12/2 | Providence | 7:30PM (FS1)

[Jks1985]

Yeah it’s frustrating for sure , I think next year we have a great shot to beat them @ home since their big 3 will be gone and our guys will have more experience

COuld be wrong, but aren't Hopkins and Carter juniors?

And Pierre is a sophomore.

Regardless, we should have a better chance @ home next year.

[jcru]

Archie, for some apparent reason, set ridiculously high expectations for Fuchs. Something he did not need to do.

And what you are seeing here, are people reacting to Fuchs failing to meet those ridiculously high expectations.

[bigappleram]

We will beat them next year at the Ryan. Have faith.

This year was always about identifying a core that can be part of a top of conf team. Some of those pieces are coming into place. Some aren’t.

The Fuchs hate after this game is misplaced IMO. Yes he missed a couple bunnies early but he finished in traffic a few times after that and more than held his own.

Not to belabor the David Green effect but his size and experience would have given us a much better chance at stopping Hopkins.

One shining light was how our bigs defended Oduro vs what he did against our awful front line last year. That should project well into conf play since he would be either the best or 2nd best big in our league we face if he was still at GMU.

[rhodysurf]

Maybe I'm overreacting, but I'm worried against any decent A10 teams that we have these really, really bad stretches for 10+ minutes. I know we came back against Yale, but it's very hard to win many games like that... I understand there will be runs, but I haven't seen a team look so good and so bad in stretches like this team... Bilau will help a lot. He's a stud. I'm so sick of losing to PC. This sucks..

Yup! Sick of losing this friggin’ “rivalry game.”

Right now this rivalry is not a rivalry because we can’t beat them. Therefore, as a poster (can’t recall who. Sorry) aptly posted here a day or so ago, this game is now a tradition.

And it is a tradition that will die a quiet death eventually, at this rate, because we are not holding up our end of the rivalry. It’s embarrassing.

And , that sucks big time.

Are we better than last years team? Yes.

Is the program making progress from where it ended with DC as head coach ? Yes.

Are we close to what former teams under Kraft, Skinner, Penders, Harrick, Hurley ascended to ? Not friggin’ close.

I am patient but I am getting tired of moral victories. And I don’t have forever to wait around for us to play in another NCAAT.

This is ridiculous.. this team is pretty clearly better than hurleys year 2 team

[rhodysurf]

Is a zone trap/press part of the Book of Archie? Do we have players to execute that? Jus asking.

Our players were pretty clearly gassed as it is and Archie called them out for it in the post game. Conditioning isn’t there to press I don’t think

[section(105)]

Is a zone trap/press part of the Book of Archie? Do we have players to execute that? Jus asking.

Our players were pretty clearly gassed as it is and Archie called them out for it in the post game. Conditioning isn’t there to press I don’t think

Interesting. Looking forward to hear all of Archie post game and the media briefing next week, if there is one.

[rhodyblue12]

I am encouraged by the team's play for the first 25 min yesterday. We missed a bunch of layups or we would have been ahead at halftime.
I was a bit upset at how unraveled they became in the last 5 min. Each guy seemed to just want to grab a few points.
It looks like our guys are still trying to figure out how they can put their imprint on the game and thus try to do a bit too much.
Almost as if they have to figure our their part before they can see how the parts fit to make a whole.
The exception for me is Kortright who has been way better than I thought.

I'm not sure how practice goes but they seem totally shocked that the opposing team plays such tight D.
You can see them thinking "The next pass goes there" and they try to make it even if it isn't open.
Some outrageously bad passes yesterday. You have to value the ball more.

Though: Is this because they only practice (and thus practice against) Archie's Pack Line D that has defenders off the ball sag into the lane and so passes in practice are easy to make? Maybe.

How about this - the next 5 are all winnable. If we then go 10-8 in conference we will have 20 wins.
I believe that mark was the top of expectations in the poll.
Looking forward to the next 20+ games. I think our rotation of four capable bigs will be tough for the remaining competition to handle.

I will leave you all with a reminder - Fuchs and Foumena are freshman bigs. FRESHMAN.
Cyril averaged 3.2 points and 4.5 reb as a freshman. Right now Foumena is at 7.3/4.5 and Fuchs is at 6.8/6.8

[ram1980]

Fuchs vs Samb/Tchikou- I take Fuchs 101 times out of 100. Cut him some slack here gang.
Weston- He appears to be what he is. A talented kid that is maddeningly inconsistent.
Wright - Seems to be Bassy.2. Terrible on defense. Poor shooter. Only effective in the transition game which we can't get going consistently. I would much rather see Estevez get more burn. His ceiling appears to be so much higher..
Bottom line is Noone expected an ncaa berth this year. Let Estevez and Fuchs take their lumps and hopefully it will prepare them to be solid contributors next year.

[KingstonLane]

Final score didn’t indicate how close the game was. We battled. I’m encouraged by this team.

Yes we’re inconsistent, but we’re losing to good teams. And playing hard and competitive against them at times. We’re not where we want to be as fans, but we’re not as far off as many think

If we could play consistently, we might be 8-0 with 3 really good wins and currently in the NCAA tournament picture. I don’t think, actually I know for a fact, no one expected that this year

Were 5-3. For all the posters predicting our OOC record, most had a minimum of 4-5 losses. That likely included all 3 games we’ve lost.

I’m encouraged. Progress/rebuilding isn’t linear. There will be ups and downs.

This team is a top half of the A10 team. Will be an exciting season

[UCH21377]

I hate to say this but maybe we are not that good. Less then .500 in A10 play.
We came back against Yale but what is the reality of the team. maybe we are a .500 team or less.

