Who is Archie Miller?

[hrstrat57]

There’s not even a warm seat until the team fails miserably again in year 3. Then it’ll be warm for season 4.

Any other talk seems like fantasy to me.

Our next HC is sitting up the road if/when needed IMO.

[Blue Man]

I enjoy the comments about getting impatient from the same people who wanted Dan Hurley fired mid-season in February of 2017.

The board is starting to collectively do that thing again where the previous coach is absolved of all their sins and now the new coach needs to atone for them in a much less reasonable timetable.

Fun times ahead!

Not sure any posters feel that Archie should get fired at this point, although many are disappointed in our progress so far.

Again, Dan managed to keep the core and young talent together and win 23 games and finish 2nd in the A10 (13-5) in year 3. Let's see if Archie can compare or come close, I am hoping.

That's why I said "getting impatient" - I've just watched this movie before so it's not hard to play the string out.

The immediate turnaround in a rebuild isn't something you see at this level.

Sure, if you're McNeese State or Iona and you play in a lower level conference and can bring in a high major coach with high major talent, you'll win right away.

This is a rebuild. A complete overhaul where you have a program that lost 100% of it's fan interest and momentum over 4 years. A program that went from it's 20 year high point to one of it's lowest.

We hired a great coaching staff top to bottom, with a noticeable uphill battle in that 2 of the biggest pieces (HC and lead recruiter) were out of the game for an extended period of time and had no guys to bring with them. They had one player in the building who was even a high major player - and as much as we love him and he was a great Ram - he certainly wasn't a "difference maker" in the sense that he would've made us an NCAA team this year.

Kim English and PC? Good for them. He's doing what Dave Cox should've been able to do here. It's actually astounding how badly DC missed the mark.

It's much easier to keep a championship-caliber program rolling than it is to rebuild.

One of the best coaches we ever had to roam the sidelines took 5 years to get us dancing. Why people are getting ready to get out the rowboats and jump ship before year 2 is over is wild.

[ElmCityRhody]

in my opinion - our coach is not the issue - we need better players

now we need archie to continue to bring in better players

personally i'd keep 8 players and go from there and replenish

the big sign for me is if archie can keep cam/fou/fuchs

if he can then i'd get rid of the dead weight and regroup

clock is ticking but i see no issue to remove our coach

once he gets this going then i anticipate a consistent top tier conference team

[PeterRamTime]

I enjoy the comments about getting impatient from the same people who wanted Dan Hurley fired mid-season in February of 2017.

The board is starting to collectively do that thing again where the previous coach is absolved of all their sins and now the new coach needs to atone for them in a much less reasonable timetable.

Fun times ahead!

Not sure any posters feel that Archie should get fired at this point, although many are disappointed in our progress so far.

Again, Dan managed to keep the core and young talent together and win 23 games and finish 2nd in the A10 (13-5) in year 3. Let's see if Archie can compare or come close, I am hoping.

That's why I said "getting impatient" - I've just watched this movie before so it's not hard to play the string out.

The immediate turnaround in a rebuild isn't something you see at this level.

Sure, if you're McNeese State or Iona and you play in a lower level conference and can bring in a high major coach with high major talent, you'll win right away.

This is a rebuild. A complete overhaul where you have a program that lost 100% of it's fan interest and momentum over 4 years. A program that went from it's 20 year high point to one of it's lowest.

We hired a great coaching staff top to bottom, with a noticeable uphill battle in that 2 of the biggest pieces (HC and lead recruiter) were out of the game for an extended period of time and had no guys to bring with them. They had one player in the building who was even a high major player - and as much as we love him and he was a great Ram - he certainly wasn't a "difference maker" in the sense that he would've made us an NCAA team this year.

Kim English and PC? Good for them. He's doing what Dave Cox should've been able to do here. It's actually astounding how badly DC missed the mark.

It's much easier to keep a championship-caliber program rolling than it is to rebuild.

One of the best coaches we ever had to roam the sidelines took 5 years to get us dancing. Why people are getting ready to get out the rowboats and jump ship before year 2 is over is wild.

Exactly.

Immediate turnaround at this level, ESPECIALLY doesn't happen when you

Bring in 11 new players

Start the season down Bilau and Green. Bilau only returns for 6 games and his glass body breaks down again. Bilau was suppose to be our steady skilled veteran big man who can play defense and he's wound up being a total waste of a scholarship. We didn't have Green half the year. Then we've had all these other injury issues.

Teams don't win when you have a completely new roster and important pieces are constantly out of the line up. The more I've looked into other programs the more this has even evident to me.

We have the least continuity in the entire conference, we have only three players that have played in every game. Green has missed half the games, Bilau played in six, Weston missed five games, Ways missed four games, Fuchs missed three Cam, Fou, Zek missed one.

Yeah guys, no wonder we have had an incredibly inconsistent bad team.

Let's see how Archie does in year 3 when he actually has some continuity for once and a fully eligible team.

[bigappleram]

No serious person wants Archie out or even thinks his seat is even remotely close to warm.

One only needs to look at Loyola that brought back a core of returnees from a last place team, infused with a couple Portal additions and some FR and jump to the top of league.

I do believe retention is impt; plus adding some additional talent to fill needs/gaps. And adding some FR to develop.

[Jersey77]

Not sure any posters feel that Archie should get fired at this point, although many are disappointed in our progress so far.

Again, Dan managed to keep the core and young talent together and win 23 games and finish 2nd in the A10 (13-5) in year 3. Let's see if Archie can compare or come close, I am hoping.

That's why I said "getting impatient" - I've just watched this movie before so it's not hard to play the string out.

The immediate turnaround in a rebuild isn't something you see at this level.

