‘22 RI PG Sebastian Thomas (URI ---> Albany ---> URI)

[steviep123]

It is hard not to like Bassy’s attitude, desire to play for us -his hustle, his improvement, his ability to run through a wall for his team and the intangibles that he brings to the team. That being said, my question is where does he stand compared to the other A10 guards that we compete against. Here is my list by team of last season’s competition.

VCU- Max Shugla in portal Jason Nelson. In portal
Davidson. Grant Huffman- to Vanderbilt
Richmond- Jordan King
Duquesne-Jimmy Clark
Fordham- Charleton, Medor
St.Joseph. LynnGreer- in portal Xavier Brown
Dayton, Kobe Elvis in portal, Bennett

George Mason. Polite. To. Okojie. In portal
LaSalle, Brickus. In portal. Brantley in portal
UMass. Keon Thompson. In portal
St. Louis. Cian Medley. To Kent State
Bonnie’s. Mike Adam Woods
GW James Bishop
Loyola Brandon Norris

The reality is this is our competition. . I think Bassy is better than Fordham’s point guard position.

How does everyone rate Bassy compared to our competition.?

Well he did drop 19 on UMass.

I also wonder...if he took this big of a jump from sophomore to junior, does he have another jump in him?

Most importantly, it's about how he mixes with the other guys on the floor. We need him to run the offense and compliment the other pieces. We don't need him to he Tyson Wheeler. Just be solid because he has some dudes around him.

Thinking back, we might need him to be Carlos Easterling. Easterling was a steady point guard, pass first. With better scoring options with Carlos Coffeld, Abdul Fox, and Andre Samuel, Kyle Ivey-Jones, and Damont Collins down low, Easterling didn't need to be a 15-20 points per game scorer. Just distribute and play good defense. He could score if he had to. Can Thomas be some version of that? His defense would need to improve.

[Iggy1979]

Bassy left because he didn't think he'd see the court. No one questioned that logic. Now he's returning and could be a starter. I think that's an indictment of the staff's recruiting. They failed to land a better PG than an undersized local player!
I wish him all the luck but the recruiting of Archie/Kenny has been a nightmare.

[AndreBerryLover33]

I’m with you Iggy and I’m a big fan of Bassy. Very concerning in year 3 of AM.

[steviep123]

Bassy left because he didn't think he'd see the court. No one questioned that logic. Now he's returning and could be a starter. I think that's an indictment of the staff's recruiting. They failed to land a better PG than an undersized local player!
I wish him all the luck but the recruiting of Archie/Kenny has been a nightmare.

Makes me wonder if KJ leaving for GT is a blessing in disguise?

[Billyboy78]

Bassy left because he didn't think he'd see the court. No one questioned that logic. Now he's returning and could be a starter. I think that's an indictment of the staff's recruiting. They failed to land a better PG than an undersized local player!
I wish him all the luck but the recruiting of Archie/Kenny has been a nightmare.

But they did land one. Archie couldn't keep him.

[hrstrat57]

Bassy left because he didn't think he'd see the court. No one questioned that logic. Now he's returning and could be a starter. I think that's an indictment of the staff's recruiting. They failed to land a better PG than an undersized local player!
I wish him all the luck but the recruiting of Archie/Kenny has been a nightmare.

Spot on and I don’t hate Thomas either. I’m thinking he’s actually a decent fit. However, return on investment so far is not good. Kudos tho to Parlange for going all in.

It’s still early but it’s getting late fast.

[SGreenwell]

Some stats - some of Thomas' per-40 numbers.

2021-22, A-10 only: 17 games, 42.9% shooting, 30.8% from three, 7.8 FGA, 3.2 FTA, 3.8 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.6 steals, 2.4 turnovers, 8.6 points.
2022-23, A-10 only: 18 games, 34.5% shooting, 27.1% from three, 10.5 FGA, 2.8 FTA, 4.4 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.6 steals, 3.1 turnovers, 10.5 points.
2023-24, vs. only 1-200 ranked KenPom teams: 13 games, 41.15% shooting, 32.3% from three, 19.1 FGA, 3.9 FTA, 4.6 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.4 steals, 3.1 turnovers, 21.6 points.

Before I compiled those stats, I kind of thought that Thomas' improvement would mostly be a mirage playing against bad competition, but it does seem like he took a legitimate jump. Being "forced" to constantly look for his own shot probably helped get rid of some of the passivity in his game at URI that tanked his value. Is it enough to suggest he'll be an average starter at the A-10 level? I'm not sure - he put up those stats by having the green light on a bad Albany team at all times. But him back on the team is more of a "meh I guess it's OK" to me vs. "good christ what the fuck is going on here?" Since his other recruiting suitor was seemingly Fordham, I kind of doubt he got a big bag of money to come here either.

[NYGFan_Section208]

Some stats - some of Thomas' per-40 numbers.

2021-22, A-10 only: 17 games, 42.9% shooting, 30.8% from three, 7.8 FGA, 3.2 FTA, 3.8 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.6 steals, 2.4 turnovers, 8.6 points.
2022-23, A-10 only: 18 games, 34.5% shooting, 27.1% from three, 10.5 FGA, 2.8 FTA, 4.4 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.6 steals, 3.1 turnovers, 10.5 points.
2023-24, vs. only 1-200 ranked KenPom teams: 13 games, 41.15% shooting, 32.3% from three, 19.1 FGA, 3.9 FTA, 4.6 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.4 steals, 3.1 turnovers, 21.6 points.