We will not play another team this good the rest of the season, neither at home or on the road. This will be the highest rated kenpom team we play for the rest of the year. The team will be fine in the A10.

This is true but what it means is that the A10 is probably just another one bid mid major conference.

[bigappleram]

Couldn’t agree more with the last two posts. In fact if we aren’t at least mid table it’s a disappointment based on the talent.

Bilau is only going to get better - 7pts and 9rebs in limited action yesterday. House was able to show out against probably the best perimeter defensive team we will face all season. High low action worked numerous times. Kortright isn’t flashy but has been incredibly consistent and effective since Game 1 He forced NW to change D against us and then after multiple pick n rolls yestersday changed how they covered him.

Our 3 young bigs will continue to develop.

BUT Archie does need to ratchet up the intensity and toughness in this group. The talent is there but def have seen some periods of softness in big games. Need more dogs to come out.

I like our chances against A10 competition. Would be great to run table or at worse 1 more loss rest of way in OOC and head into the league with 3 top 60 losses and nothing else.

[Jersey77]

Couldn’t agree more with the last two posts. In fact if we aren’t at least mid table it’s a disappointment based on the talent.

Bilau is only going to get better - 7pts and 9rebs in limited action yesterday. House was able to show out against probably the best perimeter defensive team we will face all season. High low action worked numerous times. Kortright isn’t flashy but has been incredibly consistent and effective since Game 1 He forced NW to change D against us and then after multiple pick n rolls yestersday changed how they covered him.

Our 3 young bigs will continue to develop.

BUT Archie does need to ratchet up the intensity and toughness in this group. The talent is there but def have seen some periods of softness in big games. Need more dogs to come out.

I like our chances against A10 competition. Would be great to run table or at worse 1 more loss rest of way in OOC and head into the league with 3 top 60 losses and nothing else.

We are currently on pace or maybe slightly ahead record wise of where I thought we would be.
I am encouraged by the play of several of our guys, so there is some optimism there.

Still, it is too early for me to see how we measure-up against our A10 competition.
Like I said, I don't feel there are any bad teams in our conference and on any given day anyone can win.
Except for Yale, I feel all the teams in the A10 are better than anyone else we have beaten so far.

We will be the underdog against Charleston who only played one other game at home beating Iona.
Delaware is the only other OOC game that really concerns me, and it may be a Pick'em game.

[rhodylaw]

I honestly don’t get the nay-sayers out today. The team is where is should be. It’s not beating expectations (which would have been nice) but with an entirely new group of guys playing other than Weston I see significant improvement from last year.

The achievable goal for this year was to be top half of the A10 and have pieces to build with for next year. We are on that path still.

[PeterRamTime]

We will beat them next year at the Ryan. Have faith.

This year was always about identifying a core that can be part of a top of conf team. Some of those pieces are coming into place. Some aren’t.

The Fuchs hate after this game is misplaced IMO. Yes he missed a couple bunnies early but he finished in traffic a few times after that and more than held his own.

Not to belabor the David Green effect but his size and experience would have given us a much better chance at stopping Hopkins.

One shining light was how our bigs defended Oduro vs what he did against our awful front line last year. That should project well into conf play since he would be either the best or 2nd best big in our league we face if he was still at GMU.

Yep I said before the game

We needed Bilau to beat Yale

We needed Green for this one...and a full go Bilau.

Fuchs did really well guarding Oduro actually, otherwise he limits the overall ceiling of the team offensively and defensively for this season while out there.

[Spook5365]

There’s a lot of good and bad and give and take to this game. I loathe moral victories especially against them it’s an either W or an L.

For the most part exactly what I expected. I thought they could be had but for that to happen 1 of 2 guys had to be a little “off”. They weren’t. Hopkins and Carter are 2 good, old, very experienced players. We have nothing close to that. Bilau I guess but he can’t go 38 and 32 yet like those guys can. And there are few teams in the country that can deal with those two frankly. Carter is an absolute matchup nightmare for any team.

11 TO’s. Fantastic. Unfortunately we couldn’t turn them over. Forget complaining about calls. Anyone including players and coaches think we’re getting any calls in that building are delirious. I’m surprised the spread wasn’t bigger.

I’m mixed opinion on the conditioning thing sometimes in those high tension games everyone’s sucking more wind than usual but
it’s something to watch. But now we’ve seen a bad team last year and a much better team this year that pretty much always have a 10 minute dead ( and I mean dead) periods somewhere that kills them. Who knows how he corrects that but he needs to figure it out.

Free throws? Complete joke. Fix it. And it is fixable. You shoot 75% instead of 45%/50% and the game changes. Even if you get fewer than them I don’t care what the attempts are.

And yes the bigs very encouraging. Oduro played with us like a cat with mice last season. Totally different. And compare the 2 young bigs, Foumena v Castro. Not even close.

[rjv]

just a general statement on finishing in top half of A10 compared to last year
#8 was Davidson 8-10
#7 was GW 10-8
If we finish in the lower part of top half we would be right around .500 ball maybe a little better maybe a little worse
This is based on last year standings
I just don't see us being better then that I hope I'm wrong!!!!!

[TruePoint]

At this point you and Stevey have just taken the position of "defend Fuchs at all costs"

He's made SOME plays, but half of the time it's a disaster. The other three bigs don't have near the amount of lows.

I haven’t exactly been effusive in my praise of Fuchs. I don’t think you can actually find me saying anything about especially complimentary about him. I just think some of the criticisms of him are a little unfair, bordering on absurd.

If I told you in a vacuum you’d have a freshman big with 11 and 6 with zero turnovers in a game at Providence you’d probably think that was great. Was it actually great? No. But having criticism of him being the primary thing you got from this game is silly.

