11/23 | Florida Gulf Coast | 7:00PM (ESPN+)

[ElmCityRhody]

CUT BAIT

this coach is emBARONsing

complete waste

[PeterRamTime]

This looks bad now, but this squad could shoot off 5-6 wins in a row and all is well is Kingston. Crazier things have happened.

It'll just be a year like last year.

We can win every game we play and just as easily lose it. A mediocre mess at best.

[RhowdyRam02]

I feel bad for the people losing their minds.

This should be expected based on the body of work - really starting from the Brown game a few years ago.

Yup, I feel really bad for people still on the anger stage of the five stages of grief. I've already moved on to depression/acceptance

[NYGFan_Section208]

This looks bad now, but this squad could shoot off 5-6 wins in a row and all is well is Kingston. Crazier things have happened.

no, no, no, no. just no.

the guys in that dressing room know what an abortion of loss this is. and if they don't, then we have more issues than we're aware of.

this is a demoralizing loss that will fester. like jock itch. so I've heard. this is a loss that causes guys to pack it in. causes guys to go into business for themselves and that causes other issues.

it's going to get uglier before its gets better. I promise you.

Awesome doom post. Well played. Nothing captures the essence of misery quite like jock itch.
ETA: a friend told me.

[RhowdyRam02]

In positive news, the Women crushed Harvard to go to 6-0. Time to support that team.

This is the key takeaway from last night. Nobody's saying stop supporting URI, nobody's saying stop going to the Ryan Center, nobody's saying ignore basketball, but for this year if you really love URI the focus needs to be on the women's program. There were only 471 in attendance last night for their game, that team deserves much better

[Blue Man]

Good guard play is a prerequisite to a good season - the URI guards do not have quickness, no one deadly on shooting, and they are a tentative bunch. You need assertive guard play especially at the point. We do not have that in Sheppard. Last season I never quite got the fascination with Leggett, this year you only know he's on the court when he takes those wild, low percentage shots under the basket. And lately he can't hit even a free throw. The little guy from FGCU was 8-8. And don't get me going on Cox.

Guard play was my biggest worry coming in.

Cox has not coached well in game and he did not do a great job of getting guards good enough to get us to where we want to go.

I never got why people thought Leggett was that good either. He really doesn't have a high ceiling. He's a solid role player.

Every one of our guards is a solid role player. You need an EC or a JT.

You just can't rely on any of them to go out there and be a force to be reckoned with offensively.

We needed a shooter or a healthy and effective wing in Betrand

The problem is Cox doesn't care about the guard "positions" - he just figures anyone can go out there and direct the offense.

Who's our point guard? It's a debate, and that's the problem. Just like in football, if you have two QB's you have zero.

The PG is the most important player on your team and it's not even close.

Moving JD off the ball in favor of getting Fatts the ball in his hands more was the canary in the coal mine.

DC loves positionless athletes. He wants the team we have - where there's no defined PG, just a couple of guards and a couple of wings with long arms. Throw em out and we'll be "harder to defend" or something.

Well here's the result. No cohesion. No direction. Just 5 individuals playing rucker park ball against teams who's coaches say "let's make a change" while we keep trying to do the same things over and over.

If you wonder whether it's the coach or not, answer these questions and follow the pattern:

How many times has this team blown a lead late in the last 3+ seasons? How many times have we made a comeback late in a game? How do we look after halftime? How do we look after time outs?

Common theme? The time our coach has had an opportunity to make adjustments and either hasn't or has just been flat outcoached.

[section(105)]

…….come on guys, we’ve got over an hour to get into ten pages by noon……..I don’t think I have hit some many likes on posts ever……..all seem like the essence of what we are seeing/feeling is being captured and not just knee jerk reactions to a bad bad loss…….

[rambone 78]

More bad losses to come....many bad teams left to be played.......

oh wait....you mean WE are bad too?

When's the last time that there was more optimism over the women's team and the football program, then the men's BB program?

And we thought last year was bizarre.

URI BB....lost in the wilderness.

Not staying up any more to watch this crap...I'll check my phone in the morning, and then read the postmortems on this board the next day.

