Mitchells, Berry, Walker, Ayo-Faleye, Betrand in 2022 portal / transferring

[SGreenwell]

TG averaged 6 points his first two years. And 18 his last two.
Penders changed his life. Similar to Harrick and Cuttino.

Garrick is a good one for me to remember when I'm trying to come up with guys who actually drastically improved their games. He clearly improved on his rate stats year to year, especially from sophomore to junior year and beyond. Looks like he became a much more aggressive player, while also cutting down on his turnovers, which is really tough to do.

Mobley though, there isn't a ton of evidence that Harrick "unlocked" his game. The biggest change from his junior to his senior year is that he went from 29 percent from 3-point range, to 41.6 percent, and he fouled less. He also played 24 MPG as a junior vs. 33 MPG as a senior, but that's not unusual for a guy coming back from an injury.

[ramster]

If Arch wanted him here, I have no doubt he'd be here.

No way of knowing that. I don't think it's crazy to think Archie came here and just wasn't going to promise Walker (or anyone) minutes. My guess is Grasso could. If you wanted to autopsy Cox's downfall, how he handled Walker would be at the top of the list. After the way Walker was handled by Cox, it's not surprising that he just wants to be at a place where he can showcase his skills. The guy defended, rebounded, and had a true shooting of over 60% at URI. Imagine coaching for your job, having one of the worst offenses in D-1, looking down the bench and seeing an efficient scorer who can also defend. And then saying let's give him 21mpg. You can make a case with the way Walker played all three years he was underused. Imagine watching Jermaine Harris fire up bricks and getting more minutes. Or starting four games this year. The one game this year he got over 30 minutes. 17/11/2blocks/1 steal. Only 8 shots by the way.
I guess Archie could have promised him the minutes but that doesn't seem like the right way to build something. I also think Archie doesn't have a history of playing with pace. Grasso does and I think that will suit Walker. I actually thought he might transfer up to a high major with a chance to dance. Sort of like the guys that went to Wake or Iowa State. But, I can't kill him for going to Bryant. Plus, America East is generally better comp than the NEC so he'll get some good games.

Chris Cole is an Assistant Coach at Bryant. Cole was the Head Coach of Rock Creek Christian Academy when Jermaine Harris was there and we recruited Harris. I always thought Jermaine might end up at Bryant after leaving URI. Rock Creek Christian is about 10 miles from WD Woodson where Antwan Walker played HS before playing his last year at Hargrove Military Academy so Cole would be familiar with Antwan. My guess is Cole and Antwan talked about Bryant as a possible landing spot.

Good opportunity for Antwan. He gets to stay local and should jump right into the starting lineup. Good way to spend his 5th extra year. Antwan gets to play for a different group, different Head Coach, different fans and different teams. He will get to visit and play in arena's he never would have seen staying at URI. Smaller crowds but maybe more enthusiastic crowds in some ways.
Good also for Archie Miller who will want to bring in his own players and build from there. Really is a win - win. Wish Antwan all the best in his last College year and in his future professional experiences.

[McRam]

I’m hoping Bassy follows the trajectory of Tommy Garrick. Was not great his first year here. He improved greatly and became an NBA player.

Ooph. I don’t know, Ramulous.

I’m trying to think back. TG was an exceptional, explosive athlete, IIRC. I’m not sure Bassy has that kind of athleticism. He does have solid skills to build on, however.

I hope you are right. I really like him as a player.

And TG was much bigger than Bassy. Not just height, TG was a MAN , I remember talking with Gene Shue, the coach of the Clippers when Tommy was a rookie- and Shue said Garrick was plenty strong enough for the NBA.

Don,t think that would apply to Bassy.

[PeterRamTime]

I’m hoping Bassy follows the trajectory of Tommy Garrick. Was not great his first year here. He improved greatly and became an NBA player.

Ooph. I don’t know, Ramulous.

I’m trying to think back. TG was an exceptional, explosive athlete, IIRC. I’m not sure Bassy has that kind of athleticism. He does have solid skills to build on, however.

I hope you are right. I really like him as a player.

Bassy will at worst be a really solid backup.

He enrolled early right? So he's already overachieved.

