Men's Basketball Transfer Carousel and Portal - 2024-25

[Rhody15]

How can you tap the brakes on the recruiting hype

when that is THE ONLY THING to get excited about around here these days?

It’s false hope the majority of the time and then people expect these kids to meet their own unrealistic expectations, the kids don’t, then said posters get pissed that they suck.

[jcru]

yeah I get that. But there is literally nothing left to talk about

[Rhody15]

Like I’ve said, talented roster.

He’ll go P5.

[steveystuds06]

Dubs just entered the portal.

Just another reason its kind of pointless to get all worked up over recruits.

People were all pumped he got offered by K State and Maryland. Obviously was offered by those schools as the last game on the bench.

He couldn't break the rotation on a 12-20 A10 team.

Agree. Can we tap the brakes on the recruiting hype?

Ya, after a few hot tournaments, Connor looked like a midmajor project before he got here. Who knows how interested those programs actually were.

Playmike, What recruiting hype? We have one player that people are excited about: Hammond. That's it. One player... We need A LOT more than that. Farrell is a strong defender who's incredibly raw on offense. Could he be a good player eventually? Sure. But I need to see it to believe it...The vibe of the team and program is bad, as it should be after two dogshit seasons. Most of us expected Archie, KJ, and Duane to do a much better job landing impactful recruits. I had so much confidence in Archie, and this staff that I expected most of the recruits they brought in to make an impact, and I figured a couple could be all-conference players eventually. At this point, I have no confidence that this staff will land great players. KJ is the only one that I think has done a decent job, and he may be gone... Basically, every game I watched this year, we seemed to have the worst roster...

There is no hype around this program... We are the worst team in a bad A10. I hate to sound so negative, but that's how I feel.

[bigappleram]

Like I’ve said, talented roster.

He’ll go P5.

He already was P5 so not really going out on a limb with that.

And not sure how someone entering the Portal validates your opinion on their roster/talent?

[Iggy1979]

Did Kenny live up to his rep here?

[section(105)]

Running a poll? No. May I add? Archie? No. Take on all incoming……just a cranky ole man. Go Rhody. Have at it.

[Billyboy78]

Did Kenny live up to his rep here?

No. But did he have the money needed to live up to it?

[BobfromMatunuck]

Bilau, Fou, Rory, Brown, Weston and Dubs thus far.

Now we are sitting at
Luis
House
Ways
Zek
Fuchs
Farrell
Hammond
Green
Estevez

I'd even be fine with that, most wouldn't, but you can add 4 good players to that group and you may have something.

I’m going to miss Rory. One time he and I ripped boges outside the harbor pub and shit talked David Skogman and Connor Kochera.

[theblueram]

Bilau, Fou, Rory, Brown, Weston and Dubs thus far.

Now we are sitting at
Luis
House
Ways
Zek
Fuchs
Farrell
Hammond
Green
Estevez

I'd even be fine with that, most wouldn't, but you can add 4 good players to that group and you may have something.

I’m going to miss Rory. One time he and I ripped boges outside the harbor pub and shit talked David Skogman and Connor Kochera.

Harbor pub? Which town is that in?

[cRAM4finals]

Isn't he making like $450k a year? Marketing for what? A HC job?

A bigger program. Likely St Johns

Some buzz on twitter about Georgetown. You know he'll land big time DMV recruits for them.

The players we have are a result of the recruiting efforts. Archie doesn’t fill the funnel with players; that’s his assistants’ jobs. Novel thought here but how about a change in assistants and bring in a new lead recruiter. Maybe we can fill the funnel with players who have a little more ability, speed and athleticism - but just as important or maybe more - a character defined by a desire to win and give a 100 plus percent to the goal of winning - as a team. A couple of those players might actually pop out of the bottom of the funnel and choose URI. Pipe dream, but I’m a dreamer I guess

I said this after the VCU game and caught some hell but stand by it. So maybe KJ’s leaving works for us in the end. He probably can recruit well for P5 schools with plenty of NIL $ but it’s not working here. Hammond would have stayed a year before he tested the waters anyway. All KJ brought us was a few guys who saw us as a stop over (brick by brick) and most didn’t have an ounce of hustle or a half ounce of selflessness. I am fine with finding a new recruiting approach with new recruiting staff that matches players with Archie’s system and culture. As Michael Breed would say… Let’s do this.