[Rhody15]

Good guard play is a prerequisite to a good season - the URI guards do not have quickness, no one deadly on shooting, and they are a tentative bunch. You need assertive guard play especially at the point. We do not have that in Sheppard. Last season I never quite got the fascination with Leggett, this year you only know he's on the court when he takes those wild, low percentage shots under the basket. And lately he can't hit even a free throw. The little guy from FGCU was 8-8. And don't get me going on Cox.

Guard play was my biggest worry coming in.

Cox has not coached well in game and he did not do a great job of getting guards good enough to get us to where we want to go.

I never got why people thought Leggett was that good either. He really doesn't have a high ceiling. He's a solid role player.

Every one of our guards is a solid role player. You need an EC or a JT.

You just can't rely on any of them to go out there and be a force to be reckoned with offensively.

We needed a shooter or a healthy and effective wing in Betrand

I know I’ve been harping on him but a lot, but It’s warranted. Leggett has been worse than a solid role player the last four games. He’s been unplayable.

His last four games:

2-19 FG, 10.5%
0-3 from 3, 0%
6-12 FT, 50%

2.0 APG
1.75 RPG

Malik HAS to start and get more minutes than him right now.

[RhowdyRam02]

When's the last time that there was more optimism over the women's team and the football program, then the men's BB program?

Seriously, when did we turn into the mid 80's to mid 90's Tennessee Volunteers?

[Blue Man]

Good guard play is a prerequisite to a good season - the URI guards do not have quickness, no one deadly on shooting, and they are a tentative bunch. You need assertive guard play especially at the point. We do not have that in Sheppard. Last season I never quite got the fascination with Leggett, this year you only know he's on the court when he takes those wild, low percentage shots under the basket. And lately he can't hit even a free throw. The little guy from FGCU was 8-8. And don't get me going on Cox.

Guard play was my biggest worry coming in.

Cox has not coached well in game and he did not do a great job of getting guards good enough to get us to where we want to go.

I never got why people thought Leggett was that good either. He really doesn't have a high ceiling. He's a solid role player.

Every one of our guards is a solid role player. You need an EC or a JT.

You just can't rely on any of them to go out there and be a force to be reckoned with offensively.

We needed a shooter or a healthy and effective wing in Betrand

I know I’ve been harping on him but a lot, but It’s warranted. Leggett has been worse than a solid role player the last four games. He’s been unplayable.

His last four games:

2-19 FG, 10.5%
0-3 from 3, 0%
6-12 FT, 50%

2.0 APG
1.75 RPG

Malik HAS to start and get more minutes than him right now.

Wait are you advocating for adjustments to a pre-ordained lineup? Don’t hold your breath lol.

[eli#10]

Just looked at box score and El-Amin needs to play more than 26 minutes and Walker more that 18. Walker had 13 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Why only 18 minutes?

[steveystuds06]

Just looked at box score and El-Amin needs to play more than 26 minutes and Walker more that 18. Walker had 13 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Why only 18 minutes?

Walker has been underused for two straight seasons. I would be pissed if I were him.

[rambone 78]

Just looked at box score and El-Amin needs to play more than 26 minutes and Walker more that 18. Walker had 13 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Why only 18 minutes?

Because it's pre-ordained...just like Blue Man said.

You thought Baron was stubborn?

This guy makes him look like an amateur on that regard!

Has anybody ever seen such inflexibility?

If I was Walker I'd want out of here.

Playing your best players the most minutes.....what a novel concept, that this coach can't figure out.

[Rhody15]

Just looked at box score and El-Amin needs to play more than 26 minutes and Walker more that 18. Walker had 13 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Why only 18 minutes?

Walker has been underused for two straight seasons. I would be pissed if I were him.

If only Walker had a little better handle and could play on the perimeter I feel like he’d be starting along with the twins.

Like many posters have said, the Mitchell’s were probably promised they’d both start if healthy, and deservedly so. They’ve been great this season.

[PeteRI]

From today's ProJo:

"They did a great job of spreading the floor, sharing the ball and making some tough 3s," said URI head coach David Cox. "We didn't help the issue, though, on the offensive end in the second half with all the turnovers."

"I was proud of the fight of our guys, playing three games in four days," Cox said.

Discuss.

[Martyf250]

Bye, Felicia!

[KeaneyBluBallz]

From today's ProJo:

"They did a great job of spreading the floor, sharing the ball and making some tough 3s," said URI head coach David Cox. "We didn't help the issue, though, on the offensive end in the second half with all the turnovers."

