1/7 | La Salle | 2:00PM (ESPN+)

[RI_Bred]

In my opinion we still need to practice patience. Literally a marathon here, not a sprint. We sucked a$$ the past few years, it's not going to turn around that quickly, and each game will not show improvement. I'm with Blueman, work towards March and then measure improvement over the course of the entire season. And look forward to next year and beyond.

It's easy to criticize from your couch - many, many moving parts that need to be added and fitted to come together. Give it some time!

[bigappleram]

Weston first 4 games: 3-17
Since: 14-30

He’s shown an ability to score albeit in short bursts. I would love to see Archie start to run stuff for him. I especially think he could be effective in a post up situation. He’s really strong and can finish through contact.

[RhowdyRam02]

Fran Dumphy took this job because?

He gets to be the head coach at his alma mater and hopefully the excitement of someone with his background gets the school and fan base to move on the construction of a new arena. My understanding is they got a $10 million pledge back in 2013 but they have 10 years to get shovels in the dirt on a project or they lose that pledge. If they lose out on that, in addition to their already existing financial issues, that could be lights out for D1 sports at La Salle

[RF1]

LaSalle was the best opportunity odds wise for an A-10 road win this season. May end up being the only conference road game where URI was not the underdog. Missed opportunity. Would think the next best win opportunities would be St Joe's (02/01) or Loyola (03/01). Rhody should only be slight underdogs in these games as they are also very bad teams. Would probably be a decided underdog in the other five A-10 road games (UMass, Richmond, SLU, GMU, and Fordham). URI has yet to win a single true road game this season to date as it was 0-2 in the OOC (BC and Ga State) and lost in conference to both Duquesne and LaSalle. Its only win outside the Ryan Center thus far was a neutral court defeat of Illinois State in the Cayman Islands. I will go out on a limb and predict that Rhody will somehow find a way to register one road victory this year. My reasoning is based on one of the remaining road opponents being bound to have a really bad game. If it were to happen, it would be the first true road win for URI since it played UMass on 01/15/2022 for its lone A-10 road victory last season. The program has really struggled to win on the road in the last three seasons going a woeful 5-22 (.185).


Road teams are 3-18 thus far in A-10 Conference Games for 2022-23.

[ramster]

And Luke, as the clocked ticked down from the 9.9 seconds it became more and more obvious that we should foul intentionally.
At 3 seconds left you foul. Our staff chose not to, not sure why.

I actually disagree…stop the clock?
Free points?
We suck at rebounding, so liable to not get a possession, and even if we do…we suck at free throws.
So now instead of making them make a three, and the time spent getting the rebound after a miss will likely end the game…
we do all of the above, and in a BEST case scenario (where we make our two FTs) we do it all again but with 8 seconds to go, or maybe 7.

Roast away.

I’m not saying foul at 9.9 seconds. Foul when the HC thinks he should foul. In this case it’s irrelevant because the thought never surfaced so it’s moot.
Fouling gives opponent chance for 2 points. Letting the opponent take a 3P or going on a 3P allows a tie opportunity.

If I’m the LaSalle Coach I’m trying to get a 3P shot off. No way do I want URI to foul my player sending me to the line for only 2 points.

[steveystuds06]

Weston first 4 games: 3-17
Since: 14-30

He’s shown an ability to score albeit in short bursts. I would love to see Archie start to run stuff for him. I especially think he could be effective in a post up situation. He’s really strong and can finish through contact.

It’s reaching Cox with Antwan Walker levels. We seriously lack scoring. We have a guy that continues to come in every game and show he can score the rock. He’s also playing better defense and he battles for boards. What the hell does Weston have to do to earn more minutes?

I know I sound like a broken record but man it’s getting frustrating

[adam914]

Weston first 4 games: 3-17
Since: 14-30

He’s shown an ability to score albeit in short bursts. I would love to see Archie start to run stuff for him. I especially think he could be effective in a post up situation. He’s really strong and can finish through contact.