I mean. We know that it’s not all stats right? Like the wide open layups he did hit didn’t make up for the misses, the lack of rebounds, the poor spacing, the turnovers, the non-existent defense.

Bassy was unanimously declared unfit to play at URI and he was a -3.3 last year, Fuchs is a -4.1 already.

Cmon. I’d love the kid to shut me up and be a good player on a team that wins because of him. I’m just don’t see it. I’ve been wrong before, but I’m gonna guess I won’t be here.

To be fair, I took a similar line with Bassy as I am with Fuchs. I think both players - while obviously somewhat overmatched and limited as players at the respective stages of their careers - get unfairly scapegoated. In both cases, I think their weaknesses are extremely obvious because of where they are playing - Bassy’s inability to score from any level was apparent because he had the ball in his hands so much; Fuchs softness on the glass is apparent because bigger opponents are killing us on the boards for extra possessions while he sort of watches it all happening. In both cases it’s frustrating. But in both cases I think that fans have ignored both other things that they do well and the fact that there is still developmental road ahead of them.

[Rhody_NYCT]

I am not responding to one of you in particular but sadly to a lot of you. Maybe it's me who has lost my mind. But this is what I see. We are only 8 games into a season with basically a completely new roster. Last season was one of the worst teams we have ever had. This years team is far better. We have a lot of talent and potential, comprised of a bunch of freshman and sophomores, and no seniors. This team moves the ball around better than I saw over the past 5 years. They look like a team. These guys play hard. NODOBY in their right mind was picking this team to make the NCAAs (or NIT), or finish towards the top of the A10. This was always a building year to get us back in the mix and to hopefully take that big next step NEXT YEAR. We are only 8 games in, and people are crapping on some of our players? This is crazy. I see so many good things happening on the court and I am very happy with where we are right now. Of course I'm disappointed that we didn't beat PC or win a game at Mohegan, buts that's just the reality of where the team is right now. I expect us to be very competitive in the A10 and finish .500 and if that happens I hope you realize that would be a huge success. Hopefully we can do even better and make a run in the A10 tourney, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. This is a process and again we are only 8 GAMES INTO THE SEASON! Let these players develop. Let's see what happens. If we stink again this year, feel free to dump on whoever you would like, at a much later date (if that's what you choose to do). We are clearly moving in the right direction. GR!

[Rhodymob05]

What RhodyNYCT said.

[steveystuds06]

I will have one more post about Fuchs, and then I'm done.

In Hassan Martin's first game against PC as a freshman, he scored 4 points, blocked 4 shots, and grabbed 5 boards in 26 minutes. His defense was exceptional, but his offensive contributions were limited. At that point, all he could do was dunk. He needed time to develop.

During Cyril Langevine's freshman year against PC, he played 5 minutes, registering 0 points and 1 rebound. He wasn't quite ready to make an impact on the floor. Throughout his entire freshman year, Cyril only scored in double digits twice. Comparatively, Fuchs has achieved this three times already. Cyril had an incredible motor from day one but had much to work on at that stage. He needed time to develop.

In his freshman year, Jermaine Harris scored 2 points and grabbed 4 rebounds, a performance that wasn't up to par for this level of play.

Kahiem Seawright's freshman year, he managed 2 points, 1 rebound, and 5 assists in 18 minutes.

Andre Berrry didn't see the floor his sophomore year against PC. He wasn't ready..

Bilau didn't play for us freshman year, but he did nothing his freshman year. He's now our best big... He needed time to develop.

Zek averaged 3 pts a game his freshman year. He's now one of our best players and one of the better players in the A10.

David Fuchs had 11 points and 6 rebounds against two of the most formidable big men we'll face all season. Admittedly, he has been frustrating at times, and if he displays laziness akin to Mohegan, That's unacceptable. However, I feel he's being criticized excessively, reminiscent of Jermaine Harris' situation. Personally, I see potential in his game. If we disregard his poor performances at Mohegan, he's averaging 9 points and 7 rebounds this year. Archie set unrealistic expectations for him, but I'm really surprised that some are giving a freshman so much hate. We are an A10 team picked to finish near the bottom of a bad A10. I think we should be excited that we have some young bigs that could become strong A10 bigs. Foumena and Fuchs both have a lot of potential. Bilau should start while they develop. And if you trust Archie, why don't you trust that he's high on Fuchs and can develop him? It's as if Fuchs is being judged like a veteran starter. He's not!

[BleedBlue87]

I am not responding to one of you in particular but sadly to a lot of you. Maybe it's me who has lost my mind. But this is what I see. We are only 8 games into a season with basically a completely new roster. Last season was one of the worst teams we have ever had. This years team is far better. We have a lot of talent and potential, comprised of a bunch of freshman and sophomores, and no seniors. This team moves the ball around better than I saw over the past 5 years. They look like a team. These guys play hard. NODOBY in their right mind was picking this team to make the NCAAs (or NIT), or finish towards the top of the A10. This was always a building year to get us back in the mix and to hopefully take that big next step NEXT YEAR. We are only 8 games in, and people are crapping on some of our players? This is crazy. I see so many good things happening on the court and I am very happy with where we are right now. Of course I'm disappointed that we didn't beat PC or win a game at Mohegan, buts that's just the reality of where the team is right now. I expect us to be very competitive in the A10 and finish .500 and if that happens I hope you realize that would be a huge success. Hopefully we can do even better and make a run in the A10 tourney, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. This is a process and again we are only 8 GAMES INTO THE SEASON! Let these players develop. Let's see what happens. If we stink again this year, feel free to dump on whoever you would like, at a much later date (if that's what you choose to do). We are clearly moving in the right direction. GR!

