I'm Starting to Think This Isn't a "lost" season...

Blue Man · Unread post by **Blue Man** » 11 years ago

Hear me out:

The OOC doesn't matter for us this year. That's the lost season. OOC only matters when you're looking for a post-season at-large bid. We're not. Next year yes, this year no.

But at 0-4, we've seen a team that has improved every game. Players who have gotten better every game. Behavior standards established and followed. This is a young team, making young mistakes and a coach who is apparently letting them make these mistakes so he can teach them how to correct them.

If there was ever a time to let this team play and learn from mistakes, it's now. They're learning that they're competitive against some of the best teams in the country.

How many 3 point shots have you seen our #4 or #5 take this year? None. They're taking good shots. They're learning. They're being coached.

Look at it like this...we're playing such intense defense that our guys are wearing down. Against Norfolk State they wore down at the half. VT they just shot terribly, but those nights happen, especially with young teams. Ohio State (down 1 player) they wore down with about 5 mins to go. Seton Hall (down 2 players) they wore down with about 2-3 mins to go. Like the raptors in Jurassic Park they're learning, they're adjusting to the pace of some really good NCAA teams.

Our OOC schedule is tougher or at least on par than our A-10 schedule. These guys are going to be battle tested and gelled by the time the A-10 schedule hits. They're going to be learning this whole time. This is a team that is looking like they'll not only make it to Brooklyn, but be competitive.

As bad as last night hurt to lose, consider this ram fan PUMPED.

Martyf250 · Unread post by **Martyf250** » 11 years ago

I totally agree. I don't care if they lose every game. The improvement from game to game has been huge. The intensity on defense is unlike anything we've seen in a few years at least. They are definitely lacking depth which really hurts. The offense is starting to gel. We run plays and set screens instead of stand around for 34 seconds and then heave up some terrible shot. Hare is young and making freshman mistakes....expected and will improve. I have the same feeling that by A10 play we will be winning these close games. I love that at timeouts everyone is up and enthusiastic. the couch is into the game and making adjustments. everything will start falling into place.

spookydog · Unread post by **spookydog** » 11 years ago

Blue Man wrote:How many 3 point shots have you seen our #4 or #5 take this year? None.

I understand what you are saying, but in all fairness though, if Brooks/Hare/Aaman are shooting 3's I'm storming the court & tackling them immediately.

RF1 · Unread post by **RF1** » 11 years ago

The closest this team gets to Brooklyn is when it visits the Bronx to play Fordham in a regular season league game.

Gonebarongone · Unread post by **Gonebarongone** » 11 years ago

This is going to happen a lot this year where they keep it close for 30-35 minutes and then fade at the end. I hope the brothers Hurley learned some lessons from the trip, as I think they will. They were severely outcoached in the waning minutes of the game. But, there is a learning curve for them now, too. On top of that, it is tough for any backcourt to play that many minutes and have gas in the tank at the 4 minute mark.

Wins and losses really don't bother me. I would be OK with 4-26 if I saw improvement each game.

Blue Man · Unread post by **Blue Man** » 11 years ago

Gonebarongone wrote:This is going to happen a lot this year where they keep it close for 30-35 minutes and then fade at the end. I hope the brothers Hurley learned some lessons from the trip, as I think they will. They were severely outcoached in the waning minutes of the game. But, there is a learning curve for them now, too. On top of that, it is tough for any backcourt to play that many minutes and have gas in the tank at the 4 minute mark.

Wins and losses really don't bother me. I would be OK with 4-26 if I saw improvement each game.

I agree with that, (with the exception of being outcoached) but keep in mind we were down 2 guards (or at least one guard and one guy that can play as a f/g). Another 2 bodies and they don't burn out last night.

bigappleram · Unread post by **bigappleram** » 11 years ago

Not sure how you deduce that they were severely outcoached....we dictated the tempo of the game to shorten the game given our lack of depth and lack of play makers. When you are that undermanned and manage to stay in both games I think a lot of it had to do with coaching.