Sure, if you're McNeese State or Iona and you play in a lower level conference and can bring in a high major coach with high major talent, you'll win right away.

This is a rebuild. A complete overhaul where you have a program that lost 100% of it's fan interest and momentum over 4 years. A program that went from it's 20 year high point to one of it's lowest.

We hired a great coaching staff top to bottom, with a noticeable uphill battle in that 2 of the biggest pieces (HC and lead recruiter) were out of the game for an extended period of time and had no guys to bring with them. They had one player in the building who was even a high major player - and as much as we love him and he was a great Ram - he certainly wasn't a "difference maker" in the sense that he would've made us an NCAA team this year.

Kim English and PC? Good for them. He's doing what Dave Cox should've been able to do here. It's actually astounding how badly DC missed the mark.

It's much easier to keep a championship-caliber program rolling than it is to rebuild.

One of the best coaches we ever had to roam the sidelines took 5 years to get us dancing. Why people are getting ready to get out the rowboats and jump ship before year 2 is over is wild.

Exactly.

Immediate turnaround at this level, ESPECIALLY doesn't happen when you

Bring in 11 new players

Start the season down Bilau and Green. Bilau only returns for 6 games and his glass body breaks down again. Bilau was suppose to be our steady skilled veteran big man who can play defense and he's wound up being a total waste of a scholarship. We didn't have Green half the year. Then we've had all these other injury issues.

Teams don't win when you have a completely new roster and important pieces are constantly out of the line up. The more I've looked into other programs the more this has even evident to me.

We have the least continuity in the entire conference, we have only three players that have played in every game. Green has missed half the games, Bilau played in six, Weston missed five games, Ways missed four games, Fuchs missed three Cam, Fou, Zek missed one.

Yeah guys, no wonder we have had an incredibly inconsistent bad team.

Let's see how Archie does in year 3 when he actually has some continuity for once and a fully eligible team.

Again Blue Man and PRT, it is wait and see what happens next season.
We should expect a dramatic change for the better, not saying we should be "Dancing" in 24-25.
That isn't asking a lot considering Archie was considered a "Splash " hire and the program upgrades from the staff to the facilities.

[Blue Man]

That's why I said "getting impatient" - I've just watched this movie before so it's not hard to play the string out.

The immediate turnaround in a rebuild isn't something you see at this level.

Sure, if you're McNeese State or Iona and you play in a lower level conference and can bring in a high major coach with high major talent, you'll win right away.

This is a rebuild. A complete overhaul where you have a program that lost 100% of it's fan interest and momentum over 4 years. A program that went from it's 20 year high point to one of it's lowest.

We hired a great coaching staff top to bottom, with a noticeable uphill battle in that 2 of the biggest pieces (HC and lead recruiter) were out of the game for an extended period of time and had no guys to bring with them. They had one player in the building who was even a high major player - and as much as we love him and he was a great Ram - he certainly wasn't a "difference maker" in the sense that he would've made us an NCAA team this year.

Kim English and PC? Good for them. He's doing what Dave Cox should've been able to do here. It's actually astounding how badly DC missed the mark.

It's much easier to keep a championship-caliber program rolling than it is to rebuild.

One of the best coaches we ever had to roam the sidelines took 5 years to get us dancing. Why people are getting ready to get out the rowboats and jump ship before year 2 is over is wild.

Exactly.

Immediate turnaround at this level, ESPECIALLY doesn't happen when you

Bring in 11 new players

Start the season down Bilau and Green. Bilau only returns for 6 games and his glass body breaks down again. Bilau was suppose to be our steady skilled veteran big man who can play defense and he's wound up being a total waste of a scholarship. We didn't have Green half the year. Then we've had all these other injury issues.

Teams don't win when you have a completely new roster and important pieces are constantly out of the line up. The more I've looked into other programs the more this has even evident to me.

We have the least continuity in the entire conference, we have only three players that have played in every game. Green has missed half the games, Bilau played in six, Weston missed five games, Ways missed four games, Fuchs missed three Cam, Fou, Zek missed one.

Yeah guys, no wonder we have had an incredibly inconsistent bad team.

Let's see how Archie does in year 3 when he actually has some continuity for once and a fully eligible team.

Again Blue Man and PRT, it is wait and see what happens next season.
We should expect a dramatic change for the better, not saying we should be "Dancing" in 24-25.
That isn't asking a lot considering Archie was considered a "Splash " hire and the program upgrades from the staff to the facilities.

Ed Cooley is a splash hire with a hell of a lot more resources at his fingertips than URI will ever have. He also had recruits coming with him. They're on an 11 game losing streak

You can't attach any qualifiers to this stuff. It takes years. You have to rebuild a culture, find the right guys, and grow with the right guys.

UConn's national title team had a ton of transfers but they still had a core of starters. You need both.

Dan Hurley took over a UConn team that had won a national title under the previous coach and it still took him 5 years to get an NCAA win.

[Jersey77]

Exactly.

Immediate turnaround at this level, ESPECIALLY doesn't happen when you

Bring in 11 new players

Start the season down Bilau and Green. Bilau only returns for 6 games and his glass body breaks down again. Bilau was suppose to be our steady skilled veteran big man who can play defense and he's wound up being a total waste of a scholarship. We didn't have Green half the year. Then we've had all these other injury issues.

Teams don't win when you have a completely new roster and important pieces are constantly out of the line up. The more I've looked into other programs the more this has even evident to me.

We have the least continuity in the entire conference, we have only three players that have played in every game. Green has missed half the games, Bilau played in six, Weston missed five games, Ways missed four games, Fuchs missed three Cam, Fou, Zek missed one.

Yeah guys, no wonder we have had an incredibly inconsistent bad team.