Before I compiled those stats, I kind of thought that Thomas' improvement would mostly be a mirage playing against bad competition, but it does seem like he took a legitimate jump. Being "forced" to constantly look for his own shot probably helped get rid of some of the passivity in his game at URI that tanked his value. Is it enough to suggest he'll be an average starter at the A-10 level? I'm not sure - he put up those stats by having the green light on a bad Albany team at all times. But him back on the team is more of a "meh I guess it's OK" to me vs. "good christ what the fuck is going on here?" Since his other recruiting suitor was seemingly Fordham, I kind of doubt he got a big bag of money to come here either.

If pro hoops is not going to be your ultimate career (and I don't think it will be for Bassy)...a full ride plus ANY money seems like a good sack.

[Billyboy78]

First off,once again, I like Bassy, before I get bashed for this post. Archie telling Austin to give Bassy a call tells me one thing. We struck out on at least a few other PG targets. Who knows how many. That's anybody's guess. There is no way that Bassy was Archie's #1 choice to run this team next year. I wonder how many others turned us down?

[DeanDome88]

First off,once again, I like Bassy, before I get bashed for this post. Archie telling Austin to give Bassy a call tells me one thing. We struck out on at least a few other PG targets. Who knows how many. That's anybody's guess. There is no way that Bassy was Archie's #1 choice to run this team next year. I wonder how many others turned us down?

Unless I'm missing the plot, Hammond was Archie's choice to run the team then Hammond changed his mind.

[Billyboy78]

First off,once again, I like Bassy, before I get bashed for this post. Archie telling Austin to give Bassy a call tells me one thing. We struck out on at least a few other PG targets. Who knows how many. That's anybody's guess. There is no way that Bassy was Archie's #1 choice to run this team next year. I wonder how many others turned us down?

Unless I'm missing the plot, Hammond was Archie's choice to run the team then Hammond changed his mind.

That's my point. How many others were ahead of Bassy in our search for a PG that turned us down?

[Rhodymob05]

His highlights from last season are impressive. Albany or not.

[DeanDome88]

First off,once again, I like Bassy, before I get bashed for this post. Archie telling Austin to give Bassy a call tells me one thing. We struck out on at least a few other PG targets. Who knows how many. That's anybody's guess. There is no way that Bassy was Archie's #1 choice to run this team next year. I wonder how many others turned us down?

Unless I'm missing the plot, Hammond was Archie's choice to run the team then Hammond changed his mind.

That's my point. How many others were ahead of Bassy in our search for a PG that turned us down?

I suspect Archie thought that Bassy was an upgrade over Luis to the extent of not caring how he would react to bringing him in but I'm not Always Wright. Archie could not get Luis to play up tempo no matter how hard he tried. We'll never know how many players the coaching staff reached out to but a Seabass on the boat is worth 2 in the ocean.

[Iggy1979]

Plan A: Hammond
Plan B: Bassy
Doesn't make sense

[Billyboy78]

Plan A: Hammond
Plan B: Bassy
Doesn't make sense

That's what I'm saying. Bassy might have been plan G, or not even in the plan until we couldn't get plan b,c,d,e...

[DeanDome88]

Plan A: Hammond
Plan B: Bassy
Doesn't make sense

That's what I'm saying. Bassy might have been plan G, or not even in the plan until we couldn't get plan b,c,d,e...

I agree with the premise but how can Archie go after guys in the portal when Hammond was still committed here? His plan was up in flames and he grabbed a fire extinguisher. In theory he could have ran it back with Luis. I prefer the current scenario personally. He filled a hole in the roster and has more work to do. No replacement coach has been named and he has a lot of work to do. KJ situation left us in a bind. ETA: I preferred plan A but prefer the current situation to running it back with Luis as starting lead guard.

[Billyboy78]

Plan A: Hammond
Plan B: Bassy
Doesn't make sense

That's what I'm saying. Bassy might have been plan G, or not even in the plan until we couldn't get plan b,c,d,e...

I agree with the premise but how can Archie go after guys in the portal when Hammond was still committed here? His plan was up in flames and he grabbed a fire extinguisher. In theory he could have ran it back with Luis. I prefer the current scenario personally. He filled a hole in the roster and has more work to do. No replacement coach has been named and he has a lot of work to do. KJ situation left us in a bind. ETA: I preferred plan A but prefer the current situation to running it back with Luis as starting lead guard.

Which brings up my question once again. Why isn't this job posted? Doesn't it have to posted for 30 days (or some specific amount of time) before we can even hire someone?

[steveystuds06]

After multiple horrible years and losing our top recruit, if our plan G was landing the leading scorer of the American East, I think that's great. If he wasn't named Sebastian Thomas, I think we'd have a lot more excitement about landing a guard who dropped 30-40 in multiple games. But for some reason, we have a few people on here who refuse to believe that Bassy is a better player, even though the numbers and eye test show it.

Land a legit wing and big, and I think we have a very intriguing roster.

[Rhody15]

After multiple horrible years and losing our top recruit, if our plan G was landing the leading scorer of the American East, I think that's great. If he wasn't named Sebastian Thomas, I think we'd have a lot more excitement about landing a guard who dropped 30-40 in multiple games. But for some reason, we have a few people on here who refuse to believe that Bassy is a better player, even though the numbers and eye test show it.

Land a legit wing and big, and I think we have a very intriguing roster.

Definitely agree if he had a different name and same exact stats, we’d be more excited.

I just thought/wish we’d be getting better players in year 3 than Sebastian Thomas.

[Billyboy78]

After multiple horrible years and losing our top recruit, if our plan G was landing the leading scorer of the American East, I think that's great. If he wasn't named Sebastian Thomas, I think we'd have a lot more excitement about landing a guard who dropped 30-40 in multiple games. But for some reason, we have a few people on here who refuse to believe that Bassy is a better player, even though the numbers and eye test show it.

Land a legit wing and big, and I think we have a very intriguing roster.

What numbers? His FG% and 3 PT % are horrendous.