100% this and let’s keep in mind this is a new era of ncaa basketball. One where I think mid-majors are in an even worse position than before with the new transfer rules and money to players. Let’s try to have some perspective. We should demand excellence but also be cognizant about the e realities of ncaa basketball.

[steveystuds06]

I haven’t exactly been effusive in my praise of Fuchs. I don’t think you can actually find me saying anything about especially complimentary about him. I just think some of the criticisms of him are a little unfair, bordering on absurd.

If I told you in a vacuum you’d have a freshman big with 11 and 6 with zero turnovers in a game at Providence you’d probably think that was great. Was it actually great? No. But having criticism of him being the primary thing you got from this game is silly.

I mean. We know that it’s not all stats right? Like the wide open layups he did hit didn’t make up for the misses, the lack of rebounds, the poor spacing, the turnovers, the non-existent defense.

Bassy was unanimously declared unfit to play at URI and he was a -3.3 last year, Fuchs is a -4.1 already.

Cmon. I’d love the kid to shut me up and be a good player on a team that wins because of him. I’m just don’t see it. I’ve been wrong before, but I’m gonna guess I won’t be here.

To be fair, I took a similar line with Bassy as I am with Fuchs. I think both players - while obviously somewhat overmatched and limited as players at the respective stages of their careers - get unfairly scapegoated. In both cases, I think their weaknesses are extremely obvious because of where they are playing - Bassy’s inability to score from any level was apparent because he had the ball in his hands so much; Fuchs softness on the glass is apparent because bigger opponents are killing us on the boards for extra possessions while he sort of watches it all happening. In both cases it’s frustrating. But in both cases I think that fans have ignored both other things that they do well and the fact that there is still developmental road ahead of them.

Keep in mind Bassy was one of our best players at PC. We still have people on here who think Ways is better than Bassy. It's incredible to me... It's not even close... Oh, and by the way, Bassy just dropped 24 and 6 yesterday, but ya Ways is definitely the better player! I'm not saying Bassy was a great player for us, He wasn't... However, I do think we rush to judge young players too quickly, and seeing guys develop and become strong players as they get older should remind us of that when we are bashing freshmen.

[steveystuds06]

Yeah it’s frustrating for sure , I think next year we have a great shot to beat them @ home since their big 3 will be gone and our guys will have more experience

COuld be wrong, but aren't Hopkins and Carter juniors?

And Pierre is a sophomore.

Regardless, we should have a better chance @ home next year.

Oduro and Gaines will be gone. Hopkins could go pro but he's not on many draft boards. If he comes back, I think we will lose again, but who the hell knows what rosters will look like... I will expect a loss to PC every year at this point until they prove me otherwise.

[Blue Man]

All of the Fuchs comparisons are moot because nowhere have I seen anyone dog it like him. Hass Martin never had motor issues. Seawright. Zek. Bassy. Literally any of those comparisons except for Harris. If that’s the comparable...

Bassy had skill problems. Fuchs clearly has some skill but he doesn’t try. That’s why I’m out on the kid. Skill can be taught and practiced. Trying and effort are not things that are taught. You either come with that or you don’t.

Zek had 2 TOs attributed to him that Fuchs caused by either a lack of effort, weakness, or an inability to get himself out of spots he himself got into.

Fuchs was not why we lost last night. And yes, I still think we can win the A10. I think we will be fine and have the best season we’ve had in 5 years. I recognize we have 3 Q1 losses on our resume at best, and maybe a Q2 loss at worst.

But Fuchs is clearly our least talented, least capable, and least effort-giving big on our roster. I’m all set.

I’d love him to prove me wrong, but like Harris, I doubt it.

[rhodyrudder]

Brown has beaten us more frequently than we beat pc since 2009. And that’s a fact. I just looked it up. We’re 2-11.
So next year when we have rebuild number three underway, with all of our current players gone somewhere else AGAIN and 13 new guys trying to learn the pack line, and wins against stonington high and salve…
We’ll be 2-12.
Hopefully we can be top half of the 1-bid A-10, but what exactly does that get us?
A 25-2 deficit to an NIT team before we get a timeout?
Can we make it 2-0 against the Ivy League on Wednesday?
It’s a good thing the Harvard game didn’t count.

[theblueram]

Brown has beaten us more frequently than we beat pc since 2009. And that’s a fact. I just looked it up. We’re 2-11.
So next year when we have rebuild number three underway, with all of our current players gone somewhere else AGAIN and 13 new guys trying to learn the pack line, and wins against stonington high and salve…
We’ll be 2-12.
Hopefully we can be top half of the 1-bid A-10, but what exactly does that get us?
A 25-2 deficit to an NIT team before we get a timeout?
Can we make it 2-0 against the Ivy League on Wednesday?
It’s a good thing the Harvard game didn’t count.

Rudder you just posted what I've been thinking about but didn't want to post myself.

[Blue Man]

Brown has beaten us more frequently than we beat pc since 2009. And that’s a fact. I just looked it up. We’re 2-11.
So next year when we have rebuild number three underway, with all of our current players gone somewhere else AGAIN and 13 new guys trying to learn the pack line, and wins against stonington high and salve…
We’ll be 2-12.
Hopefully we can be top half of the 1-bid A-10, but what exactly does that get us?
A 25-2 deficit to an NIT team before we get a timeout?
Can we make it 2-0 against the Ivy League on Wednesday?
It’s a good thing the Harvard game didn’t count.

Rudder you just posted what I've been thinking about but didn't want to post myself.

I mean. Again. Do we have to be this negative?