"I was proud of the fight of our guys, playing three games in four days," Cox said.

Discuss.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

GTFO

[steveystuds06]

From today's ProJo:

"They did a great job of spreading the floor, sharing the ball and making some tough 3s," said URI head coach David Cox. "We didn't help the issue, though, on the offensive end in the second half with all the turnovers."

"I was proud of the fight of our guys, playing three games in four days," Cox said.

Discuss.

In our last four games, we have lost in the second half. Teams know how to make adjustments while we seem to stick to our game plan, whether it's working or not. I do feel like Cox does have a problem because his best three players are all big men. As Rhody15 said, if Walker could play the 3, we would be a better team. I like EA, but I thought we needed a true point guard to help this team reach its full potential this season. We are currently ranked 334th out of 358 D-1 teams in unforced turnovers. That's because we don't have a point guard

[PeterRamTime]

From today's ProJo:

"They did a great job of spreading the floor, sharing the ball and making some tough 3s," said URI head coach David Cox. "We didn't help the issue, though, on the offensive end in the second half with all the turnovers."

"I was proud of the fight of our guys, playing three games in four days," Cox said.

Discuss.

Sounds like

"Part of the process"

[PeteRI]

From today's ProJo:

"They did a great job of spreading the floor, sharing the ball and making some tough 3s," said URI head coach David Cox. "We didn't help the issue, though, on the offensive end in the second half with all the turnovers."

"I was proud of the fight of our guys, playing three games in four days," Cox said.

Discuss.

In our last four games, we have lost in the second half. Teams know how to make adjustments while we seem to stick to our game plan, whether it's working or not. I do feel like Cox does have a problem because his best three players are all big men. As Rhody15 said, if Walker could play the 3, we would be a better team. I like EA, but I thought we needed a true point guard to help this team reach its full potential this season. We are currently ranked 334th out of 358 D-1 teams in unforced turnovers. That's because we don't have a point guard

That is a horrifying statistic - especially for a program with such a proud tradition of great guards.

[ramster]

Just looked at box score and El-Amin needs to play more than 26 minutes and Walker more that 18. Walker had 13 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Why only 18 minutes?

• El-Amin picked up a foul at 10:50 and 3:25 left in 1st half at which point with a media time-out El-Amin was subbed due to the 2 fouls for the rest of the 1st half.

• At 19.25 of the 2nd half El-Amin fouled and immediately was subbed for as he had 3 fouls. He came back in at 16:35 and did not foul the rest of the game. He played 26 minutes but likely would have played more if not for the early fouls.

• Walker came out once following a turnover with 6:27 left in the game. He also came out twice in the game and went straight to the trainers table for what looked like leg cramps. He then left the training table, at least twice that I can remember, and got on the bicycle for several minutes to work on his legs - so his limited minutes were partially due to physical issues.

[TruePoint]

El-Amin needs to be more assertive on offense, I’ll tell you that for free. He looks like a talented guy. It’s a joke he took 3 shots. He also had zero assists. If this team has any hope at all we are going to need a ton more from him.

Zooming out a little bit, 12 points and five assists total from your starting guards, when you start three of them, is just nowhere near good enough.

[reef]

El-Amin needs to be more assertive on offense, I’ll tell you that for free. He looks like a talented guy. It’s a joke he took 3 shots. He also had zero assists. If this team has any hope at all we are going to need a ton more from him.

Zooming out a little bit, 12 points and five assists total from your starting guards, when you start three of them, is just nowhere near good enough.

Agree with this also , El Amin can’t be only taking 3 shots in 26 minutes needs to be assertive

Leggett shouldn’t be playing more than half the game until he breaks out of this slump which I think he will

[PeteRI]

Come on, lets get this post to 10 pages. It'll be the only good thing to come out of this debacle.

[rhodylaw]

1. We should have won this game no matter what.

2. Re-thinking it a little, the third game in 4 days is a lot when playing a fresh team at home. Tired legs second half makes sense.

[section(105)]

1. We should have won this game no matter what.

2. Re-thinking it a little, the third game in 4 days is a lot when playing a fresh team at home. Tired legs second half makes sense.

