Game 2: Valparaiso (Tuesday, Nov 17 10am)

Seawrightspostgame · Unread post by **Seawrightspostgame** » 8 years ago

Dayton had empty seats. Teams in every college sport bemoan attendance for games that aren't their chief rival. A 10am Tuesday game is tough.

These guys are going to be fine.

They just have to keep working to get better. Playing with refs is 180 different than any unofficial playing. Our team plays offense like they're in an open gym with their shot selection and pace. Take your time and force the other team into a bad position.

adam914 · Unread post by **adam914** » 8 years ago

rambone 78 wrote: woodenickel, yes that's true about Council, but they ALL improved dramatically, I was told they made a collective effort to improve by practicing on their own, and it worked....

So the years you are referring to where they ALL improved dramatically, by simply practicing was 2012-13 where they shot 70% (a full 10% better then your made up stat) and 2013-14 where they shot 78% for second best in the country.

As you can see below, Cotton improved by 6% and Batts improved by 5%, both pretty decent improvements. Henton got worse (oops that's not ALL anymore is it) by 7%. Council's minutes were replaced by Harris who shot 18% better and Johnson's minutes were replaced by Desrosiers who shot 36% better.

Please explain to me again how they ALL improved dramatically with the same cast of characters by simply practicing?

Cotton - 79% - 85%
Batts - 69% - 74%
Henton - 81% - 74%
Council - 65% - Replaced by Harris - 83%
Fortune - 74% - 76%
Sidiki Johnson 31% - Replaced by Carson Desrosiers - 67%

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 8 years ago

Thompson got abused on defense a couple of times in a row.
D is very important in Hurley's game.
Akele doesn't seem to have a role right now.
All this comes with time.
Hopefully the rust comes off Iverson and sooner than later.
Someone said Lamar. Lamar scored over 20 in his first two games, before
Preston got hurt and there was no point guard on the team.
It took Lamar until mid January to get his game up to speed.
Iverson actually hasn't played much since high school.
Expect a long de-rusting cycle for him. Patience is in order.
As for Dan leaving because of attendance, yeah, right.
This year would have been a put up or shut up year, except now
Matthews' injury provides a buffer.
Bottom line, if Dan doesn't win and get to the NCAAs, he's stuck here.

RF1 · Unread post by **RF1** » 8 years ago

What was up with the group sitting where the BAND WAS SUPPOSED TO BE that had a Bar Stool Sports flag and tee shirts?

Rhody15 · Unread post by **Rhody15** » 8 years ago

EC's absence may affect Tarrell and Hassan more than we thought. Hassan looked absolutely lost with the ball outside the paint. EC gave Hassan wide open looks and that's how he was so dominant I don't see Hassan's 15 footer that he's supposedly had since after his freshman year. Terrell may not be the 15 ppg scorer we expect/thought.

RAM67 · Unread post by **RAM67** » 8 years ago

Billyboy78 wrote:I don't care what the attendance numbers say, it was not close to the reported 4881, or whatever it was. I know we've been over this before, but today's discrepancy was pretty large. In my section alone, 213, there were around 30 unsold seats. The section wasn't half full.

I have to agree. When the game started, I didn't think there were more than 2-2500 people. I will admit that later in the game more students showed up, and in the second half, I would have guessed that the crowd had grown by about 1000 more. That being said it truly was a loud crowd, considering how small it was. Like other people have said the 10AM time really hurt attendance. My wife couldn't make it and I couldn't get any takers, so I gave my extra to someone walking up to the ticket window. I talked to a number of people weeks before the game, and many just couldn't get out of work. I don't think this turnout should be looked at as fan apathy, but rather the timing of the game. The students.....well.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 8 years ago

Well, I doubt they will do this again, I mean 10 AM games any more.....

URI students can't get up that early, they are still hung over. Nothing has changed there since my day.....And what do classes have to do with it?

Well Adam, might as well concede that our team stinks at FT's, no matter the reason.

I guess what's the use of blowing off steam about it any more? Just accept it, and expect it.

Then, no worries! One thing we do know, when we finally have a good FT shooting game, we will stink it up the next game. It happens every time!

Usually against good teams too. The closer the game, the worse we get. Especially toward the end of games.

When we do shoot it at 80%, it's usually in a blowout win. No pressure there. No need to shoot them that good.