[RI_Bred]

Good opportunity for Antwan. He gets to stay local and should jump right into the starting lineup. Good way to spend his 5th extra year. Antwan gets to play for a different group, different Head Coach, different fans and different teams. He will get to visit and play in arena's he never would have seen staying at URI. Smaller crowds but maybe more enthusiastic crowds in some ways.
Good also for Archie Miller who will want to bring in his own players and build from there. Really is a win - win. Wish Antwan all the best in his last College year and in his future professional experiences.

And possibly have a chance to dance. Why not? Good for him.

[ramster]

Good opportunity for Antwan. He gets to stay local and should jump right into the starting lineup. Good way to spend his 5th extra year. Antwan gets to play for a different group, different Head Coach, different fans and different teams. He will get to visit and play in arena's he never would have seen staying at URI. Smaller crowds but maybe more enthusiastic crowds in some ways.
Good also for Archie Miller who will want to bring in his own players and build from there. Really is a win - win. Wish Antwan all the best in his last College year and in his future professional experiences.

And possibly have a chance to dance. Why not? Good for him.

No reason why not. There are now 1,012 D1 Players in the Transfer Portal with 350 D1 Teams, and climbing. Trust Archie Miller.

[ElmCityRhody]

NCAA - never a doubt

and remember- ECR speaks TRUTH

[ramster]

NCAA - never a doubt

and remember- ECR speaks TRUTH

Agree ECR. Having these openings is a very good thing when you have a Coach and Staff with the ability to fill with high quality players.

NCAA or BUST.

[brady1]

That’s it no F reason we don’t Dance next year!!!

Great F hire Archie Miller is perfect for URI!!!

GO GET’UM ARCHIE!

IT’S TIMES LIKES THESE!

GO RHODY!!!!

[ElmCityRhody]

I am with these guys ^^^

Whiskey and Kool Aid cas I’m drinking it !

[ramster]

All about the Portal.
Teams can quickly improve their team getting experienced, talented players through the Transfer Process PLUS the extra year that very player received whether they were Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors or Seniors.

NCAA in 2022-2023 - no reason it can't happen

8 current openings - and as top notch players Transfer in, some of the current players could still Transfer out creating more openings.

Portal Palooza

[bigappleram]

Anything’s possible but I also don’t think Archie is going to sacrifice program building and long term success to win a few extra games in Year 1. He’s gonna look for his kinds of guys. He won’t get all of them. I don’t think he’s looking at this as ncaa or bust next year nor should he. My guess is he also won’t want a full roster of transfers and will leave spots open for mid years, reclass kids, etc. I think he actually said he wants to use the portal to fill holes not fill a roster or something to that effect.

[ElmCityRhody]

don’t bring me off this high BAR !

Whiskey and KOOL AID is the drink of choice in my land !

[ramster]

Problem for next year is that most good HS Players are already gone with this being April.
Much like Hurley in his first year he had to go the Transfer route. Now the Transfer quantity are at least 4 times what they were in Hurley's 1st year AND they had to sit out a year - now they are immediately eligible and the quality of transfers is up.
Much faster to change rosters now than in Hurley's time.
The game has changed a ton. Teams can quickly rebuild and as we see they can and do quickly deteriorate when a HC departs.

[Jdrums#3]

Under promise and over deliver? ECR, pass the koolaid, please.

[adam914]

We're going to be the first team to ever make the tournament with 4 players!

[bigappleram]

Well Archie did get to the Elite 8 playing 6 guys so maybe he is trying to one up that performance and do it with 4

[Matunuck]

We now have a real coach, with real recruiters. Archie will bring in some talent for next year. We have a chance to dance, but get ready for year 2. Ryan Center will be filled and rocking. Let’s go!

[Rhody15]

We now have a real coach, with real recruiters. Archie will bring in some talent for next year. We have a chance to dance, but get ready for year 2. Ryan Center will be filled and rocking. Let’s go!

It’s almost impossible to say we have a chance to dance with 5 players currently on the roster.

This is what sets people up to get pissed off midway thru the season because of these unrealistic expectations.

First year I’m looking to finish Top 6 of the conference, with year two potentially being in the tournament picture.

We all say “trust Archie” but don’t want to trust him when he says this won’t be a quick fix and will take time.