Gonebarongone · Unread post by **Gonebarongone** » 11 years ago

bigappleram wrote:Not sure how you deduce that they were severely outcoached....we dictated the tempo of the game to shorten the game given our lack of depth and lack of play makers. When you are that undermanned and manage to stay in both games I think a lot of it had to do with coaching.

That's fair. I think the game plan was OK but the last four minutes were bad. I'm not sure how many TOs that were left at the buzzer but I know that URI was sitting on three left for a long time. A college coach can call a TO when his team is in possession of the ball. When things are clearly getting bad in an offensive set, call a TO and set up a play. You see good coaches do this all the time. They have a sense that a car crash is coming. Three shot clock issues in a close end game situation is near malpractice. Let's face it, he was really bailed out on one of them on a heave four point play. Like I said, learning curve for everyone, including the coaches. But, that was an eminently winnable game.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 11 years ago

Severely outcoached?
Amazingly ridiculous comment.
We had no business even being in either game, and were until rthe
end. We played the second game without out leading scorer, on an already thin roster.
As Tom Penders said, "Hurley coached his ass off".
I'll take Tom Penders' opinion over anyone else on this board.

section(105) · Unread post by **section(105)** » 11 years ago

If months ago, we said we would be 0-4, and the players and coaches would have demonstrated a complete break from the past 2-3 years, I would have signed up for that. Creep before walk.

Gonebarongone · Unread post by **Gonebarongone** » 11 years ago

rodfromcranston wrote:Severely outcoached?
Amazingly ridiculous comment.
We had no business even being in either game, and were until rthe
end. We played the second game without out leading scorer, on an already thin roster.
As Tom Penders said, "Hurley coached his ass off".
I'll take Tom Penders' opinion over anyone else on this board.

Why must you follow me and my comments around?

I said the game plan was fine. I can't imagine even Danny Hurley wouldn't change the way he handled those last five minutes around. Give me one good reason, in any of those shot clock possessions, that Danny Hurley didn't call a timeout with 8-10 seconds left. We all could see that those possessions were going to end badly. I realize you want to defend everything about the coach but those five minutes were a masterclass in how not to close out games.

bigappleram · Unread post by **bigappleram** » 11 years ago

call a TO with 8 seconds left and draw up a play to do what....put the ball in powell or munfords hands? given the ball was probably in their hands already why call a TO and risk not being able to get the ball back in play. i take that as our coach wanting our kids to learn how to play down the stretch and take their lumps when it doesnt matter. i am sure if that were an NCAA tourney game you might have seen a TO or two, but saying willard outcoached him is fallacy. Carr alluded to that in his post game interview, said powell and others are getting more comfortable playing late in the shot clock and in late game situations. he is trying to teach for the bigger picture, i can see that.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 11 years ago

BAR don't waste your time.
Well, on Twitter, our fans, as well as the basketball mavens are
loving the job Hurley did over the weekend.
And his boss agrees, too.:

Blue Man · Unread post by **Blue Man** » 11 years ago

bigappleram wrote:call a TO with 8 seconds left and draw up a play to do what....put the ball in powell or munfords hands? given the ball was probably in their hands already why call a TO and risk not being able to get the ball back in play. i take that as our coach wanting our kids to learn how to play down the stretch and take their lumps when it doesnt matter. i am sure if that were an NCAA tourney game you might have seen a TO or two, but saying willard outcoached him is fallacy. Carr alluded to that in his post game interview, said powell and others are getting more comfortable playing late in the shot clock and in late game situations. he is trying to teach for the bigger picture, i can see that.

Completely agree. I think that's exactly what we're seeing. This team will be primed for A-10 play. I don't think we're going to be the "easy win" schools were circling in conference before the season started.

Keaney.Blue · Unread post by **Keaney.Blue** » 11 years ago

RF1 wrote:The closest this team gets to Brooklyn is when it visits the Bronx to play Fordham in a regular season league game.