Sorry boys and girls. Just speaking the truth. And as the saying goes, some of you can't handle the truth....

adam914 · Unread post by **adam914** » 8 years ago

rodfromcranston wrote:Thompson got abused on defense a couple of times in a row.
D is very important in Hurley's game.
Akele doesn't seem to have a role right now.
All this comes with time.
Hopefully the rust comes off Iverson and sooner than later.
Someone said Lamar. Lamar scored over 20 in his first two games, before
Preston got hurt and there was no point guard on the team.
It took Lamar until mid January to get his game up to speed.
Iverson actually hasn't played much since high school.
Expect a long de-rusting cycle for him. Patience is in order.
As for Dan leaving because of attendance, yeah, right.
This year would have been a put up or shut up year, except now
Matthews' injury provides a buffer.
Bottom line, if Dan doesn't win and get to the NCAAs, he's stuck here.

Yeah they tried to get Thompson in there early and he had no chance on defense. Hardly saw the floor again after that.

RF1 · Unread post by **RF1** » 8 years ago

RAM67 wrote:
Billyboy78 wrote:I don't care what the attendance numbers say, it was not close to the reported 4881, or whatever it was. I know we've been over this before, but today's discrepancy was pretty large. In my section alone, 213, there were around 30 unsold seats. The section wasn't half full.
I have to agree. When the game started, I didn't think there were more than 2-2500 people. I will admit that later in the game more students showed up, and in the second half, I would have guessed that the crowd had grown by about 1000 more. That being said it truly was a loud crowd, considering how small it was. Like other people have said the 10AM time really hurt attendance. My wife couldn't make it and I couldn't get any takers, so I gave my extra to someone walking up to the ticket window. I talked to a number of people weeks before the game, and many just couldn't get out of work. I don't think this turnout should be looked at as fan apathy, but rather the timing of the game. The students.....well.

I get the start time today being an obstacle. What then was the excuse for Friday night, the opener for a highly anticipated season? I had thought there was a lot of excitement and hype for this year. Pre game purchased season ticket and mini pack sales were supposedly very strong. Where then have all the fans been through two games?

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 8 years ago

Terrell always played better and more productively without
Matthews.
To make a judgement based on a game or two is off base.
Hassan was 4-11 and missed four free throws.
When facing large size in the past, Hassan has problems.
Luckily, there won't be any guys like Fernadez in the A-10.
Let's give this team a chanced to show what they are,
before jumping off the Pell bridge.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 8 years ago

Adam, you're right about Henton. So sorry.

You know what? I'd take 74% any day of the week, for ALL of our players [except Four of course].

Right now we really don't have an adequate sample size for Akele, Thompson, and Iverson.

Could they be any good? At FT's I mean. I wonder, because if were them, I would be spooked by watching the horror FT show unfold game after game.

Hey, the guys on the team who will take the most FT's this season, are the worst on the team, again except for Four.

That's not a good problem to have.

I know Dan didn't want to hear it last year. Oops. I think there is a good chance it will rear it's ugly head again. Sorry Dan.....

sf2010 · Unread post by **sf2010** » 8 years ago

Attended the game, sat right behind the URI bench, and I have many thoughts that I will try to organize...

--FTs. Like adam, I'm getting fed up with hearing things like "Hurley should lock them in the gym and make them shoot free throws" (overheard while leaving), and things like "Well damn, I can shoot 65% with my eyes closed in my driveway, what the hell is wrong with these kids they must not have commitment!" It is very clearly a mental block for many of the players. Focusing even more on it will not help it go away. Almost think they should go a few practices without shooting any FTs. We know it is an issue. Hurley knows it is an issue. More importantly, after the losses last year and today that were partially a result of poor FT shooting, you can bet your ass that the players know it is an issue. I hope they get it in order, but you won't see me blasting them until they do.

--Attendance. I thought the crowd was great, though I did hope for more students to get out of class. Thought the number was about 4,500, certainly significantly above 4,000. Not bad for a 10am game on a Tuesday. I also am certain that losing EC had and will continue to have a negative impact on attendance, which makes a heartbreaking situation even more unfortunate.

--Our offense will improve. Was definitely tough scoring today, but Valpo is an excellent defensive team, and we were adjusting to life without our best scorer. In advanced basketball metrics, measuring the "gravity" of a particular player is interesting (essentially looking at how much one players draws the defense to himself). EC's gravity is huge, and losing that dramatically impacts the floor spacing that we can achieve on offense making it both more difficult to get into the paint and more difficult to succeed once there. Imagine how many clean looks Four could get if teams had to worry about EC as well?

--Fernandez is a beast. Dominated the paint for Valpo. Hassan held his own, but took too many outside shots as a result of having a tough time against Fernandez down low.