[RhodyRams12]

We now have a real coach, with real recruiters. Archie will bring in some talent for next year. We have a chance to dance, but get ready for year 2. Ryan Center will be filled and rocking. Let’s go!

It’s almost impossible to say we have a chance to dance with 5 players currently on the roster.

This is what sets people up to get pissed off midway thru the season because of these unrealistic expectations.

First year I’m looking to finish Top 6 of the conference, with year two potentially being in the tournament picture.

We all say “trust Archie” but don’t want to trust him when he says this won’t be a quick fix and will take time.

Couldn’t agree more. I think a more realistic expectation is year 3. Some of you need to reign it in a bit.

[SGreenwell]

We're going to be the first team to ever make the tournament with 4 players!

I like any excuse I can get to post the link to Chuck Klosterman's story about a team that was down to three players and trailing... and managed to win the game:

https://grantland.com/features/three-man-weave/

[Jersey77]

We now have a real coach, with real recruiters. Archie will bring in some talent for next year. We have a chance to dance, but get ready for year 2. Ryan Center will be filled and rocking. Let’s go!

It’s almost impossible to say we have a chance to dance with 5 players currently on the roster.

This is what sets people up to get pissed off midway thru the season because of these unrealistic expectations.

First year I’m looking to finish Top 6 of the conference, with year two potentially being in the tournament picture.

We all say “trust Archie” but don’t want to trust him when he says this won’t be a quick fix and will take time.

Couldn’t agree more. I think a more realistic expectation is year 3. Some of you need to reign it in a bit.

Absolutely agree and I tend to be more on the optimistic side.

I think there is more than just Kool-Aid in some of those poster's drinks.

I don't know how many bids they think the A10 will get next season but the upper tier teams of the A10 are already loaded with talent.
That doesn't even include the Bonnies and who they may return.

We currently have only 5 players on scholarship and you can't pencil any of them in as starters.

Just need to pump the brakes a bit and let Archie start the building process, won't happen overnight.

[NYGFan_Section208]

The fact that we currently have only 5 players on a scholarship and "you can't pencil any of them in as starters"... I look at that "you can't pencil" part as more of an indicator that the team WILL make the tourney than not.

[Jersey77]

The fact that we currently have only 5 players on a scholarship and "you can't pencil any of them in as starters"... I look at that "you can't pencil" part as more of an indicator that the team WILL make the tourney than not.

So do you automatically feel that we will bring in a mixed bag of players, get 5 starters out of them, and we would be able to overtake the top teams in our conference?
That is a huge stretch and assumption.

[Rhody15]

The fact that we currently have only 5 players on a scholarship and "you can't pencil any of them in as starters"... I look at that "you can't pencil" part as more of an indicator that the team WILL make the tourney than not.

People are really gonna predict this team to go 31-0 in the prediction contest huh?

We had multiple people here predict 23+ wins this season, there’s no doubt in my mind people here will be predicting 28-3, 29-2.

I can’t wait till we have a borderline bad OOC loss and people here meltdown because they expected to be ranked in December.

Temper the expectations. Please. For everyone’s sake.

[steveystuds06]

The fact that we currently have only 5 players on a scholarship and "you can't pencil any of them in as starters"... I look at that "you can't pencil" part as more of an indicator that the team WILL make the tourney than not.

People are really gonna predict this team to go 31-0 in the prediction contest huh?

We had multiple people here predict 23+ wins this season, there’s no doubt in my mind people here will be predicting 28-3, 29-2.

I can’t wait till we have a borderline bad OOC loss and people here meltdown because they expected to be ranked in December.

Temper the expectations. Please. For everyone’s sake.

I expect some growing pains. My hope is that by the conference tournament we have a team that is playing its best basketball and if they catch fire anything could happen. But, we have absolutely no idea how good this team could be next year until we fill out the roster. The only thing we know right now is we have a fantastic head coach who added an amazing recruiter and amazing player developer to his staff. Something we desperately needed.

[steveystuds06]

The fact that we currently have only 5 players on a scholarship and "you can't pencil any of them in as starters"... I look at that "you can't pencil" part as more of an indicator that the team WILL make the tourney than not.