Let's see how Archie does in year 3 when he actually has some continuity for once and a fully eligible team.

Again Blue Man and PRT, it is wait and see what happens next season.
We should expect a dramatic change for the better, not saying we should be "Dancing" in 24-25.
That isn't asking a lot considering Archie was considered a "Splash " hire and the program upgrades from the staff to the facilities.

Ed Cooley is a splash hire with a hell of a lot more resources at his fingertips than URI will ever have. He also had recruits coming with him. They're on an 11 game losing streak

You can't attach any qualifiers to this stuff. It takes years. You have to rebuild a culture, find the right guys, and grow with the right guys.

UConn's national title team had a ton of transfers but they still had a core of starters. You need both.

Dan Hurley took over a UConn team that had won a national title under the previous coach and it still took him 5 years to get an NCAA win.

Like I said Blue Man, I am not expecting an immediate NCAAT bid, but we should expect major improvement in year 3.

Look, you were the one predicting us to be 21-10 (12-6) this season not me, I was giving Archie the benefit of the doubt and being much more cautious.

[Rhody15]

Exactly.

Immediate turnaround at this level, ESPECIALLY doesn't happen when you

Bring in 11 new players

Start the season down Bilau and Green. Bilau only returns for 6 games and his glass body breaks down again. Bilau was suppose to be our steady skilled veteran big man who can play defense and he's wound up being a total waste of a scholarship. We didn't have Green half the year. Then we've had all these other injury issues.

Teams don't win when you have a completely new roster and important pieces are constantly out of the line up. The more I've looked into other programs the more this has even evident to me.

We have the least continuity in the entire conference, we have only three players that have played in every game. Green has missed half the games, Bilau played in six, Weston missed five games, Ways missed four games, Fuchs missed three Cam, Fou, Zek missed one.

Yeah guys, no wonder we have had an incredibly inconsistent bad team.

Let's see how Archie does in year 3 when he actually has some continuity for once and a fully eligible team.

Again Blue Man and PRT, it is wait and see what happens next season.
We should expect a dramatic change for the better, not saying we should be "Dancing" in 24-25.
That isn't asking a lot considering Archie was considered a "Splash " hire and the program upgrades from the staff to the facilities.

Ed Cooley is a splash hire with a hell of a lot more resources at his fingertips than URI will ever have. He also had recruits coming with him. They're on an 11 game losing streak

You can't attach any qualifiers to this stuff. It takes years. You have to rebuild a culture, find the right guys, and grow with the right guys.

UConn's national title team had a ton of transfers but they still had a core of starters. You need both.

Dan Hurley took over a UConn team that had won a national title under the previous coach and it still took him 5 years to get an NCAA win.

Rebuilds don’t take years these days.

I’ve posted a ton of teams with ridiculously quick turnarounds this season. Both high and mid major.

Ton of factors obviously go into it, some take longer than others.

But rebuilds don’t need to take multiple years nowadays.

Some will, some will happen overnight.

[RF1]

While there are rebuilds that can happen quickly, they are not the norm.

[PeterRamTime]

Again Blue Man and PRT, it is wait and see what happens next season.
We should expect a dramatic change for the better, not saying we should be "Dancing" in 24-25.
That isn't asking a lot considering Archie was considered a "Splash " hire and the program upgrades from the staff to the facilities.

Ed Cooley is a splash hire with a hell of a lot more resources at his fingertips than URI will ever have. He also had recruits coming with him. They're on an 11 game losing streak

You can't attach any qualifiers to this stuff. It takes years. You have to rebuild a culture, find the right guys, and grow with the right guys.

UConn's national title team had a ton of transfers but they still had a core of starters. You need both.

Dan Hurley took over a UConn team that had won a national title under the previous coach and it still took him 5 years to get an NCAA win.

Rebuilds don’t take years these days.

I’ve posted a ton of teams with ridiculously quick turnarounds this season. Both high and mid major.

Ton of factors obviously go into it, some take longer than others.

But rebuilds don’t need to take multiple years nowadays.

Some will, some will happen overnight.

They do take years if you have to completely scrap your year one roster. None of the other teams you listed succeeded with the similar issues we have had.

Cox didn't leave Arch with much at all and I think it's safe to say Arch didn't do well enough in year 1 with talent acquisition.

Offering Ant a scholarship that ended up being a waste of time was a pretty big L. Would've been nice to have gotten a player that would have actually been here. Fou wasn't eligible his first year and now he may be leaving because Arch refuses to play him? Louis, Rory and Tchikou weren't good enough. Bilau is good enough, but can't not hurt himself.

Only Weston has worked out and he's barely worked out. He just didn't do a good enough job in year one. He's definitely upgraded the talent significantly, so there's hope that trend could continue and now he gets a chance to develop some of these players over the course of more than one year.

[Billyboy78]

Speaking of Archie, the staff and recruiting, shouldn't we be hearing about '25 recruits? Have we had any '25 recruits at a game this year? Archie and Kenny have both been back for 2 years now. The connections should be re-established. Why aren't we hearing a single thing about any '25 recruits?

[SGreenwell]

Again Blue Man and PRT, it is wait and see what happens next season.
We should expect a dramatic change for the better, not saying we should be "Dancing" in 24-25.
That isn't asking a lot considering Archie was considered a "Splash " hire and the program upgrades from the staff to the facilities.

Ed Cooley is a splash hire with a hell of a lot more resources at his fingertips than URI will ever have. He also had recruits coming with him. They're on an 11 game losing streak

You can't attach any qualifiers to this stuff. It takes years. You have to rebuild a culture, find the right guys, and grow with the right guys.