[McRam]

After multiple horrible years and losing our top recruit, if our plan G was landing the leading scorer of the American East, I think that's great. If he wasn't named Sebastian Thomas, I think we'd have a lot more excitement about landing a guard who dropped 30-40 in multiple games. But for some reason, we have a few people on here who refuse to believe that Bassy is a better player, even though the numbers and eye test show it.

Land a legit wing and big, and I think we have a very intriguing roster.

What numbers? His FG% and 3 PT % are horrendous.

Yes, not good, but aren’t they similar to Luis. (Bassy better on ft)

[Billyboy78]

After multiple horrible years and losing our top recruit, if our plan G was landing the leading scorer of the American East, I think that's great. If he wasn't named Sebastian Thomas, I think we'd have a lot more excitement about landing a guard who dropped 30-40 in multiple games. But for some reason, we have a few people on here who refuse to believe that Bassy is a better player, even though the numbers and eye test show it.

Land a legit wing and big, and I think we have a very intriguing roster.

What numbers? His FG% and 3 PT % are horrendous.

Yes, not good, but aren’t they similar to Luis. (Bassy better on ft)

Sure, but I thought Rhody Excellence was going to get us a higher quality of players? We need a high quality PG. Bassy is ok, but if he's our starting PG, we're not going to any better than middle of the pack in the A10 at best.

[ramster]

After multiple horrible years and losing our top recruit, if our plan G was landing the leading scorer of the American East, I think that's great. If he wasn't named Sebastian Thomas, I think we'd have a lot more excitement about landing a guard who dropped 30-40 in multiple games. But for some reason, we have a few people on here who refuse to believe that Bassy is a better player, even though the numbers and eye test show it.

Land a legit wing and big, and I think we have a very intriguing roster.

What numbers? His FG% and 3 PT % are horrendous.

Here are the numbers

I sorted 2FG%, 3FG% and FT% for all of our past starters and added Lawrence and Thomas.

Last year a glaring weaknesses was FT Shooting. Thomas 77.5% and Lawrence 77.1% easily surpass our players

2FG% has Thomas 50% and Lawrence 48.9% leading all URI guards with Fuchs and Brown ahead as big men often do lead in 2FG% with inside attempts taken

3FG% has Thomas 29.4% and Lawrence 35.6%. Kortright was 29.7%.

You could say Thomas played in a lesser conference but could also say he hit the opponents best defender and maybe even double teamed at times.

Been mentioned by some that Thomas can’t shoot and needs to pass primarily but the 77.5% hitting 141-182 FTs shows big improvement from his Freshman and Soph years.

Could be he will improve on the FT, 3FG and 2FG again this year following the trend.

Adding 2 guards capable of 77%+ Free Throw shooting is a good enhancement from last year’s guard combination. We did not have any good FT shooting

3FG% and FT% sorted high to low

2FG% Sorted high to low

[Jersey77]

After multiple horrible years and losing our top recruit, if our plan G was landing the leading scorer of the American East, I think that's great. If he wasn't named Sebastian Thomas, I think we'd have a lot more excitement about landing a guard who dropped 30-40 in multiple games. But for some reason, we have a few people on here who refuse to believe that Bassy is a better player, even though the numbers and eye test show it.

Land a legit wing and big, and I think we have a very intriguing roster.

Definitely agree if he had a different name and same exact stats, we’d be more excited.

I just thought/wish we’d be getting better players in year 3 than Sebastian Thomas.

Considering how we finished the last couple of years, not bad.
Thinking that we over-achieved in getting Lawrence.

[Jdrums#3]

After multiple horrible years and losing our top recruit, if our plan G was landing the leading scorer of the American East, I think that's great. If he wasn't named Sebastian Thomas, I think we'd have a lot more excitement about landing a guard who dropped 30-40 in multiple games. But for some reason, we have a few people on here who refuse to believe that Bassy is a better player, even though the numbers and eye test show it.

Land a legit wing and big, and I think we have a very intriguing roster.

What numbers? His FG% and 3 PT % are horrendous.

Here are the numbers

I sorted 2FG%, 3FG% and FT% for all of our past starters and added Lawrence and Thomas.

Last year a glaring weaknesses was FT Shooting. Thomas 77.5% and Lawrence 77.1% easily surpass our players

2FG% has Thomas 50% and Lawrence 48.9% leading all URI guards with Fuchs and Brown ahead as big men often do lead in 2FG% with inside attempts taken

3FG% has Thomas 29.4% and Lawrence 35.6%. Kortright was 29.7%.

You could say Thomas played in a lesser conference but could also say he hit the opponents best defender and maybe even double teamed at times.

Been mentioned by some that Thomas can’t shoot and needs to pass primarily but the 77.5% hitting 141-182 FTs shows big improvement from his Freshman and Soph years.

Could be he will improve on the FT, 3FG and 2FG again this year following the trend.

Adding 2 guards capable of 77%+ Free Throw shooting is a good enhancement from last year’s guard combination. We did not have any good FT shooting

3FG% and FT% sorted high to low

IMG_3232.png

2FG% Sorted high to low

IMG_3233.png

Good breakdown, Ramster. Thanks.

[Billyboy78]

After multiple horrible years and losing our top recruit, if our plan G was landing the leading scorer of the American East, I think that's great. If he wasn't named Sebastian Thomas, I think we'd have a lot more excitement about landing a guard who dropped 30-40 in multiple games. But for some reason, we have a few people on here who refuse to believe that Bassy is a better player, even though the numbers and eye test show it.

Land a legit wing and big, and I think we have a very intriguing roster.

What numbers? His FG% and 3 PT % are horrendous.

Here are the numbers

I sorted 2FG%, 3FG% and FT% for all of our past starters and added Lawrence and Thomas.