It’s reaching Cox with Antwan Walker levels. We seriously lack scoring. We have a guy that continues to come in every game and show he can score the rock. He’s also playing better defense and he battles for boards. What the hell does Weston have to do to earn more minutes?

I know I sound like a broken record but man it’s getting frustrating

It's baffling. There really doesn't seem to be any logical explanation for it on the surface, I guess unless there is something else going on behind the scenes or in practice that we aren't aware of. I'm not trying to start any rumors here or anything, I just can't figure it out.

[eli#10]

Our play down low on offense and defense is about non-existent without Bilau--let's not forget that as we struggle to win games. We need Freeman, Carey and Leggett to have good games in order to have a chance.
Also, Martin played 34 minutes and although he had 9 rebounds he only took 3 shots which is not acceptable especially after a great shooting night vs Fordham. Would like to see more Weston.

[theblueram]

In my opinion we still need to practice patience. Literally a marathon here, not a sprint. We sucked a$$ the past few years, it's not going to turn around that quickly, and each game will not show improvement. I'm with Blueman, work towards March and then measure improvement over the course of the entire season. And look forward to next year and beyond.

It's easy to criticize from your couch - many, many moving parts that need to be added and fitted to come together. Give it some time!

We were 15-16 last year. We are 5-10 this year. Do you actually believe we are going to end with a 10-6 record to match last year? This is an abject failure at this point. Arch better get some players in here yesterday. I have no faith/allegiance to any player currently on this team.

[section(105)]

…….but, but, but, I hear so and so can be serviceable, can develop into decent player, have a few good pieces, needs time to develop, is a true freshman, needs to work on footwork, needs weight room, needs to develop better shot and on and on……..we have a roster of projects, cast offs, and here we are 5-10

[theblueram]

I forgot to mention, we were 15-16 last year and fired the coach.

[Rhody15]

I forgot to mention, we were 15-16 last year and fired the coach.

So if we finish worse then that we should fire Archie?

That’s what you’re insinuating.

Come on dude, you HAVE to be smarter to know that last and this season are wildly different.

[theblueram]

I forgot to mention, we were 15-16 last year and fired the coach.

So if we finish worse then that we should fire Archie?

That’s what you’re insinuating.

Come on dude, you HAVE to be smarter to know that last and this season are wildly different.

Are you like perpetually 13 years old? It sure sounds like it. How about them friars????

[McRam]

No Freeman because he's weak on D?

Apparently Archie felt Bassy was a better defensive choice at that point

[McRam]

Reflecting on this game, it seemed as if we came out strong, got a nice lead and then started playing sloppy with bad shots and lack of concentration. Maybe travel arrangements are contributing?

Does anyone know how travel works for a Philly game. When and how did we get to Philly. Is,it possible we arrive on Sat for the game ?

[RhowdyRam02]

I forgot to mention, we were 15-16 last year and fired the coach.

So if we finish worse then that we should fire Archie?

That’s what you’re insinuating.

Come on dude, you HAVE to be smarter to know that last and this season are wildly different.

Objection, facts not in evidence.

Before these posts I thought they just had a recruiting fetish, now I understand they just don't know what they're talking about

[RI_Bred]

In my opinion we still need to practice patience. Literally a marathon here, not a sprint. We sucked a$$ the past few years, it's not going to turn around that quickly, and each game will not show improvement. I'm with Blueman, work towards March and then measure improvement over the course of the entire season. And look forward to next year and beyond.

It's easy to criticize from your couch - many, many moving parts that need to be added and fitted to come together. Give it some time!

We were 15-16 last year. We are 5-10 this year. Do you actually believe we are going to end with a 10-6 record to match last year? This is an abject failure at this point. Arch better get some players in here yesterday. I have no faith/allegiance to any player currently on this team.

Losing record is just that, a losing record and it sucks. Going nowhere at 15-16 or 5-26. Different players different coach different team. I'm giving Miller the benefit of the doubt for three seasons, this season being his lowest potential for success. Next year will be telling. Year three I'm concerned if we don't have a competitive winning record.