UConn's national title team had a ton of transfers but they still had a core of starters. You need both.

Dan Hurley took over a UConn team that had won a national title under the previous coach and it still took him 5 years to get an NCAA win.

Rebuilds don’t take years these days.

I’ve posted a ton of teams with ridiculously quick turnarounds this season. Both high and mid major.

Ton of factors obviously go into it, some take longer than others.

But rebuilds don’t need to take multiple years nowadays.

Some will, some will happen overnight.

I'm kind of curious to see how this plays out long-term. Do some teams bring in 5+ transfers and experience immediate success? Sure, but my kneejerk reaction to this is that sometimes, you win 8 out of 10 hands in Blackjack, and it doesn't necessarily mean that you've suddenly cracked the game. I'm interested in seeing if it is sustainable to just churn that many players year over year. I suspect that it isn't, and that the best teams are still going to be built by getting good high school recruits and supplementing with transfers.

I also think I'm slightly more optimistic on the team going forward because its not like Miller brought in a bunch of guys this year who completely suck. Most of them are absolute butchers on defense, but Wright is the only one who seems overmatched at the A-10 level. This isn't an end of days Baron or Cox situation, where the final recruiting classes were "cover your eyes" bad and made you question their ability to identify quality basketball players.

[RJRam]

What doesn't get mentioned in this conversation, is that Arch wasn't even coaching when we hired him. Therefore he probably wasn't actively recruiting and therefore was out of touch with incoming freshman. Not only that, but because he wasn't coaching, he was unable to get a few of his players to transfer to his new job, ala Cooley and English. When you consider that, and the substandard bunch that was left by Cox, I think you have to give him a pass on his first year.

[PeterRamTime]

What doesn't get mentioned in this conversation, is that Arch wasn't even coaching when we hired him. Therefore he probably wasn't actively recruiting and therefore was out of touch with incoming freshman. Not only that, but because he wasn't coaching, he was unable to get a few of his players to transfer to his new job, ala Cooley and English. When you consider that, and the substandard bunch that was left by Cox, I think you have to give him a pass on his first year.

Yes, we no doubt bring in some guys he was recruiting, Indiana players or both.

[Blue Man]

Again Blue Man and PRT, it is wait and see what happens next season.
We should expect a dramatic change for the better, not saying we should be "Dancing" in 24-25.
That isn't asking a lot considering Archie was considered a "Splash " hire and the program upgrades from the staff to the facilities.

Ed Cooley is a splash hire with a hell of a lot more resources at his fingertips than URI will ever have. He also had recruits coming with him. They're on an 11 game losing streak

You can't attach any qualifiers to this stuff. It takes years. You have to rebuild a culture, find the right guys, and grow with the right guys.

UConn's national title team had a ton of transfers but they still had a core of starters. You need both.

Dan Hurley took over a UConn team that had won a national title under the previous coach and it still took him 5 years to get an NCAA win.

Like I said Blue Man, I am not expecting an immediate NCAAT bid, but we should expect major improvement in year 3.

Look, you were the one predicting us to be 21-10 (12-6) this season not me, I was giving Archie the benefit of the doubt and being much more cautious.

And I bet I'll predict us 21-10 next year too. That's how I roll.

I think we've improved this year, and in reality that's enough for me. Once we got throttled at Mohegan and dropped to Brown and UNH I came back down to earth. As far as I'm concerned we have a lot of work to do - but I don't feel like we're as helpless as we were last year.

This year has been more frustrating because we've at least seen how good this team can be when it's clicking. Last year we never had any of that, just a desolate wasteland of suck.

Last year, we needed to improve...literally everything. And in line with that we basically have. While our defensive stats have actually fallen, the offensive stats have eclipsed what we lost in scoring average from last season to this season. The schedule was also insanely tougher.

This is actually the best scoring team URI has had since the last NCAA appearance. We have multiple players that can go off and give you 20+ any given night.

There's been clear areas identified where we need to improve. I think getting a true PG in next year will help this team to improve on the break and in the halfcourt. The team needs to get better defensively, obviously.

But a lot of the issues this team seems to have are just issues that you see on plenty of young teams. Lot of immaturity. Things that get better with time.

There's one player in our rotation who's even played at this level of basketball before. Weston.

House played in the Big South.
Zek in the MVC.
Luis in the MAAC.
Green played 6 games in the CUSA in the last 2 years before sitting out a semester.
Fuchs in some random German league.
Brown is a juco.
Ways is a juco.
Fou is a redshirt.
Cam is a true freshman.

When you look back at best URI teams of the past 3 decades, they all had one thing in common - seniors/veterans.

2018 - 4 SR starting lineup, 1 rotation SR
2017 - 2 SR/3 JR, 1 rotation JR
2010 - 2 SR/3 JR
2009 - 2 SR/2 JR
1999 - 2 SR/2 JR, 1 Lamar Odom
1998 - 3 SR/2 JR, 2 rotation JR
1997 - 1 SR/3 JR, 1 rotation SR

Point being - we have a team with zero seniors on the roster. The "juniors" we have are not guys who played 2 years at this level. They're lower level players who are trying to adjust to this level. It takes time.

If you keep this core together, we will be vastly better just based on that.

[Billyboy78]

What doesn't get mentioned in this conversation, is that Arch wasn't even coaching when we hired him. Therefore he probably wasn't actively recruiting and therefore was out of touch with incoming freshman. Not only that, but because he wasn't coaching, he was unable to get a few of his players to transfer to his new job, ala Cooley and English. When you consider that, and the substandard bunch that was left by Cox, I think you have to give him a pass on his first year.

Yes, we no doubt bring in some guys he was recruiting, Indiana players or both.

