David Cox

[SmartyBarrett]

I did this mid-season at an admittedly high point for a lot of the numbers, so now that this year is in the books, here's a look at the KenPom ratings in Cox's three seasons. Note that this year's numbers could still fluctuate slightly with teams either passing URI or slipping below them. But not enough to make a significant difference.

Overall KenPom Ranking
2018-19: 142
2019-20: 65
2020-21: 99

Offensive Efficiency Ranking
2018-19: 185
2019-20: 126
2020-21: 125

Defensive Efficiency Ranking
2018-19: 112
2019-20: 39
2020-21: 82

[section(105)]

......gramps here, yes I sometimes yell shoot at high school hockey games, didn’t see the baseball movie......however my eye balls tell me our overall team defense is not good, individual brake downs, help side rotations often non-existent, not defending the three line, lack of adjustments on hot shooters, not enough pressure on ball in 1/2court, players loosing ball-u-man spacing, etc and other man defense fundamental principle failures......out....back in, I thought Dave was an educator......

[Rhodymob05]

His in game coaching is my biggest issue. But he did go through an unprecedented change of roster in one season and had to rely on almost all transfers which isn’t easy. But then you have to ask why those transfers left?

[rambone 78]

In game coaching, fundamentals in offense and defense, and overall discipline are the 3 biggest issues for me.

Those are huge issues, which have only gotten worse as time goes on.

Everyone can see them, and not just the so called experts. Even the rocket scientists like ourselves can.

If Thorr can't, then he's full of it.

The problems here go far beyond any legit excuse such as injuries.

[Rhode_Island_Red]

......gramps here, yes I sometimes yell shoot at high school hockey games, didn’t see the baseball movie......however my eye balls tell me our overall team defense is not good, individual brake downs, help side rotations often non-existent, not defending the three line, lack of adjustments on hot shooters, not enough pressure on ball in 1/2court, players loosing ball-u-man spacing, etc and other man defense fundamental principle failures......out....back in, I thought Dave was an educator......

And then there’s our “strategy” of fighting through, rather than switching, high picks, leading to countless open shots and uncontested layups.

[rambone 78]

Cox learned nothing from Hurley.

Defense?

[Jersey77]

Barring any unforeseen roster changes (big question mark) and assuming AB misses the first part of the season, the starting lineup to open 2021 may look like:
Ish - PG
Martin- CG
DJ - SF
Walker - PF
Makhel - C

I can see Carey, if he improves, starting at CG moving Martin to SF, not sure what Tres brings
Also depending on Makhi's recovery he can start at PF moving Walker to SF and DJ off the bench.

Hopefully we are able to add a quality guard in the offseason.
If JH ends up leaving, Ileri and Samb may contribute at either forward spot and we will have another opening for possibly a big.

If Shep decides to return that will fill a major hole.

Again comparing our roster to the rest of the A10 as it stands now, looking at a 7-8 place finish next season.
May even be a little optimistic considering we finished 10th this year and losing our top 2 scorers.

[Rhodymob05]

Honestly thats not a bad lineup, assuming guys improve year to year.

Harris is still a major mystery to me. I realize he didn't meet expectations as a high-end recruit, but I don't remember a player getting worse like this. I remember watching him at Mohegan Sun as a Freshman, playing against the team he almost chose (West Virginia). He had a solid performance, 11 points 3 boards in 26 min as a starter. This season, he can't even dribble, he looks lost, afraid, with no confidence. He went from shooting 75-76% his first two seasons, to 42% this year. Like he saw a ghost. Baffles me. Maybe its lack of attention by the staff since the Mitchells arrived? I hope he improves.

[Blue Man]

Honestly thats not a bad lineup, assuming guys improve year to year.

Harris is still a major mystery to me. I realize he didn't meet expectations as a high-end recruit, but I don't remember a player getting worse like this. I remember watching him at Mohegan Sun as a Freshman, playing against the team he almost chose (West Virginia). He had a solid performance, 11 points 3 boards in 26 min as a starter. This season, he can't even dribble, he looks lost, afraid, with no confidence. He went from shooting 75-76% his first two seasons, to 42% this year. Like he saw a ghost. Baffles me. Maybe its lack of attention by the staff since the Mitchells arrived? I hope he improves.