[RamStock]

In my opinion we still need to practice patience. Literally a marathon here, not a sprint. We sucked a$$ the past few years, it's not going to turn around that quickly, and each game will not show improvement. I'm with Blueman, work towards March and then measure improvement over the course of the entire season. And look forward to next year and beyond.

It's easy to criticize from your couch - many, many moving parts that need to be added and fitted to come together. Give it some time!

We were 15-16 last year. We are 5-10 this year. Do you actually believe we are going to end with a 10-6 record to match last year? This is an abject failure at this point. Arch better get some players in here yesterday. I have no faith/allegiance to any player currently on this team.

Losing record is just that, a losing record and it sucks. Going nowhere at 15-16 or 5-26. Different players different coach different team. I'm giving Miller the benefit of the doubt for three seasons, this season being his lowest potential for success. Next year will be telling. Year three I'm concerned if we don't have a competitive winning record.

In my opinion 3 seasons is way too long for Archie and the contract and faith that Thor put in him. If in year 3 we are a team that is .500 or one that is a team just outside the NiT I don’t consider that success. College basketball can be turned around much quicker than college football and how long do we need to wait?? This season is a complete waste of time so let’s see what Archie does in the off-season and with next years team. There is very little excitement around this program right now. I would much rather go to the woman’s games.

[PlayMikeMotenMore]

We were 15-16 last year. We are 5-10 this year. Do you actually believe we are going to end with a 10-6 record to match last year? This is an abject failure at this point. Arch better get some players in here yesterday. I have no faith/allegiance to any player currently on this team.

Losing record is just that, a losing record and it sucks. Going nowhere at 15-16 or 5-26. Different players different coach different team. I'm giving Miller the benefit of the doubt for three seasons, this season being his lowest potential for success. Next year will be telling. Year three I'm concerned if we don't have a competitive winning record.

In my opinion 3 seasons is way too long for Archie and the contract and faith that Thor put in him. If in year 3 we are a team that is .500 or one that is a team just outside the NiT I don’t consider that success. College basketball can be turned around much quicker than college football and how long do we need to wait?? This season is a complete waste of time so let’s see what Archie does in the off-season and with next years team. There is very little excitement around this program right now. I would much rather go to the woman’s games.

For all those folks who have grown impatient with this year's team, the program, and the "high" of the Archie press conference has worn off and you now realize that turning a program around and keeping a program as a winner takes a lot of hard work and frustration...

Off the top of my head, what are some programs SIMILAR TO URI that turned themselves around in less than 3 years? Can you name some?

Travis Ford at UMASS (NIT runner up) and St. Louis (although he finished 6th in the A10 in year 3, they won the A10 tourney)
Jim Larranaga at George Mason
Greg Marshall at Wichita State
Mike Jarvis at GW (I'm going back a ways)

(In looking at Jay Wright, he was 12-15 in year #3 at Hofstra and 18-17 in year #3 at Nova; took Kevin Willard 6 years at Seton Hall)

[reef]

15 conference games left I can see us going 6-9 to finish 11-19 anything worse than that sucks

[ramster]

15 conference games left I can see us going 6-9 to finish 11-19 anything worse than that sucks

Yikes Reef. How the bar has been lowered.
These 4 predicted the worst record in the contest
You are now saying anything worse than 11-19 sucks. That means 10-20 sucks but 11-19 is ?????

Just kidding with ya Reef. But it’s a tough year. I was the dope on the other extreme

68. adam914 13-18
69. rhodylocal 13-18
70. SGreenwell 13-18
71. spookydog. 13-18

[Rhody72]

In my opinion 3 seasons is way too long for Archie and the contract and faith that Thor put in him. If in year 3 we are a team that is .500 or one that is a team just outside the NiT I don’t consider that success. College basketball can be turned around much quicker than college football and how long do we need to wait?? This season is a complete waste of time so let’s see what Archie does in the off-season and with next years team. There is very little excitement around this program right now. I would much rather go to the woman’s games.

I consider next year to be Year 1 of Archie's regime at URI. We'll be good in year 3.