So, he wasn't recruiting high school juniors and sophomores his last year at Indiana?

[Jersey77]

Ed Cooley is a splash hire with a hell of a lot more resources at his fingertips than URI will ever have. He also had recruits coming with him. They're on an 11 game losing streak

You can't attach any qualifiers to this stuff. It takes years. You have to rebuild a culture, find the right guys, and grow with the right guys.

UConn's national title team had a ton of transfers but they still had a core of starters. You need both.

Dan Hurley took over a UConn team that had won a national title under the previous coach and it still took him 5 years to get an NCAA win.

Like I said Blue Man, I am not expecting an immediate NCAAT bid, but we should expect major improvement in year 3.

Look, you were the one predicting us to be 21-10 (12-6) this season not me, I was giving Archie the benefit of the doubt and being much more cautious.

And I bet I'll predict us 21-10 next year too. That's how I roll.

I think we've improved this year, and in reality that's enough for me. Once we got throttled at Mohegan and dropped to Brown and UNH I came back down to earth. As far as I'm concerned we have a lot of work to do - but I don't feel like we're as helpless as we were last year.

This year has been more frustrating because we've at least seen how good this team can be when it's clicking. Last year we never had any of that, just a desolate wasteland of suck.

Last year, we needed to improve...literally everything. And in line with that we basically have. While our defensive stats have actually fallen, the offensive stats have eclipsed what we lost in scoring average from last season to this season. The schedule was also insanely tougher.

This is actually the best scoring team URI has had since the last NCAA appearance. We have multiple players that can go off and give you 20+ any given night.

There's been clear areas identified where we need to improve. I think getting a true PG in next year will help this team to improve on the break and in the halfcourt. The team needs to get better defensively, obviously.

But a lot of the issues this team seems to have are just issues that you see on plenty of young teams. Lot of immaturity. Things that get better with time.

There's one player in our rotation who's even played at this level of basketball before. Weston.

House played in the Big South.
Zek in the MVC.
Luis in the MAAC.
Green played 6 games in the CUSA in the last 2 years before sitting out a semester.
Fuchs in some random German league.
Brown is a juco.
Ways is a juco.
Fou is a redshirt.
Cam is a true freshman.

When you look back at best URI teams of the past 3 decades, they all had one thing in common - seniors/veterans.

2018 - 4 SR starting lineup, 1 rotation SR
2017 - 2 SR/3 JR, 1 rotation JR
2010 - 2 SR/3 JR
2009 - 2 SR/2 JR
1999 - 2 SR/2 JR, 1 Lamar Odom
1998 - 3 SR/2 JR, 2 rotation JR
1997 - 1 SR/3 JR, 1 rotation SR

Point being - we have a team with zero seniors on the roster. The "juniors" we have are not guys who played 2 years at this level. They're lower level players who are trying to adjust to this level. It takes time.

If you keep this core together, we will be vastly better just based on that.

I totally agree Blue Man, which is why I didn't have high expectations this season.

Next year should be a different story and I expect much better results.

If Archie and his staff have to totally rebuild once again that is on him.
Bottom line is that he is the HC, captain of the ship, and is compensated very well for it.
Sooner or later, he must be held accountable.

Besides through all of this, I haven't rushed to judgement on him and been willing to be patient with the process.

[PeterRamTime]

What doesn't get mentioned in this conversation, is that Arch wasn't even coaching when we hired him. Therefore he probably wasn't actively recruiting and therefore was out of touch with incoming freshman. Not only that, but because he wasn't coaching, he was unable to get a few of his players to transfer to his new job, ala Cooley and English. When you consider that, and the substandard bunch that was left by Cox, I think you have to give him a pass on his first year.

Yes, we no doubt bring in some guys he was recruiting, Indiana players or both.

So, he wasn't recruiting high school juniors and sophomores his last year at Indiana?

Well he obviously stopped after he was fired. Can't imagine he'd be able to hang onto them without a job.

[Billyboy78]

Yes, we no doubt bring in some guys he was recruiting, Indiana players or both.

So, he wasn't recruiting high school juniors and sophomores his last year at Indiana?

Well he obviously stopped after he was fired. Can't imagine he'd be able to hang onto them without a job.

It's a moot point anyway. Nobody being recruited to go to Indiana is coming here.

[Rhody15]

What doesn't get mentioned in this conversation, is that Arch wasn't even coaching when we hired him. Therefore he probably wasn't actively recruiting and therefore was out of touch with incoming freshman. Not only that, but because he wasn't coaching, he was unable to get a few of his players to transfer to his new job, ala Cooley and English. When you consider that, and the substandard bunch that was left by Cox, I think you have to give him a pass on his first year.

Yes, we no doubt bring in some guys he was recruiting, Indiana players or both.

Indiana players?

He hasn’t been there in 3 years.

[rhodyrudder]

I would argue that every URI team I've seen to some extent has taken on the personality of the coach. From the negativity of Baron to the intensity of Hurley.
So, what personality traits is Archie passing on to this team?

If you believe this, which is fine, what was the personality of Tom Penders's and Al Skinner's teams?

Penders had the name Runnin' Rams on all the warmups...he wanted to make you dizzy with the number of points...not quite Loyola Marymount, but the kids bought into that big time!

Al was tough, not going to let any team out work us.

Both very successful in terms of both transferring their personalities to their teams, and especially in the won-loss record.

[reef]

It’s definitely an important off-season , I’m sure Arch will take a long look @ the roster and decide what’s best moving forward , I still believe in him and take the long view time will tell though I’m a little more pessimistic now than I was going into the season

[Jersey77]

It’s definitely an important off-season , I’m sure Arch will take a long look @ the roster and decide what’s best moving forward , I still believe in him and take the long view time will tell though I’m a little more pessimistic now than I was going into the season

My only hope or biggest concern is that Archie makes that decision about our players and the portal not vice-versa.