Disagree here, I feel a lot better about Conference play after what I saw this weekend. I think, barring injuries to key players, we'll squeak into Brooklyn.

As for the staff being outcoached, I'm not sure if we were watching the same game. It's clear to me after seeing multiple practices and being around the program that these guys have a complete formula for succeeding at this level. Granted, you were criticizing their game management, but I think they did very well in both games this weekend.

Gonebarongone · Unread post by **Gonebarongone** » 11 years ago

Of course Thorr is going to say that four games in.

Please just watch what a good coach does in similar situations. First of all, they wouldn't have three mega disaster possessions in a tight endgame. Second, they would call a timeout. It happens all the time. If you want to work on something, I would rather work on getting a good shot off an inbounds situation with ten seconds left rather than watch four guys stare at a dribbler before he fires up a prayer.

What is wrong with constructive criticism of a blown game? There is not a doubt in my mind that Hurley himself would say he could have done it better.

Rhody15 · Unread post by **Rhody15** » 11 years ago

Nobody should be saying they were alright with Hurley not calling a timeout in that situation. Draw up a play to at least get a shot off. I'll say it again, if that was Baron who hadn't called a timeout, we'd be ripping him. Overall though, I loved how we played this week and these games will pay dividends once we start playing team closer to our skill level.

NJRhodyFan · Unread post by **NJRhodyFan** » 11 years ago

Big Rhody fan here. Haven't posted anything in quite some time, but I was at the Ohio St. game on Saturday and left the arena feeling very confident in the future of our program. Even though we were severely undersized and undermanned against a top-ranked team, I was so impressed by the effort our guys put forth; it was like night and day from the prior Baron-ball years. We were down 12 points with under a minute left in the game, and the entire Rhody bench was on their feet cheering on their teammates...that told me everything I need to know about this team. With Hurley at the helm, you will see 110% effort night in and night out regardless of the circumstances.

And I agree with the other posters in relation to our defensive effort in particular. These guys really get after it on defense, and I can only imagine what we'll accomplish next year with more size and talent on the roster.

Blue Man · Unread post by **Blue Man** » 11 years ago

Rhody15 wrote:Nobody should be saying they were alright with Hurley not calling a timeout in that situation. Draw up a play to at least get a shot off. I'll say it again, if that was Baron who hadn't called a timeout, we'd be ripping him. Overall though, I loved how we played this week and these games will pay dividends once we start playing team closer to our skill level.

Yeah because if it was Baron it'd be year 12 of what should be an established winning program that never showed growth or improvement and was basically an organized street-ball team.

Because we're an eighth of the way into the FIRST SEASON of a brand new rebuilding process, with a brand new team, staff, philosophy, 8 scholarship players, and only 3 players actively recruited by these coaches playing - I'm certainly willing to give Dan the benefit of the doubt that he's throwing these guys into deep water to see how they do, and then coaching them up at practice.

I think we're losing sight of it already - but we said that we were going to take our lumps. Losses like this are lumps. But the mistakes have gotten fewer and further between each and every game.

You can't learn how to play in pressure situations until you're in pressure situations. The OOC season is the "lost season," this is where learning and growth needs to happen. Of course we want to win every game we play...Hurley does too.

We could go 0-13 OOC and still make an NCAA tournament. We're not supposed to do anything this year. Anything. Already we've seen Ryan Brooks develop and grow more in 4 games than in the 3 previous years. Mike Powell looks like a different player80% of the time, you can tell he's still learning.

Nothing actually matters this season until January. Honestly this season doesn't mean anything in the w/l categories. Any win column success we have is just gravy.

bigappleram · Unread post by **bigappleram** » 11 years ago

call a TO and draw up the magical play where the other team lies down and lets you shoot a layup. call a TO and do what? draw up a play to get the ball to 1 of the 2 guys we have who can break their guy down off the dribble (powell and munford), when said guy already has the ball in his hands. we are in a gun fight and barely have a slingshot, you are overestimating the value of a TO in that situation. let em play and take their lumps so when we are in the same situation in a month they've been there and done that. that is the strategy. listen to the post game interview, coach carr said as much. monday morning QB is the easiest game in town.