1) PC is a good team and the AMP is legit a top 25 toughest arena to play in. This is not a bad loss. If we were to run the table in the OOC and go like 16-2 in conference we’re an NCAA team.

2) idk why some tend to do this - but who cares about how Brown has done against us under a previous terrible coach that isn’t here any more? The sins of the past don’t fall on Archie, he’s the one digging us out.

3) what rebuild is happening next year? Who’s leaving again? While you’re predicting the future do you have the powerball numbers o great oracle?

4) 25-2 deficit..I mean it was 22-2 and I think we had 2 TOs in there..and that NIT team just knocked off the #1 team in the country, and we also outplayed that team by 10 points for the remaining 31 mins.

Like- why do we have to get hilariously negative where we’re stretching reality to make it seem like things are worse than they are?

In reality a young team went into a harsh environment and hung with an older, more experienced, Q1 NCAA team before their own mistakes did them in late.

We will be fine. But jump off the ship if you must. And while you’re at it go and dig up Baron 2.0 and see where we’re at in that cycle.

[rhodysurf]

Brown has beaten us more frequently than we beat pc since 2009. And that’s a fact. I just looked it up. We’re 2-11.
So next year when we have rebuild number three underway, with all of our current players gone somewhere else AGAIN and 13 new guys trying to learn the pack line, and wins against stonington high and salve…
We’ll be 2-12.
Hopefully we can be top half of the 1-bid A-10, but what exactly does that get us?
A 25-2 deficit to an NIT team before we get a timeout?
Can we make it 2-0 against the Ivy League on Wednesday?
It’s a good thing the Harvard game didn’t count.

Rudder you just posted what I've been thinking about but didn't want to post myself.

Idk what to tell you guys goddamn. Why have people been mad about transfers being prevalent now if they won’t even be patient with a team developing anyways.

Our entire core has already burned their first transfer and has seen first hand what happened with David green transferring. Stop being miserable and learn to enjoy the process. Nothing has shown us anything but growth yet this season

[theblueram]

Brown has beaten us more frequently than we beat pc since 2009. And that’s a fact. I just looked it up. We’re 2-11.
So next year when we have rebuild number three underway, with all of our current players gone somewhere else AGAIN and 13 new guys trying to learn the pack line, and wins against stonington high and salve…
We’ll be 2-12.
Hopefully we can be top half of the 1-bid A-10, but what exactly does that get us?
A 25-2 deficit to an NIT team before we get a timeout?
Can we make it 2-0 against the Ivy League on Wednesday?
It’s a good thing the Harvard game didn’t count.

Rudder you just posted what I've been thinking about but didn't want to post myself.

Idk what to tell you guys goddamn. Why have people been mad about transfers being prevalent now if they won’t even be patient with a team developing anyways.

Our entire core has already burned their first transfer and has seen first hand what happened with David green transferring. Stop being miserable and learn to enjoy the process. Nothing has shown us anything but growth yet this season

We'll see come portal time next year. If Archie can keep his freshmen and the core team, well that would be a very positive step.

[NYGFan_Section208]

Is a zone trap/press part of the Book of Archie? Do we have players to execute that? Jus asking.

Our players were pretty clearly gassed as it is and Archie called them out for it in the post game. Conditioning isn’t there to press I don’t think

hunh, if he called them out on it, hopefully, he shared some of the blame

[NYGFan_Section208]

Yes, I am disappointed because I always want us to win, especially against PC.
But we played tough and were competitive most of the game.
This was probably going to be our toughest test of the season.

Funny but right now I am probably more optimistic about this team than I was going into the season.

Regarding Fuchs, I don't get all the bashing.
When we were recruiting him and when he first got to campus, I had no expectations for him this year.
He is a true freshman big who was very much under-the-radar and I felt he would contribute very little.
So what he is now giving us is a plus for me.
I think he has a high ceiling with plenty of potential and upside.
But yeah, for now he is a little raw (to be expected) and the game needs to slow down for him.

Overall, I feel Archie has the program going in the right direction and I am excited about our future.
We have talented young players and looking forward to seeing Green added to the mix. 

For those riding Fuchs...would you rather have him, or Samb...or Tchikou?

[steveystuds06]

Brown has beaten us more frequently than we beat pc since 2009. And that’s a fact. I just looked it up. We’re 2-11.
So next year when we have rebuild number three underway, with all of our current players gone somewhere else AGAIN and 13 new guys trying to learn the pack line, and wins against stonington high and salve…
We’ll be 2-12.
Hopefully we can be top half of the 1-bid A-10, but what exactly does that get us?
A 25-2 deficit to an NIT team before we get a timeout?
Can we make it 2-0 against the Ivy League on Wednesday?
It’s a good thing the Harvard game didn’t count.

I'm not trying to be a dick here, but do you know the NCAA rules regarding transfers? We will lose some pieces, but it's highly unlikely that all of our players will transfer after they have already transferred. That's why I think PC kept a player like Hopkins. He already transferred...We lost a lot of players from last year because we had to. Archie didn't have the time or the NILs to recruit a team he wanted to recruit last year, so we had to rebuild our team this year. Last year's team would have lost by 30 this year. It would have been an absolute bloodbath... It was the right decision, and I'm happy they did it. We have some great young pieces in Cam, Foumena, and Fuchs. We have some nice vets in Zek,Luis, House, Weston, Bilau. We have the best incoming class in Hammond and Farrell. I'm sick of losing to PC as well, but this is a total overreaction.