Or it's because then he was playing with a PG a majority of the time who knew how to direct the floor and space players out so they could get the ball in an area where they could be successful - even if the coach limited that PG's time spent with the ball in his hands.

All of the problems this year go to the coach.

His offense, if you can call it that, is 4 guys standing around while one player dribbles high outside. There may be a few cuts here and there, but after a cut is executed, the motion of the players stop which allows the defense to keep shape.

There are no movements or weaves that force defenders to chase or run into screens with the exception of a high screen outside the 3 point line that still leaves whatever player is handling the ball to execute a 20 foot drive to the hoop. Because there is no motion to our offense, there are no passing lanes or driving lanes that open up.

When people talk about "I've never see a high-low pass picked off more in my life" well yeah...because no other players are trying to move defenders out of passing lanes to allow for an open pass to the low post.

The reason this team turns the ball over more than anyone is because if you don't open lanes, you can't pass inside. We don't have players cutting to the hoop. 80% of our offense is a player getting the ball just inside the 3 point line and either settling for a shot or having to drive towards the hoop. We don't have a lot of guys who can handle the ball well, so we turn it over.

Your post-up forwards should not be getting the ball 15+ feet from the basket and be asked to drive into a lane packed with 4 defenders.

I do not understand how people can still think turnovers aren't on the coach.

[CTRamfan]

BLUE MAN.............Your best post ever !!!!

Well said.

[SGreenwell]

Honestly thats not a bad lineup, assuming guys improve year to year.

Harris is still a major mystery to me. I realize he didn't meet expectations as a high-end recruit, but I don't remember a player getting worse like this. I remember watching him at Mohegan Sun as a Freshman, playing against the team he almost chose (West Virginia). He had a solid performance, 11 points 3 boards in 26 min as a starter. This season, he can't even dribble, he looks lost, afraid, with no confidence. He went from shooting 75-76% his first two seasons, to 42% this year. Like he saw a ghost. Baffles me. Maybe its lack of attention by the staff since the Mitchells arrived? I hope he improves.

That is a pretty brutal lineup. Like, guys taking leaps from "barely playable" to even "average A10" starter are much, much rarer than people realize. That's why I keep bringing up Parfait Bitee - he's one of the few who's done it. Usually when players take a major "leap," it's because they went from 0 minutes to substantial minutes. Players who are already playing minutes usually don't make major improvements in their rate statistics. So, I'm not exactly bullish on Carey's future, or Bertrand.

Harris has had a really odd career. To bring up another "remember that guy?" from Rhody past, he kind of reminds me of PG Jon Lucky, who wasn't. Lucky was pretty much hurt the second he got to URI, and when he did play, he wasn't that effective. At a certain point, it's unclear if it was the cumulative effect of the injuries, or if he just wasn't an A10 caliber player to begin with. Harris has had nagging injuries over the years, and while I thought he'd be an average big man this year, he wasn't, and even "average big man" is short of the recruiting hype he had coming into the program. It wouldn't surprise me if he went somewhere else for his senior year, because he looks to be fourth in the current big man rotation for 2021-22.

[PeterRamTime]

Honestly thats not a bad lineup, assuming guys improve year to year.

Harris is still a major mystery to me. I realize he didn't meet expectations as a high-end recruit, but I don't remember a player getting worse like this. I remember watching him at Mohegan Sun as a Freshman, playing against the team he almost chose (West Virginia). He had a solid performance, 11 points 3 boards in 26 min as a starter. This season, he can't even dribble, he looks lost, afraid, with no confidence. He went from shooting 75-76% his first two seasons, to 42% this year. Like he saw a ghost. Baffles me. Maybe its lack of attention by the staff since the Mitchells arrived? I hope he improves.

That is a pretty brutal lineup. Like, guys taking leaps from "barely playable" to even "average A10" starter are much, much rarer than people realize. That's why I keep bringing up Parfait Bitee - he's one of the few who's done it. Usually when players take a major "leap," it's because they went from 0 minutes to substantial minutes. Players who are already playing minutes usually don't make major improvements in their rate statistics. So, I'm not exactly bullish on Carey's future, or Bertrand.

