'24 VA PG Ben Hammond (URI LOI ---> ??? )

[ElmCityRhody]

Fuck off. I'm done. College basketball sucks. See ya.

Hear hear

[ElmCityRhody]

So much for that so called great relationship with Archie.

Exactly

[steviep123]

Everything sucks about hoops

[UCH21377]

Does the LOI serve any purpose anymore? What’s the point?

[STC]

College sports is in decay.

[rhodylaw]

My guess is he goes to Arkansas

[Rhody15]

Does the LOI serve any purpose anymore? What’s the point?

The scholarship

[Jdrums#3]

Fuck off. I'm done. College basketball sucks. See ya.

Hear hear

78 and ECR, I share your extreme frustration but, don’t let the fickle decision making of a teenager dictate your fandom in the program and sport. Hang in there.

[Jdrums#3]

Does the LOI serve any purpose anymore? What’s the point?

My answer, UCH, is no. It is empty tradition.

Next to follow is Senior Night.

[PeteRI]

Does the LOI serve any purpose anymore? What’s the point?

LOI now stands for L.osing O.ur I.nterest.

[Rhody15]

I would assume this guy is on here, his tweets are not very bright/don’t make much sense most of the time under Rhody accounts, but this one is pretty pathetic.

[PeteRI]

College sports is in decay.

Our MBB program is in decay. Four consecutive losing seasons will do that

[RhodyKyle]

I would assume this guy is on here, his tweets are not very bright/don’t make much sense most of the time under Rhody accounts, but this one is pretty pathetic.

This is the guy who had a pic of him and Fatts as his PFP. Definitely a regular here. I agree this is a bad look. Him decommitting from URI is a failure at the school/fanbase level and not the kid.

[Rams99]

He had an explosive end of season which rose his stock and probably saw that he has all the hype now before he plays a game of college ball. So why not shoot higher. I don’t see this as a URI fumble. We offered what we could and that’s it. Placing too much blame on a program doing what it can to move forward. We can spend the money on someone else.

[Jdrums#3]

He had an explosive end of season which rose his stock and probably saw that he has all the hype now before he plays a game of college ball. So why not shoot higher. I don’t see this as a URI fumble. We offered what we could and that’s it. Placing too much blame on a program doing what it can to move forward. We can spend the money on someone else.

Since we have evolved to a professional type model in cbb, I have no choice but to put my GM hat on. Therefore, I agree with having the competition pay for the inexperienced players because there is no guarantee the inexperienced players will be around by the time they max their potential.

Let the competition pay for inexperienced players training and for them to gain experience.

Sorry prep graduates but circumstances have changed. Hopefully it’s not permanent.

[rambone 78]

Hammond is dead to me.

I'm sure he's gotten some bigger offers since he blew up late.

Loyalty only goes so far as the size of their wallet.

It's the world we live in. I prefer the old days.

It's no wonder the birth rate is down. Who wants to bring in children to this shithole?

[ramster]

Let’s see where Hammond lands too Rambone.
Money is part of the equation but not all
George Mason is 16 miles from Paul VI. Could stay home and play in same A10 Conference
Or he could aim for a P5 or NBE team
Hammond was not seen at a single URI game this season. Not all that surprising he would opt out
He became a 4-star this season
One of top teams in HS Basketball

Miller and staff knew the odds of keeping or not keeping him

Glad it’s done and now opens up potential slot for other PG’s out there. Musical chairs.

[Rhody15]

Hammond is dead to me.

I'm sure he's gotten some bigger offers since he blew up late.

Loyalty only goes so far as the size of their wallet.

It's the world we live in. I prefer the old days.

It's no wonder the birth rate is down. Who wants to bring in children to this shithole?

I for one did not have the birth rate down being mentioned in the same post as Hammond decomitting.

Jesus dude.

[rambone 78]

Yeah sorry maybe a little over the top but it's true sad to say.

[STC]

My guess is he goes to a power conference, rots away on the bench for 1-2 years and then transfers down to mid major conference. A tale as old as time.

[steviep123]

I'm still so bummed this morning - had the great news of Lawrence signing followed by Hammond decommitting under an hour later. Talk about a roller coaster. This is the new normal and I'm really starting to hate college hoops.

[NHRamFan]

All in favor of moving Hammond to the "MASTER LIST" thread, please say AYE.

I'll start: AYE.

[McRam]

Does the LOI serve any purpose anymore? What’s the point?

It is a one way deal. The player can stay but still negotiate for a better deal elsewhere. From a practical standpoint, the school has to guarantee the scholarship and a spot on the roster.

