"Juan Bid", The Fall of the A10

[Jdrums#3]

McGlade was a decent commissioner early on and maneuvered the league well early on. I however always thought moving the HQ away from most members to the Virginia shore was a selfish decision based solely on where she wanted to live.

That however does not mean she is suited to lead the conference today in a totally new college basketball environment. The A-10 is presently in decline under her watch. There does not seem to be much being done at the league administration level to right the ship. It may be time for her to make a graceful exit and bring in new blood with a different approach to the ever changing landscape of the sport.

Maybe she’s not a war time consigliere ? And we may need one now.

Someone make her an offer she can’t refuse.

[Rhody72]

I think Thorr should get the job. As much as we would lose, we would gain.

Here! Here! Give Thorr the General Hershey treatment.

[RIFan]

This whole situation sickens me so I haven’t read the all the posts, but my concern is if the A10 doesn’t get back to 2-3 bids and at least one top 25 program each season, how long will interest in the product last? Unless we are one of the top 2-3 programs each year, what will the attendance at the Ryan be? How about the rest of the league? What’s the attendance like in most 1 bid conference’s? If attendance is down and interest is down what’s the next tv contract going to look like? NCAA units will be fewer to share - all round lower revenue, so how are the A10 schools like URI and UMass, who have now started to finally spend, going to be able to maintain that commitment? If this current crop of new coaches Including Archie doesn’t right the ship the A10 may become another America East (their league average for attendance is about 1,300) If we are a 1 bid league how long does Dayton, VCU, SLU stay?

The Top 8-12 schools should break from the A10 and form a new conference since the A10 seems unwilling or unable to cull its dead weight. Maybe add some other schools who are willing to spend. And, yes, I consider URI one of them based on overall body of work and commitment.

[Jdrums#3]

These are my concerns as well, RIFan. The conf is at risk of becoming irrelevant IF the trend continues.

Hopefully, the Commish and a majority of member institution administrators have a sense of urgency in developing a strategy of adapting to the new college basketball landscape to maintain as a 2-3 bid league most seasons and a top 10 Net rated conf. If Rhody isn’t one of the institutions in the forefront of the necessary urgency and of developing the strategy, then shame on us.

That said, all indications so far from Rhody, imho, are that we are one of the institutions in the forefront of keeping the conference relevant despite the below average on the court product in recent years.

I am also of the opinion that a smaller, fully committed ( to a proposed level of basketball program standards ) basketball centric conference would work if it comes to that.

Good discussion points posted, RIFan.

[Jdrums#3]

To continue my post above, by indications, I mean actions like, getting the practice facility, hiring a HC with Archie’s experience and past success, upping the HC compensation, upping assistant coaches compensation pool, etc. It’s progress, even if it isn’t as fast as I would like.

Now that we are upping our commitment to the program, I would hate to see us become a prisoner of a one bid conference.

[Jersey77]

To continue my post above, by indications, I mean actions like, getting the practice facility, hiring a HC with Archie’s experience and past success, upping the HC compensation, upping assistant coaches compensation pool, etc. It’s progress, even if it isn’t as fast as I would like.

Now that we are upping our commitment to the program, I would hate to see us become a prisoner of a one bid conference.

Before I worry about becoming a prisoner let's first try and finish in the top half of the conference, which we haven't done in 3 years.

[RIFan]

We are a Jekyll and Hyde program, we are either really good or really bad…we need more of the good than the bad not to become a prisoner. That means having good back to back hires at head coach.

[Rhody72]

We are a Jekyll and Hyde program, we are either really good or really bad…we need more of the good than the bad not to become a prisoner. That means having good back to back hires at head coach.

You are absolutely correct! I choose to measure this by what you pay a coach. Put another way, if the person you are about to hire will accept less than what you pay your current coach, then you need to find a better candidate. If you have doubts, then negotiate a more favorable buy-out. Buy-out under-performing employees before they damage the program.

[Rhody72]

...
Now that we are upping our commitment to the program, I would hate to see us become a prisoner of a one bid conference.