[Rhody72]

15 conference games left I can see us going 6-9 to finish 11-19 anything worse than that sucks

I wouldn't say anything less than 11-19 sucks. We could win only 2-3 more games. Archie is driven to be successful and knows what he is doing. We should start being critical based on the top talent he brings in next year.

[ramster]

In my opinion 3 seasons is way too long for Archie and the contract and faith that Thor put in him. If in year 3 we are a team that is .500 or one that is a team just outside the NiT I don’t consider that success. College basketball can be turned around much quicker than college football and how long do we need to wait?? This season is a complete waste of time so let’s see what Archie does in the off-season and with next years team. There is very little excitement around this program right now. I would much rather go to the woman’s games.

I consider next year to be Year 1 of Archie's regime at URI. We'll be good in year 3.

72,
If you consider next year Year 1 and you say we will be good in Year 3 then that’s 2025-26, right?
And what if we are not good then? Or average?

2022-23
2023-24 year 1
2024-25 year 2
2025-26 year 3

[rhodylaw]

15 conference games left I can see us going 6-9 to finish 11-19 anything worse than that sucks

I wouldn't say anything less than 11-19 sucks. We could win only 2-3 more games. Archie is driven to be successful and knows what he is doing. We should start being critical based on the top talent he brings in next year.

I don’t think I expect Archie to bring in a lot of “top talent” - I do not really remember a lot of super high recruits at Dayton. What I remember is a bunch of good to very good players who seemed to play many years and fit in his system well.

What I am expecting to see is that guys from this year who fit what he wants to do going forward will stay. Those who didn’t will be gone and he will keep replacing until he gets the mix he wants/needs to run his program. The guys he is bringing in fit mold and should pair well with Ish, Bray and Weston.

[Blue Man]

I have faith Archie will take this program back to the NCAA but am very disappointed (and surprised) with him so far. If it were any Coach without the pedigree of Archie, he’d be getting annihilated by fans right now.
-his usage of Weston is baffling (reminds me of Walker)
-poor construction of the roster (everyone knew we needed shooters)
-calling TOs after a made basket
-losing games after large leads or at the end of games

I feel those are all issues we complained about in the not so distant past and still exist in our program. This team needs a whole other rebuild again next year. Hopefully he’s got better recruits/transfers up his sleeve because it’s probably not gonna be easy to get very good players to Kingston after a 8 win season.

Agree with this completely. Archie is getting a pass because of his past success at Dayton. The line we will be good when we are good is not so funny to me anymore. The players he brought in were a complete miss and I haven’t seen him do anything that will help next years team with Carey and Martin getting so many minutes. There will be at least 4 players that will not return to next years team which is a good thing.

Never liked the “we will be good when we are good” line. Always thought if Cox had said the same line he would have gotten crushed for it. Always felt to me it meant just leave me alone, none of your business, don’t ask me that question, get lost. I get why he says it, never understood the love-fest that resulted from the comment.

Yeah the difference being is Archie has won more NCAA games in the past decade than URI has in the past 2 decades with 4 coaches. Went to 4 straight NCAAs. Would've been to another had it not been for Covid. Has more conference tournament and regular season titles than URI does. Was A10 COY. Most of this happened without 5 star recruits - just a great system and the right guys that fit it. His system and methods are unimpeachable.

David Cox's HC experience was a 3 game run as interim when Mike Rice got fired. It's fair to question what he was doing.

I really think Archie doesn't care about the regular season this year. In the big picture it doesn't. We have a broken culture and a losing team. I think he knows it's a rebuild and he's trying to get this team and players ready for Brooklyn. I think he's purposely playing Bassy over Bray to teach him lessons. I think he might go so far as to risk losing now with Bassy in to show Brayon that he's not going to play him if he's doing the wrong things no matter what.

In the grand scheme of things - a regular season win against a bad La salle team doesn't matter. Getting Bray to learn how he needs to play for the games that are meaningful is all that matters.

Bray is literally Fatts Russell. Archie is trying to reign him in and coach him.