[ElmCityRhody]

It’s definitely an important off-season , I’m sure Arch will take a long look @ the roster and decide what’s best moving forward , I still believe in him and take the long view time will tell though I’m a little more pessimistic now than I was going into the season

i'd keep a max of 8

the others i'd take my chances and get rid of them

i watched them all year - they can't and won't play D or play with heart so i'd take my chances w/o them

hate to turnover a roster since i don't believe in that but i rather get rid of players that arent winning players

[Jdrums#3]

I would argue that every URI team I've seen to some extent has taken on the personality of the coach. From the negativity of Baron to the intensity of Hurley.
So, what personality traits is Archie passing on to this team?

If you believe this, which is fine, what was the personality of Tom Penders's and Al Skinner's teams?

Penders had the name Runnin' Rams on all the warmups...he wanted to make you dizzy with the number of points...not quite Loyola Marymount, but the kids bought into that big time!

Al was tough, not going to let any team out work us.

Both very successful in terms of both transferring their personalities to their teams, and especially in the won-loss record.

Good stuff.

For me, rhodyrudder, both coaches teams were fun to watch with each style of play.

[Jersey77]

It’s definitely an important off-season , I’m sure Arch will take a long look @ the roster and decide what’s best moving forward , I still believe in him and take the long view time will tell though I’m a little more pessimistic now than I was going into the season

i'd keep a max of 8

the others i'd take my chances and get rid of them

i watched them all year - they can't and won't play D or play with heart so i'd take my chances w/o them

hate to turnover a roster since i don't believe in that but i rather get rid of players that arent winning players

Sometimes it takes more than 1 season to fit in or make that adjustment.

I wouldn't put a number on the departures.

[reef]

Arch media session today was really good 19 minute listen talks about the portal , player development etc …
I hope he can turn it around here and find long term success

[PlayMikeMotenMore]

I would argue that every URI team I've seen to some extent has taken on the personality of the coach. From the negativity of Baron to the intensity of Hurley.
So, what personality traits is Archie passing on to this team?

If you believe this, which is fine, what was the personality of Tom Penders's and Al Skinner's teams?

Penders had the name Runnin' Rams on all the warmups...he wanted to make you dizzy with the number of points...not quite Loyola Marymount, but the kids bought into that big time!

Al was tough, not going to let any team out work us.

Both very successful in terms of both transferring their personalities to their teams, and especially in the won-loss record.

Skinner's personality was "tough?" I don't quite remember Al being described like that.
You didn't tell us what Penders' personality was?

[PlayMikeMotenMore]

What doesn't get mentioned in this conversation, is that Arch wasn't even coaching when we hired him. Therefore he probably wasn't actively recruiting and therefore was out of touch with incoming freshman. Not only that, but because he wasn't coaching, he was unable to get a few of his players to transfer to his new job, ala Cooley and English. When you consider that, and the substandard bunch that was left by Cox, I think you have to give him a pass on his first year.

Yes, we no doubt bring in some guys he was recruiting, Indiana players or both.

Indiana players?

He hasn’t been there in 3 years.

Mike Woodson doing a hell of a job at IU...if he wants to get fired. (They were down by 20 at half against Nebraska in Bloomington the other night.)

[theblueram]

If you believe this, which is fine, what was the personality of Tom Penders's and Al Skinner's teams?

Penders had the name Runnin' Rams on all the warmups...he wanted to make you dizzy with the number of points...not quite Loyola Marymount, but the kids bought into that big time!

Al was tough, not going to let any team out work us.

Both very successful in terms of both transferring their personalities to their teams, and especially in the won-loss record.

Skinner's personality was "tough?" I don't quite remember Al being described like that.
You didn't tell us what Penders' personality was?

You ever met Skinner? Most unapproachable coach I've ever met.

[Rhody15]

Yes, we no doubt bring in some guys he was recruiting, Indiana players or both.

Indiana players?

He hasn’t been there in 3 years.

Mike Woodson doing a hell of a job at IU...if he wants to get fired. (They were down by 20 at half against Nebraska in Bloomington the other night.)

Was a puzzling hire for sure, but has made the last two tournaments including one win.

Not up to Indiana standards by any means, but already more success than Archie had there.

[adam914]

Pretty good media availability session with Archie today. Lots of interesting talk about recruiting, how much the offense has improved, and how much work the defense needs. I found it really interesting. The guy clearly knows what the team needs. I still trust in him to get it done.

[RI_Bred]

Not up to Indiana standards by any means, but already more success than Archie had there.

They've been "not up to Indiana standards" for quite a while now. I liken them to Notre Dame football. Glory days, they'll pass you by...

[theblueram]

Pretty good media availability session with Archie today. Lots of interesting talk about recruiting, how much the offense has improved, and how much work the defense needs. I found it really interesting. The guy clearly knows what the team needs. I still trust in him to get it done.

I do as well Adam. But he has to get his defense going. Like pronto.

[Jdrums#3]

Pretty good media availability session with Archie today. Lots of interesting talk about recruiting, how much the offense has improved, and how much work the defense needs. I found it really interesting. The guy clearly knows what the team needs. I still trust in him to get it done.

Really appreciate you posting this, adam914. Good stuff from Archie.

I get frustrated with the losing but I haven’t given up on coach. Let’s go!

[NYGFan_Section208]

This is a new era. I keep seeing "I saw how everyone jumped the gun on Hurls... you're all proven fools."

Rebuilding, starting with just last year, is no longer anything like what it used to be when Dan came here. Totally new ball game. It is NOT the same and yeah, it changed in an instant.