Doesn’t that make it a good deal for the player and a bad deal for the school?

[RhowdyRam02]

Does the LOI serve any purpose anymore? What’s the point?

It is a one way deal. The player can stay but still negotiate for a better deal elsewhere. From a practical standpoint, the school has to guarantee the scholarship and a spot on the roster.

Doesn’t that make it a good deal for the player and a bad deal for the school?

Does the school? We had more scholarships committed for next year than scholarships available for most of the year

[adam914]

I'm as disappointed about Hammond leaving as anyone else, but it's not the end of the world and some of these responses are a little over the top. Players decommitting isn't really even anything new. When Jared Terrell asked out of his LOI from Oklahoma State and came to URI instead I don't recall anyone questioning his loyalty or lamenting about the downfall of society. Hammond blew up, our assistant coach left, it happens. At least we can try to fill the spot in the portal now.

[Billyboy78]

I'm as disappointed about Hammond leaving as anyone else, but it's not the end of the world and some of these responses are a little over the top. Players decommitting isn't really even anything new. When Jared Terrell asked out of his LOI from Oklahoma State and came to URI instead I don't recall anyone questioning his loyalty or lamenting about the downfall of society. Hammond blew up, our assistant coach left, it happens. At least we can try to fill the spot in the portal now.

And then Jared played here for 4 years. The way things are now, we have zero chance to land a talent like Jared Terrell anyway.

[adam914]

I'm as disappointed about Hammond leaving as anyone else, but it's not the end of the world and some of these responses are a little over the top. Players decommitting isn't really even anything new. When Jared Terrell asked out of his LOI from Oklahoma State and came to URI instead I don't recall anyone questioning his loyalty or lamenting about the downfall of society. Hammond blew up, our assistant coach left, it happens. At least we can try to fill the spot in the portal now.

And then Jared played here for 4 years. The way things are now, we have zero chance to land a talent like Jared Terrell anyway.

I disagree, no reason we can't land a talent like Terrell still.

[Billyboy78]

I'm as disappointed about Hammond leaving as anyone else, but it's not the end of the world and some of these responses are a little over the top. Players decommitting isn't really even anything new. When Jared Terrell asked out of his LOI from Oklahoma State and came to URI instead I don't recall anyone questioning his loyalty or lamenting about the downfall of society. Hammond blew up, our assistant coach left, it happens. At least we can try to fill the spot in the portal now.

And then Jared played here for 4 years. The way things are now, we have zero chance to land a talent like Jared Terrell anyway.

I disagree, no reason we can't land a talent like Terrell still.

He was top 50ish coming out of high school. I don't think we even attempt to recruit that high anymore. Lucky if we see a top 150.

[Jdrums#3]

Beyond the legitimate Jared question, we also need to ask if we can afford him, EC, JD, etc. all on the same team at once while the system is the way it is ?

That has to be our goal to get back to relevance, I think ?

Like you 78, my resources are limited (my health, too,
which I didn’t anticipate being healthy and fit for many years). But, as always, I will hang in there and figure out a way to do what I can. Mrs. Drums and my girls are allergic to sports unfortunately for me so, I need to be creative. There version of sports is watching The Batchelor.

[adam914]

And then Jared played here for 4 years. The way things are now, we have zero chance to land a talent like Jared Terrell anyway.

I disagree, no reason we can't land a talent like Terrell still.

He was top 50ish coming out of high school. I don't think we even attempt to recruit that high anymore. Lucky if we see a top 150.

How often were we pulling in top 50ish players before the rule changes anyway? Once or twice every 20 years or so? It's not like we were regularly racking up top 50 or even top 100 recruits year in and year out and suddenly that is going away.

If Archie can get the program back on track and make URI a place that is desirable for players to want to come play and stay then I am confident we'll be back to getting the same level of recruits we have in the past. Sure some will leave, but some will stay to. Everything is just harder right now because we have been irrelevant for years.

[Billyboy78]

I disagree, no reason we can't land a talent like Terrell still.

He was top 50ish coming out of high school. I don't think we even attempt to recruit that high anymore. Lucky if we see a top 150.

How often were we pulling in top 50ish players before the rule changes anyway? Once or twice every 20 years or so? It's not like we were regularly racking up top 50 or even top 100 recruits year in and year out and suddenly that is going away.

If Archie can get the program back on track and make URI a place that is desirable for players to want to come play and stay then I am confident we'll be back to getting the same level of recruits we have in the past. Sure some will leave, but some will stay to. Everything is just harder right now because we have been irrelevant for years.