Last year a glaring weaknesses was FT Shooting. Thomas 77.5% and Lawrence 77.1% easily surpass our players

2FG% has Thomas 50% and Lawrence 48.9% leading all URI guards with Fuchs and Brown ahead as big men often do lead in 2FG% with inside attempts taken

3FG% has Thomas 29.4% and Lawrence 35.6%. Kortright was 29.7%.

You could say Thomas played in a lesser conference but could also say he hit the opponents best defender and maybe even double teamed at times.

Been mentioned by some that Thomas can’t shoot and needs to pass primarily but the 77.5% hitting 141-182 FTs shows big improvement from his Freshman and Soph years.

Could be he will improve on the FT, 3FG and 2FG again this year following the trend.

Adding 2 guards capable of 77%+ Free Throw shooting is a good enhancement from last year’s guard combination. We did not have any good FT shooting

3FG% and FT% sorted high to low

IMG_3232.png

2FG% Sorted high to low

IMG_3233.png

Bassy got double teamed? Really?

[PeterRamTime]

After multiple horrible years and losing our top recruit, if our plan G was landing the leading scorer of the American East, I think that's great. If he wasn't named Sebastian Thomas, I think we'd have a lot more excitement about landing a guard who dropped 30-40 in multiple games. But for some reason, we have a few people on here who refuse to believe that Bassy is a better player, even though the numbers and eye test show it.

Land a legit wing and big, and I think we have a very intriguing roster.

Definitely agree if he had a different name and same exact stats, we’d be more excited.

I just thought/wish we’d be getting better players in year 3 than Sebastian Thomas.

Considering how we finished the last couple of years, not bad.
Thinking that we over-achieved in getting Lawrence.

Diggy Coit would have been great, but getting the next rung down is fine, especially if you get Lawrence.

[steveystuds06]

After multiple horrible years and losing our top recruit, if our plan G was landing the leading scorer of the American East, I think that's great. If he wasn't named Sebastian Thomas, I think we'd have a lot more excitement about landing a guard who dropped 30-40 in multiple games. But for some reason, we have a few people on here who refuse to believe that Bassy is a better player, even though the numbers and eye test show it.

Land a legit wing and big, and I think we have a very intriguing roster.

What numbers? His FG% and 3 PT % are horrendous.

How did you think Jaden House was last year? I thought he was one of our best players. Jaden House shot 27% from 3 at high point. He shot 64% from the FT line. 43% FG. When he came here, he took fewer shots and had more help than he did at a high point. His shooting numbers improved.

What numbers show that Bassy is a better player? Seriously? Ramster already provided some, but I'll do it too.

Bassy sophomore year.
PTS 5.9
FG% 34%
2P % 40%
3pt 25% (2.5 attempts a game)
FT% - 64% (1.7 attempts)

Bassy Junior year
PTS 19.6 (led the conference)
FG% 43%
2p % 50%
3pt .294% (5.2 attempts a game)
FT % 77% (5.7 attempts)

Those numbers show he's a better player...

If you don't understand that teams scouted to stop Bassy and that he took some tough shots every game, I don't know what to tell you. Bassy shot 25% from 3 sophomore years and only took 2.5 3s a game. To go up to close to 30% at over 5 attempts a game makes me think he can be closer to 32-33% like House was for us this year. I don't think he's a great shooter by any means, but he's become a much better scorer at this level, and he will prove that this season.

Man, some of you refuse to give this kid any credit. I hope he doesn't read this board with the way some of you bash this local kid who came back to help us turn this around.

[NYGFan_Section208]

After multiple horrible years and losing our top recruit, if our plan G was landing the leading scorer of the American East, I think that's great. If he wasn't named Sebastian Thomas, I think we'd have a lot more excitement about landing a guard who dropped 30-40 in multiple games. But for some reason, we have a few people on here who refuse to believe that Bassy is a better player, even though the numbers and eye test show it.

Land a legit wing and big, and I think we have a very intriguing roster.

What numbers? His FG% and 3 PT % are horrendous.

How did you think Jaden House was last year? I thought he was one of our best players. Jaden House shot 27% from 3 at high point. He shot 64% from the FT line. 43% FG. When he came here, he took fewer shots and had more help than he did at a high point. His shooting numbers improved.

What numbers show that Bassy is a better player? Seriously? Ramster already provided some, but I'll do it too.

Bassy sophomore year.
PTS 5.9
FG% 34%
2P % 40%
3pt 25% (2.5 attempts a game)
FT% - 64% (1.7 attempts)

Bassy Junior year
PTS 19.6 (led the conference)
FG% 43%
2p % 50%
3pt .294% (5.2 attempts a game)
FT % 77% (5.7 attempts)

Those numbers show he's a better player...

If you don't understand that teams scouted to stop Bassy and that he took some tough shots every game, I don't know what to tell you. Bassy shot 25% from 3 sophomore years and only took 2.5 3s a game. To go up to close to 30% at over 5 attempts a game makes me think he can be closer to 32-33% like House was for us this year. I don't think he's a great shooter by any means, but he's become a much better scorer at this level, and he will prove that this season.

Man, some of you refuse to give this kid any credit. I hope he doesn't read this board with the way some of you bash this local kid who came back to help us turn this around.

I don't know him personally, but my guess is that this board would make him even more motivated than ever

[steveystuds06]

After multiple horrible years and losing our top recruit, if our plan G was landing the leading scorer of the American East, I think that's great. If he wasn't named Sebastian Thomas, I think we'd have a lot more excitement about landing a guard who dropped 30-40 in multiple games. But for some reason, we have a few people on here who refuse to believe that Bassy is a better player, even though the numbers and eye test show it.

Land a legit wing and big, and I think we have a very intriguing roster.

Definitely agree if he had a different name and same exact stats, we’d be more excited.

