David Cox officially let go by URI (formerly, "Fire Cox")

[theblueram]

They did.

Ok, fair enough, looks like a 10 year deal thru around 2029, the deal is worth around $30 or $40 million.
That's a significant mistake IMO.

How much is the buyout if they want to fire him?

You're on the wrong board asking these questions. Friars have a board as well. Ask them.

[PeteRI]

PLEASE tell me he did not say that last night??

Direct lift from Bill Koch's ProJo article from today. I can't make this up.

…..if this quote is fact, checking the Pamphlet tomorrow, things are way way worse than we think…….maybe there was some contextual relevance, but if he just burped that up as an example of how had we competed…….yikes…….

News flash! There's this thing called the Interwebs. Get the grandkids to show it to you after your next nap.

[section(105)]

……….funny, just got up from nap and read this!………I send them a post card, asking if they can help……..thanks……

[BruceW]

This may have already been answered. Will Bozeman be given any consideration should Cox be fired ? Or Thor will start anew ? Thank you

[section(105)]

This may have already been answered. Will Bozeman be given any consideration should Cox be fired ? Or Thor will start anew ? Thank you

……..no, he may get an obligatory interview at best……..time for new broom…….

[RI_Bred]

My God. Is it nearly time to pull the plug on this? I think we've all seen enough at this point.

Don't forget, we kept Cox to "keep the players" and so that we "wouldn't have to do a complete rebuild".

How did either of those two things work out? In hindsight? It would seem the reasons we hired Cox have completely dissolved leaving no reason to continue with it.

Total backfire and we got double-whammied as a result.

[Taylor Swift]

Another terrible Cox quote from last night:

“Our guys are playing hard,” URI coach David Cox said. “They’re trying to share it. They’re trying to play the right way. But there’s a certain pace we’ve got to play with. There’s also a certain understanding of the game you have to have at a certain point.”

His comments are starting to make sense. It's like he sticks sentences at the wall and tries to see which one sticks.

How can a HC with all this experience have SO much regression? Typically, you work on ways to improve -- not get worse?!

It simply sounds like there's zero respect amongst the players and coaching staff.

[Backroads]

so, I met Tyler Burton's dad after the game at a local restaurant. Asked him why Tyler didn't stay local (he's from Uxbridgde, MA) and consider URI...his response was "Ask David Cox"...BTW, he is the leading scorer in the A10!

So what's that about Cox's recruiting ability??

The above is 100% correct about Cox turning him down. He wanted to come to URI and we turned him down. I knew it at the time, and was perplexed by it. Tyler has always been a plus athlete, now his basketball skills are much better than they were in high school and he has become a very good player. Total recruiting miss.

This team is painful to watch. And this is painful to say because I really think he is such a good guy, but it is time to move in a different direction. And now I am posting in a thread I called ridiculous a month or so ago. But that is where I am now and even if we take a step back in the next year or two, as long as we make a good strong hire, it is what should be done. Where we are now no one is happy with.

Looking back in the recruiting thread URI Offered Burton as Burton himself tweeted out the offer news 3 years ago. Then later Burton himself tweeted out that he had URI in his Final 6. Maybe URI backed off but it’s not like URI didn’t show interest at one time.



Just in: Marianapolis Prep and Mass Rivals’ Tyler Burton announces his final 6 via Twitter this morning. URI, Richmond, Sienna, Quinnipiac, Northeastern, and St. Bonaventure made the cut.


http://keaneyblue.com/viewtopic.php?t=7357

Saw someone tweet a joke a few days ago, went something like ‘Who’s gonna have a greater impact at Kentucky next year? Jacob Toppin or Tyler Burton?’

[RhowdyRam02]

This may have already been answered. Will Bozeman be given any consideration should Cox be fired ? Or Thor will start anew ? Thank you

Why would he be given serious consideration?

[PCFriars]

Cooley had a quote a while back that good coaches have good players and bad coaches have bad players. I personally would replace the word "bad" with "losing". Cox has hitched his wagon to losing players (Fatts and now the Mitchells) while marginalizing his winners. Dowtin's talent and athleticism didn't jump off the page, but he just routinely made one winning play after another.

Cooley did the same thing last year with Duke - a player that you can not win with.

I think you've got a good one in Thomas. He's going to show himself to be a good player and a winner under a good coaching staff.

[phipsiGD'11]

[/quote]

Like - the moronicism (I like the word) of this post, the idea behind it, and the lack of any realistic contextual knowledge of URI athletics before Thorr got here is as astonishing as it is appalling.