[theblueram]

Brown has beaten us more frequently than we beat pc since 2009. And that’s a fact. I just looked it up. We’re 2-11.
So next year when we have rebuild number three underway, with all of our current players gone somewhere else AGAIN and 13 new guys trying to learn the pack line, and wins against stonington high and salve…
We’ll be 2-12.
Hopefully we can be top half of the 1-bid A-10, but what exactly does that get us?
A 25-2 deficit to an NIT team before we get a timeout?
Can we make it 2-0 against the Ivy League on Wednesday?
It’s a good thing the Harvard game didn’t count.

Rudder you just posted what I've been thinking about but didn't want to post myself.

I mean. Again. Do we have to be this negative?

1) PC is a good team and the AMP is legit a top 25 toughest arena to play in. This is not a bad loss. If we were to run the table in the OOC and go like 16-2 in conference we’re an NCAA team.

2) idk why some tend to do this - but who cares about how Brown has done against us under a previous terrible coach that isn’t here any more? The sins of the past don’t fall on Archie, he’s the one digging us out.

3) what rebuild is happening next year? Who’s leaving again? While you’re predicting the future do you have the powerball numbers o great oracle?

4) 25-2 deficit..I mean it was 22-2 and I think we had 2 TOs in there..and that NIT team just knocked off the #1 team in the country, and we also outplayed that team by 10 points for the remaining 31 mins.

Like- why do we have to get hilariously negative where we’re stretching reality to make it seem like things are worse than they are?

In reality a young team went into a harsh environment and hung with an older, more experienced, Q1 NCAA team before their own mistakes did them in late.

We will be fine. But jump off the ship if you must. And while you’re at it go and dig up Baron 2.0 and see where we’re at in that cycle.

It's not negative BlueMan. It's reality. Look at the players we lost to the portal in the last 6 years. Like I said, if Archie keeps this team together, he's a miracle worker. I believe the days of having a team that grows old together is over.

[rhodyrudder]

I will say this…

At least we’ll wake up tomorrow and not have a PC diploma hanging on the wall.

But for f sake, it’s so depressing year after year after year after year…

I’ll see you Wednesday.

[steveystuds06]

Yes, I am disappointed because I always want us to win, especially against PC.
But we played tough and were competitive most of the game.
This was probably going to be our toughest test of the season.

Funny but right now I am probably more optimistic about this team than I was going into the season.

Regarding Fuchs, I don't get all the bashing.
When we were recruiting him and when he first got to campus, I had no expectations for him this year.
He is a true freshman big who was very much under-the-radar and I felt he would contribute very little.
So what he is now giving us is a plus for me.
I think he has a high ceiling with plenty of potential and upside.
But yeah, for now he is a little raw (to be expected) and the game needs to slow down for him.

Overall, I feel Archie has the program going in the right direction and I am excited about our future.
We have talented young players and looking forward to seeing Green added to the mix. 

For those riding Fuchs...would you rather have him, or Samb...or Tchikou?

Fuchs is the easy answer and I thought he was better than Foumena and Brown last night. Foumena hasn't shown up against better competition yet. Fuchs did last night. Brown played well at Mohegun. I don't think any big has separated themselves besides Bilau. We could beat any A10 team with a healthy Bilau playing big minutes.

[steveystuds06]

Rudder you just posted what I've been thinking about but didn't want to post myself.

I mean. Again. Do we have to be this negative?

1) PC is a good team and the AMP is legit a top 25 toughest arena to play in. This is not a bad loss. If we were to run the table in the OOC and go like 16-2 in conference we’re an NCAA team.

2) idk why some tend to do this - but who cares about how Brown has done against us under a previous terrible coach that isn’t here any more? The sins of the past don’t fall on Archie, he’s the one digging us out.

3) what rebuild is happening next year? Who’s leaving again? While you’re predicting the future do you have the powerball numbers o great oracle?

4) 25-2 deficit..I mean it was 22-2 and I think we had 2 TOs in there..and that NIT team just knocked off the #1 team in the country, and we also outplayed that team by 10 points for the remaining 31 mins.

Like- why do we have to get hilariously negative where we’re stretching reality to make it seem like things are worse than they are?

In reality a young team went into a harsh environment and hung with an older, more experienced, Q1 NCAA team before their own mistakes did them in late.

We will be fine. But jump off the ship if you must. And while you’re at it go and dig up Baron 2.0 and see where we’re at in that cycle.

It's not negative BlueMan. It's reality. Look at the players we lost to the portal in the last 6 years. Like I said, if Archie keeps this team together, he's a miracle worker. I believe the days of having a team that grows old together is over.

So you think Zek will transfer again and go sit out a year instead of returning and likely be one of the best players in the entire conference and a focal point of the team? Players like House, Luis, and Weston would have to sit as well... The benefit of having key pieces coming in as transfers is it's highly unlikely that they will transfer again. We could lose guys like Foumena, Cam, Connor, Rory. But Archie has proven he can recruit immediate impact players, so if we keep some of our best players and can recruit others, I think we will be fine.

[theblueram]

I mean. Again. Do we have to be this negative?

1) PC is a good team and the AMP is legit a top 25 toughest arena to play in. This is not a bad loss. If we were to run the table in the OOC and go like 16-2 in conference we’re an NCAA team.

2) idk why some tend to do this - but who cares about how Brown has done against us under a previous terrible coach that isn’t here any more? The sins of the past don’t fall on Archie, he’s the one digging us out.

3) what rebuild is happening next year? Who’s leaving again? While you’re predicting the future do you have the powerball numbers o great oracle?

4) 25-2 deficit..I mean it was 22-2 and I think we had 2 TOs in there..and that NIT team just knocked off the #1 team in the country, and we also outplayed that team by 10 points for the remaining 31 mins.

Like- why do we have to get hilariously negative where we’re stretching reality to make it seem like things are worse than they are?