I just thought/wish we’d be getting better players in year 3 than Sebastian Thomas.

Ya I think we all expected to be better. Myself included. I don’t think Bassy will be a gamechanger. I think he’ll be a slightly better Luis.

[steveystuds06]

Definitely agree if he had a different name and same exact stats, we’d be more excited.

I just thought/wish we’d be getting better players in year 3 than Sebastian Thomas.

Considering how we finished the last couple of years, not bad.
Thinking that we over-achieved in getting Lawrence.

Diggy Coit would have been great, but getting the next rung down is fine, especially if you get Lawrence.

Actually, Diggy Coit had a worse FG% than Bassy at 40%. So that must mean he's horrendous, right? By the way, he's not. Coit is a stud. I'd take him in a heartbeat.

[ramster]

After multiple horrible years and losing our top recruit, if our plan G was landing the leading scorer of the American East, I think that's great. If he wasn't named Sebastian Thomas, I think we'd have a lot more excitement about landing a guard who dropped 30-40 in multiple games. But for some reason, we have a few people on here who refuse to believe that Bassy is a better player, even though the numbers and eye test show it.

Land a legit wing and big, and I think we have a very intriguing roster.

Definitely agree if he had a different name and same exact stats, we’d be more excited.

I just thought/wish we’d be getting better players in year 3 than Sebastian Thomas.

Ya I think we all expected to be better. Myself included. I don’t think Bassy will be a gamechanger. I think he’ll be a slightly better Luis.

We actually did get a better PG player in year 3 in Ben Hammond. Signed him after his Junior year. Kept him a year. He blew up on the upside and now testing the P5 waters. Can’t blame him.

Anthony Harris PG Year 2 but didn’t qualify.

I think Thomas has more upside in him, particularly 3P shooting as he improved over FR and SOPH years and his FT% took a big jump going 141-182= 77.5% and his 2FG 168-336= 50% both lead all URI Guards including new add Lawrence.

Consider Kortright came from low mid major Quinnipiac as a 6th man and improved his stats at higher level URI. Thomas with an added year could improve also at URI following his trajectory over the past 3 years.

Remember Thomas came on board expected to redshirt his 1st year at URI. His play convinced Cox and staff to play Thomas that 1st year

2nd year Miller played Thomas as starting PG as a SOPH

3rd year Thomas goes to Albany.

4th year Thomas ???? Comes in with his shoulder chip? Punching himself to continue to improve and prove his doubters wrong?

A nice native Rhode Islander story still being written.

I watched several Albany games on ESPN+ this year and was impressed with Thomas.

Sure there were some tough shooting games.

2 games that stick out late in the season:

Feb 24 @Umass Lowell.
40 min. 15-28 FG, 4-9 3FG, 8-8 FT for 42 points

Mar 9 @ Vermont in Tournament
32 min. 11-16 FG, 4-6 3P, 5-5 FT for 31 points


Albany beat UNH twice, URI lost to UNH at home.

[ramster]

What numbers? His FG% and 3 PT % are horrendous.

How did you think Jaden House was last year? I thought he was one of our best players. Jaden House shot 27% from 3 at high point. He shot 64% from the FT line. 43% FG. When he came here, he took fewer shots and had more help than he did at a high point. His shooting numbers improved.

What numbers show that Bassy is a better player? Seriously? Ramster already provided some, but I'll do it too.

Bassy sophomore year.
PTS 5.9
FG% 34%
2P % 40%
3pt 25% (2.5 attempts a game)
FT% - 64% (1.7 attempts)

Bassy Junior year
PTS 19.6 (led the conference)
FG% 43%
2p % 50%
3pt .294% (5.2 attempts a game)
FT % 77% (5.7 attempts)

Those numbers show he's a better player...

If you don't understand that teams scouted to stop Bassy and that he took some tough shots every game, I don't know what to tell you. Bassy shot 25% from 3 sophomore years and only took 2.5 3s a game. To go up to close to 30% at over 5 attempts a game makes me think he can be closer to 32-33% like House was for us this year. I don't think he's a great shooter by any means, but he's become a much better scorer at this level, and he will prove that this season.

Man, some of you refuse to give this kid any credit. I hope he doesn't read this board with the way some of you bash this local kid who came back to help us turn this around.

I don't know him personally, but my guess is that this board would make him even more motivated than ever

Miller should make him read it to really build that chip on his shoulder!!

[hrstrat57]

Said it at the time and I’ll say it again. Anyone who played or coached basketball at any level knows a 40 spot is a eye opener. It’s a real big deal in D1 hoops. The 31 against uVM is equally impressive.

I’m looking forward to seeing it play out!

Hoping the Bassy bashers here eat yummy crow. At the very least our entertainment value is elevated dramatically.

Go Rhody

[ramster]

What numbers? His FG% and 3 PT % are horrendous.

Here are the numbers

I sorted 2FG%, 3FG% and FT% for all of our past starters and added Lawrence and Thomas.

Last year a glaring weaknesses was FT Shooting. Thomas 77.5% and Lawrence 77.1% easily surpass our players

2FG% has Thomas 50% and Lawrence 48.9% leading all URI guards with Fuchs and Brown ahead as big men often do lead in 2FG% with inside attempts taken

3FG% has Thomas 29.4% and Lawrence 35.6%. Kortright was 29.7%.

You could say Thomas played in a lesser conference but could also say he hit the opponents best defender and maybe even double teamed at times.

Been mentioned by some that Thomas can’t shoot and needs to pass primarily but the 77.5% hitting 141-182 FTs shows big improvement from his Freshman and Soph years.

Could be he will improve on the FT, 3FG and 2FG again this year following the trend.