Harris has had a really odd career. To bring up another "remember that guy?" from Rhody past, he kind of reminds me of PG Jon Lucky, who wasn't. Lucky was pretty much hurt the second he got to URI, and when he did play, he wasn't that effective. At a certain point, it's unclear if it was the cumulative effect of the injuries, or if he just wasn't an A10 caliber player to begin with. Harris has had nagging injuries over the years, and while I thought he'd be an average big man this year, he wasn't, and even "average big man" is short of the recruiting hype he had coming into the program. It wouldn't surprise me if he went somewhere else for his senior year, because he looks to be fourth in the current big man rotation for 2021-22.

We are also bringing in a Abdou Samb, which could easily find himself better than JH for that fourth spot behind Walker and the twins.

He really is an enigma. Maybe if he wasn't so banged up he would have maintained enough confidence to become a respectable player.

Think about how different things would have been for Cox had JH actually been the player we thought he'd be.

[ramster]

Honestly thats not a bad lineup, assuming guys improve year to year.

Harris is still a major mystery to me. I realize he didn't meet expectations as a high-end recruit, but I don't remember a player getting worse like this. I remember watching him at Mohegan Sun as a Freshman, playing against the team he almost chose (West Virginia). He had a solid performance, 11 points 3 boards in 26 min as a starter. This season, he can't even dribble, he looks lost, afraid, with no confidence. He went from shooting 75-76% his first two seasons, to 42% this year. Like he saw a ghost. Baffles me. Maybe its lack of attention by the staff since the Mitchells arrived? I hope he improves.

That is a pretty brutal lineup. Like, guys taking leaps from "barely playable" to even "average A10" starter are much, much rarer than people realize. That's why I keep bringing up Parfait Bitee - he's one of the few who's done it. Usually when players take a major "leap," it's because they went from 0 minutes to substantial minutes. Players who are already playing minutes usually don't make major improvements in their rate statistics. So, I'm not exactly bullish on Carey's future, or Bertrand.

Harris has had a really odd career. To bring up another "remember that guy?" from Rhody past, he kind of reminds me of PG Jon Lucky, who wasn't. Lucky was pretty much hurt the second he got to URI, and when he did play, he wasn't that effective. At a certain point, it's unclear if it was the cumulative effect of the injuries, or if he just wasn't an A10 caliber player to begin with. Harris has had nagging injuries over the years, and while I thought he'd be an average big man this year, he wasn't, and even "average big man" is short of the recruiting hype he had coming into the program. It wouldn't surprise me if he went somewhere else for his senior year, because he looks to be fourth in the current big man rotation for 2021-22.

We are also bringing in a Abdou Samb, which could easily find himself better than JH for that fourth spot behind Walker and the twins.

He really is an enigma. Maybe if he wasn't so banged up he would have maintained enough confidence to become a respectable player.

Think about how different things would have been for Cox had JH actually been the player we thought he'd be.

Cox and Hurley recruited Harris. What kind of player did they think he would be? What happened?

[PeterRamTime]

That is a pretty brutal lineup. Like, guys taking leaps from "barely playable" to even "average A10" starter are much, much rarer than people realize. That's why I keep bringing up Parfait Bitee - he's one of the few who's done it. Usually when players take a major "leap," it's because they went from 0 minutes to substantial minutes. Players who are already playing minutes usually don't make major improvements in their rate statistics. So, I'm not exactly bullish on Carey's future, or Bertrand.

Harris has had a really odd career. To bring up another "remember that guy?" from Rhody past, he kind of reminds me of PG Jon Lucky, who wasn't. Lucky was pretty much hurt the second he got to URI, and when he did play, he wasn't that effective. At a certain point, it's unclear if it was the cumulative effect of the injuries, or if he just wasn't an A10 caliber player to begin with. Harris has had nagging injuries over the years, and while I thought he'd be an average big man this year, he wasn't, and even "average big man" is short of the recruiting hype he had coming into the program. It wouldn't surprise me if he went somewhere else for his senior year, because he looks to be fourth in the current big man rotation for 2021-22.

We are also bringing in a Abdou Samb, which could easily find himself better than JH for that fourth spot behind Walker and the twins.

He really is an enigma. Maybe if he wasn't so banged up he would have maintained enough confidence to become a respectable player.

Think about how different things would have been for Cox had JH actually been the player we thought he'd be.

