'21 PA PG - Rahsool Diggins (UConn ---> UMass)

[PeterRamTime]

Our eggs are in the Duggins and Durogordon baskets

I want a DuggyDuru for easter

[4Diffs]

Should be some interesting recruiting battles between Frank and Archie.

Always seemed like as far as recruiting and "sales" go, there aren't many coaches out there better than Frank Martin.

I’ve made the point before here and so I don’t want to be a broken record every time this comes up for as long as the guy is at UMass. But there is no part of me that understands the appeal of Frank Martin, and it isn’t because he’s at UMass (it’s actually a perfect fit in my mind because there’s also no part of me that gets the appeal of UMass, either). Way before he went to UMass I have been on the record as finding his whole shtick grating and annoying. I was not interested in URI pursuing him when our search was ongoing. I wouldn’t play for him or a coach like him unless I had literally zero alternatives, and even then I’d consider just not playing.

Yes TruePoint you have made this point before. I did not agree with it than and not now. We get it, he is not your cup of tea which is surprising for somebody who loves Dan Hurley so much. Players like playing for him, period. Don't confuse his sideline demeanor and the fact that he may get in a kids face occasionally and twist that into the players hate him. His players like playing for him. How many players from South Carolina have followed him to UMass already? Two I believe, yeah they hate him. I know as a society we have gotten soft, but there are still some people that like to be pushed and motivated to achieve their best level. Most of us are not 100% self motivated whether we want to believe that or not. I for one had no problem with a coach getting in my face if I deserved it and I know it came from a place of love. You prefer, and many others today as well, a different approach. I get it.

Having said that, it would suck to lose this kid to UMass that already has a pretty good point guard and who would play in front of nobody. I hope he chooses Rhode Island where he would be handed the keys to the car and can play in a rocking Ryan Center.

[TruePoint]

Should be some interesting recruiting battles between Frank and Archie.

Always seemed like as far as recruiting and "sales" go, there aren't many coaches out there better than Frank Martin.

I’ve made the point before here and so I don’t want to be a broken record every time this comes up for as long as the guy is at UMass. But there is no part of me that understands the appeal of Frank Martin, and it isn’t because he’s at UMass (it’s actually a perfect fit in my mind because there’s also no part of me that gets the appeal of UMass, either). Way before he went to UMass I have been on the record as finding his whole shtick grating and annoying. I was not interested in URI pursuing him when our search was ongoing. I wouldn’t play for him or a coach like him unless I had literally zero alternatives, and even then I’d consider just not playing.

Yes TruePoint you have made this point before. I did not agree with it than and not now. We get it, he is not your cup of tea which is surprising for somebody who loves Dan Hurley so much. Players like playing for him, period. Don't confuse his sideline demeanor and the fact that he may get in a kids face occasionally and twist that into the players hate him. His players like playing for him. How many players from South Carolina have followed him to UMass already? Two I believe, yeah they hate him. I know as a society we have gotten soft, but there are still some people that like to be pushed and motivated to achieve their best level. Most of us are not 100% self motivated whether we want to believe that or not. I for one had no problem with a coach getting in my face if I deserved it and I know it came from a place of love. You prefer, and many others today as well, a different approach. I get it.

Having said that, it would suck to lose this kid to UMass that already has a pretty good point guard and who would play in front of nobody. I hope he chooses Rhode Island where he would be handed the keys to the car and can play in a rocking Ryan Center.

It’s not that I think all his players hate him, it’s that I hate him and wouldn’t play for him. His players are self-selecting - obviously there are kids out there who want to play for a guy who will drone on and on about getting up at 3AM to “attack the day” and cliche bullshit like that. I don’t get it, but I don’t get a lot of people. I don’t really get the comparison with Hurley unless you think my issue with Martin is that he yells on the sidelines or something, but I don’t care about that at all. I care about the boomer-ish culture war garbage he’s always ranting about.

[theblueram]

I’ve made the point before here and so I don’t want to be a broken record every time this comes up for as long as the guy is at UMass. But there is no part of me that understands the appeal of Frank Martin, and it isn’t because he’s at UMass (it’s actually a perfect fit in my mind because there’s also no part of me that gets the appeal of UMass, either). Way before he went to UMass I have been on the record as finding his whole shtick grating and annoying. I was not interested in URI pursuing him when our search was ongoing. I wouldn’t play for him or a coach like him unless I had literally zero alternatives, and even then I’d consider just not playing.