URI96 · Unread post by **URI96** » 11 years ago

Keaney.Blue wrote:
RF1 wrote:The closest this team gets to Brooklyn is when it visits the Bronx to play Fordham in a regular season league game.
Disagree here, I feel a lot better about Conference play after what I saw this weekend. I think, barring injuries to key players, we'll squeak into Brooklyn.

As for the staff being outcoached, I'm not sure if we were watching the same game. It's clear to me after seeing multiple practices and being around the program that these guys have a complete formula for succeeding at this level. Granted, you were criticizing their game management, but I think they did very well in both games this weekend.

I like the optimism but which four teams will finish behind us in the standings?

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 11 years ago

"At least draw up a play".
Are you serious? First of all you run the risk of a turnover by having the ball double teamed on a throw in.
Secondly, is Kobe Bryant playing for us? If not, the options last night were.
Powell, Munford and Malone, who all played 40 minutes in both games. What would you have them do
that was different? You think this is some movie, where the coach is saving some secret play for the right moment?
If Baron was coaching, we lose OSU by 40 points and SH by 25.

Gonebarongone · Unread post by **Gonebarongone** » 11 years ago

rodfromcranston wrote:"At least draw up a play".
Are you serious? First of all you run the risk of a turnover by having the ball double teamed on a throw in.
Secondly, is Kobe Bryant playing for us? If not, the options last night were.
Powell, Munford and Malone, who all played 40 minutes in both games. What would you have them do
that was different? You think this is some movie, where the coach is saving some secret play for the right moment?
If Baron was coaching, we lose OSU by 40 points and SH by 25.

Exactly. The reason you draw up a play is because Kobe isn't playing. You could just hand it to him and tell him to get a good look. A good coach has a ton of plays that he can run of in-bounds situations looking to get a good shot. This is something that should be done at every practice. There is absolutely zero reason to not call a TO. Honestly, go watch any coach that you consider good and see how he handles the end game. You just can't leave a. the timeouts or b. end game plays you have worked on in practice in your pocket. It is mind boggling that anyone can argue that he was right to watch multiple possessions end that way in a game they are winning. Saying that he "is better than Baron" is not exactly comforting.

bigappleram · Unread post by **bigappleram** » 11 years ago

Gone, you are dismissing the fact that we have 1-2 guys on the court you even need to cover on an in bounds play. Your strategy is sound, with a team that has a few different answers and isnt in their infancy of coming together as a team. Our guys need to learn how to Win, nothing said in a TO can give that to them...they need to earn it. I am confident there were plays being called as I was sitting courtside hearing the instructions being barked out....we just couldnt execute b/c they knew who they had to stop (powell and munford). When the other guys on the court pose little to no threat of beating you there arent a ton of plays in the playbook that will work. And enough with the "watch any coach you consider good" -- there are a host of great coaches that dont call a TO every possession coming down the stretch.

RF1 · Unread post by **RF1** » 11 years ago

URI96 wrote:
Keaney.Blue wrote:
RF1 wrote:The closest this team gets to Brooklyn is when it visits the Bronx to play Fordham in a regular season league game.
Disagree here, I feel a lot better about Conference play after what I saw this weekend. I think, barring injuries to key players, we'll squeak into Brooklyn.

As for the staff being outcoached, I'm not sure if we were watching the same game. It's clear to me after seeing multiple practices and being around the program that these guys have a complete formula for succeeding at this level. Granted, you were criticizing their game management, but I think they did very well in both games this weekend.

I like the optimism but which four teams will finish behind us in the standings?

Exactly. What four teams will be below Rhody? What effect will having to play at both Duquense and Fordham with no return game in Kingston have on the standings?