I mean, are you insinuating that URI was Duke in basketball, Alabama in football, USC in baseball, UConn in WBB, etc before he arrived?

Like I was in school before he arrived, and when he arrived. I was a die hard fan 2 AD's before he arrived.

You have absolutely no idea how hard it is to get ANYTHING accomplished at the university of Rhode Island - you literally can't fire any of your tenured staff. You have next to zero funding from your school or state. And to your comments about how he should be out there fundraising and getting big donors engaged - you literally have zero idea about how non-existent those donors were before Thorr. Tom Ryan made a big splash in 2000. What else did URI have before Thorr came in?

The upgrades to the Ryan Center, locker rooms, offices, baseball field, training facility, football field, soon-to-be practice facility, etc, etc, etc all came under his watch. Do you even remember what URI athletics looked like before him? Do you remember the Ryan Center before video boards?

We might complain about coverage and media outreach now - do you remember what it was like before Nelligan Sports came into the picture? Soon to be acquired by Learfield? Do you know who was responsible for that?

If you want to talk about major sports at URI (football and basketball) - things have been significantly better with Thorr than without. He nailed the Rizzi hire so well that Rizzi got poached by the NFL. He had to hire a retread coach on short notice and then after recognizing Trainer wasn't the guy, he grabbed Fleming from UCF. Fleming has been the most successful football coach at URI in 25 years. He's been within 1 game of the playoffs 2 of the last 3 years, had covid take away a season that could've wound up in the playoffs as well. URI has spent weeks ranked in the top 25. URI has produced NFL talent.

Men's basketball - I mean really, shit sucks right now because Cox is the wrong guy - but he fired Jim Baron and brought in Dan Hurley. And to keep Dan happy you needed to keep Cox, so Hurley negotiated in his contract a contingency for Cox to become coach if he left - because we didn't have the capital to pay an assistant HC at the level it would've taken to keep Dave Cox without it.

The Cox hire was the right hire for a team trying to build itself into a program. It was a sound, logical, and smart decision based on the shape of the program at the time. It didn't work out. That's not on Thorr. That's on Cox.

Thorr hits far more than he misses. He is yet to repeat a mistake. The athletic department overall has been carried through more tumultuous situations than someone posting something this uninformed could possible fathom. Thorr is fighting a war against an archaic state education system that refuses to support it's flagship university's athletic programs.

I mean besides having a NACDA award for Athletic Director of the year in 2016, and being on the NCAA 1AA football championship committee - who knows maybe we're all wrong and you're the one that's right?

Doubtful, but hey stranger things have happened.
[/quote]

Man, I am glad this wasn't worse for me. Surprised more people didn't bash this take, but I guess you did a good enough job that others didn't need to kick me while I was down.

I guess my wife was right, just because Sloop Juice is on sale at Costco doesn't mean I have to drink all of it in one night.

Not sure why I decided to do a 6th grade level research project while drunk, quoting wikipedia and gorhody as my two sources is hilarious.

If Cox ended up working like we all thought he would, I would have been calling for a statue to be raised outside the RC to honor Thorr.

Although, I still feel that he really dropped the ball on the whole new logo reveal. And he better not bring Cox back.

[NYGFan_Section208]

Fret not, I'm sure many a fine post has come from drunkwikigorhodya.

[rambone 78]

If enough people with the purse strings tell Thorr that they won't fund this train wreck if he brings Cox back......then he won't.

[Puck Frovidence]

I'll tell ya this much it didn't look like the team competed very well and nobody but VCU looked like they were having much fun so I'd say we went 0-3 yesterday.

[Rhodymob05]

Anyways lets make it interesting. Odds that Cox is out after this season? I say 75% chance. If we make it to the A10 finals, I'd say 25% chance.

[SmartyBarrett]

Anyways lets make it interesting. Odds that Cox is out after this season? I say 75% chance. If we make it to the A10 finals, I'd say 25% chance.

I'll go more drastic in both directions. I'll say 90-95% chance he's out and if they (somehow) make the A-10 finals I think it's more like 10-15%. They're not making the A-10 finals, though. So there's that.

[RoadyJay]

Anyways lets make it interesting. Odds that Cox is out after this season? I say 75% chance. If we make it to the A10 finals, I'd say 25% chance.

I'll go more drastic in both directions. I'll say 90-95% chance he's out and if they (somehow) make the A-10 finals I think it's more like 10-15%. They're not making the A-10 finals, though. So there's that.