That's kind of my point. We'd get a recruit like that once every few years or once every decade or so and not coincidentally, those guys were on teams that got us to the NCAA tourney and won games. Sly Williams, Silk Owens, Lamar Odom, Jared Terrell. Without those guys, we don't make any NCAA tournaments. Can we even get a player like that to bring us to a tournament now under the current circumstances?

[NYGFan_Section208]

He was top 50ish coming out of high school. I don't think we even attempt to recruit that high anymore. Lucky if we see a top 150.

How often were we pulling in top 50ish players before the rule changes anyway? Once or twice every 20 years or so? It's not like we were regularly racking up top 50 or even top 100 recruits year in and year out and suddenly that is going away.

If Archie can get the program back on track and make URI a place that is desirable for players to want to come play and stay then I am confident we'll be back to getting the same level of recruits we have in the past. Sure some will leave, but some will stay to. Everything is just harder right now because we have been irrelevant for years.

That's kind of my point. We'd get a recruit like that once every few years or once every decade or so and not coincidentally, those guys were on teams that got us to the NCAA tourney and won games. Sly Williams, Silk Owens, Lamar Odom, Jared Terrell. Without those guys, we don't make any NCAA tournaments. Can we even get a player like that to bring us to a tournament now under the current circumstances?

As a freshman recruit? Absolutely not.
Via portalpalooza? Maybe

[adam914]

He was top 50ish coming out of high school. I don't think we even attempt to recruit that high anymore. Lucky if we see a top 150.

How often were we pulling in top 50ish players before the rule changes anyway? Once or twice every 20 years or so? It's not like we were regularly racking up top 50 or even top 100 recruits year in and year out and suddenly that is going away.

If Archie can get the program back on track and make URI a place that is desirable for players to want to come play and stay then I am confident we'll be back to getting the same level of recruits we have in the past. Sure some will leave, but some will stay to. Everything is just harder right now because we have been irrelevant for years.

That's kind of my point. We'd get a recruit like that once every few years or once every decade or so and not coincidentally, those guys were on teams that got us to the NCAA tourney and won games. Sly Williams, Silk Owens, Lamar Odom, Jared Terrell. Without those guys, we don't make any NCAA tournaments. Can we even get a player like that to bring us to a tournament now under the current circumstances?

Yeah, I honestly think we can. Because even when we did get guys like that every once in a while in the past, it's not like the system was in our favor those years either. It has always taken the right coach at the right time to bring that kind of success to URI and to bring in those types of players. Recruiting has always been an uphill battle for us. And I don't think that has really changed much even though the method of recruiting has.

[rhodylaw]

Yeah - we can get a top talent player once in a while, it just feels like we lost a shot on possible one here with Ben not coming. I do expect him to go P5. Hopefully for his sake, wherever he goes he can adjust quickly and get minutes. A guy at his size is not going to get a lot of chances to grow on a p5 team, needs to establish his role early or is going to be recruited over. Fatts was good at Maryland, but he was given tons of minutes in the A10 first so by the time he got to MD he was ready.

[TrevlontRook3]

Fuck off. I'm done. College basketball sucks. See ya.

Hear hear

78 and ECR, I share your extreme frustration but, don’t let the fickle decision making of a teenager dictate your fandom in the program and sport. Hang in there.

It was fun following the recruiting process and watching players develop over 4 years. The news system is slow motion train wreck of disappointment

[Jdrums#3]

Hear hear

78 and ECR, I share your extreme frustration but, don’t let the fickle decision making of a teenager dictate your fandom in the program and sport. Hang in there.

It was fun following the recruiting process and watching players develop over 4 years. The news system is slow motion train wreck of disappointment

I enjoy following the prep recruiting process, too, and projecting how the players will do at Rhody. Unfortunately, I suspect there won’t be as many opportunities as in the past as the portal focus increases.

[NYGFan_Section208]

78 and ECR, I share your extreme frustration but, don’t let the fickle decision making of a teenager dictate your fandom in the program and sport. Hang in there.

It was fun following the recruiting process and watching players develop over 4 years. The news system is slow motion train wreck of disappointment

I enjoy following the prep recruiting process, too, and projecting how the players will do at Rhody. Unfortunately, I suspect there won’t be as many opportunities as in the past as the portal focus increases.

I think, if anything, the new system speeds up the train wreck evaluation process. You know, pretty quick if you suck, and if you do, get new players the next year. Reload, let's go.