Don't deceive yourself. We are scrambling to keep up and not making the necessary commitment to get ahead.

[ramster]

...
Now that we are upping our commitment to the program, I would hate to see us become a prisoner of a one bid conference.

Don't deceive yourself. We are scrambling to keep up and not making the necessary commitment to get ahead.

Prisoner of a 1-Bid Conference?

We just finished 14th in a 15 team conference
5-13 Conference 9-22 Overall
Lost to 11-Seed LaSalle by 17 points 56-73

Last Season
5-12 Conference 15-16 Overall


Long way to go from the Bottom til number of Bids comes into play.

It's not the A10 Conference's fault we are at the bottom of it

[Jersey77]

...
Now that we are upping our commitment to the program, I would hate to see us become a prisoner of a one bid conference.

Don't deceive yourself. We are scrambling to keep up and not making the necessary commitment to get ahead.

Prisoner of a 1-Bid Conference?

We just finished 14th in a 15 team conference
5-13 Conference 9-22 Overall
Lost to 11-Seed LaSalle by 17 points 56-73

Last Season
5-12 Conference 15-16 Overall


Long way to go from the Bottom til number of Bids comes into play.

It's not the A10 Conference's fault we are at the bottom of it

Pretty much my thoughts also Ramster.

[Billyboy78]

...
Now that we are upping our commitment to the program, I would hate to see us become a prisoner of a one bid conference.

Don't deceive yourself. We are scrambling to keep up and not making the necessary commitment to get ahead.

Prisoner of a 1-Bid Conference?

We just finished 14th in a 15 team conference
5-13 Conference 9-22 Overall
Lost to 11-Seed LaSalle by 17 points 56-73

Last Season
5-12 Conference 15-16 Overall


Long way to go from the Bottom til number of Bids comes into play.

It's not the A10 Conference's fault we are at the bottom of it

Cox killed this program more than I thought he did.

[theblueram]

Don't deceive yourself. We are scrambling to keep up and not making the necessary commitment to get ahead.

Prisoner of a 1-Bid Conference?

We just finished 14th in a 15 team conference
5-13 Conference 9-22 Overall
Lost to 11-Seed LaSalle by 17 points 56-73

Last Season
5-12 Conference 15-16 Overall


Long way to go from the Bottom til number of Bids comes into play.

It's not the A10 Conference's fault we are at the bottom of it

Cox killed this program more than I thought he did.

Disagree Billy. Archie better get his ass in gear though. Lat year was a disaster.

[Billyboy78]

Prisoner of a 1-Bid Conference?

We just finished 14th in a 15 team conference
5-13 Conference 9-22 Overall
Lost to 11-Seed LaSalle by 17 points 56-73

Last Season
5-12 Conference 15-16 Overall


Long way to go from the Bottom til number of Bids comes into play.

It's not the A10 Conference's fault we are at the bottom of it

Cox killed this program more than I thought he did.

Disagree Billy. Archie better get his ass in gear though. Lat year was a disaster.

I'm not saying the program is dead, just that he did a lot of damage. You're right. No excuses this year. Have to at least see good signs of improvement this year, both in talent and record.

[rjv]

This is all Archie now. There is not one player that has been on the team more then 2 years. He needs to build fast and show significant improvement.
I believe anything below 6th place finish will be unacceptable based on what is being said about all the new players coming in. I also believe that the A10 teams have not done enough to be a multi bid league. This up coming season is going to say a lot about URI future recruiting ability and a lot about the future of the A10 becoming a multi bid league again.

[section(105)]

14th to 6th, that’s quite a leap, hopefully there is a real difference maker out there to commit our way.

[PeterRamTime]

14th to 6th, that’s quite a leap, hopefully there is a real difference maker out there to commit our way.

It's happening

BUCKLE UP

[RIFan]

I will be happy if we finish in the middle 1/3 this season, 5-10…hopefully closer to 5. Ideally we want to be in the top 1/3 year in year out. That used to mean you would be in the hunt for an at large…ah, the good old days.