Cox and Hurley recruited Harris. What kind of player did they think he would be? What happened?

I mean Xavier wanted him too, what did they see?

Maybe they thought he could be some kind of stretch 4?

[BlackDogRants]

Honestly thats not a bad lineup, assuming guys improve year to year.

Harris is still a major mystery to me. I realize he didn't meet expectations as a high-end recruit, but I don't remember a player getting worse like this. I remember watching him at Mohegan Sun as a Freshman, playing against the team he almost chose (West Virginia). He had a solid performance, 11 points 3 boards in 26 min as a starter. This season, he can't even dribble, he looks lost, afraid, with no confidence. He went from shooting 75-76% his first two seasons, to 42% this year. Like he saw a ghost. Baffles me. Maybe its lack of attention by the staff since the Mitchells arrived? I hope he improves.

That is a pretty brutal lineup. Like, guys taking leaps from "barely playable" to even "average A10" starter are much, much rarer than people realize. That's why I keep bringing up Parfait Bitee - he's one of the few who's done it. Usually when players take a major "leap," it's because they went from 0 minutes to substantial minutes. Players who are already playing minutes usually don't make major improvements in their rate statistics. So, I'm not exactly bullish on Carey's future, or Bertrand.

Harris has had a really odd career. To bring up another "remember that guy?" from Rhody past, he kind of reminds me of PG Jon Lucky, who wasn't. Lucky was pretty much hurt the second he got to URI, and when he did play, he wasn't that effective. At a certain point, it's unclear if it was the cumulative effect of the injuries, or if he just wasn't an A10 caliber player to begin with. Harris has had nagging injuries over the years, and while I thought he'd be an average big man this year, he wasn't, and even "average big man" is short of the recruiting hype he had coming into the program. It wouldn't surprise me if he went somewhere else for his senior year, because he looks to be fourth in the current big man rotation for 2021-22.

Lucky did have a sweet first floor "apartment" in Heathman though and he was allowed to drive his car right up on the sidewalk to park in front of the door.

[ramster]

We are also bringing in a Abdou Samb, which could easily find himself better than JH for that fourth spot behind Walker and the twins.

He really is an enigma. Maybe if he wasn't so banged up he would have maintained enough confidence to become a respectable player.

Think about how different things would have been for Cox had JH actually been the player we thought he'd be.

Cox and Hurley recruited Harris. What kind of player did they think he would be? What happened?

I mean Xavier wanted him too, what did they see?

Maybe they thought he could be some kind of stretch 4?

I don't know, but Hurley and Cox watched him play many times. The Coaches own who they sign. If players turn out to not be very good then you need to question their ability to assess talent.

[SGreenwell]

We are also bringing in a Abdou Samb, which could easily find himself better than JH for that fourth spot behind Walker and the twins.

He really is an enigma. Maybe if he wasn't so banged up he would have maintained enough confidence to become a respectable player.

Think about how different things would have been for Cox had JH actually been the player we thought he'd be.

Cox and Hurley recruited Harris. What kind of player did they think he would be? What happened?

I mean Xavier wanted him too, what did they see?

Maybe they thought he could be some kind of stretch 4?

I think the "jump" from high school to college is the hardest one to scout properly. Just thousands and thousands of players, it's hard to adjust for the difficulty of competition, statistics aren't kept well and have less value, showcases and AAU games don't really give a sense of how a guy does in a team setting or practice, etc.

[ramster]

Cox and Hurley recruited Harris. What kind of player did they think he would be? What happened?

I mean Xavier wanted him too, what did they see?

Maybe they thought he could be some kind of stretch 4?

I think the "jump" from high school to college is the hardest one to scout properly. Just thousands and thousands of players, it's hard to adjust for the difficulty of competition, statistics aren't kept well and have less value, showcases and AAU games don't really give a sense of how a guy does in a team setting or practice, etc.

Which is why Head Coaches make the big money.

[rambone 78]

Barring any unforeseen roster changes (probably unlikely) and assuming AB misses the first part of the season, the starting lineup to open 2021 may look like:
Ish - PG
Martin- CG
DJ - SF
Walker - PF
Makhel - C

I can see Carey, if he improves, starting at CG moving Martin to SF, not sure what Tres brings
Also depending on Makhi's recovery he can start at PF moving Walker to SF and DJ off the bench.

