on him to not only improve in many areas, but to straighten out the rotation, plus bring in a couple recruits that will address some of the glaring needs this teams has.

So to sum up, Cox was put in a tough spot...but so far, he's mucked it up big time, but he still has a chance to solve issues and stay, but the clock is ticking....or it SHOULD be ticking, imo.

I do agree for the most part with this post

Under the circumstances this past year without being able to have potential transfers visit the campus, I think Cox did an admirable job in filling out our roster.

Many of us questioned DC's coaching methods on the bench and game planning, putting the players in the best position to win. Time will tell if we see an improvement in these areas resulting in an encouraging win/loss record. Hopefully sooner than later and next season should be telling.

Much of his success next year will depend on what unfolds this off-season:
Keeping his core players
Filling in some of the glaring holes and how Carey, AB, Martin will improve their play at his level with some consistency
What contributions the freshman; Tres, Ileri, and Samb will bring.
As mentioned above and maybe most important this staff also needs to up their game.

None of us know for sure what timetable Thorr has in mind for Cox to produce and meet his expectations.
We can only surmise that another uninspiring season will not bode well for this staff and their seats may get much warmer.

[bigappleram]

I can't stand where this team is at and I can't stand the coaching performance, but the reality in my opinion:

Best case scenario

1. Cox Improves, possibly makes new staff hires, players stay. Recruiting is stable.

Worst case scenario

2. Cox is fired, which begins an unpredictable path to a deeper rebuild process. Players leave, recruiting is stalled, success is pushed back 2-3 seasons. New hire - Unknown.

Agree with this scenario. Staff changes should be a major consideration. The chance of me having a real good weekend and dinner tomorrow night increased greatly with the news that the Davidson game was cancelled.

Saying this is the best case scenario fails to take into account the fact that A. the right coach can convince the right core to stay and, maybe more importantly, college basketball now has the professional free agency part to it. The right guy can immediately raise the talent level. You basically laid out the reason to hire Cox in the first place and that, while it may turn out OK, is not the best case scenario. And I would push back on whoever was the guy that made the comment that player development is not on the coach. That is absolutely nuts. Yes, a guy can do drills on his own, shoot on his own, etc. But, guess what, almost every D1 player actually works pretty hard behind the scenes. Not everyone but most. The right coach structures that time in a way to max out these hours. They evaluate what exactly they need to work on. What's wrong with their post footwork, what's wrong with that Euro step, why are you coming off screens like that. Not to mention the cerebral part of the game. Player development for 18-22 year olds is a huge deal as it relates to coaching.

You can push back but you’d be wrong. Some staffs have a designated development guy, like Shamgod when he was at PC. But for the most part the typical cbbg staff has a million jobs to do and if you think they log massive amounts of hours outside practice working with individual players on their skill development you’re mistaken. Yes within the structure of practice they will correct technical flaws and Coach individual skills within the structure of team concepts. But they don’t have 2-3 hour sessions with bigs on footwork and finishing moves, or with guards working on combo moves and jumpers. That stuff happens at the player level and ultimately the level of commitment the player makes is what separates them from their peers.

[NYGFan_Section208]

I can't stand where this team is at and I can't stand the coaching performance, but the reality in my opinion:

Best case scenario

1. Cox Improves, possibly makes new staff hires, players stay. Recruiting is stable.

Worst case scenario

2. Cox is fired, which begins an unpredictable path to a deeper rebuild process. Players leave, recruiting is stalled, success is pushed back 2-3 seasons. New hire - Unknown.

Or...2b
Stellar hire announced. Key players stay, stellar new hire recruits over some currently on team.

I just don't think it's as simple as best case, Cox stays, worst case, he's fired. There's probably some room for shading in there somewhere...

[Rhody72]

We have 5 reasonable starters: Fatts, Ish, Shepp, Antwan and Mahkel. Fatts is playing injured and Mahkel can only play half the game. When we go to the bench with Allen (who will start at times), Malik and DJ, we take a step down. When Harris or Carey play, we take two steps back. In short Cox has no good options. The injuries to Mahki and Fatts have been fatal. Harris and Carey were projected to be starters, Let's fire Calipari because he has similar problems, ditto for Coach K.

[Rhodymob05]

Remember when Carey started, and averaged 9 ppg? Crazy. Just watched the Seton Hall game again, I don't even recongnize that team. Can't wait to have both twins back.

[McRam]

DC isn’t going anywhere, nor should he (yet).
Our best hope is that he shakes up the staff and that we retain the most impt players (Mitchell’s, Ish, Twan, Shepp if he’s open to another year).