Everyone sounds like they're being penny-wise and pound-foolish. Like everyone that wants Bray in all the time to win these pointless games...you realize you're advocating for how Cox handled Fatts? "Oh yeah we need to coach him but LET HIM DO WHATEVER HE WANTS WHEN A GAME IS ON THE LINE!!"

If that's the case then why coach him at all?

Trust Archie. We'll be good when we're good.

[section(105)]

OK, I agree the record this season is not much of a concern in the big picture ahead. However if Freeman has those Fatts like tendencies and habits that need to be coached out of him, that troubles me.

[Blue Man]

OK, I agree the record this season is not much of a concern in the big picture ahead. However if Freeman has those Fatts like tendencies and habits that need to be coached out of him, that troubles me.

I mean...that's what coaching is? A lot of who players become is because of their coach.

Fatts was phenomenally talented. He could win you some games by himself. He could also lose you way more games by himself.

If Fatts had Hurley or Archie as his coach we probably go to at least 1 if not 2 tourneys with him.

Honestly if Jeff Dowtin had Hurley for 4 years he's probably a 1st round NBA pick instead of fighting his way up the ranks.

[ATPTourFan]

I would rather severely suck this year if it meant we have cemented the culture that will restore the team to NCAA levels sooner. I believe that's how it works.

[Rhody72]

I don’t think I expect Archie to bring in a lot of “top talent” - I do not really remember a lot of super high recruits at Dayton. What I remember is a bunch of good to very good players who seemed to play many years and fit in his system well.

What I am expecting to see is that guys from this year who fit what he wants to do going forward will stay. Those who didn’t will be gone and he will keep replacing until he gets the mix he wants/needs to run his program. The guys he is bringing in fit mold and should pair well with Ish, Bray and Weston.

By top talent, I meant his top 2-3 recruits, not expecting 5 star talent. So on this, we agree.

I don't see Archie being happy with the way Bray is playing. He sat him at the beginning of the season because he didn't like the way Bray was playing. In the second half of the LaSalle game he effectively benched him only to put him in later off the point. It appears to me that both Archie and Bray are unhappy. It wouldn't surprise me if there was a mutually agreeable parting of ways. Archie will not make the same mistake as Cox.

[Blue Man]

I don’t think I expect Archie to bring in a lot of “top talent” - I do not really remember a lot of super high recruits at Dayton. What I remember is a bunch of good to very good players who seemed to play many years and fit in his system well.

What I am expecting to see is that guys from this year who fit what he wants to do going forward will stay. Those who didn’t will be gone and he will keep replacing until he gets the mix he wants/needs to run his program. The guys he is bringing in fit mold and should pair well with Ish, Bray and Weston.

By top talent, I meant his top 2-3 recruits, not expecting 5 star talent. So on this, we agree.

I don't see Archie being happy with the way Bray is playing. He sat him at the beginning of the season because he didn't like the way Bray was playing. In the second half of the LaSalle game he effectively benched him only to put him in later off the point. It appears to me that both Archie and Bray are unhappy. It wouldn't surprise me if there was a mutually agreeable parting of ways. Archie will not make the same mistake as Cox.

What mistakes did Cox make? You told us all multiple times that he was underpaid, a brilliant head coach, and he was going to leave us for a high level HC job.

[KeaneyBluBallz]

we're a full two months into the season. these guys have been together here since August. August! Four months before playing an actual game. why are we making excuses for so and so? just call it what it is at this point. our parts and pieces, our prospects, our 'serviceable' guys, they stink. We stink.

lets stop this narrative of chemistry and culture and blah blah blah. these guys didnt just get here and meet for the first time.

this team does not have culture, there is no chemistry, there is no improvement with this collective group.

[Obadiah]

The women's team beat La Salle yesterday by doing exactly what the men's fails at time and time again. In that game La Salle made a late challenge to cut the URI lead, but the women responded by some hot shooting plus a strong defensive effort at the game's critical juncture to restore the double digit lead. Then in the last three minutes, the Rams had a scoring drought which they were able to minimize by a defensive effort that held La Salle to one point and closed their window of opportunity of a late run.