The only reason I think the middle 1/3 is acceptable is because of how bad last year was.

[Jersey77]

This is all Archie now. There is not one player that has been on the team more then 2 years. He needs to build fast and show significant improvement.
I believe anything below 6th place finish will be unacceptable based on what is being said about all the new players coming in. I also believe that the A10 teams have not done enough to be a multi bid league. This up coming season is going to say a lot about URI future recruiting ability and a lot about the future of the A10 becoming a multi bid league again.

I think you may be in for a huge disappointment RJV, if you think anything below 6th is unacceptable.
I would expect improvement, but just not a top half finish.

[NYGFan_Section208]

I will be happy if we finish in the middle 1/3 this season, 5-10…hopefully closer to 5. Ideally we want to be in the top 1/3 year in year out. That used to mean you would be in the hunt for an at large…ah, the good old days.

The only reason I think the middle 1/3 is acceptable is because of how bad last year was.

Boooo. Sad.

[Jdrums#3]

...
Now that we are upping our commitment to the program, I would hate to see us become a prisoner of a one bid conference.

Don't deceive yourself. We are scrambling to keep up and not making the necessary commitment to get ahead.

Not surprised that you would respond.

Be gone dark basketball spirit!

Until next the time, oh great dispenser of bad basketball juju.

[theblueram]

This is all Archie now. There is not one player that has been on the team more then 2 years. He needs to build fast and show significant improvement.
I believe anything below 6th place finish will be unacceptable based on what is being said about all the new players coming in. I also believe that the A10 teams have not done enough to be a multi bid league. This up coming season is going to say a lot about URI future recruiting ability and a lot about the future of the A10 becoming a multi bid league again.

I think you may be in for a huge disappointment RJV, if you think anything below 6th is unacceptable.
I would expect improvement, but just not a top half finish.

Based on roster, I agree. Based on coaching staff not a good look at all. This staff better start making waves.

[Jdrums#3]

...
Now that we are upping our commitment to the program, I would hate to see us become a prisoner of a one bid conference.

Don't deceive yourself. We are scrambling to keep up and not making the necessary commitment to get ahead.

Prisoner of a 1-Bid Conference?

We just finished 14th in a 15 team conference
5-13 Conference 9-22 Overall
Lost to 11-Seed LaSalle by 17 points 56-73

Last Season
5-12 Conference 15-16 Overall


Long way to go from the Bottom til number of Bids comes into play.

It's not the A10 Conference's fault we are at the bottom of it

Never said we are. Read in context, Ramster, Including my immediate previous post. It is not is or was; it’s become - future tense. No time limit placed on it.

I even referenced our recent on the court struggles.

Taking statements out of context is a cheap and lazy way to try to make a point.

[NYGFan_Section208]

If it's a Juan Bid league...worry first about.... being "Juan"?

[The Dude]

I think whether or not the A10 stays a one bid league comes down to coaching. If the A10 can retain good coaches, good players will come and likely stay longer at their respective schools and will thus aid in making the A10 teams better, thus getting more bids for the league. If the A10 continues to lose good players via transfers and good coaches via poaching from other schools, I don't see how the A10 doesn't remain a one or two bid league, if that continues.
You need coaches who have a love for the school's they coach for and aren't simply looking for a big pay day.You need a coach like a Chaney or Martelli, who know they can have success even if their school or program isn't loaded with money and fancy facilities like a Duke or Kentucky. Coaches like that seem like unicorns these days. It's sad. School/program reputation doesn't make the coach. The coach makes the school/program's reputation. Gonzaga was a nobody in college basketball until they weren't...after having a great coach. VCU wasn't anything special till Shaka Smart came along. When Calhoun left UConn the program fell apart.
Fleming was a coordinator for a college football team that went to the Fiesta Bowl, yet he had an affinity for Rhode Island and URI and took the job. Now URI is no longer a bottom feeder in football.
The A10 needs less used car salesmen (no offense to people in that profession; old phrase) and more coaches that love their school and believe enough in themselves that they don't feel the need to leave when a power 5 school has a vacancy. Schools also need to not fire a coach simply because they have a couple of bas seasons either. Not sure how or where to find coaches with character like that, but that's how I see it.