In reality a young team went into a harsh environment and hung with an older, more experienced, Q1 NCAA team before their own mistakes did them in late.

We will be fine. But jump off the ship if you must. And while you’re at it go and dig up Baron 2.0 and see where we’re at in that cycle.

It's not negative BlueMan. It's reality. Look at the players we lost to the portal in the last 6 years. Like I said, if Archie keeps this team together, he's a miracle worker. I believe the days of having a team that grows old together is over.

So you think Zek will transfer again and go sit out a year instead of returning and likely be one of the best players in the entire conference and a focal point of the team? Players like House, Luis, and Weston would have to sit as well... The benefit of having key pieces coming in as transfers is it's highly unlikely that they will transfer again. We could lose guys like Foumena, Cam, Connor, Rory. But Archie has proven he can recruit immediate impact players, so if we keep some of our best players and can recruit others, I think we will be fine.

Well I hope not Stevey, but let's put this discussion off till next spring? Ok?

[NYGFan_Section208]

Brown has beaten us more frequently than we beat pc since 2009. And that’s a fact. I just looked it up. We’re 2-11.
So next year when we have rebuild number three underway, with all of our current players gone somewhere else AGAIN and 13 new guys trying to learn the pack line, and wins against stonington high and salve…
We’ll be 2-12.
Hopefully we can be top half of the 1-bid A-10, but what exactly does that get us?
A 25-2 deficit to an NIT team before we get a timeout?
Can we make it 2-0 against the Ivy League on Wednesday?
It’s a good thing the Harvard game didn’t count.

Rudder you just posted what I've been thinking about but didn't want to post myself.

Idk what to tell you guys goddamn. Why have people been mad about transfers being prevalent now if they won’t even be patient with a team developing anyways.

Our entire core has already burned their first transfer and has seen first hand what happened with David green transferring. Stop being miserable and learn to enjoy the process. Nothing has shown us anything but growth yet this season

Portalpalooza, baby. If all of the players are gone next year AND we get the same degree of upgrade that we got this year. Sign me up.
Regardless of how it ends up this year ...so far, whether you're a basketball savant or just a casual fan like me, the upgrade is major noticeable just from watching...no stats needed. Hopefully, the low end of the roster has transfers left, but I agree w/surf, it does look like there's actually some potential stability on the upper end

[adam914]

I'm not sure that I have ever seen so many fans simultaneously talk about how bad all of our players were and get mad that all those bad players transferred.

[theblueram]

I'm not sure that I have ever seen so many fans simultaneously talk about how bad all of our players were and get mad that all those bad players transferred.

Bad ones can leave, the Toppin's and Martin's need to stay

[rhodyrudder]

I'm not sure that I have ever seen so many fans simultaneously talk about how bad all of our players were and get mad that all those bad players transferred.

I never talk shit about any players. Ever.

I’m tired of learning 10 new ones every year, and very very very tired of losing to pc.

Im tired of the conference getting worse and worse, and the ncaa making it all about Alabama Michigan and duke.

Im tired of coaches leaving and taking all the players with them whenever we win, and tired of the replacements sucking and bringing in head cases to replace the good ones.

Im tired of the wifi not working, and no replays.
Im tired of the 50-year-old condemned track.
I’m tired of our pillow soft home schedule, and we still have Brown UNH and Northeastern to go.

But i will not ever call one of our players dogshit, even if he’s only here for one year.

[Jdrums#3]

Maybe I'm overreacting, but I'm worried against any decent A10 teams that we have these really, really bad stretches for 10+ minutes. I know we came back against Yale, but it's very hard to win many games like that... I understand there will be runs, but I haven't seen a team look so good and so bad in stretches like this team... Bilau will help a lot. He's a stud. I'm so sick of losing to PC. This sucks..

Yup! Sick of losing this friggin’ “rivalry game.”

Right now this rivalry is not a rivalry because we can’t beat them. Therefore, as a poster (can’t recall who. Sorry) aptly posted here a day or so ago, this game is now a tradition.

And it is a tradition that will die a quiet death eventually, at this rate, because we are not holding up our end of the rivalry. It’s embarrassing.

And , that sucks big time.

Are we better than last years team? Yes.

Is the program making progress from where it ended with DC as head coach ? Yes.

Are we close to what former teams under Kraft, Skinner, Penders, Harrick, Hurley ascended to ? Not friggin’ close.

I am patient but I am getting tired of moral victories. And I don’t have forever to wait around for us to play in another NCAAT.

We just beat them three games ago in the rivalry, since then we've had total instability and even though they lost Cooley, they retained their best players somehow and added two starters that were already on a team together.

It just sucks. Hurts worse since Cox put us in such a hole.

Yes, we have won 1 in the last 4 - which is close to consistent with our 7 wins over the last 25.

Not rivalry results imho. Not close.

That said, I think Archie will get us to better that going forward by winning a few at home, at least.

Now compare URI vs Brown. Brown has 4 wins in the last 25 yrs. With 2 wins in the last 4. Not much different than our results vs PC.

We are at risk of becoming to PC what Brown is to us. Screw that ! We are not Brown basketball. We should be better than that.

Sorry. Rant over but Still frustrated even though I believe we are moving in the right direction.

[Rhodymob05]

Definitely moving in the right direction, last nights ending sucked but we move on. We’ll get them next year in Kingston. Excited for the rest of the season.

[Jdrums#3]

Maybe I'm overreacting, but I'm worried against any decent A10 teams that we have these really, really bad stretches for 10+ minutes. I know we came back against Yale, but it's very hard to win many games like that... I understand there will be runs, but I haven't seen a team look so good and so bad in stretches like this team... Bilau will help a lot. He's a stud. I'm so sick of losing to PC. This sucks..