Gonebarongone · Unread post by **Gonebarongone** » 11 years ago

bigappleram wrote:Gone, you are dismissing the fact that we have 1-2 guys on the court you even need to cover on an in bounds play. Your strategy is sound, with a team that has a few different answers and isnt in their infancy of coming together as a team. Our guys need to learn how to Win, nothing said in a TO can give that to them...they need to earn it. I am confident there were plays being called as I was sitting courtside hearing the instructions being barked out....we just couldnt execute b/c they knew who they had to stop (powell and munford). When the other guys on the court pose little to no threat of beating you there arent a ton of plays in the playbook that will work. And enough with the "watch any coach you consider good" -- there are a host of great coaches that dont call a TO every possession coming down the stretch.

Fair enough. I do think coaches can overmanage a game. I get that there is a flow to a game and to a possession. Specifically, in those possessions, where everyone watching on ESPN3 saw that is was breaking down, I just think timeouts were called for.

Rhody15 · Unread post by **Rhody15** » 11 years ago

In retrospect, could the end result have been anything worse if we had called a timeout? The answer is no, the timeout only could have benefited us. Missed shot, offensive rebound, get fouled or another shot. Multiple options.

bigappleram · Unread post by **bigappleram** » 11 years ago

To answer Rhody15, yes....they could have the opportunity to trap our smallest player (powell) who likely would be the recipient of an in bound pass and about 10 other scenarios that would not be optimal. Since when does calling a TO assure you get a good shot? And dont even talk about offensive rebounds, if you were banking on an offensive rebound you arent watching the same games as me. They had a 280 pound beast sitting in the paint. We maybe had 2-3 offensive rebounds all night. As Jim Harrick said, usually the team with the most talent wins the game....regardless of coaching. A great PG makes a lot of coaches look like geniuses down the stretch, at a certain point guys have to make plays and we simply dont have a lot of playmakers.

Gone, in the last 5 minutes SHU basically overplayed the perimeter and every pass. Easy to do when we dont have anyone to be afraid of down low. Nor do we have a ton of guys that can get by you on the dribble. We are very easy to defend. To even be in both of those games was a major accomplishment from a coaching standpoint, IMO. Especially yesterday with the best player on a bad team sitting the bench on suspension. Kudos to our staff and to the kids!

ramfan85 · Unread post by **ramfan85** » 11 years ago

Some coaches believe it is better to not call a timeout at the end of games. It gives the opposition a better chance to defend.
They work on these situations at practice. In this case, in-bounding the ball was difficult. We have limited options this year, anyway. I have no problem with the decision not to stop the action.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 11 years ago

Harrick used to always say, "A good team needs to be hard to guard".
He believed in needing three players from three places on the floor.
A good PG, a good wingman, and a good inside player.
I think we have the first two, in Powell and Munford, but the third is why
we will never be hard to guard.
We're a donut team. Big hole in the middle.
Also, SH had an incredible 20-5 edge in FTs. Somehow we had one more rebound, and one more offensive rebound.
Offensive rebounds aren't neccessarily putbacks. Bigby lead with 3, and I think he passed the ball
all three times.
The points in the paint differential had to be enormous, too.
We just don't have the guns to have many options this season, so
as an old football coach used to say,
"We gotta dance with who brung us."

RAM67 · Unread post by **RAM67** » 11 years ago

Bar is right, only 2 scorers. Bottom line, we need interior options, and we have none. That to me, is the foremost reason we have lost all of these games. Just a little inside game changes everything.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 11 years ago

Hurley is on record as saying Oneykaba is the best frontcout player in a lot of practices.
I think if there's any way he can become eligible, he could get us to Brooklyn.
Imagine having a big post presence in any of our three losses, besides VATech?
Again, this isn't Hurley's decision, it's the NCAAs, and they're taking their sweet time about it.
Hurley has said, The Big O was brought in to play this season, but the sooner we know, one way or another, the better.
Then there's the rust factor, so if he could get some OOC games under his belt, great.