Adding 2 guards capable of 77%+ Free Throw shooting is a good enhancement from last year’s guard combination. We did not have any good FT shooting

3FG% and FT% sorted high to low

IMG_3232.png

2FG% Sorted high to low

IMG_3233.png

Bassy got double teamed? Really?

Yes really. I watched several of Thomas’ games and definitely the opposing HC put his best defensive guard on Thomas plus players helped out when Thomas drove to the hoop.
Just in these 2 games I watched the UMASS Lowell and Vermont HC’s struggle with stopping Thomas.

Feb 24 @Umass Lowell.
40 min. 15-28 FG, 4-9 3FG, 8-8 FT for 42 points

Mar 9 @ Vermont in Tournament
32 min. 11-16 FG, 4-6 3P, 5-5 FT for 31 points


As for Thomas having horrendous shooting stats……. comparing last year stats to URI Guards plus new addition Lawrence sorted high to low plus comparing Thomas to Kortright who he will be most likely replacing at PG but Portal is still open:

2FG%
Thomas 168-336= 50%
Lawrence 45-92= 48.9%
Montgomery 107-249= 43.0%
House 158-350= 45.1%
Kortright 110-252= 43.7%
Green 56-123= 45.5%

FT%
Thomas 141-182= 77.5%
Lawrence 37-48= 77.1%
Montgomery 56-80= 70.0%
House 93-138= 67.4%
Kortright 74-111= 66.7%
Green 60-91= 65.9%

3FG%
Green 33-76= 43.4%
Lawrence 36-101= 35.6%
House 42-127= 33.1%
Montgomery 28-89= 31.5%
Kortright 27-91= 29.7%
Thomas 50-170= 29.4%

• 2FG Thomas beats Kortright 50% to 43.7%

• FT Thomas beats Kortright 77.5% to 66.7%

• 3FG Kortright beats Thomas 29.7% to 29.4%

[RhowdyRam02]

After multiple horrible years and losing our top recruit, if our plan G was landing the leading scorer of the American East, I think that's great. If he wasn't named Sebastian Thomas, I think we'd have a lot more excitement about landing a guard who dropped 30-40 in multiple games. But for some reason, we have a few people on here who refuse to believe that Bassy is a better player, even though the numbers and eye test show it.

Land a legit wing and big, and I think we have a very intriguing roster.

Because we know the guy can't play in the A10, we have two years of proof

[RhowdyRam02]

After multiple horrible years and losing our top recruit, if our plan G was landing the leading scorer of the American East, I think that's great. If he wasn't named Sebastian Thomas, I think we'd have a lot more excitement about landing a guard who dropped 30-40 in multiple games. But for some reason, we have a few people on here who refuse to believe that Bassy is a better player, even though the numbers and eye test show it.

Land a legit wing and big, and I think we have a very intriguing roster.

What numbers? His FG% and 3 PT % are horrendous.

And his defensive numbers. And his assist to turnover ratio was worse than the guy he ran off. Other than that though, WhAt A cOuP!!!!!

[ramster]

After multiple horrible years and losing our top recruit, if our plan G was landing the leading scorer of the American East, I think that's great. If he wasn't named Sebastian Thomas, I think we'd have a lot more excitement about landing a guard who dropped 30-40 in multiple games. But for some reason, we have a few people on here who refuse to believe that Bassy is a better player, even though the numbers and eye test show it.

Land a legit wing and big, and I think we have a very intriguing roster.

Because we know the guy can't play in the A10, we have two years of proof

So why do you think Miller added him back?

[RhowdyRam02]

What numbers? His FG% and 3 PT % are horrendous.

Here are the numbers

I sorted 2FG%, 3FG% and FT% for all of our past starters and added Lawrence and Thomas.

Last year a glaring weaknesses was FT Shooting. Thomas 77.5% and Lawrence 77.1% easily surpass our players

2FG% has Thomas 50% and Lawrence 48.9% leading all URI guards with Fuchs and Brown ahead as big men often do lead in 2FG% with inside attempts taken

3FG% has Thomas 29.4% and Lawrence 35.6%. Kortright was 29.7%.

You could say Thomas played in a lesser conference but could also say he hit the opponents best defender and maybe even double teamed at times.

Been mentioned by some that Thomas can’t shoot and needs to pass primarily but the 77.5% hitting 141-182 FTs shows big improvement from his Freshman and Soph years.

Could be he will improve on the FT, 3FG and 2FG again this year following the trend.

Adding 2 guards capable of 77%+ Free Throw shooting is a good enhancement from last year’s guard combination. We did not have any good FT shooting

3FG% and FT% sorted high to low

IMG_3232.png

2FG% Sorted high to low

IMG_3233.png

Bassy got double teamed? Really?

No, but you can say it

[ramster]

Here are the numbers

I sorted 2FG%, 3FG% and FT% for all of our past starters and added Lawrence and Thomas.

Last year a glaring weaknesses was FT Shooting. Thomas 77.5% and Lawrence 77.1% easily surpass our players

2FG% has Thomas 50% and Lawrence 48.9% leading all URI guards with Fuchs and Brown ahead as big men often do lead in 2FG% with inside attempts taken

3FG% has Thomas 29.4% and Lawrence 35.6%. Kortright was 29.7%.

You could say Thomas played in a lesser conference but could also say he hit the opponents best defender and maybe even double teamed at times.

Been mentioned by some that Thomas can’t shoot and needs to pass primarily but the 77.5% hitting 141-182 FTs shows big improvement from his Freshman and Soph years.

Could be he will improve on the FT, 3FG and 2FG again this year following the trend.

Adding 2 guards capable of 77%+ Free Throw shooting is a good enhancement from last year’s guard combination. We did not have any good FT shooting

3FG% and FT% sorted high to low

IMG_3232.png

2FG% Sorted high to low

IMG_3233.png

Bassy got double teamed? Really?