Yes TruePoint you have made this point before. I did not agree with it than and not now. We get it, he is not your cup of tea which is surprising for somebody who loves Dan Hurley so much. Players like playing for him, period. Don't confuse his sideline demeanor and the fact that he may get in a kids face occasionally and twist that into the players hate him. His players like playing for him. How many players from South Carolina have followed him to UMass already? Two I believe, yeah they hate him. I know as a society we have gotten soft, but there are still some people that like to be pushed and motivated to achieve their best level. Most of us are not 100% self motivated whether we want to believe that or not. I for one had no problem with a coach getting in my face if I deserved it and I know it came from a place of love. You prefer, and many others today as well, a different approach. I get it.

Having said that, it would suck to lose this kid to UMass that already has a pretty good point guard and who would play in front of nobody. I hope he chooses Rhode Island where he would be handed the keys to the car and can play in a rocking Ryan Center.

It’s not that I think all his players hate him, it’s that I hate him and wouldn’t play for him. His players are self-selecting - obviously there are kids out there who want to play for a guy who will drone on and on about getting up at 3AM to “attack the day” and cliche bullshit like that. I don’t get it, but I don’t get a lot of people. I don’t really get the comparison with Hurley unless you think my issue with Martin is that he yells on the sidelines or something, but I don’t care about that at all. I care about the boomer-ish culture war garbage he’s always ranting about.

You have your generations mixed up. The boomers gave us the hippies and tree huggers who wanted to save the trees and said we should use plastic bags. Gen X, which Martin is a part of, told everyone to F off.

[TruePoint]

The generation isn’t really the point. The guy just reminds me of someone doing a cheap Sargent Slaughter impersonation.

[theblueram]

The generation isn’t really the point. The guy just reminds me of someone doing a cheap Sargent Slaughter impersonation.

Good one!!!!

[Billyboy78]

LMAO!

[Rhody15]

The generation isn’t really the point. The guy just reminds me of someone doing a cheap Sargent Slaughter impersonation.

The guy is more accomplished and has a better resume than Archie.

He’s proved at multiple P6 schools he can be successful, when Archie flamed out at a P6 program.

You can obviously not be a fan of him, but can’t deny he’s a hell of a coach, kids want to play for him, and he’s won everywhere he’s gone.


Having said that, I’d rather have Archie right now over Martin.

[TruePoint]

If you go back to my original comment on Martin in the coaching carousel thread last week, I said all of that. I can’t keep repeating myself every time the subject comes up. It’s not my cup of tea. I’m only one guy, I’m entitled to my opinion on him but I fully acknowledge everyone else is too and some people seem to like him. Not trying to convince anyone to change their mind.

[RhodyKyle]

The generation isn’t really the point. The guy just reminds me of someone doing a cheap Sargent Slaughter impersonation.

The guy is more accomplished and has a better resume than Archie.

He’s proved at multiple P6 schools he can be successful, when Archie flamed out at a P6 program.

You can obviously not be a fan of him, but can’t deny he’s a hell of a coach, kids want to play for him, and he’s won every where he’s gone.


Having said that, I’d rather have Archie right now over Martin.

Let's also point out how Martin took South Carolina to a F4 and then proceeded to run the program so far into the ground he came out in Australia.

[Jersey77]

The generation isn’t really the point. The guy just reminds me of someone doing a cheap Sargent Slaughter impersonation.

The guy is more accomplished and has a better resume than Archie.

He’s proved at multiple P6 schools he can be successful, when Archie flamed out at a P6 program.

You can obviously not be a fan of him, but can’t deny he’s a hell of a coach, kids want to play for him, and he’s won every where he’s gone.


Having said that, I’d rather have Archie right now over Martin.

Let's also point out how Martin took South Carolina to a F4 and then proceeded to run the program so far into the ground he came out in Australia.

Frank Martin can coach, and he does have a F4 on his resume.
He didn't exactly run the program in the ground.
2018-2019- He was 11-7 in the SEC.
2019-2020- They were a bubble team, but the post-season cancelled.
Yes, the following year was bad and last year they were .500 (SEC).
He also has the 2nd most wins in SC modern history, only trailing the great Frank McGuire.

Not to mention at K-State they went to the NCAAT 4 out of his 5 years including an Elite 8.

But all said and done, I am glad we have Archie.

[RhodyKyle]

The guy is more accomplished and has a better resume than Archie.

He’s proved at multiple P6 schools he can be successful, when Archie flamed out at a P6 program.