My biggest concern is Thorr, for some reason, is unable to pull the trigger. I don’t think this will be an easy termination for him. I get it, at the end of the day it’s a business, but I’m sure he is/will agonize over this

[RhodyFanNotAlum]

Anyways lets make it interesting. Odds that Cox is out after this season? I say 75% chance. If we make it to the A10 finals, I'd say 25% chance.

I'll go more drastic in both directions. I'll say 90-95% chance he's out and if they (somehow) make the A-10 finals I think it's more like 10-15%. They're not making the A-10 finals, though. So there's that.

My biggest concern is Thorr, for some reason, is unable to pull the trigger. I don’t think this will be an easy termination for him. I get it, at the end of the day it’s a business, but I’m sure he is/will agonize over this

You're probably right, but each additional loss right now surely makes it just a little easier for him.

[LoveThoseRams]

Does anyone remember when folks on this Board were worried that Cox would get whisked away by another school?

[Blue Man]

I'll go more drastic in both directions. I'll say 90-95% chance he's out and if they (somehow) make the A-10 finals I think it's more like 10-15%. They're not making the A-10 finals, though. So there's that.

My biggest concern is Thorr, for some reason, is unable to pull the trigger. I don’t think this will be an easy termination for him. I get it, at the end of the day it’s a business, but I’m sure he is/will agonize over this

You're probably right, but each additional loss right now surely makes it just a little easier for him.

The biggest issue here is Cox is one of the most likable, genuine coaches we've had probably since Skinner. But different than Skinner he also has a presence and is a great speaker/representative for the University off the court. Al just wanted to coach. Super nice guy but introverted.

Cox and his family are visible and really bought into being a part of this community - not just at men's basketball games but they were at every football game as a family and I'm pretty sure every WBB game, other university events, his daughter went here, works here - they genuinely love being a party of the URI family. I love that they are. I sincerely mean that.

He's just not a good coach and he's lost out there. It's gotten embarrassing. I'm sure for him as well.

But Thorr knows all of this, which makes it a really agonizing decision. It was a lot easier to move on from Jerry D (lol) or Baron (11 years and then a dumpster fire). Despite the lack of on court success, Cox has built himself into this community. Cox being here 4 years would be the shortest coaching tenure here in 20 years. Obviously he's cooked and it's pretty obvious, but again - I still don't think it's a foregone conclusion unless we really blow it at the end here.

I legitimately think if we finish above .500 he stays. Which I think is the wrong decision, but from a business/basketball perspective it's a tougher sell to an incoming coach if you fire a coach who "on paper" was able to "turn it around" in the face of Covid, etc.

Best thing this program can do is lose out and start fresh.

[Blue Man]

Does anyone remember when folks on this Board were worried that Cox would get whisked away by another school?

There was like 4 of them. 1 is a troll and 3 were the same dude running burner accounts.

[Gonebarongone]

My biggest concern is Thorr, for some reason, is unable to pull the trigger. I don’t think this will be an easy termination for him. I get it, at the end of the day it’s a business, but I’m sure he is/will agonize over this

You're probably right, but each additional loss right now surely makes it just a little easier for him.

The biggest issue here is Cox is one of the most likable, genuine coaches we've had probably since Skinner. But different than Skinner he also has a presence and is a great speaker/representative for the University off the court. Al just wanted to coach. Super nice guy but introverted.

Have played pickup with Al many times and have had one or two brief conversations. And know a few guys who really know him. Furthest thing from an introvert. And that guy has capital P presence when you are around him. He just carries himself a certain way. He never wanted to be on the rubber chicken circuit or kiss rings at AAU events. Those are two different things, though. To say Cox has this presence compared to Al is something else.

[Blue Man]

You're probably right, but each additional loss right now surely makes it just a little easier for him.

The biggest issue here is Cox is one of the most likable, genuine coaches we've had probably since Skinner. But different than Skinner he also has a presence and is a great speaker/representative for the University off the court. Al just wanted to coach. Super nice guy but introverted.

Have played pickup with Al many times and have had one or two brief conversations. And know a few guys who really know him. Furthest thing from an introvert. And that guy has capital P presence when you are around him. He just carries himself a certain way. He never wanted to be on the rubber chicken circuit or kiss rings at AAU events. Those are two different things, though. To say Cox has this presence compared to Al is something else.