[steveystuds06]

I think GW does seem to always have a few studs on their team. They rarely have a good team. For whatever reason, they can't play well together. But individually, they do have talent.

[steveystuds06]

Rhody reached out.

[Jdrums#3]

If what I saw on twitter that KJ might be leaving, there's probably a chance that both Hammond and Farrell decommit. I think it was BAR that posted it, so it's someone who knows, not someone just throwing shit out there.

Losing KJ AND the recruits would be a gut punch, imho. Hope it doesn’t happen. Bad timing for the program when it barely has a pulse.

[SandorClegane]

Did Bilau and/or Kortright confirm formally that they aren’t coming back next season?

[theblueram]

If what I saw on twitter that KJ might be leaving, there's probably a chance that both Hammond and Farrell decommit. I think it was BAR that posted it, so it's someone who knows, not someone just throwing shit out there.

Losing KJ AND the recruits would be a gut punch, imho. Hope it doesn’t happen. Bad timing for the program when it barely has a pulse.

It's an assistant coach and two recruits. The portal is open and stack full of players who already have D1 experience.

[Iggy1979]

Morales would be the gest 3 point shooter on the team

[NYGFan_Section208]

I'm probably jinxing things, but I'm surprised that our season ended 6 days ago and we've only had two players announce they were heading to the portal so far. I really expected a flood

Well the two that entered knew they were going to be asked the leave, the reason others haven’t left is because they haven’t had their end of the year meeting yet / want to stay here, but they aren’t useful

I wasn't sure about when those meetings were taking place and figured some if not all had already happened

I've had a tight sched lately, fixing website stuff, but doing the best I can to get these meetings done.

[theblueram]

Rhody reached out.

Looks like a great prospect. Plays inside and out. Would love to see some defense from him though. This team needs a tough defense next year.

[McRam]

Bilau, Fou, Rory, Brown, Weston and Dubs thus far.

Now we are sitting at
Luis
House
Ways
Zek
Fuchs
Farrell
Hammond
Green
Estevez

I'd even be fine with that, most wouldn't, but you can add 4 good players to that group and you may have something.

I’m going to miss Rory. One time he and I ripped boges outside the harbor pub and shit talked David Skogman and Connor Kochera.

Beyond disappointed with Weston leaving. Best defensive player on team. Was getting playing minutes as was Brown . Are they really getting significant $$ or is it our program?

[section(105)]

Both? Lots of these guys, IMHO, want to play major minutes, be the alpha, even in a lesser level program, even with less money, for many there is a head that also needs to be feed.

[steveystuds06]

How can you tap the brakes on the recruiting hype

when that is THE ONLY THING to get excited about around here these days?

It’s false hope the majority of the time and then people expect these kids to meet their own unrealistic expectations, the kids don’t, then said posters get pissed that they suck.

I totally get tempering expectations. But I also think it's completely fair for this fanbase to expect some of our recruits to be great. Especially with what we are paying this staff.... I think many of us got super excited because we landed what we all thought was a home run hire, and we expected a big-time coach like Archie to succeed sooner rather than later. I know that's why I was so excited about incoming players.. Even the most negative person here didn't expect this staff to have this many recruiting misses. I still can't believe how bad we have been these first two seasons. David Cox recruited better players.. No, I'm not saying Cox is better than Archie, but I think he brought on more talented players than Archie has so far.

Now, the one assistant who I think has done a decent job may be gone.. We are in hell...I hate this.

[Jdrums#3]

If what I saw on twitter that KJ might be leaving, there's probably a chance that both Hammond and Farrell decommit. I think it was BAR that posted it, so it's someone who knows, not someone just throwing shit out there.

Losing KJ AND the recruits would be a gut punch, imho. Hope it doesn’t happen. Bad timing for the program when it barely has a pulse.

It's an assistant coach and two recruits. The portal is open and stack full of players who already have D1 experience.

Bad timing. Sets us back in building a competitive roster when I don’t have a lifetime to wait around. So, from my perspective, it’s a gut punch. I’d feel differently if my window was open wider.

[section(105)]

Morales would be the gest 3 point shooter on the team

EZ now.

[section(105)]

Rhody reached out.