Yup! Sick of losing this friggin’ “rivalry game.”

Right now this rivalry is not a rivalry because we can’t beat them. Therefore, as a poster (can’t recall who. Sorry) aptly posted here a day or so ago, this game is now a tradition.

And it is a tradition that will die a quiet death eventually, at this rate, because we are not holding up our end of the rivalry. It’s embarrassing.

And , that sucks big time.

Are we better than last years team? Yes.

Is the program making progress from where it ended with DC as head coach ? Yes.

Are we close to what former teams under Kraft, Skinner, Penders, Harrick, Hurley ascended to ? Not friggin’ close.

I am patient but I am getting tired of moral victories. And I don’t have forever to wait around for us to play in another NCAAT.

This is ridiculous.. this team is pretty clearly better than hurleys year 2 team

Not ridiculous because you miss understand my point.

By highlighting ascended to, I am highlighting the gulf between where we are currently compared to past Rhody NCAAT teams, not non-tourney teams under those coaches.

After all, this board is NCAA or bust.

Yes, I am happy we are moving in the right direction but, I am not happy when I compare where we are today to what our ultimate goal is here on this board - which is NCAAT appearances.

If you think that is ridiculous then we may as well just rename this board to NIT or Bust. I think we can all agree we do not want that.

[TruePoint]

Someone said last week “just wait til after the PC game” about fans being bizarrely down on this team and I legitimately thought to myself “ha this person doesn’t know what they’re talking about, everyone realizes where our program is at relative to Providence’s right now. Our fans are reasonable enough to not lose their minds.” No, it’s not my first day here I’m just an idiot, apparently.

[Jdrums#3]

I am not responding to one of you in particular but sadly to a lot of you. Maybe it's me who has lost my mind. But this is what I see. We are only 8 games into a season with basically a completely new roster. Last season was one of the worst teams we have ever had. This years team is far better. We have a lot of talent and potential, comprised of a bunch of freshman and sophomores, and no seniors. This team moves the ball around better than I saw over the past 5 years. They look like a team. These guys play hard. NODOBY in their right mind was picking this team to make the NCAAs (or NIT), or finish towards the top of the A10. This was always a building year to get us back in the mix and to hopefully take that big next step NEXT YEAR. We are only 8 games in, and people are crapping on some of our players? This is crazy. I see so many good things happening on the court and I am very happy with where we are right now. Of course I'm disappointed that we didn't beat PC or win a game at Mohegan, buts that's just the reality of where the team is right now. I expect us to be very competitive in the A10 and finish .500 and if that happens I hope you realize that would be a huge success. Hopefully we can do even better and make a run in the A10 tourney, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. This is a process and again we are only 8 GAMES INTO THE SEASON! Let these players develop. Let's see what happens. If we stink again this year, feel free to dump on whoever you would like, at a much later date (if that's what you choose to do). We are clearly moving in the right direction. GR!

100% this and let’s keep in mind this is a new era of ncaa basketball. One where I think mid-majors are in an even worse position than before with the new transfer rules and money to players. Let’s try to have some perspective. We should demand excellence but also be cognizant about the e realities of ncaa basketball.

87, I hear what you are saying but the odds have been stacked against us for decades. We have never competed on a level playing field yet Rhody coaches and teams found a way to make the NCAAT and win games in it.

Adapt and overcome until the power conferences completely shut us out.

[Jdrums#3]

Someone said last week “just wait til after the PC game” about fans being bizarrely down on this team and I legitimately thought to myself “ha this person doesn’t know what they’re talking about, everyone realizes where our program is at relative to Providence’s right now. Our fans are reasonable enough to not lose their minds.” No, it’s not my first day here I’m just an idiot, apparently.

TP, Imagine what the PC board would be if we won last night.

[DuneClub]

Prov loses a lot. But they are likely to lose even more than that from this roster. There is a good chance Pierre leaves with those upperclassmen.
They are going to need a huge recruiting year just to be respectable. I didn't see any pressure on Rams this year. Next year - another matter entirely. They will have to win. I think the game will be approached with that kind of attitude. In the mean time, let's hit FT at better than 50%.

[section(105)]

Whatta think Bone

[RhowdyRam02]

I am not responding to one of you in particular but sadly to a lot of you. Maybe it's me who has lost my mind. But this is what I see. We are only 8 games into a season with basically a completely new roster. Last season was one of the worst teams we have ever had. This years team is far better. We have a lot of talent and potential, comprised of a bunch of freshman and sophomores, and no seniors. This team moves the ball around better than I saw over the past 5 years. They look like a team. These guys play hard. NODOBY in their right mind was picking this team to make the NCAAs (or NIT), or finish towards the top of the A10. This was always a building year to get us back in the mix and to hopefully take that big next step NEXT YEAR. We are only 8 games in, and people are crapping on some of our players? This is crazy. I see so many good things happening on the court and I am very happy with where we are right now. Of course I'm disappointed that we didn't beat PC or win a game at Mohegan, buts that's just the reality of where the team is right now. I expect us to be very competitive in the A10 and finish .500 and if that happens I hope you realize that would be a huge success. Hopefully we can do even better and make a run in the A10 tourney, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. This is a process and again we are only 8 GAMES INTO THE SEASON! Let these players develop. Let's see what happens. If we stink again this year, feel free to dump on whoever you would like, at a much later date (if that's what you choose to do). We are clearly moving in the right direction. GR!

Well said. I don't know how good we are yet, but I do know we're a competent team this year, which has been a pleasant change from the last three seasons