Hopefully we are able to add a quality guard in the offseason.
If JH ends up leaving, Ileri and Samb may contribute at either forward spot and we will have another opening for possibly a big.

If Shep decides to return that will fill a major hole.

Again comparing our roster to the rest of the A10 as it stands now, looking at a 7-8 place finish next season.
May even be a little optimistic considering we finished 10th this year and losing our top 2 scorers.

Your assumption that everybody will likely return....well I'll be surprised if they all do.

Your prediction of a 7th or 8th place A10 finish is great! Can't wait!

But you are probably right, unless some major talent is brought in.

Again, with Cox as coach, it's very questionable we'll be better.

We're going to have to start over when he's replaced, but that's the reality...at least there would be hope for the future.

[Jersey77]

Barring any unforeseen roster changes (probably unlikely) and assuming AB misses the first part of the season, the starting lineup to open 2021 may look like:
Ish - PG
Martin- CG
DJ - SF
Walker - PF
Makhel - C

I can see Carey, if he improves, starting at CG moving Martin to SF, not sure what Tres brings
Also depending on Makhi's recovery he can start at PF moving Walker to SF and DJ off the bench.

Hopefully we are able to add a quality guard in the offseason.
If JH ends up leaving, Ileri and Samb may contribute at either forward spot and we will have another opening for possibly a big.

If Shep decides to return that will fill a major hole.

Again comparing our roster to the rest of the A10 as it stands now, looking at a 7-8 place finish next season.
May even be a little optimistic considering we finished 10th this year and losing our top 2 scorers.

Your assumption that everybody will likely return....well I'll be surprised if they all do.

Your prediction of a 7th or 8th place A10 finish is great! Can't wait!

But you are probably right, unless some major talent is brought in.

Again, with Cox as coach, it's very questionable we'll be better.

We're going to have to start over when he's replaced, but that's the reality...at least there would be hope for the future.

Yes, I meant it would be unlikely our roster will stay intact, but who knows.

[PeterRamTime]

Barring any unforeseen roster changes (probably unlikely) and assuming AB misses the first part of the season, the starting lineup to open 2021 may look like:
Ish - PG
Martin- CG
DJ - SF
Walker - PF
Makhel - C

I can see Carey, if he improves, starting at CG moving Martin to SF, not sure what Tres brings
Also depending on Makhi's recovery he can start at PF moving Walker to SF and DJ off the bench.

Hopefully we are able to add a quality guard in the offseason.
If JH ends up leaving, Ileri and Samb may contribute at either forward spot and we will have another opening for possibly a big.

If Shep decides to return that will fill a major hole.

Again comparing our roster to the rest of the A10 as it stands now, looking at a 7-8 place finish next season.
May even be a little optimistic considering we finished 10th this year and losing our top 2 scorers.

Guards gotta pick up the slack big time. Need Betrand to come back healthy and be good. Probably need a transfer guard that's good.

My only hope is that Cox's first team improved a lot into his second year. We will see if some of that had anything to do with Cox next year.

[RhodyFanNotAlum]

UConn has just seen enough evidence in three years to extend Hurley's contract through 2027. But somehow some people here believe three years is not enough time to know you should walk away from a coach.

[Rhodyhooopz]

Anyone have access to today's projo article? It looks like someone there has been reading this message board.

[RhodyFanNotAlum]

Anyone have access to today’s projo article? It looks like someone there has been reading this message board.

Does URI extend coach David Cox, or move on?

By Bill Koch / The Providence Journal

It should be a relatively straightforward professional decision for University of Rhode Island athletic director Thorr Bjorn at the close of the 2021-22 season.

Offer a contract extension to men’s basketball coach David Cox or fire him.

Fully back the hire you made to follow Dan Hurley or admit your mistake and start over.

More:Dayton 84, URI 72: Flyers dump Rams from A-10 tournament

The hope, of course, was Cox would have sealed this choice for Bjorn by now. That his job performance would have rendered his initial five-year deal inadequate and forced a raise in salary, additional program enhancements and a further commitment to move forward deep into the 2020s.

That just hasn’t been the case.