Looks like a great prospect. Plays inside and out. Would love to see some defense from him though. This team needs a tough defense next year.

EZ now

[section(105)]

EZ now, will be my new post to each recruit, portal, he’s coming here type speculation from here out.

[PlayMikeMotenMore]

Just another reason its kind of pointless to get all worked up over recruits.

People were all pumped he got offered by K State and Maryland. Obviously was offered by those schools as the last game on the bench.

He couldn't break the rotation on a 12-20 A10 team.

Agree. Can we tap the brakes on the recruiting hype?

Ya, after a few hot tournaments, Connor looked like a midmajor project before he got here. Who knows how interested those programs actually were.

Playmike, What recruiting hype? We have one player that people are excited about: Hammond. That's it. One player... We need A LOT more than that. Farrell is a strong defender who's incredibly raw on offense. Could he be a good player eventually? Sure. But I need to see it to believe it...The vibe of the team and program is bad, as it should be after two dogshit seasons. Most of us expected Archie, KJ, and Duane to do a much better job landing impactful recruits. I had so much confidence in Archie, and this staff that I expected most of the recruits they brought in to make an impact, and I figured a couple could be all-conference players eventually. At this point, I have no confidence that this staff will land great players. KJ is the only one that I think has done a decent job, and he may be gone... Basically, every game I watched this year, we seemed to have the worst roster...

There is no hype around this program... We are the worst team in a bad A10. I hate to sound so negative, but that's how I feel.

My point is internet hype leads to actual hype around everybody and everything. So-n-so is gonna be great...this recruit is can't miss...he's gonna be a great shooter...have to have this impact transfer...this player is a generational talent. I see it all the time. I mean, enough already.

I can give example after example...not just at URI, but in the world we live in. Just go to youtube and you'll see so many high school kids with their videos labeled as the "best 9th/10th grader..." Good gosh, just give it all a rest. I get it, you like watching high school kids. These highlight videos tell you absolutely nothing about a kid. Even watching a kid play in person a few times tells you very little. Archie and his staff can tell you that. Recruiting is not an exact science. So any predictions with any sense of certainty aren't worth a darn.

So you're down on the program. Understood and justified. There is no debate. So there's no need to post on a message board unnecessarily about recruits. Let it play itself out and the kids play it out. They signed player X who's rated a 3-star or 300-star. Great. It just doesn't matter. I hope he plays well at URI, stays and graduates, leads the team to the NCAA tourney and ends up in the URI Hall of Fame.

[reef]

Rhody reached out.

Good find , 38 % from 3 for a 6’8 guy I like it !

[jcru]

Reminds me of Josh King

Maybe not the same skill set, but in looks

[steveystuds06]

Agree. Can we tap the brakes on the recruiting hype?

Ya, after a few hot tournaments, Connor looked like a midmajor project before he got here. Who knows how interested those programs actually were.

Playmike, What recruiting hype? We have one player that people are excited about: Hammond. That's it. One player... We need A LOT more than that. Farrell is a strong defender who's incredibly raw on offense. Could he be a good player eventually? Sure. But I need to see it to believe it...The vibe of the team and program is bad, as it should be after two dogshit seasons. Most of us expected Archie, KJ, and Duane to do a much better job landing impactful recruits. I had so much confidence in Archie, and this staff that I expected most of the recruits they brought in to make an impact, and I figured a couple could be all-conference players eventually. At this point, I have no confidence that this staff will land great players. KJ is the only one that I think has done a decent job, and he may be gone... Basically, every game I watched this year, we seemed to have the worst roster...

There is no hype around this program... We are the worst team in a bad A10. I hate to sound so negative, but that's how I feel.

My point is internet hype leads to actual hype around everybody and everything. So-n-so is gonna be great...this recruit is can't miss...he's gonna be a great shooter...have to have this impact transfer...this player is a generational talent. I see it all the time. I mean, enough already.

I can give example after example...not just at URI, but in the world we live in. Just go to youtube and you'll see so many high school kids with their videos labeled as the "best 9th/10th grader..." Good gosh, just give it all a rest. I get it, you like watching high school kids. These highlight videos tell you absolutely nothing about a kid. Even watching a kid play in person a few times tells you very little. Archie and his staff can tell you that. Recruiting is not an exact science. So any predictions with any sense of certainty aren't worth a darn.