No, but you can say it

“You could say Thomas played in a lesser conference but could also say he hit the opponents best defender and maybe even double teamed at times. ”

And you can take what I said and twist it to meet your agenda too

I said “maybe even double teamed at times”.

So if you are going to accuse me of just saying something and insinuating I’m just making it up and lying at least include the word “maybe”.

And include that I watched the games and watched HC’s put additional pressure in the opposing team’s best player.

[RhowdyRam02]

After multiple horrible years and losing our top recruit, if our plan G was landing the leading scorer of the American East, I think that's great. If he wasn't named Sebastian Thomas, I think we'd have a lot more excitement about landing a guard who dropped 30-40 in multiple games. But for some reason, we have a few people on here who refuse to believe that Bassy is a better player, even though the numbers and eye test show it.

Land a legit wing and big, and I think we have a very intriguing roster.

What numbers? His FG% and 3 PT % are horrendous.

How did you think Jaden House was last year? I thought he was one of our best players. Jaden House shot 27% from 3 at high point. He shot 64% from the FT line. 43% FG. When he came here, he took fewer shots and had more help than he did at a high point. His shooting numbers improved.

What numbers show that Bassy is a better player? Seriously? Ramster already provided some, but I'll do it too.

Bassy sophomore year.
PTS 5.9
FG% 34%
2P % 40%
3pt 25% (2.5 attempts a game)
FT% - 64% (1.7 attempts)

Bassy Junior year
PTS 19.6 (led the conference)
FG% 43%
2p % 50%
3pt .294% (5.2 attempts a game)
FT % 77% (5.7 attempts)

Those numbers show he's a better player...

If you don't understand that teams scouted to stop Bassy and that he took some tough shots every game, I don't know what to tell you. Bassy shot 25% from 3 sophomore years and only took 2.5 3s a game. To go up to close to 30% at over 5 attempts a game makes me think he can be closer to 32-33% like House was for us this year. I don't think he's a great shooter by any means, but he's become a much better scorer at this level, and he will prove that this season.

Man, some of you refuse to give this kid any credit. I hope he doesn't read this board with the way some of you bash this local kid who came back to help us turn this around.

But he didn't get better at THIS level at all, did he? He got better at a much lower level. So there's a better chance that the jump you said he made was due to the competition he played and won't translate to this level than any real improvement between sophomore and junior seasons. I mean, why didn't he make a similar jump between his freshmen and sophomore years?

[RhowdyRam02]

After multiple horrible years and losing our top recruit, if our plan G was landing the leading scorer of the American East, I think that's great. If he wasn't named Sebastian Thomas, I think we'd have a lot more excitement about landing a guard who dropped 30-40 in multiple games. But for some reason, we have a few people on here who refuse to believe that Bassy is a better player, even though the numbers and eye test show it.

Land a legit wing and big, and I think we have a very intriguing roster.

Because we know the guy can't play in the A10, we have two years of proof

So why do you think Miller added him back?

Because he made a horrendous decision and he couldn't land better options

[ramster]

Because we know the guy can't play in the A10, we have two years of proof

So why do you think Miller added him back?

Because he made a horrendous decision and he couldn't land better options

Why can’t he land better options? Plenty of talent and time remaining.

What would have have preferred he do?
Keep Kortright at PG?
Give Always right the PG keys?
Call Anthony Harris?
Keep recruiting and not being Thomas back?

[RhowdyRam02]

I would have kept recruiting and not brought Thomas back and gotten a better option at PG. We already had a better option in the program than Thomas in Kortright for PG, but I still would have looked to improve that position. Instead we made it worse

[steveystuds06]

What numbers? His FG% and 3 PT % are horrendous.

How did you think Jaden House was last year? I thought he was one of our best players. Jaden House shot 27% from 3 at high point. He shot 64% from the FT line. 43% FG. When he came here, he took fewer shots and had more help than he did at a high point. His shooting numbers improved.

What numbers show that Bassy is a better player? Seriously? Ramster already provided some, but I'll do it too.

Bassy sophomore year.
PTS 5.9
FG% 34%
2P % 40%
3pt 25% (2.5 attempts a game)
FT% - 64% (1.7 attempts)

Bassy Junior year
PTS 19.6 (led the conference)
FG% 43%
2p % 50%
3pt .294% (5.2 attempts a game)
FT % 77% (5.7 attempts)

Those numbers show he's a better player...

If you don't understand that teams scouted to stop Bassy and that he took some tough shots every game, I don't know what to tell you. Bassy shot 25% from 3 sophomore years and only took 2.5 3s a game. To go up to close to 30% at over 5 attempts a game makes me think he can be closer to 32-33% like House was for us this year. I don't think he's a great shooter by any means, but he's become a much better scorer at this level, and he will prove that this season.

Man, some of you refuse to give this kid any credit. I hope he doesn't read this board with the way some of you bash this local kid who came back to help us turn this around.

But he didn't get better at THIS level at all, did he? He got better at a much lower level. So there's a better chance that the jump you said he made was due to the competition he played and won't translate to this level than any real improvement between sophomore and junior seasons. I mean, why didn't he make a similar jump between his freshmen and sophomore years?

Why didn’t ish improve his freshman and sophomore year? Why did he make his jump Junior year? Why wasn’t Andre Berry playable until his senior year? There are hundreds if not thousands of examples of players that took a real step forward in their Junior year. You honestly don’t understand that? Cmon…

[Billyboy78]

Even though I start almost every post about Bassy by saying I like Bassy, I get accused of bashing him because I don't think he gets is anywhere near where we want to be. So where do we finish with him as our PG? Somewhere between 8-12? We are happy about that in year 3 of Archie? I've heard things like the practice facility is a 'game changer' and that Rhody Excellence will get us much better recruits and get us back in contention for an A10 title. What happened? When does that start to happen? We're nowhere near that. So, we improve a little this year from last and now Bassy, House and Green at minimum are gone for year 4 and we start all over again. How is this good? Are we really setting the bar that low now?