How's "public" presence. I agree. I had a few interactions with Al and thought he was larger than life.. I mean I was a kid at the time when he was coaching here, but it seemed like the only knock was that Al didn't want to be a promoter, per se.

[Rhody15]

It is going to be absolutely tremendous when we fire Cox and hire Chris Mooney who Richmond will most likely fire as well.

[Blue Man]

It is going to be absolutely tremendous when we fire Cox and hire Chris Mooney who Richmond will most likely fire as well.

"Seppuku" comes to mind.

[RhodyKyle]

Does anyone remember when folks on this Board were worried that Cox would get whisked away by another school?

There was like 4 of them. 1 is a troll and 3 were the same dude running burner accounts.

Are you discounting that troll's experience hiring people???

[NYGFan_Section208]

It is going to be absolutely tremendous when we fire Cox and hire Chris Mooney who Richmond will most likely fire as well.

"Seppuku" comes to mind.

I had to look that up...to those of you that don't know what it means, do yourself a favor and keep it that way. Just sayin'.... it's not... good.

[RhodyKyle]

It is going to be absolutely tremendous when we fire Cox and hire Chris Mooney who Richmond will most likely fire as well.

"Seppuku" comes to mind.

I had to look that up...to those of you that don't know what it means, do yourself a favor and keep it that way. Just sayin'.... it's not... good.

Japanese suicide where you stab yourself in the stomach with a sword

[NYGFan_Section208]

"Seppuku" comes to mind.

I had to look that up...to those of you that don't know what it means, do yourself a favor and keep it that way. Just sayin'.... it's not... good.

Japanese suicide where you stab yourself in the stomach with a sword

Ok, I read "ritual disembowelment"....your way doesn't make it seem as bad...

[RhowdyRam02]

I had to look that up...to those of you that don't know what it means, do yourself a favor and keep it that way. Just sayin'.... it's not... good.

Japanese suicide where you stab yourself in the stomach with a sword

Ok, I read "ritual disembowelment"....your way doesn't make it seem as bad...

Tomato tomatoe

[Sweep The Leg]

You're probably right, but each additional loss right now surely makes it just a little easier for him.

The biggest issue here is Cox is one of the most likable, genuine coaches we've had probably since Skinner. But different than Skinner he also has a presence and is a great speaker/representative for the University off the court. Al just wanted to coach. Super nice guy but introverted.

Have played pickup with Al many times and have had one or two brief conversations. And know a few guys who really know him. Furthest thing from an introvert. And that guy has capital P presence when you are around him. He just carries himself a certain way. He never wanted to be on the rubber chicken circuit or kiss rings at AAU events. Those are two different things, though. To say Cox has this presence compared to Al is something else.

I got to play in the faculty game during lunch a few times when they needed an extra player. Al was really engaging and funny. He didn't seem introverted on and off the court from my memories.

[URI_05]

It is going to be absolutely tremendous when we fire Cox and hire Chris Mooney who Richmond will most likely fire as well.

You shouldn't even joke about this.

[NYGFan_Section208]

Japanese suicide where you stab yourself in the stomach with a sword

Ok, I read "ritual disembowelment"....your way doesn't make it seem as bad...

Tomato tomatoe

And that's exactly why I don't like tomatoes....

[KeaneyBluBallz]

Ok, I read "ritual disembowelment"....your way doesn't make it seem as bad...

Tomato tomatoe

And that's exactly why I don't like tomatoes....

ketchup or catsup ?

[Taylor Swift]

Tomato tomatoe

And that's exactly why I don't like tomatoes....

ketchup or catsup ?

I actually just had some tomatoes with bagel seasoning with my dinner. haha It's so good!

[Puck Frovidence]

I had to look that up...to those of you that don't know what it means, do yourself a favor and keep it that way. Just sayin'.... it's not... good.

Japanese suicide where you stab yourself in the stomach with a sword

Ok, I read "ritual disembowelment"....your way doesn't make it seem as bad...

I have actually studied samurai culture on several prestigious UHF channels on multiple Saturday afternoons in my youth, so I'm something of an expert. IIRC in seppuku first you gotta gut yourself, then your buddy cuts off your head so you don't have to hang around. Then some guy with a baby in a wooden stroller kills all your goons. Speaking purely academically of course.

[NYGFan_Section208]

Japanese suicide where you stab yourself in the stomach with a sword

Ok, I read "ritual disembowelment"....your way doesn't make it seem as bad...