So you're down on the program. Understood and justified. There is no debate. So there's no need to post on a message board unnecessarily about recruits. Let it play itself out and the kids play it out. They signed player X who's rated a 3-star or 300-star. Great. It just doesn't matter. I hope he plays well at URI, stays and graduates, leads the team to the NCAA tourney and ends up in the URI Hall of Fame.

Once again, man, if you don't want to talk about recruits, that's 100% fine. Literally, no one is telling you that you need to. If we offer or land a new recruit, most people on here are going to talk about it, just like every fanbase. You don't have to agree with what people think. I understand if you think it's dumb to overhype a recruit. But that you think we shouldn't even talk about new recruits is really odd. At this point, I don't think you understand what this place is for. This is Keaneyblue.com, the place where fans come to discuss anything and everything about the URI men's team. We have a section called "recruitment corner". It's very simple. Don't click that and you'll be all set.

[steveystuds06]

One other thing I'll add... I love watching basketball. Mainly NBA and college but I don't mind watching high school. But the biggest reason I watched so much high school basketball the last two years was my excitement about landing Archie. I said to myself our team looks like shit now, but at least I can watch our future stars. I thought I would watch the next EC, JT, Hass, Terrell, Jeff, Schooie, Pollard. etc.. That's the biggest reason I watched and posted clips. I was very excited. At this point, I won't be doing it much anymore. 99% of our players have been busts. Even if they are good, they probably won't stay. It's a waste of my time. If we improve, and I see Archie land some legit players and keep them, I may do it again. But my excitement for our incoming recruits is gone. I need to see some results. We all need to see some results..

[Jersey77]

(PG) Jhamir Brickus just entered the portal from La Salle, another tough loss.
Averaged 14 pts (40% 3PT, 86% FT)/ 5 assists.

[Rhody15]

(PG) Jhamir Brickus just entered the portal from La Salle, another tough loss.
Averaged 14 pts (40% 3PT, 86% FT)/ 5 assists.

He’s the type of kid who probably should enter the portal / I don’t fault kids in his situation at all.

Stayed all 4 years, will graduate. Probably could’ve left last year for a bigger school.

Using the freak covid year to try and make some money and join a P5 team for his last season.

[Dino611]

[RF1]

The portal and NIL are going to completely kill college basketball save for the very top schools. The game as we knew it is DEAD.

[Ramfan22]

Of course Arkansas already reached out

[Jersey77]

The portal and NIL are going to completely kill college basketball save for the very top schools. The game as we knew it is DEAD.

Yes RF1, it is becoming more and more difficult to be a passionate fan these days, especially at our level.

[RI_Bred]

Not sure how URI competes with most of that list.

[RhowdyRam02]

Not sure how URI competes with most of that list.

Please see the NIL page

[ramster]

(PG) Jhamir Brickus just entered the portal from La Salle, another tough loss.
Averaged 14 pts (40% 3PT, 86% FT)/ 5 assists.

He’s the type of kid who probably should enter the portal / I don’t fault kids in his situation at all.

Stayed all 4 years, will graduate. Probably could’ve left last year for a bigger school.

Using the freak covid year to try and make some money and join a P5 team for his last season.

Why would you fault a kid for entering the portal in any situation?
Sounds like a player should meet certain criteria to not be at fault?

Let these players maximize their wealth while they can especially when there is no limit on earnings potential.

I can’t think of a situation where I’d hold a player at fault for leaving. Best of luck and go get em!

[ramster]

Of course Arkansas already reached out

No Bryant or Iowa State? Give it a little time

[Billyboy78]

(PG) Jhamir Brickus just entered the portal from La Salle, another tough loss.
Averaged 14 pts (40% 3PT, 86% FT)/ 5 assists.

He’s the type of kid who probably should enter the portal / I don’t fault kids in his situation at all.

Stayed all 4 years, will graduate. Probably could’ve left last year for a bigger school.

Using the freak covid year to try and make some money and join a P5 team for his last season.

Why would you fault a kid for entering the portal in any situation?
Sounds like a player should meet certain criteria to not be at fault?

Let these players maximize their wealth while they can especially when there is no limit on earnings potential.

I can’t think of a situation where I’d hold a player at fault for leaving. Best of luck and go get em!