[PeterRamTime]

After multiple horrible years and losing our top recruit, if our plan G was landing the leading scorer of the American East, I think that's great. If he wasn't named Sebastian Thomas, I think we'd have a lot more excitement about landing a guard who dropped 30-40 in multiple games. But for some reason, we have a few people on here who refuse to believe that Bassy is a better player, even though the numbers and eye test show it.

Land a legit wing and big, and I think we have a very intriguing roster.

What numbers? His FG% and 3 PT % are horrendous.

And his defensive numbers. And his assist to turnover ratio was worse than the guy he ran off. Other than that though, WhAt A cOuP!!!!!

Your opinion is useless because you haven't watched a second of him at Albany and you refuse to acknowledge players get better. At this point you're just wanting to be right

It's just completely unreasonable to think he hasn't improved A LOT, when there is video evidence and statistical evidence. You're just peddling a narrative.

[PeterRamTime]

Even though I start almost every post about Bassy by saying I like Bassy, I get accused of bashing him because I don't think he gets is anywhere near where we want to be. So where do we finish with him as our PG? Somewhere between 8-12? We are happy about that in year 3 of Archie? I've heard things like the practice facility is a 'game changer' and that Rhody Excellence will get us much better recruits and get us back in contention for an A10 title. What happened? When does that start to happen? We're nowhere near that. So, we improve a little this year from last and now Bassy, House and Green at minimum are gone for year 4 and we start all over again. How is this good? Are we really setting the bar that low now?

8-12?

Have you watched a second of him at Albany?

Do you know who Jamarques Lawrence is?

It wouldn't be "Bassy" getting us where we want us to go it would be the "Team"

I'm guessing if we land a wing player and a big it won't matter how good they are because no one will watch replays of their games or highlights and they'll just continue with their doom and gloom bs.

[Billyboy78]

Even though I start almost every post about Bassy by saying I like Bassy, I get accused of bashing him because I don't think he gets is anywhere near where we want to be. So where do we finish with him as our PG? Somewhere between 8-12? We are happy about that in year 3 of Archie? I've heard things like the practice facility is a 'game changer' and that Rhody Excellence will get us much better recruits and get us back in contention for an A10 title. What happened? When does that start to happen? We're nowhere near that. So, we improve a little this year from last and now Bassy, House and Green at minimum are gone for year 4 and we start all over again. How is this good? Are we really setting the bar that low now?

8-12?

Have you watched a second of him at Albany?

Do you know who Jamarques Lawrence is?

It wouldn't be "Bassy" getting us where we want us to go it would be the "Team"

I'm guessing if we land a wing player and a big it won't matter how good they are because no one will watch replays of their games or highlights and they'll just continue with their doom and gloom bs.

I was being kind at 8-12. Our big problem last year was defense. How has that improved? We blocked very few shots last year. Only 3 guys had double figures in blocks for the entire season. All 3 of them are gone. Of our returning players, the leaders from last year are tied......with 8! Fuchs and House. Just awful. We have zero defensive presence in the paint. We actually had one player last year who played hard on defense and was often assigned the other team's best player. He's gone too. So, if you look at our roster now and compare it to last year's, looking at it from what was our biggest problem, we might actually be worse.We'll see what they add at the 4 and 5 positions. They'd better be good. Yes, I know who Jamarques Lawrence is. Is his addition going to drastically change what we were last year, which was one of the worst defenses in the country?

[PeterRamTime]

Even though I start almost every post about Bassy by saying I like Bassy, I get accused of bashing him because I don't think he gets is anywhere near where we want to be. So where do we finish with him as our PG? Somewhere between 8-12? We are happy about that in year 3 of Archie? I've heard things like the practice facility is a 'game changer' and that Rhody Excellence will get us much better recruits and get us back in contention for an A10 title. What happened? When does that start to happen? We're nowhere near that. So, we improve a little this year from last and now Bassy, House and Green at minimum are gone for year 4 and we start all over again. How is this good? Are we really setting the bar that low now?

8-12?

Have you watched a second of him at Albany?

Do you know who Jamarques Lawrence is?

It wouldn't be "Bassy" getting us where we want us to go it would be the "Team"

I'm guessing if we land a wing player and a big it won't matter how good they are because no one will watch replays of their games or highlights and they'll just continue with their doom and gloom bs.

I was being kind at 8-12. Our big problem last year was defense. How has that improved? We blocked very few shots last year. Only 3 guys had double figures in blocks for the entire season. All 3 of them are gone. Of our returning players, the leaders from last year are tied......with 8! Fuchs and House. Just awful. We have zero defensive presence in the paint. We actually had one player last year who played hard on defense and was often assigned the other team's best player. He's gone too. So, if you look at our roster now and compare it to last year's, looking at it from what was our biggest problem, we might actually be worse.We'll see what they add at the 4 and 5 positions. They'd better be good. Yes, I know who Jamarques Lawrence is. Is his addition going to drastically change what we were last year, which was one of the worst defenses in the country?

Well obviously we would struggle if we didn't go and get other bigs to help Fuchs.

I would for sure join the doom and gloom crew if we don't add another big! I think Bassy, Lawrence, a Sr House, Sr Green and Soph Fuchs is easily a better starting 5.

But yeah, if they don't get the big transfers right we will once again struggle inside. Fuchs is good, but I have doubts about his defensive abilities. It was very easy for other bigs to get shots over him and Tyson.

Hoping for a 6'10+ big guy and a wing gut who can play D and shoot!