Any momentum built by back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 2017 and 2018 has been squandered. The Rams finished with a sub-.500 record both overall and in Atlantic 10 play for the first time since the 2013-14 campaign. Dan Hurley was two seasons into a rebuild at that point – Cox inherited a far superior product.

The final on-court link to that special time in URI basketball history took his leave Thursday evening. Fatts Russell exited a conference tournament loss to Dayton with 20.7 seconds left, embraced by Cox and his teammates as he went to the bench at Siegel Center. The Rams wilted over the final 11 minutes in an 84-72 defeat and missed out on a fourth straight appearance in the semifinals.

URI dropped seven of its final eight games in 2020-21, hardly the trademark of a program on the correct trajectory. The Rams submitted their three worst defensive performances against George Washington, Duquesne and the Flyers, powerless to stop their opponents when it was required most. There was a time not long ago when even one such effort would have caught URI fans by surprise.

Cox is 49-39 though three seasons, an overall record that can be divided into three distinct sections. The middle portion was by far the best, a 24-6 run that included a strong finish to his 2018-19 debut and a rise to what could have been NCAA Tournament position to begin 2019-20. The start and most recent games of Cox’s tenure have resulted in a frustrating 25-33 mark, including a fade into last March and a third year that in hindsight was in trouble before it ever really started.

The Rams have suffered through the kind of roster turnover over the last 15 months that might be expected to coincide with a coaching change or be found at a league struggler. Transfers out like Tyrese Martin and Jacob Toppin have chipped away at URI’s talent base and taken some cohesion from the product on the floor. Marcus Santos-Silva left VCU for Texas Tech, but a quick scan of programs atop the conference – St. Bonaventure, Davidson, Saint Louis – shows a host of stars who figured to have more attractive options elsewhere deciding to stay put.

Kyle Lofton, Osun Osunniyi, Bones Hyland, Kellan Grady, Jordan Goodwin, Hasahn French, Javonte Perkins – all would have thrilled a Power 5 or Big East coach by putting their services back on the open market. Jared Terrell, E.C. Matthews and Hassan Martin would have done the same had they opted to leave URI at any point. Assembling a championship-caliber roster outside the sport’s bluebloods starts from within, a reality the Rams must emphasize again in the coming years.

High-profile departures serve as a reminder of the significant deficiencies still attached to the URI job, and it’s ultimately here where Cox deserves the greatest amount of latitude. Lack of a practice facility, a shallow staff salary pool and commercial flights – in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, no less – put the Rams behind some programs with which they would like to directly compete. Hurley is the only URI coach among the last four to reach March Madness – the last five at VCU have done so, and each of them won or shared a regular season or conference tournament championship in the process.

Kingston simply isn’t a place – barring gross professional or personal misconduct, of course – where a head coach with Cox’s record rightfully should be hired and fired within three years. And in terms of representing the university at large, Cox is a good person who has led the Rams through the dual challenges of the pandemic and the ongoing push for social justice. He is a role model for the predominantly young Black men in his program who use the sport as a vehicle for their education and potential professional futures.

Commendable as that is, it only goes so far. College basketball, for all of its academic window dressing and disingenuous references to student-athletes, is big business. There is a reason the sport soldiered on this winter and will stage an NCAA Tournament later this month – about $700 million worth of reasons.

URI closed 17-15 five years ago despite Matthews suffering a season-ending knee injury on the opening night. The Rams finished at .500 in league play. That seemed to set something of a new floor for the program – there would be no more drastic dips like those experienced by Jim Baron or even someone more accomplished like Al Skinner.

This season changed that calculus, and not for the better.  

bkoch@providencejournal.com
On Twitter: @BillKoch25

[ramster]

https://www.providencejournal.com/story ... 590953001/

[BleedBlue87]

UConn has just seen enough evidence in three years to extend Hurley's contract through 2027. But somehow some people here believe three years is not enough time to know you should walk away from a coach.

There is a difference between firing and extending a contract through three seasons. I would hope URI doesn't do an extension, but I don't think a firing is in the cards.

[RhodyFanNotAlum]

UConn has just seen enough evidence in three years to extend Hurley’s contract through 2027. But somehow some people here believe three years is not enough time to know you should walk away from a coach.

There is a difference between firing and extending a contract through three seasons. I would hope URI doesn’t do an extension, but I don’t think a firing is in the cards.