Unread post by **ATPTourFan** » 11 years ago

I really want to see Onyekaba play this year. It could mean as many as 4-5 more wins.

Keaney.Blue · Unread post by **Keaney.Blue** » 11 years ago

I'll go on record to say Oneykaba will not be the answer to our prayers. He's a big body yes, but lacks a real post game and doesn't have a soft touch around the basket. His biggest contribution to us will be providing a defensive presence in the paint. Offensively he won't be a huge improvement, but he's a big upgrade defensively. I cringe thinking about us going up against a top big man with our current guys.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 11 years ago

He has decent hands, and he can rebound.
If we have a post player who can establish position,
he can facilitate the inside-outside post passing to open shooters
game, that we don't have now.
In that regard, he will be an improvement offensively.
If he could score 6-9 points a game, that's better than the three headed
center by committee, we now have.
I'm not expecting Hakeem The Dream, just an upgrade in our present team in a position
of dire need, and it deepens our bench by one more player.
Plus, he's young and can learn to improve his post game,
I doubt we'll see a bigger monster than Seton Hall's center.
Looked like slightly smaller Shaq. Man has his own zip code.

section(105) · Unread post by **section(105)** » 11 years ago

I have no beef with not using the TO. I think SH coach knew and would have been able to defend Mumford as the desired URI go-to-guy in his huddle. I would rather inbound the ball and expect the SH defense would not be in optimal positions. Muchly agree with ramfan85. As for drawing up a play, at this level I would like think these end of games scenarios are practiced and any drawing done, during a TO, would merely be a reminder of everyone's assignment in a the end game situation needed a hoop/3. No??

Blue Man · Unread post by **Blue Man** » 11 years ago

rodfromcranston wrote:Hurley is on record as saying Oneykaba is the best frontcout player in a lot of practices.
I think if there's any way he can become eligible, he could get us to Brooklyn.
Imagine having a big post presence in any of our three losses, besides VATech?
Again, this isn't Hurley's decision, it's the NCAAs, and they're taking their sweet time about it.
Hurley has said, The Big O was brought in to play this season, but the sooner we know, one way or another, the better.
Then there's the rust factor, so if he could get some OOC games under his belt, great.

Whether or not he's the best frontcourt player at any practice isn't the point, he's a frontcourt player period. It would've been nice to get someone else to take a few of those fouls that plagued Aaman and Hare last night.

You're absolutely right Rod, the way we're playing I think Onyekaba all but assures us a Brooklyn ticket, for the main reason that we won't see any type of inside presence like we saw this weekend in the A-10.

You can't coach size, but you certainly can coach guard play. A-10 is all outside the paint, Onyekaba would certainly make us servicable down there, which is more than enough to steal wins in the A-10.

bigappleram · Unread post by **bigappleram** » 11 years ago

i think Onyekaba would help as another warm body to grab defensive boards...however I agree with the other poster that on the offensive end I am not sure another FR big guy would help. Seems to be a very big learning curve for the type of big men we can attract to URI (non blue chip). Aaman has the body to compete, but not the skill set yet. Hare might have the skill set but nowhere near the body or maturity at this point. Onyekaba is probably somewhere in the middle of that. I say save him for next year.

Like I told this knucklehead from SHU that was shouting "Hurley you are a Pirate" -- you better beat us this year, because retribution is coming quickly for the URI Rams. I am convinced we are competing for post season play next year (NIT), and a lock the following year to go dancing.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 11 years ago

Again, if he gets the waiver granted, he plays this season, if it's granted before A-10 season begins.
Hurley wants to win, even now. Yesterday had to kill him.
He knows what a difference Onyekaba could mean. At least a post presence and five
fouls, and added depth.
Plus, The Big O will get a jump on learning and getting the rust off.
Nothing better than game experience.
It's not like Hurley can't recruit another bigman in the 2014 or 2015 recruiting.