I have actually studied samurai culture on several prestigious UHF channels on multiple Saturday afternoons in my youth, so I'm something of an expert. IIRC in seppuku first you gotta gut yourself, then your buddy cuts off your head so you don't have to hang around. Then some guy with a baby in a wooden stroller kills all your goons. Speaking purely academically of course.

Thanks for the insight. Very helpful. What if I don't have any goons? And, is it harder to find a buddy to help you move, or cut off your head I wonder?

[Puck Frovidence]

Good question, couldn't say. My research tenure ended abruptly when my dad came in and told us to help him bring the trash and recyclables to the dump.

[rhodyrudder]

Ok, I read "ritual disembowelment"....your way doesn't make it seem as bad...

I have actually studied samurai culture on several prestigious UHF channels on multiple Saturday afternoons in my youth, so I'm something of an expert. IIRC in seppuku first you gotta gut yourself, then your buddy cuts off your head so you don't have to hang around. Then some guy with a baby in a wooden stroller kills all your goons. Speaking purely academically of course.

Thanks for the insight. Very helpful. What if I don't have any goons? And, is it harder to find a buddy to help you move, or cut off your head I wonder?

Help you move

[reef]

Anyways lets make it interesting. Odds that Cox is out after this season? I say 75% chance. If we make it to the A10 finals, I'd say 25% chance.

I will guess 85 % Cox is gone I don’t see us doing much the rest of the year to make Thorr want to keep him

[rambone 78]

There's basically a 0% chance of a turnaround......the fat lady is clearing her throat....

We might win a couple games, and maybe one game in DC, but that won't be anywhere near enough.

[RhodyKyle]

Remember when the prevailing theory was that Cox made the OOC schedule junk to pad his win total and force an extension? Cox can't even juke the numbers properly.

[Blue Man]

Remember when the prevailing theory was that Cox made the OOC schedule junk to pad his win total and force an extension? Cox can't even juke the numbers properly.

Yeah no one told him that the whole point of the Baron schedule is to win the games against the bad teams.

Can't fault him though. He was watching tape to try and prepare for how he was going to stop Kellan Grady this year.

[RhowdyRam02]

We were 9-3 OOC with one of those wins against a division 2 team and games against College of Charleston and Brown cancelled. He tried, but he was forgetting what a buzz saw the A10 is...

[NYGFan_Section208]

I'm not so sure he sacked the schedule, not holding that against him. I just think they were not able to do any better.

[PeteRI]

Legitimate recruiting question:
Why doesn't our MBB program ever recruit foreign student athletes? 2 of 5 Tammi's starters are French, and 8 reserves are from other countries. And much of Davidson MBB's recent success can be directly attributed to foreign players.

[Matt Keebler]

What about Aris Tsourgiannis?

[Bos8]

Legitimate recruiting question:
Why doesn't our MBB program ever recruit foreign student athletes? 2 of 5 Tammi's starters are French, and 8 reserves are from other countries. And much of Davidson MBB's recent success can be directly attributed to foreign players.

I'll be the first to jump in with a reference to Aris, Levan Shengalia and Nikola Stevanovic (SP?) from the Baron era. Yes we had Nikola Malesevic but you also have guys like Iffy and Michael Tertsea who didn't quite pan out.
International recruiting can be real tricky. First is to find the guys who are eligible from a grades perspective, with eligibility from a professional stand point. You have to really invest resources to it (Recruiting AC with major connections, money for flights etc). Prep schools can make it easier to identify guys, but harder to find that "Diamond in the Rough" steal.
I really don't know much about the girls basketball recruiting landscape, especially internationally. I would imagine there are less professional opportunities, as well as less prep school options for international students, which makes it more likely you could find that steal on the girls side. Complete speculation though...

[BlackDogRants]

Legitimate recruiting question:
Why doesn't our MBB program ever recruit foreign student athletes? 2 of 5 Tammi's starters are French, and 8 reserves are from other countries. And much of Davidson MBB's recent success can be directly attributed to foreign players.

Who remembers the rich basketball pedigree of Cameroonian duo Parfait Bitee and fan favorite Joe Mbang!

[NYGFan_Section208]

Legitimate recruiting question:
Why doesn't our MBB program ever recruit foreign student athletes? 2 of 5 Tammi's starters are French, and 8 reserves are from other countries. And much of Davidson MBB's recent success can be directly attributed to foreign players.

Who remembers the rich basketball pedigree of Cameroonian duo Parfait Bitee and fan favorite Joe Mbang!

Those...are a couple awesome names. And what about the Italian good guy, Nicola Akele?