I've said it before. Every player in the country should put their name in to see what's out there, as long as he and his current coach agree that coming back to his current team is an option.

[Jersey77]

(PG) Jhamir Brickus just entered the portal from La Salle, another tough loss.
Averaged 14 pts (40% 3PT, 86% FT)/ 5 assists.

He’s the type of kid who probably should enter the portal / I don’t fault kids in his situation at all.

Stayed all 4 years, will graduate. Probably could’ve left last year for a bigger school.

Using the freak covid year to try and make some money and join a P5 team for his last season.

Why would you fault a kid for entering the portal in any situation?
Sounds like a player should meet certain criteria to not be at fault?

Let these players maximize their wealth while they can especially when there is no limit on earnings potential.

I can’t think of a situation where I’d hold a player at fault for leaving. Best of luck and go get em!

Can't really fault or blame the players the way it is set up.
Unfortunately, it is the fans that suffer.

[Billyboy78]

Not sure how URI competes with most of that list.

If all of our players leave and we get this kid, at least we'll have somebody with the same last name as one of our current players.

[ramster]

He’s the type of kid who probably should enter the portal / I don’t fault kids in his situation at all.

Stayed all 4 years, will graduate. Probably could’ve left last year for a bigger school.

Using the freak covid year to try and make some money and join a P5 team for his last season.

Why would you fault a kid for entering the portal in any situation?
Sounds like a player should meet certain criteria to not be at fault?

Let these players maximize their wealth while they can especially when there is no limit on earnings potential.

I can’t think of a situation where I’d hold a player at fault for leaving. Best of luck and go get em!

I've said it before. Every player in the country should put their name in to see what's out there, as long as he and his current coach agree that coming back to his current team is an option.

Agree. Can’t blame a kid for trying to max out his earnings opportunity. Just like anybody in the job market.

[rambone 78]

We are closer to the bottom of the pecking order not only money wise, but who wants to come to a bottom a10 program that is miles away from being good?

Some might not like my description of URI as a bottom a10 program, but results wise we are and that's what counts in my book.

[RhowdyRam02]

He’s the type of kid who probably should enter the portal / I don’t fault kids in his situation at all.

Stayed all 4 years, will graduate. Probably could’ve left last year for a bigger school.

Using the freak covid year to try and make some money and join a P5 team for his last season.

Why would you fault a kid for entering the portal in any situation?
Sounds like a player should meet certain criteria to not be at fault?

Let these players maximize their wealth while they can especially when there is no limit on earnings potential.

I can’t think of a situation where I’d hold a player at fault for leaving. Best of luck and go get em!

I've said it before. Every player in the country should put their name in to see what's out there, as long as he and his current coach agree that coming back to his current team is an option.

I thought that, but there's so much tampering, and so little ramifications for doing so, that it's probably unnecessary

[Jersey77]

He’s the type of kid who probably should enter the portal / I don’t fault kids in his situation at all.

Stayed all 4 years, will graduate. Probably could’ve left last year for a bigger school.

Using the freak covid year to try and make some money and join a P5 team for his last season.

Why would you fault a kid for entering the portal in any situation?
Sounds like a player should meet certain criteria to not be at fault?

Let these players maximize their wealth while they can especially when there is no limit on earnings potential.

I can’t think of a situation where I’d hold a player at fault for leaving. Best of luck and go get em!

I've said it before. Every player in the country should put their name in to see what's out there, as long as he and his current coach agree that coming back to his current team is an option.

I can't really see the coaches guaranteeing that.
They need to fill roster spots and aren't going to wait and take that chance.
If there is a spot open and they are willing to take that player back, then okay.

[RIFan]

What employer tells their employees to go shop around each year for a better deal? Come on people…allow them to portal and welcome them back if they can’t find a better situation…ridiculous. You can’t hold open multiple spots for kids who may come back or try and hold you up to match a better offer. Kid puts name in, nothing is guaranteed…roll the dice kid.

How many kids didn’t end up on a new team last year and lost out on a free education?

[rambone 78]

I hope to hell that we dont end up overpaying for the scraps we are likely to get.

The staff is going to have to absolutely ACE the recruits we do get. Late bloomers under rated types.

In other words, do a lot better job recruiting that has been done so far, save for Hammond.