[RJRam]

In my opinion, this team is playing with two critical missing pieces. We are missing a big man that can stand his ground, grab some important rebounds and finish strong at the rim. We may have someone approaching this in Bilau, but I haven't seen him enough to make a judgement. And we certainly don't have an adequate backup. The other missing piece is your money man. A player that is strong, athletic and smart, who is used to making clutch shots. I wish Ish was that guy, but he is not yet good enough. I think he is smart enough, strong enough, and athletic enough, but he shot making is not good enough yet. Brey is a very clever player, but he plays like an off guard in an, at best, point guard body. He very much would like to be the money man, but he lacks the strength, a dependable outside shot, and patience and decision making abilities needed for the job. Carey may actually be physically, the closest on the team to be the money man. His outside shot has started to look pretty good, and he can finish at the rim. However I do not think he is wired to be the money man, and he surely does not have the best handle on the team. At this time, we are missing two key pieces that would turn our close losses to victories. IMO we need a little patience and another recruiting cycle.

[Rhody72]

...
this team does not have culture, there is no chemistry, there is no improvement with this collective group.

I see some improvement particularly among the returnees (Ish, Bassy, Carey). Bray hasn't bought in. Weston is just beginning to recover. The talent isn't there yet. We have totally inexperienced front court players to compete at the A10 level. This was a lost season from the start. If you drank the preseason Kool-Aid, you are disappointed.

[RamStock]

we're a full two months into the season. these guys have been together here since August. August! Four months before playing an actual game. why are we making excuses for so and so? just call it what it is at this point. our parts and pieces, our prospects, our 'serviceable' guys, they stink. We stink.

lets stop this narrative of chemistry and culture and blah blah blah. these guys didnt just get here and meet for the first time.

this team does not have culture, there is no chemistry, there is no improvement with this collective group.

Yup. The team stinks! There is little to No talent on this team. This team is not every going to be NCAA worthy with this talent. They can’t shoot and that isn’t going to change. I’m not sure what people are watching when they say there had been improvement. The two freshman coming in and many new players that can shoot or are quality big men. Archie is a good coach, but failed miserably on the players that he brought in.

[KeaneyBluBallz]

...
this team does not have culture, there is no chemistry, there is no improvement with this collective group.

I see some improvement particularly among the returnees (Ish, Bassy, Carey). Bray hasn't bought in. Weston is just beginning to recover. The talent isn't there yet. We have totally inexperienced front court players to compete at the A10 level. This was a lost season from the start. If you drank the preseason Kool-Aid, you are disappointed.

you would.


oh i knew we were going to stink. I just didn't think it would be this bad.

buckle up 72, our suckiness is just getting started. We'll be lucky to win 3 games the rest of the way.

[Jersey77]

...
this team does not have culture, there is no chemistry, there is no improvement with this collective group.

I see some improvement particularly among the returnees (Ish, Bassy, Carey). Bray hasn't bought in. Weston is just beginning to recover. The talent isn't there yet. We have totally inexperienced front court players to compete at the A10 level. This was a lost season from the start. If you drank the preseason Kool-Aid, you are disappointed.

you would.


oh i knew we were going to stink. I just didn't think it would be this bad.

buckle up 72, our suckiness is just getting started. We'll be lucky to win 3 games the rest of the way.

Don't lose sleep over this season.
We are just a half of year into a re-build, with lots of inexperience on our roster.
I would be more concerned if we see the same without much improvement in 23-24.
I also feel Archie will address our shortcomings well before the start of next season.

[SandorClegane]

For those people who watched on ESPN+, I’m still amazed that there aren’t more negative comments about the camera guy. The camera crew must have been high as hell. WTF was that???

[Rhody72]

oh i knew we were going to stink. I just didn't think it would be this bad.

I felt the same way and was taking bullets all summer for posting it here.

[steveystuds06]

oh i knew we were going to stink. I just didn't think it would be this bad.

I felt the same way and was taking bullets all summer for posting it here.