[reef]

I’m thinking around an overall .500 finish in year 2 of Arch so middle of the pack A10

[RF1]

I believe anything below 6th place finish will be unacceptable based on what is being said about all the new players coming in.

??? From what I have been able to gather, NONE of our new players are especially heralded on their own. There is no sure superstar among them like it was in Hurley's second year with Matthews and Martin. These players may be an upgrade from last season but that is more because the talent level was so low then. More talent across the board will certainly help. These new players may mesh well and create a TEAM. That however is not guaranteed.

Expecting a top half league finish after a season where we were next to last, the third losing campaign in a row, will not come overnight. This rebuild is going to take longer than I think most anticipated when Miller was hired. The dynamics today are far different than just a few years ago. The situation with players is constantly fluid. Getting good players to URI has always been hard and continues to be the case. We now also face the challenge of keeping good players. Players no longer look at the long haul for their college careers. They seem to be more focused now on just the year ahead. That attitude may not help a program in a rebuild mode.

I had lower expectations than most for last season thinking the ceiling might be somewhere near .500 if things went well. I never thought it would end up as bad as it did. I am not hanging my hat on the closeness of some of the losses when five of our nine wins were by three or less points. It cuts both ways. Last season in my view delayed the rebuild by a full year. Last season was an exercise in futility where the program was just going through the motions. It was not like years past where (say Wheeler's first year) where players took their lumps in the development process of becoming better. Few of our players that took the court last year will do so again for Rhody. I think URI is going to struggle again this season, even in a weaker than years past A-10. I think it may be two or three seasons before this program is playing at a level where we want it. This not going to be a quick fix from how I see it. Patience is going to be needed.

[RIFan]

The funny thing here is with so much turnover, our record could be anything! Nobody has any clue how this will come together. Never had less of a feel for what to expect than this year, but for everyone’s sake I hope it’s a big improvement over last season.

[rjv]

College basketball is no longer about patience and rebuilding over a 2 or 3 or 4 year period. The player turnover is going to happen every year and if you do not restock with quality players and win, you are going to have issues restocking.
We are seeing it occurring right now.
And as a fan, I'm sure many will agree, I do not have the patience to wait 2 or 3 or 4 years for the team to be an A10 contender and be talked about getting to the NCAA tournament.

[RJRam]

If I were a college coach in this new "Portal" environment, I would have to be constantly rethinking on how best to adapt my coaching philosophies. I think the concept of focusing recruiting on just freshmen, has obviously changed to bringing in a mixture of transfers and freshmen. It's probably the only way to achieve the ultimate goal of "getting old and staying old".
But I also think that game coaching philosophies probably need to be adjusted to accommodate the shorter amount of time players remain in any one program. From most reports I've read, the "pack line defense", that Archie prefers, takes a long time for players to learn. With this new, "rent a player" environment, maybe some coaching preferences have to change accordingly, so players can learn them more quickly. I hope Archie is not stubborn, and will embrace the new college basketball rules. He needs to be smart and creative while he figures out the best way to proceed.

[Jdrums#3]

It appears to me that one way to mitigate the roster volatility is for any coach to load the roster with a core of good players who have already used up their no sit out transfer. Then use NIL dollars to solidify those players in place until they graduate and to attract players to supplement the core group.

However, doing that is easier said than done and it isn’t a total solution. I am sure there are other strategies available to mitigate roster turnover of talented core players that I haven’t thought of or mentioned.

I can be more patient under such a scenario as I laid out above. It’s difficult for me to be patient in a scenario where there is consistent turnover of the roster with good players and potential NCAAT caliber type players moving up to P5 & P6 level with no solution for constant, annual rebuilding of the roster in sight.

[Jersey77]

It appears to me that one way to mitigate the roster volatility is for any coach to load the roster with a core of good players who have already used up their no sit out transfer. Then use NIL dollars to solidify those players in place until they graduate and to attract players to supplement the core group.