You can obviously not be a fan of him, but can’t deny he’s a hell of a coach, kids want to play for him, and he’s won every where he’s gone.


Having said that, I’d rather have Archie right now over Martin.

Let's also point out how Martin took South Carolina to a F4 and then proceeded to run the program so far into the ground he came out in Australia.

Frank Martin can coach, and he does have a F4 on his resume.
He didn't exactly run the program in the ground.
2018-2019- He was 11-7 in the SEC.
2019-2020- They were a bubble team, but the post-season cancelled.
Yes, the following year was bad and last year they were .500 (SEC).
He also has the 2nd most wins in SC modern history, only trailing the great Frank McGuire.

Not to mention at K-State they went to the NCAAT 4 out of his 5 years including an Elite 8.

But all said and done, I am glad we have Archie.

Not taking away what he did a KState - the E8 and a few 2nd rounds. He looked like he was building something at SC and got that F4. Look at the records each year after that, the F4 was the peak and then the downward slide.

[Jersey77]

Let's also point out how Martin took South Carolina to a F4 and then proceeded to run the program so far into the ground he came out in Australia.

Frank Martin can coach, and he does have a F4 on his resume.
He didn't exactly run the program in the ground.
2018-2019- He was 11-7 in the SEC.
2019-2020- They were a bubble team, but the post-season cancelled.
Yes, the following year was bad and last year they were .500 (SEC).
He also has the 2nd most wins in SC modern history, only trailing the great Frank McGuire.

Not to mention at K-State they went to the NCAAT 4 out of his 5 years including an Elite 8.

But all said and done, I am glad we have Archie.

Not taking away what he did a KState - the E8 and a few 2nd rounds. He looked like he was building something at SC and got that F4. Look at the records each year after that, the F4 was the peak and then the downward slide.

Even McGuire struggled after his Sweet 16 runs.
Let's face it South Carolina has never been a blue-blood program and not really easy to win there in the tough SEC.
He did take them farther than any other HC.
Very tough to duplicate that great F4 season.

[Ramulous]

Rahsool

[CamsRams]

When’s his visit?

[steveystuds06]

When’s his visit?

They said he's visiting after Umass which is next week

[phipsiGD'11]

perfect timing on his visit. He will be able to see what URI is like with the beautiful weather. Send him Down The Line with some of the players after dinner so he can see what a Friday night is like in Eastward Look (not sure if they still even allow parties to happen anymore with the orange sticker rule, but kids must be partying somewhere)

[Billyboy78]

I just hope he doesn't commit to UMass without visiting here. I think if he comes for his visit, we'll get him.

[phipsiGD'11]

Anyone willing to go up to UMASS with some signs to show him some URI love while simultaneously crashing his UMASS recruiting trip?

[Ramfan22]

[ace]

The transfer portal is not always kind to all who enter it.

[Rhody83]

I would guess Archie will back off on Diggins now that Freeman has committed

[CamsRams]

[Jdrums#3]

I would guess Archie will back off on Diggins now that Freeman has committed

I’m not so sure. I see Martin as a SF, but even if Arch splits him between guard and SF, I think we still have room for another guard - considering we could play three at a time and maybe even four at times, possibly.

But then, Diggins may see it as too crowded and drop us from consideration. I guess we’ll know if he cancels his visit.

[Jdrums#3]

Although, 83, you may very well be on target with Diggins because it appears more teams are reaching out to him. They see an opportunity with Diggins now that we landed Freeman?

It will be interesting to see how the chess pieces move. Great stuff.

[4Diffs]

I would guess Archie will back off on Diggins now that Freeman has committed

I would expect this as well. Very happy with the point guard that we just got. He is a very good player. Not going to lie, do not know much about Rahsool. Know he was highly rated, but did not play much at UConn. The fact that he met with Archie than scheduled a visit to Penn State afterwards, which was subsequently cancelled, and is visiting Umass before visiting URI indicates to me that we were not his first choice anyway. But I could be wrong as Ace's tweet might suggest otherwise. Not exactly sure what she was referring to, but the timing of it right after Freeman commits indicates that maybe he did want to come here. But I do not see that happening now, but we shall see.

[Ramulous]

Rhody83 is a dedicated poster.

[bigappleram]

Umass has a very good PG so that would be an odd landing spot for Diggins as well.

[Jdrums#3]

Maybe he ends up at GW? It’s like a three way trade with UConn getting a player to be named later.