Most of us thought this was going to be a tough year. Not this bad, but we all knew this would be a rebuilding year.

[Iggy1979]

I still haven't recovered from that finish. So many unforced errors.

[Jersey77]

I still haven't recovered from that finish. So many unforced errors.

I still haven't recovered from our 1998 Elite 8 loss to Stanford with all our miscues in the final minute.

[NYGFan_Section208]

we're a full two months into the season. these guys have been together here since August. August! Four months before playing an actual game. why are we making excuses for so and so? just call it what it is at this point. our parts and pieces, our prospects, our 'serviceable' guys, they stink. We stink.

lets stop this narrative of chemistry and culture and blah blah blah. these guys didnt just get here and meet for the first time.

this team does not have culture, there is no chemistry, there is no improvement with this collective group.

no jellin'?

[DeanDome88]

OK, I agree the record this season is not much of a concern in the big picture ahead. However if Freeman has those Fatts like tendencies and habits that need to be coached out of him, that troubles me.

Fatts was a much better defender than Freeman. Freeman seems to save his energy for the offensive end. Freeman should be a much better defender than he has shown so far this season.

[ramster]

OK, I agree the record this season is not much of a concern in the big picture ahead. However if Freeman has those Fatts like tendencies and habits that need to be coached out of him, that troubles me.

Fatts was a much better defender than Freeman. Freeman seems to save his energy for the offensive end. Freeman should be a much better defender than he has shown so far this season.

Freeman is 6’2”
He has zero blocked shots this season and had 1 block his Freshman year at GW

Russell was shorter and averaged 5 blocks a year over 5 years.

[Jersey77]

OK, I agree the record this season is not much of a concern in the big picture ahead. However if Freeman has those Fatts like tendencies and habits that need to be coached out of him, that troubles me.

Fatts was a much better defender than Freeman. Freeman seems to save his energy for the offensive end. Freeman should be a much better defender than he has shown so far this season.

Freeman is 6’2”
He has zero blocked shots this season and had 1 block his Freshman year at GW

Russell was shorter and averaged 5 blocks a year over 5 years.

Also remember, Fatts set the school's all-time record with steals at 213.

[rhodylaw]

I don’t think I expect Archie to bring in a lot of “top talent” - I do not really remember a lot of super high recruits at Dayton. What I remember is a bunch of good to very good players who seemed to play many years and fit in his system well.

What I am expecting to see is that guys from this year who fit what he wants to do going forward will stay. Those who didn’t will be gone and he will keep replacing until he gets the mix he wants/needs to run his program. The guys he is bringing in fit mold and should pair well with Ish, Bray and Weston.

By top talent, I meant his top 2-3 recruits, not expecting 5 star talent. So on this, we agree.

I don't see Archie being happy with the way Bray is playing. He sat him at the beginning of the season because he didn't like the way Bray was playing. In the second half of the LaSalle game he effectively benched him only to put him in later off the point. It appears to me that both Archie and Bray are unhappy. It wouldn't surprise me if there was a mutually agreeable parting of ways. Archie will not make the same mistake as Cox.

What mistakes did Cox make? You told us all multiple times that he was underpaid, a brilliant head coach, and he was going to leave us for a high level HC job.

No need to rehash - we know the mistake that 72 is talking about, letting the most “talented” players dictate the team. The coach dictates the team, not the players. Cox got run over by Fatts and then by the twins.

[rambone 78]

No coach in the country could win with these players right now. When Archie brings enough talent here, he will win with it
I'm saying when, not if. I dont question Archie as a coach. If I have any concerns, it's the recruiting part that is the toughest challenge for this program. How long will it take? I'm not getting any younger either.

[Jersey77]

No coach in the country could win with these players right now. When Archie brings enough talent here, he will win with it
I'm saying when, not if. I dont question Archie as a coach. If I have any concerns, it's the recruiting part that is the toughest challenge for this program. How long will it take? I'm not getting any younger either.

Well, building a roster and making all the pieces fit is the biggest job of the HC.