I don’t think a firing is in the cards, either. But some people here have argued that a firing shouldn’t even be up for discussion, and that’s where I disagree. I’d like to see it, but I know it’s not going to happen.

[BleedBlue87]

UConn has just seen enough evidence in three years to extend Hurley’s contract through 2027. But somehow some people here believe three years is not enough time to know you should walk away from a coach.

There is a difference between firing and extending a contract through three seasons. I would hope URI doesn’t do an extension, but I don’t think a firing is in the cards.

I don’t think a firing is in the cards, either. But some people here have argued that a firing shouldn’t even be up for discussion, and that’s where I disagree. I’d like to see it, but I know it’s not going to happen.

I see where you are coming from.

[STC]

UConn has just seen enough evidence in three years to extend Hurley’s contract through 2027. But somehow some people here believe three years is not enough time to know you should walk away from a coach.

There is a difference between firing and extending a contract through three seasons. I would hope URI doesn’t do an extension, but I don’t think a firing is in the cards.

I don’t think a firing is in the cards, either. But some people here have argued that a firing shouldn’t even be up for discussion, and that’s where I disagree. I’d like to see it, but I know it’s not going to happen.

I should clarify my previous comment. The discussion is fair based on the on-court performance and the revolving door of transfers. I don't think it is a discussion though in the sense that URI is not eating two years on his contract. So barring a donor stepping up and blessing us, Cox is here next year.

[rambone 78]

Koch covers a lot of the main points, but doesn't elaborate on the poor coaching and lack of fundamentals and discipline that we saw more and more, culminating in this year's disastrous finish.

It's not just the wins and losses, but how and why they lost, which reveals the deeper issues here.

If Thorr chalks it all up to the injuries to Fatts, Mitchell and others, then there's no chance of Cox leaving.

Whitewashing the problems won't help a damn thing.

[Rhodyhooopz]

I guess the big question is will Cox demand an extension this year? if he does, and Thorr says no what happens. A mutual agreement to part ways at a reduced buyout?

[Blue Man]

https://www.providencejournal.com/story ... 590953001/

Please click the link. Bill deserves your recorded eyeballs for the work he does.

Especially if you’re in the “ProJo doesn’t cover URI enough” camp. This is how you show demand for the product you want coverage for.

Also, BK nailed it and has the absolute perfect take.

Sucks to be Thorr this off-season.

[rambone 78]

Cox has no right to ask for anything right now. Extension not happening.

He should be happy just to keep his job, if he does.

[Rhodyhooopz]

Someone wanted this article written. Was it the Cox camp or the Thorr camp?

[eli#10]

Assistant coaches generally sign one year contracts so I say we should approach Tyson Wheeler as soon as we can and get him signed up to replace either TJ or A Carroll. How much longer will we keep John Carroll on the payroll at about $130,000 yearly. Freeing up that salary would be a good start in upgrading the assistant staff.

[adam914]

I know its been mentioned before, but I really think we are underestimating how much of a factor Dooley's departure is when it comes to making this decision. Among a variety of other reasons that have already been mentioned (covid, buyout, etc.), I think this is a decision that will be left to be made next offseason with a new President in charge. Hopefully for our sake whoever follows Dooley will recognize the importance of a strong basketball program to URI.

[Rhodymob05]

Good article Bill. Question remains, when would Thorr need to make a decision by?

[Smokinjimit2]

He’s not in a position to demand anything.

[reef]

Good article Billy Koch !!

Say no to an extension, I would prefer a change to be made now but looks like a long shot

[RhowdyRam02]

Bill Koch:

Dayton averaged an adjusted 1.296 points/possession against #URI on Thursday. Third straight game where the #Rams set a new season worst.

Started at George Washington, then at Duquesne, now here in their lone #A10MBB matchup.

That's the most adjusted points per possession allowed in a game by #URI under David Cox. Thursday was his 88th game in charge with the #Rams

That's proof the team has given up on the season and given up on the coach

[RhowdyRam02]

Sucks the way we ended this season looks like we have a major rebuild on our hands

The Mitchell twins, Walker, Ish, Martin and Betrand as a starting point doesn't equate to a major rebuild. Who knows if others eligible to return such as Sheppard (I doubt Fatts)? We have 2 original 4 star recruits not mentioned who can return but they haven't shown that they can contribute very much. Then there are recruits. Unless there are major defections, we'll have a good team. Wish we had a more supportive fan base.