It's like...we used to get around on horses, then we got bicycles. Then Hurls came here and we got mo-peds. Now Hurls is gone and everyone has cars and crotch rockets and there's no speed limit.

You cannot, imo, compare a current day rebuild, with the parameters in place when Hurls was here. New day, new tools, new rules, new age.

[reef]

Pretty good media availability session with Archie today. Lots of interesting talk about recruiting, how much the offense has improved, and how much work the defense needs. I found it really interesting. The guy clearly knows what the team needs. I still trust in him to get it done.

Really appreciate you posting this, adam914. Good stuff from Archie.

I get frustrated with the losing but I haven’t given up on coach. Let’s go!

Same with me Drums ! It’s early in Arch tenure let’s let out play out !

[PeterRamTime]

What doesn't get mentioned in this conversation, is that Arch wasn't even coaching when we hired him. Therefore he probably wasn't actively recruiting and therefore was out of touch with incoming freshman. Not only that, but because he wasn't coaching, he was unable to get a few of his players to transfer to his new job, ala Cooley and English. When you consider that, and the substandard bunch that was left by Cox, I think you have to give him a pass on his first year.

Yes, we no doubt bring in some guys he was recruiting, Indiana players or both.

Indiana players?

He hasn’t been there in 3 years.

Huh?

We are talking about how Arch being out of coaching for a year hurt his ability to acquire talent and if we had hired him right after he was fired, then we likely would have brought in some players that he was recruiting or some Indiana player or both. Maybe not either.

[Spook5365]

I very much understand the points but coaches reaching out to students and others is very overrated. I’m sure it doesn’t hurt. But I can’t see making a big deal over that and their personality type. I saw Al Skinner up close and personal ( meaning I got this directly from him) flat out refuse to do this. He was asked to reach out and go to Greek houses and dorms. His response was “that’s not my job”. Take note that I put that in quotes it’s not a guess. Turns out he didn’t need to. Win and they show up. (I also agree with above post that this is very sad). But when you go through decade after decade of last to first to last you’re not getting anything else.

When Al went to BC he remained true to himself. A good friend who was a long term season ticket holder called me and complained when they had booster get togethers Al sat in the corner drinking orange juice and not talking to anyone. I told him to ignore that and look at the results. Ended up pretty good for them too until they lost patience because Al didn’t have the winning personality they liked. So they got rid of him for that and became permanent losers.

[Jersey77]

I very much understand the points but coaches reaching out to students and others is very overrated. I’m sure it doesn’t hurt. But I can’t see making a big deal over that and their personality type. I saw Al Skinner up close and personal ( meaning I got this directly from him) flat out refuse to do this. He was asked to reach out and go to Greek houses and dorms. His response was “that’s not my job”. Take note that I put that in quotes it’s not a guess. Turns out he didn’t need to. Win and they show up. (I also agree with above post that this is very sad). But when you go through decade after decade of last to first to last you’re not getting anything else.

When Al went to BC he remained true to himself. A good friend who was a long term season ticket holder called me and complained when they had booster get togethers Al sat in the corner drinking orange juice and not talking to anyone. I told him to ignore that and look at the results. Ended up pretty good for them too until they lost patience because Al didn’t have the winning personality they liked. So they got rid of him for that and became permanent losers.

Times are different now.
You better kiss up and make nice to the boosters, along with the season ticket holders and loyal fans, if you want to compete in this new NIL (professionalism) world and program funding.

[reef]

Yeah I’d like to see Arch be a little more personable and all that but it seems to not be in his makeup , he seems to be more of a grinder , let’s hope we get the results we need going forward

[Jersey77]

Yeah I’d like to see Arch be a little more personable and all that but it seems to not be in his makeup , he seems to be more of a grinder , let’s hope we get the results we need going forward

I haven't had any close interaction with Archie, so no personal experience.

But he isn't stupid, and he knows what is expected of him, so I am sure he will play the role, make nice, and do what is necessary.

[Billyboy78]

I've said this before in here. At that event a couple of years ago (or whenever it was) with Archie, Tammi and Fleming at the RC, Archie seemed like he'd rather be anywhere else but there. Before the coaches spoke, we were free to walk around and talk to players and assistant coaches. Duane and especially Kenny were fantastic, while Archie seemed very uncomfortable. When the Q&A started with Steve asking questions, Archie did give good answers for questions his way, just as he does in his media availability like yesterday. But when Tammi and Fleming were being asked, Archie was on his phone, not paying attention to any of that. Fleming even made a joke, saying that Marquis Buchanan is a football player and that Archie had better not try and steal him away from the football team. No reaction from Archie. I'm not sure he even heard Fleming say it. It just looked weird, once again, that he'd much rather be somewhere else. I'm not bashing him for that. I get it. I'm an introvert myself. Archie just wants to coach basketball. That's what he's good at and he'd rather not have to do any of the other stuff involved. But in today's landscape, is that enough?

[hrstrat57]

I've said this before in here. At that event a couple of years ago (or whenever it was) with Archie, Tammi and Fleming at the RC, Archie seemed like he'd rather be anywhere else but there. Before the coaches spoke, we were free to walk around and talk to players and assistant coaches. Duane and especially Kenny were fantastic, while Archie seemed very uncomfortable. When the Q&A started with Steve asking questions, Archie did give good answers for questions his way, just as he does in his media availability like yesterday. But when Tammi and Fleming were being asked, Archie was on his phone, not paying attention to any of that. Fleming even made a joke, saying that Marquis Buchanan is a football player and that Archie had better not try and steal him away from the football team. No reaction from Archie. I'm not sure he even heard Fleming say it. It just looked weird, once again, that he'd much rather be somewhere else. I'm not bashing him for that. I get it. I'm an introvert myself. Archie just wants to coach basketball. That's what he's good at and he'd rather not have to do any of the other stuff involved. But in today's landscape, is that enough?