[reef]

I'm as disappointed about Hammond leaving as anyone else, but it's not the end of the world and some of these responses are a little over the top. Players decommitting isn't really even anything new. When Jared Terrell asked out of his LOI from Oklahoma State and came to URI instead I don't recall anyone questioning his loyalty or lamenting about the downfall of society. Hammond blew up, our assistant coach left, it happens. At least we can try to fill the spot in the portal now.

This is how I’m feeling also , it’s a blow and I’m pissed but I’m moving on now

[RJRam]

IMHO He was an undersize point guard that still has a lot to prove. I saw the videos, and he did look good. But I'll take a mature full size point guard any day and move on.

[Shinze88]

IMHO He was an undersize point guard that still has a lot to prove. I saw the videos, and he did look good. But I'll take a mature full size point guard any day and move on.

I feel like most others on Hammond, from his press clippings and the few videos posted here he clearly has alot of talent and playing on such a high power team gave him a taste of what to expect at the D1 level. However, he signed with URI which tells me he probably didn't have a ton of better options, otherwise he'd be at a P5 school. It seems like he would have been a guy coming off the bench who could possibly start and run the show come A10 conference play. If he became the player we expected , he'd almost certainly be gone by his soph year anyway, so better to have a PG with proven ability at the D1 level and roll with him. In a way it helps temper expectations since you can't really get to emotionally invested in a college team each year since the roster will have high turnover with the new landscape of NIL/Portal. College sports suck right now, especially for a mid major school.

[Jdrums#3]

I agree, if Lawrence is a floor general type PG. However, some respected posters have indicated he may be more of a 2 guard (I don’t know myself as I haven’t done a deep dive on his game).

I favor floor general/coach on the floor type PG’s and I hope Lawrence fills that role for us.

[PeterRamTime]

I agree, if Lawrence is a floor general type PG. However, some respected posters have indicated he may be more of a 2 guard (I don’t know myself as I haven’t done a deep dive on his game).

I favor floor general/coach on the floor type PG’s and I hope Lawrence fills that role for us.

He's not a floor general/natural PG.

Just watched him against Purdue. I'd say he's a more athletic Luis.

Now the Purdue game wasn't his best game, so ima watch some other games and see how much he improved.

He still pushed the ball, ran the offense well. Didn't attack much in that game because well...Edey. However, he started at PG in a game where his team beat #1 Purdue! So there's that!

[Jdrums#3]

I agree, if Lawrence is a floor general type PG. However, some respected posters have indicated he may be more of a 2 guard (I don’t know myself as I haven’t done a deep dive on his game).

I favor floor general/coach on the floor type PG’s and I hope Lawrence fills that role for us.

He's not a floor general/natural PG.

Just watched him against Purdue. I'd say he's a more athletic Luis.

Now the Purdue game wasn't his best game, so ima watch some other games and see how much he improved.

He still pushed the ball, ran the offense well. Didn't attack much in that game because well...Edey. However, he started at PG in a game where his team beat #1 Purdue! So there's that!

Good stuff, PRT. Thanks!

Did you search YouTube to watch the games?

[PeterRamTime]

I agree, if Lawrence is a floor general type PG. However, some respected posters have indicated he may be more of a 2 guard (I don’t know myself as I haven’t done a deep dive on his game).

I favor floor general/coach on the floor type PG’s and I hope Lawrence fills that role for us.

He's not a floor general/natural PG.

Just watched him against Purdue. I'd say he's a more athletic Luis.

Now the Purdue game wasn't his best game, so ima watch some other games and see how much he improved.

He still pushed the ball, ran the offense well. Didn't attack much in that game because well...Edey. However, he started at PG in a game where his team beat #1 Purdue! So there's that!

Good stuff, PRT. Thanks!

Did you search YouTube to watch the games?

I did I did!

Sped through the NE Purdue game earlier. Just skipped to when JLaw was in and watched when he played.

There are a few other full games. Just search "Nebraska basketball full game" and they pop up.

[Ramfan22]

I swear if he goes to Providence…

[STC]

I was expecting Hammond's list to be a bit more power conference heavy than it is.

[RhowdyRam02]

I was expecting Hammond's list to be a bit more power conference heavy than it is.

I guess maybe they feel they have to, but why the hell would a school like Fairfield even try to recruit him if he decommitted from us?

[Rhody15]

Just so ironic to me Hammond decommitted (supposedly) because Kenny left, and now he’ll go to to a school where Kenny isn’t coaching at either lol

[adam914]

Please just anywhere but Providence or another A10 school so I can still root for him...

[steviep123]

I'll be pissed if he ends up at Pvd, or an A10 school. Anywhere else and I'll completely forget about him unless someone else posts about him on this board.