The Dude · Unread post by **The Dude** » 11 years ago

In my eyes, this season has never been a lost season. I don't have high expectations for this year, but never thought that we would be in the bottom of the conference standings at the end of the year. We had an ok team last year with mediocre-poor coaching at best. We pretty much have the same kind/size group as last year. We lost Billy. We gained Xavier. We lost Holton. We gained Hare and Aaman. Rhody had 7 wins last year. Dan and Bob Hurley could come to URI piss drunk on a daily basis and they'd still find a way to manage 7 wins. In my opinion, they can only improve on last year's record with the improved coaching from the Hurleys.
I don't know about you guys, but I find it F'n amazing that we didn't get blown out by 20+ against a top 5 ranked team in Ohio State (#4).
I fully expect this team to make the A10 Conference Tournament. I "don't" expect them to get to the NCAA tournament or to even get 19 or 20 wins. They're slowly improving.

Opponents would be wise to look at Rhody in this way:

"Rhody Basketball is now like a fine wine. It gets better with age and slowly F's you up more with each round."

bigappleram · Unread post by **bigappleram** » 11 years ago

Ohio State is very overrated at this point, but regardless it was an accomplishment to hang in with them. When all is said and done I expect them to be middle of the pack in Big 10. Indiana, Michigan, Michigan St and Wisconsin are all better this year. Thomas will be a lottery pick though. Heck of a player.

Blue Man · Unread post by **Blue Man** » 11 years ago

bigappleram wrote:

Like I told this knucklehead from SHU that was shouting "Hurley you are a Pirate" -- you better beat us this year, because retribution is coming quickly for the URI Rams. I am convinced we are competing for post season play next year (NIT), and a lock the following year to go dancing.

I think (based on 4 games of marked improvement) with the talent level we're bringing in, we're a last four in/first four out next season.

It'll be completely Hurley's team at that point, studs across the board. We'll have an inside game near the top of the A-10 with Biruta alone, nevermind the physical growth of Aaman and Hare, along with their skill development.

RF1 · Unread post by **RF1** » 11 years ago

As for how URI compares to the other A-10 schools - Fordham and Duquense both won close games last night. URI is now the only winless in the league.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 11 years ago

Biruta, Aaman, Hare, and don't forget the Big O. Maybe even another front court recruit.

Should be as good a front court overall as it gets in the A10.

For sure, it'll be as good a front court as it's EVER been at Rhody.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 11 years ago

You forgot the player with the biggest upside and NBA potential, Hassan Martin.
I'm really lookingt forward to his career at URI.
However, if it's better than Sly, Jimmy Wright, and Irv Chatman, Stanley Wright and Randy Wilds, I'll eat my socks.
Lamar, ARD and Luther were pretty damned good, too.
Both those frontcourts had a superstar, NBA first round draft choice.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 11 years ago

Yeah, there will be only 2 players left next year from the previous regime.

Powell and TJ, if they both stay. The way Powell is developing under Hurley, he's going to be a contributor for sure, and the most experienced also, along with Munford.

TJ will be a defensive option off the bench, as long as he can stay healthy.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 11 years ago

Won't Hassan be a 3? Although if he continues to grow, yeah you're right, he could end up a 4.

Just so much to look forward to, and as we all know, Hurley ain't done recruiting yet.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 11 years ago

Frontcourt includes small forwards.
Hassan was promised the 3 to hone his NBA potential.
He needs to work on his shooting range.
Can't wait to see who Hurley and staff pull in next!

ElmCityRhody · Unread post by **ElmCityRhody** » 11 years ago

i have seen 3 of the 1st 4 games..

to me.. it's night and day..

we are in great hands...

i think it's important tho to start wracking up some wins..
it helps morale and the kids deserve some wins for their hard work

Blue Man · Unread post by **Blue Man** » 11 years ago

ElmCityRhody wrote:i have seen 3 of the 1st 4 games..

to me.. it's night and day..

we are in great hands...

i think it's important tho to start wracking up some wins..
it helps morale and the kids deserve some wins for their hard work

Exactly.