So do you automatically feel that we will bring in a mixed bag of players, get 5 starters out of them, and we would be able to overtake the top teams in our conference?
That is a huge stretch and assumption.

Huge stretch. The A10 will be a 3 maybe 4 bid league next year.

[reef]

I can’t make any predictions until the roster fills up then we should have an idea

[Jdrums#3]

Agree, reef. In the meantime, it’s just fun speculation - some are glass half full, some half empty - unless, someone / some in here is sitting on inside info that no one else has an inkling of.

Spill the bean’s ECR…

[Rhody15]

Agree, reef. In the meantime, it’s just fun speculation - some are glass half full, some half empty - unless, someone / some in here is sitting on inside info that no one else has an inkling of.

Spill the bean’s ECR…

EC Hassan Kuran Stan Jeff Jarvis Terrell are using their Covid year and coming back.

[Matunuck]

The main reason I am optimistic is because of the loose transfer policy. You can build a team a lot faster now, than in the past.

[bigappleram]

You can build a roster, building a team takes a lot longer. Our coach said he isn’t going to take any shortcuts. Our fans have jumped from that to sweet sixteen real quick.

[Rhody74]

I’d be thrilled to see steady progress during the year, regardless of the final record.

[theblueram]

I just want to see them play tough defense and grind like Hurley had his team play year 1. Plus bring in recruits so we can see the future. I think we will.

[Jersey77]

I just want to see them play tough defense and grind like Hurley had his team play year 1. Plus bring in recruits so we can see the future. I think we will.

Blueram, short and sweet, good take.

[bigappleram]

I just want to see them play tough defense and grind like Hurley had his team play year 1. Plus bring in recruits so we can see the future. I think we will.

I agree. And I think we will too.

[reef]

I think we will notice the differences in an Archie Miller coached team in the first 10 minutes that we see it

[McRam]

I think we will notice the differences in an Archie Miller coached team in the first 10 minutes that we see it

. Reef, Why do u think it will take that long??

[Rhody72]

If every players commits to playing better starting today and the starting point is the skillful players that Archie & Co. will recruit, then we will have a good team by next March. Optimism provides the confidence to excel.

[reef]

I think we will notice the differences in an Archie Miller coached team in the first 10 minutes that we see it

. Reef, Why do u think it will take that long??

You are right maybe 5 minutes

[Billyboy78]

I think we will notice the differences in an Archie Miller coached team in the first 10 minutes that we see it

. Reef, Why do u think it will take that long??

You are right maybe 5 minutes

I think we'll see the difference when they run out of the locker room instead of walking and how they go about their pre-game process. No more goofing around and throwing up half court shots just for the 'fun' of it.

[ram1980]

I think we will notice the differences in an Archie Miller coached team in the first 10 minutes that we see it

. Reef, Why do u think it will take that long??

You are right maybe 5 minutes

I'll go out on the limb and say we will see the difference in pre game warmups

[NYGFan_Section208]

The main reason I am optimistic is because of the loose transfer policy. You can build a team a lot faster now, than in the past.

Same... it's like we're playing 5 card draw. We'll take 5.

[hrstrat57]

I'll go out on the limb and say we will see the difference in pre game warmups

This so very much this. Subject of many of my Cox coaching rants!!!

[Rhody72]

The advantage of being where we are is that there is no where to go but up. No one is concerned about being worse. Our administration cannot allow URI's marquis athletic program to be in this position again,

[PowderBlueButBetter]

Is there any hope/desire to get any of Betrand/Berry/Ayo-Faleye back next season? Obviously didn't see much of them during their respective careers here, and I haven't heard much news about any of them since they each hit the portal

Personally I wouldn't mind if they got either/both of the redshirts back. Feel like their size/length could really thrive under Archies play style. Tres especially at 6'3 with and 6"10 wingspan- need to see that in action

[Ramfan22]

Makhel and Makhi Mitchell are committing to Arkansas. Expect an official announcement tomorrow.

[CamsRams]

Good luck to them.

[ATPTourFan]

Good luck to Arkansas.

[reef]

Makhel and Makhi Mitchell are committing to Arkansas. Expect an official announcement tomorrow.

That’s crazy Arkansas was picked # 1 in the not so top 25 for next year , I can’t see them doing well there