……….not buying the tired legs syndrome……..early in the season, condition the players up to handle it……..coaching no?…….(doing my bit toward ten pages)

[Jersey77]

1. We should have won this game no matter what.

2. Re-thinking it a little, the third game in 4 days is a lot when playing a fresh team at home. Tired legs second half makes sense.

Rhodylaw, I agree with #1 not with #2.

I don't give them a pass, no excuses to lose that game.

These players practice hard every day, they all should be in great shape, and they had a day rest before the FGCU game.
Cox uses his bench so they all get breaks.

Besides what happens in March after a full season and they have to play 4 games in 4 days in the A10T (maybe 5).

[section(105)]

…….as Ted Kennedy said, we’ll cross that bride when we get to it…….is there a prize for the post that gets us to ten pages……..?

[Rhode_Island_Red]

…….as Ted Kennedy said, we’ll cross that bride when we get to it…….is there a prize for the post that gets us to ten pages……..?

He actually said, "we'll drive off that bridge when we come to it."

[Blue Man]

1. We should have won this game no matter what.

2. Re-thinking it a little, the third game in 4 days is a lot when playing a fresh team at home. Tired legs second half makes sense.

Rhodylaw, I agree with #1 not with #2.

I don't give them a pass, no excuses to lose that game.

These players practice hard every day, they all should be in great shape, and they had a day rest before the FGCU game.
Cox uses his bench so they all get breaks.

Besides what happens in March after a full season and they have to play 4 games in 4 days in the A10T (maybe 5).

We were UP FOURTEEN POINTS.

[section(105)]

……how many of these type second 1/2 collapses have we had withe HC……..feels like way to many……

[adam914]

I was served up a memory from google today of the photos I took 4 years ago this week while at Barclays watching Terrell hit a buzzer beater to take down Seton Hall in the NIT season tip off. And look at us now, wondering if we were just too tired to be able to beat a terrible Q4 FGCU team and hoping we can find a way to beat a Georgia State team with 6 players. Fun times!

[rambone 78]

Excuses are Cox's "thing".

That's what losers do.

[McRam]

……how many of these type second 1/2 collapses have we had withe HC……..feels like way to many……

I don’t think this is too complicated to explain. Has nothing to do with tired legs; Cox definitely starts to slow it down way too early- we all know that playing not to lose, will result in losing.

I actually watched a replay of the FGCU game, the team starting the second half just did not have the same intensity as the team that started the game. Ok, you lose a 14 point lead and there is 15 minutes to play. The truth is a quality coach would try something different. For example, how about double teaming the ball when crossing mid court by the little fella, (especially with the Mitchell’s guarding the rim)
‘
Most exasperating, on the Last play of the game, you need to force the ball out of the lib fella hands, and overplay any return pass- not hard to use this strategy with the few seconds left and Lil fella being the only break down player on FGCU.

Where is the next Nate Oates?

[theblueram]

……how many of these type second 1/2 collapses have we had withe HC……..feels like way to many……

I don’t think this is too complicated to explain. Has nothing to do with tired legs; Cox definitely starts to slow it down way too early- we all know that playing not to lose, will result in losing.

I actually watched a replay of the FGCU game, the team starting the second half just did not have the same intensity as the team that started the game. Ok, you lose a 14 point lead and there is 15 minutes to play. The truth is a quality coach would try something different. For example, how about double teaming the ball when crossing mid court by the little fella, (especially with the Mitchell’s guarding the rim)
‘
Most exasperating, on the Last play of the game, you need to force the ball out of the lib fella hands, and overplay any return pass- not hard to use this strategy with the few seconds left and Lil fella being the only break down player on FGCU.

Where is the next Nate Oates?

Tammi did it in the women's game when they were up by like 15 with 6 minutes left. VA came back to single digits and made it a tough game. I can never agree with not killing a team until about 2 minutes.

[rambone 78]

If you're good at it [stall ball] then it's OK to slow it down a little early.

If you're NOT good at it [like us] then DON'T do it until much later, like blueram just said.

Learning from experience doesn't seem to matter to this coach.

[Taylor Swift]

Eh based on what I'm gathering from this game, this is on par with that Fordham loss when Danny was coach.

……..I would say no, but you are in the neighborhood……..

Not even close to the Fordham game.

Completely different circumstances, time of season, expectations.

Yes, but the core feeling of complete and utter disappointment were there.