Doing that is easier said than done and it isn’t a total solution. I am sure there are other strategies available to mitigate roster turnover of talented core players that I haven’t thought of or mentioned.

I can be more patient under such a scenario. It’s difficult for me to be patient in a scenario where there is consistent turnover of the roster with good players and potential NCAAT caliber type players moving up to P5 & P6 level with no solution in sight.

Well yeah, I agree adding undergraduate players from the portal are more apt to stay rather than having to go through the transfer route again and have to sit.
So that does make sense, just need to find those players that will make an immediate impact for us.
Easier said than done.

[RIFan]

With the P6 schools shedding their dead weight annually so they can poach the mid-major stars, I am having a hard time figuring out how a team in the middle is supposed to have sustained success.

[Rhody72]

With the P6 schools shedding their dead weight annually so they can poach the mid-major stars, I am having a hard time figuring out how a team in the middle is supposed to have sustained success.

I'll be consistent in saying that next year should be viewed as year 1 of the Miller era. He is a very good coach but not a pied piper such as DH and JH.

[rjv]

Are you saying, Rhody72 "next year" is this upcoming year 23-24 or the following year 24-25? how much time can we as Fans give him?

Also I agree with RJRAM and his take on coaching philosophies. If you need to change coaching styles with the times then so be it.

[Jdrums#3]

It appears to me that one way to mitigate the roster volatility is for any coach to load the roster with a core of good players who have already used up their no sit out transfer. Then use NIL dollars to solidify those players in place until they graduate and to attract players to supplement the core group.

Doing that is easier said than done and it isn’t a total solution. I am sure there are other strategies available to mitigate roster turnover of talented core players that I haven’t thought of or mentioned.

I can be more patient under such a scenario. It’s difficult for me to be patient in a scenario where there is consistent turnover of the roster with good players and potential NCAAT caliber type players moving up to P5 & P6 level with no solution in sight.

Well yeah, I agree adding undergraduate players from the portal are more apt to stay rather than having to go through the transfer route again and have to sit.
So that does make sense, just need to find those players that will make an immediate impact for us.
Easier said than done.

Agreed, Jersey. Easy for me to say (in theory) but, it’s more complicated (in practice) when other programs are doing the same and are competing for good players.

There are no easy fixes I can envision beyond throwing gobs of NIL dollars around in an attempt to get good enough to compete for an NCAAT birth quickly. It’s frustrating until we can adapt. We have adapted in the past so I still think we will again but, I’ll admit that I am starting to wonder to what level we will and how long it will take.

There are too many unknowns for me right now with
regards to positioning to attract players, NIL, P5/6 scheduling, etc and my expectations are out the window as a result. I don’t know what to expect from year to year anymore. Ooph

But, summer is coming, KB will mostly go quiet and I will get re-energized for next season.

[PlayMikeMotenMore]

College basketball is no longer about patience and rebuilding over a 2 or 3 or 4 year period. The player turnover is going to happen every year and if you do not restock with quality players and win, you are going to have issues restocking.
We are seeing it occurring right now.
And as a fan, I'm sure many will agree, I do not have the patience to wait 2 or 3 or 4 years for the team to be an A10 contender and be talked about getting to the NCAA tournament.

Well, I disagree. So you do not have the patience. What are you going to do? If college basketball is about restocking due to player turnover, URI isn't a factory. What are you going to do in those down years (not year, but years)?

[CaptainRon]

Are you saying, Rhody72 "next year" is this upcoming year 23-24 or the following year 24-25? how much time can we as Fans give him?

Also I agree with RJRAM and his take on coaching philosophies. If you need to change coaching styles with the times then so be it.

Can’t afford not to give him time and hope he is successful. Turning over the coach every few years is a recipe for disaster.

[RIFan]

I was just scrolling through Instagram today and I was noticing how few “likes” Rhody athletics posts get. My daughter goes to a school with 5,000 students and is division 3, and their athletic teams posts get 2-3x the number of likes that ours do. There is a problem with marketing and school spirit here.