[PowderBlueButBetter]

I would guess Archie will back off on Diggins now that Freeman has committed

I don't think this will be true, supposedly he was a top priority for Archie to land

I could see Diggins maybe wanting to back off from us after the Freeman commit, but we still have minutes available at guard for one of Diggins or Fimi (or Lander ) if we can land em

[Iggy1979]

I was never excited about someone who was not going to play as a sophomore at UConn. Seems to me another player who isn't living up to his prep rating.

[4Diffs]

I was never excited about someone who was not going to play as a sophomore at UConn. Seems to me another player who isn't living up to his prep rating.

I agree, especially when you have a chance to take a kid that has already proven that he can do it at this level. Maybe he lives up to his billing, but I am happy with the player that we just signed.

[rhodyblue12]

We still have 4 open starting positions. You still get the best guys you can regardless of position. Always nice to have two solid ball handlers on the team. We now have one and still need another.

[KingstonLane]

We still have 4 open starting positions. You still get the best guys you can regardless of position. Always nice to have two solid ball handlers on the team. We now have one and still need another.

Potentially. But recruits definitely see Ish and Carey as competition for minutes

[theblueram]

I was never excited about someone who was not going to play as a sophomore at UConn. Seems to me another player who isn't living up to his prep rating.

Didn't you say three days ago all our eggs are in the Diggins basket?

[steviep123]

I was never excited about someone who was not going to play as a sophomore at UConn. Seems to me another player who isn't living up to his prep rating.

To play devils advocate- didn’t Scott Hazelton barely play for UConn before starring at Rhody?

[reef]

Diggy is a pass for me now

[Rhody83]

I would guess Archie will back off on Diggins now that Freeman has committed

I don't think this will be true, supposedly he was a top priority for Archie to land

I could see Diggins maybe wanting to back off from us after the Freeman commit, but we still have minutes available at guard for one of Diggins or Fimi (or Lander ) if we can land em

Chicken or the egg. Archie decided to make a firm offer to Freeman this weekend knowing that commitment ends the pursuit of Diggins. I would bet Dighins doesn’t visit Rhody.

[Dino611]

Funny enough he retweeted Freeman’s tweet of commiting to rhody

[McRam]

I would guess Archie will back off on Diggins now that Freeman has committed

I don't think this will be true, supposedly he was a top priority for Archie to land

I could see Diggins maybe wanting to back off from us after the Freeman commit, but we still have minutes available at guard for one of Diggins or Fimi (or Lander ) if we can land em

Chicken or the egg. Archie decided to make a firm offer to Freeman this weekend knowing that commitment ends the pursuit of Diggins. I would bet Dighins doesn’t visit Rhody.

Assuming you had a high interest in visiting Rhody and playing for Archie, you would be a fool not to see what Archie had in mind. Virtually any point guard that is tall enough can play the 2. I am still rooting hard that D goes with us.

[ram1980]

Don't know a darn thing about any of these players, but any talent we can get I support.. is it November yet..

[RamStock]

We still have 4 open starting positions. You still get the best guys you can regardless of position. Always nice to have two solid ball handlers on the team. We now have one and still need another.

Agree with this. We talk about depth as if we have been to the tourney 3 years in a row. We have one starter after grabbing Freeman. Keep bringing the best talent possible despite position as long as the players have an idea of what Archie’s plan is for them.

[Rhody83]

We still have 4 open starting positions. You still get the best guys you can regardless of position. Always nice to have two solid ball handlers on the team. We now have one and still need another.

Agree with this. We talk about depth as if we have been to the tourney 3 years in a row. We have one starter after grabbing Freeman. Keep bringing the best talent possible despite position as long as the players have an idea of what Archie’s plan is for them.

Transfers are looking to be the top choice at their position. Many are transferring due to lack of playing time (Diggins and Durugordon). Diggins (PG) isn’t going to come after Freeman (PG) committed. Archie also doesn’t want unhappy players as he starts to rebuild. He is a players coach. He made some level of commitment to Leggett as well and will meet that. The focus now is on Durugordon and Femi.

[steveystuds06]

[CamsRams]

Appears to be at Umass today.

[Ramfan22]

[steveystuds06]

Cool. I like Brey better.

[Billyboy78]

What does that even mean?

[Ramfan22]

What does that even mean?

Pretty much means he’s committing to UMass, possibly today. A lot of coaches put tweets out similar to Martins to hint at a commitment.

[SmartyBarrett]

He's committing to UMass.