I like old school, heck (captain obvious) I AM old school. Not sure today’s athletes and even boosters dig old school. We have old school from Miller it appears. Maybe he’ll evolve a bit.

So far results not so good. Year 3 is critical.

We’ll see.

[Rhody15]

I've said this before in here. At that event a couple of years ago (or whenever it was) with Archie, Tammi and Fleming at the RC, Archie seemed like he'd rather be anywhere else but there. Before the coaches spoke, we were free to walk around and talk to players and assistant coaches. Duane and especially Kenny were fantastic, while Archie seemed very uncomfortable. When the Q&A started with Steve asking questions, Archie did give good answers for questions his way, just as he does in his media availability like yesterday. But when Tammi and Fleming were being asked, Archie was on his phone, not paying attention to any of that. Fleming even made a joke, saying that Marquis Buchanan is a football player and that Archie had better not try and steal him away from the football team. No reaction from Archie. I'm not sure he even heard Fleming say it. It just looked weird, once again, that he'd much rather be somewhere else. I'm not bashing him for that. I get it. I'm an introvert myself. Archie just wants to coach basketball. That's what he's good at and he'd rather not have to do any of the other stuff involved. But in today's landscape, is that enough?

With how low morale is around our program, it’s impossible for Archie to just coach and ignore everything else.

He NEEDS to do outreach stuff, alumni events, season ticket holder events, etc etc.

At those events, he also needs to look like he wants to be there and not have a stone cold look on his face.

[RF1]

Unlike some others, I expected a rebuild would take a few years. I however am disappointed in where the program is as year 2 comes to a close. I had expected to see more of an upward improvement trend. That is unfortunately not happening. We currently do not appear to be getting significantly better. I fear another big roster turnover and following season of trying to mesh together a team.

[rhodyrudder]

If you believe this, which is fine, what was the personality of Tom Penders's and Al Skinner's teams?

Penders had the name Runnin' Rams on all the warmups...he wanted to make you dizzy with the number of points...not quite Loyola Marymount, but the kids bought into that big time!

Al was tough, not going to let any team out work us.

Both very successful in terms of both transferring their personalities to their teams, and especially in the won-loss record.

Skinner's personality was "tough?" I don't quite remember Al being described like that.
You didn't tell us what Penders' personality was?

I described the personalities of their teams. Penders was flashy, a showman, and had two of the best guards in the country. His team adopted his personality and tried to run everyone out of the gym. They (and Al’s later teams) played with a big chip on their shoulders, demanding that you pay attention to them.

Al’s teams had great big men, and they were going to get every rebound, every loose ball. Al didn’t play to the media as much as Tom did. He didn’t care about that. He loved URI, loved his kids, wanted to stick it in PC’s grill as much as all the fans did.

Again, 2 of the best coaches we’ve ever seen around here. Much has changed with this program since the RC was built, but the end of the Keaney era (its last 15 years) was undoubtedly the best we have ever had. Harrick, the Ryan Center, Hurley…none of that happens without Penders and Skinner in my opinion. Keaney and Kraft were amazing (I never saw either coach) but the modern era of 64 teams, the shot clock, the 3-point shot…this is the landscape that existed in 1986. And Penders got the first-ever Rhody wins in the NCAA, with Al following right in his footsteps. Harrick made it three in a row.

To bring it back to Archie, I hope he is able to get guys who will buy in. He has a proven record, and if he can instill his personality throughout the program, better times may soon be on the way.

One final point that may not seem obvious: every coach tries to get their teams to play his/her way, and their personality is usually a big piece of that. The truly great coaches adapt to their team’s personality if they see that that is what is required.

Last year’s Rams looked like they were caught in between, and this year it looks like there is more buy-in (on both sides). But both coach and team have been disappointed with the other on more than one occasion.

Anyway, I’m still hoping for more improvement this season, and the team has been significantly more fun to watch, despite the peaks and valleys. A strong effort at LaSalle tomorrow can hopefully propel them to a couple more wins, and maybe a deep run in Brooklyn.

[UCH21377]

Speaking of Archie, the staff and recruiting, shouldn't we be hearing about '25 recruits? Have we had any '25 recruits at a game this year? Archie and Kenny have both been back for 2 years now. The connections should be re-established. Why aren't we hearing a single thing about any '25 recruits?

I think they keep things very quiet

[NYGFan_Section208]

I've said this before in here. At that event a couple of years ago (or whenever it was) with Archie, Tammi and Fleming at the RC, Archie seemed like he'd rather be anywhere else but there. Before the coaches spoke, we were free to walk around and talk to players and assistant coaches. Duane and especially Kenny were fantastic, while Archie seemed very uncomfortable. When the Q&A started with Steve asking questions, Archie did give good answers for questions his way, just as he does in his media availability like yesterday. But when Tammi and Fleming were being asked, Archie was on his phone, not paying attention to any of that. Fleming even made a joke, saying that Marquis Buchanan is a football player and that Archie had better not try and steal him away from the football team. No reaction from Archie. I'm not sure he even heard Fleming say it. It just looked weird, once again, that he'd much rather be somewhere else. I'm not bashing him for that. I get it. I'm an introvert myself. Archie just wants to coach basketball. That's what he's good at and he'd rather not have to do any of the other stuff involved. But in today's landscape, is that enough?

lol, watching the last presser, he was definitely phoning it while someone asked a question...face down on that baby under the table...thought that was kinda funny