Big Apple, Right now, do you think that DC is a good college coach? Who in the A10 do you think DC is better than?

[McRam]

DC isn’t going anywhere, nor should he (yet).
Our best hope is that he shakes up the staff and that we retain the most impt players (Mitchell’s, Ish, Twan, Shepp if he’s open to another year).

Big Apple, Right now, do you think that DC is a good college coach? Who in the A10 do you think DC is better than?

[Rhody22]

We have 5 reasonable starters: Fatts, Ish, Shepp, Antwan and Mahkel. Fatts is playing injured and Mahkel can only play half the game. When we go to the bench with Allen (who will start at times), Malik and DJ, we take a step down. When Harris or Carey play, we take two steps back. In short Cox has no good options. The injuries to Mahki and Fatts have been fatal. Harris and Carey were projected to be starters, Let's fire Calipari because he has similar problems, ditto for Coach K.

This is exactly the problem with fans: they overhype all incoming players to their program. How many years in a row have we heard that we have such a deep bench that coach can throw 10-11 guys at the opponent and we will play at such a fast pace that we will run the other team out of the gym. Then we come to the harsh realization that Silverio isn’t Steph Curry and Mobley isn’t walking through that door. Every year Before the season starts we have the Pom Pom waving crowd with their ill conceived beliefs telling us how great each player is .

[Rhodymob05]

I don’t care how much we overhype these players, we saw them put on great performances this season vs good teams. Something was lost right before conference play. And they’ve shown flashes since, which wouldn’t exist at all with legitimately bad players.

[Billyboy78]

We have 5 reasonable starters: Fatts, Ish, Shepp, Antwan and Mahkel. Fatts is playing injured and Mahkel can only play half the game. When we go to the bench with Allen (who will start at times), Malik and DJ, we take a step down. When Harris or Carey play, we take two steps back. In short Cox has no good options. The injuries to Mahki and Fatts have been fatal. Harris and Carey were projected to be starters, Let's fire Calipari because he has similar problems, ditto for Coach K.

That's funny. I'm trying to remember Cox's national championships.

[UCH21377]

We have 5 reasonable starters: Fatts, Ish, Shepp, Antwan and Mahkel. Fatts is playing injured and Mahkel can only play half the game. When we go to the bench with Allen (who will start at times), Malik and DJ, we take a step down. When Harris or Carey play, we take two steps back. In short Cox has no good options. The injuries to Mahki and Fatts have been fatal. Harris and Carey were projected to be starters, Let's fire Calipari because he has similar problems, ditto for Coach K.

This is exactly the problem with fans: they overhype all incoming players to their program. How many years in a row have we heard that we have such a deep bench that coach can throw 10-11 guys at the opponent and we will play at such a fast pace that we will run the other team out of the gym. Then we come to the harsh realization that Silverio isn’t Steph Curry and Mobley isn’t walking through that door. Every year Before the season starts we have the Pom Pom waving crowd with their ill conceived beliefs telling us how great each player is .

ok, but isn't the coach responsible for bringing in the players? and maybe keeping some once they show up? we're in year 3, when does that excuse go away?

[DeanDome88]

It seems like next year is an important year for the program. If Cox can keep the players that he wants to keep in the program we should at least challenge for an NCAA bid with some player development. If those things do not happen the buck stops with the coaching staff. They are the ones responsible for recruiting, retaining and developing the players. I suggest he tries to retain all of them and enjoy some continuity. I do not expect Fatts to stay as it would cost him a year of playing professionally overseas in a career that is likely to be short because of his size. Hopefully most of the players enjoy attending the university and will stay for that reason because they are not all great basketball players deserving of major minutes. It's ok to be a role player and get a good education.

[Blue Man]

Put me in the Darien DeVries camp if we go belly up here.

Drake is a fun team to watch.

[theblueram]

Put me in the Darien DeVries camp if we go belly up here.

Drake is a fun team to watch.

I've been following Drake and DeVries this year but I haven't seen them play. But they are on now on ESPN2 so it will be interesting to watch.

[reef]

Or how about Porter Moser from Loyola Chic ??

[section(105)]

......wow, a sign we have reached a new level, where we now naming the names.......

[theblueram]

......wow, a sign we have reached a new level, where we now naming the names.......

Well, there is not much else to discuss re: Rhody basketball. If they win their last 2 games they will be .500 in conference and under overall. A suck ass year for sure.