We weren't a tournament team last year with Fatts playing at a first team All-Atlantic 10, first team defense level, along with Jeff Dowtin on the third team All-Atlantic 10, Cyril Langevine averaging a double double every night and Tyrese Martin giving you 12.8 points 7.1 rebounds a night. If Cox couldn't get it done with that core, the core coming back next year isn't near enough to get over the hump

[RhowdyRam02]

Consider all of the other NCAA teams this year that were robbed of practice time, endured “pauses” of their programs for weeks at a time because of positive tests and had games canceled left and right. Now consider that Rhody never experienced an extended Covid-related interruption at any point. That should have been a big advantage — assuming they had a coach who could have capitalized on it.

If Cox is allowed to hang around and waste another year, the only reason I’ll go to any games at all will be the fact that I already agreed months ago to roll this year’s payment into next season. If they were asking me to decide whether to renew right now, it would be a hard no as long as Cox is still in charge.

See if they'll let you roll this year's payment into season tickets for the women's team

[PeterRamTime]

Sucks the way we ended this season looks like we have a major rebuild on our hands

The Mitchell twins, Walker, Ish, Martin and Betrand as a starting point doesn't equate to a major rebuild. Who knows if others eligible to return such as Sheppard (I doubt Fatts)? We have 2 original 4 star recruits not mentioned who can return but they haven't shown that they can contribute very much. Then there are recruits. Unless there are major defections, we'll have a good team. Wish we had a more supportive fan base.

We weren't a tournament team last year with Fatts playing at a first team All-Atlantic 10, first team defense level, along with Jeff Dowtin on the third team All-Atlantic 10, Cyril Langevine averaging a double double every night and Tyrese Martin giving you 12.8 points 7.1 rebounds a night. If Cox couldn't get it done with that core, the core coming back next year isn't near enough to get over the hump

Well Fatts stopped playing like a first team All American from the Dayton game on. I mean, if Fatts doesn't miss a billion shots against Davidson we would've been fine.

[RhowdyRam02]

Anyone have access to today’s projo article? It looks like someone there has been reading this message board.

https://www.providencejournal.com/story ... 590953001/

Good lord. For better or worse, Bill always seems to be a just the facts kind of reporter. For him to submit this kind of commentary is absolutely damning

[Brian Forster]

Track & Field has no $$. Baseball has no $$. Girls hoops has no $$.
Very well coached teams.

[DigB]

I don't believe the players gave up. I believe they get desperate. Confidence starts with coaching and builds when successes are achieved on the court. URI never established go-to defenses or offensive plays.

This is a smart board. Did you see players in the right set more often than not? IMO, the offense was AAU style. Our players needed something else. Look how easy Dayton scored, for instance.

Our defense, on the other hand, was in the right set. The players panicked and overplayed the ball. That is on the coach to take TOs and reinforce the system.

[Rhody15]

The one thing we do have to give Cox credit on, and it does come with some luck, is that we did not have one pause in the summer, fall, or during the season, played the most games in the league, and had only one game cancelled.

Yes, there is some luck involved, but credit to Cox for keeping the team in check.

Now you would THINK that with no pauses we’d be able to make team chemistry improve playing every single day, and that’s where Cox deserves 100% of the blame seeing how we got worse as the season progressed.

[rhodylaw]

The one thing we do have to give Cox credit on, and it does come with some luck, is that we did not have one pause in the summer, fall, or during the season, played the most games in the league, and had only one game cancelled.

Yes, there is some luck involved, but credit to Cox for keeping the team in check.

Now you would THINK that with no pauses we’d be able to make team chemistry improve playing every single day, and that’s where Cox deserves 100% of the blame seeing how we got worse and the season progressed.

It will be interesting to see if there are other teams that had no pauses that make the tourney. I wonder if the stress of not having a pause is greater than actually having the pause. Interesting thought. Add it to the manifesto of excuses.

[LoveThoseRams]

Hurley just accepted an extension into 2026.

[Rhody15]

Hurley just accepted an extension into 2026.

They’re only gonna get better from here on out.