--A few things about Kuran. First, I will be happy if he never takes a 17-footer again unless it's a shot clock situation. I am okay with him taking a couple 3's if within the rhythm of the offense in a catch-and-shoot situation. Second, he certainly has not performed exceedingly well these first two games, but DAMN he cannot catch a break from the zebras. At least 2 of his 4 fouls today were complete mystery calls, including the and-one that Fernandez got in the 2nd half where he clearly hooked Kuran to move him out of the way. He was also called twice for travelling at the top of they key when it seemed apparent to me that he had not shuffled his feet. I think his long limbs look it make more awkward and more frequently called due to refs anticipating.

--What a beautiful play drawn up by Hurley to get Four a clean look at the tie. Have Four fake the dribble hand-off to Terrell (a threat to shoot the 3 in his own right), both defenders jump towards JT anticipating the hand-off, wide-open look for a 40% shooter, unfortunately the 40% roll of the dice didn't come up Rhody.

--This team fought. I hope the coaching staff is able to drive this team forward and put the injury to EC (devastating as it was) in the rear view and accomplish some goals that they laid out while he was still healthy. Namely, hearing our name on Selection Sunday. It is still possible and I believe this team can do it.

adam914 · Unread post by **adam914** » 8 years ago

rambone 78 wrote:Adam, you're right about Henton. So sorry.

You know what? I'd take 74% any day of the week, for ALL of our players [except Four of course].

Right now we really don't have an adequate sample size for Akele, Thompson, and Iverson.

Could they be any good? At FT's I mean. I wonder, because if were them, I would be spooked by watching the horror FT show unfold game after game.

Hey, the guys on the team who will take the most FT's this season, are the worst on the team, again except for Four.

That's not a good problem to have.

I know Dan didn't want to hear it last year. Oops. I think there is a good chance it will rear it's ugly head again. Sorry Dan.....

You do realize that "taking 74%" would make us a top 20-25 FT shooting team in the country. If you are waiting for this team to make a jump to one of the best FT shooting teams in the country then you might as well stop watching now.

luke · Unread post by **luke** » 8 years ago

After watching Dayton today I don't see any way URI can compete because dayton hits open shots and free throws
including the freshman. Dayton looked very impressive. They now have size with 6'11 Macelvene and 3 pt shooters
in Smith, Davis and Davis. And Dayton's attendance was 12118. URI attendance has been pitiful so far. It is embarrassing.
There is no excuse for it. And GW beat Virginia. I am hoping against hope that both free throw shooting and outside shooting will show marked
improvement over the next few games, but I can't say that I am confident it will happen. Dayton has shown big contributions
their freshmen, including a 21 point game from one of their lesser recruits. what have Thompson and Akele shown? They
better get better fast and Iverson better show more if this team is going to have any kind of season at all. Otherwise we
will see the same thing we saw under Baron, wins against mediocre teams and losses to all good teams.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 8 years ago

Wow, I guess our talent is overrated too.

Might as well stop all the hype, right here and right now.

We stink.

Remember back to Hurley's comments about the transfers? How good they were going to be...whoops...

I guess someday....

I am kidding, for those who think......

Seriously, and this one is for the old timers on here...how many times has URI been EXPECTED to Dance before the season starts...I'll bet not too many....

We really should know better...Murphy's law rules this program.....

sf2010 · Unread post by **sf2010** » 8 years ago

luke wrote:After watching Dayton today I don't see any way URI can compete because dayton hits open shots and free throws
including the freshman. Dayton looked very impressive. They now have size with 6'11 Macelvene and 3 pt shooters
in Smith, Davis and Davis. And Dayton's attendance was 12118. URI attendance has been pitiful so far. It is embarrassing.
There is no excuse for it. And GW beat Virginia. I am hoping against hope that both free throw shooting and outside shooting will show marked
improvement over the next few games, but I can't say that I am confident it will happen. Dayton has shown big contributions
their freshmen, including a 21 point game from one of their lesser recruits. what have Thompson and Akele shown? They
better get better fast and Iverson better show more if this team is going to have any kind of season at all. Otherwise we
will see the same thing we saw under Baron, wins against mediocre teams and losses to all good teams.

A few things - yes, Dayton looks very good and they seem to be handling the loss of Pierre better than we handled the loss of EC, but they also had plenty of time to get used to that situation both from an emotional and tactical standpoint. Won't try to take anything away from them, they look very good and will be one of the best 2-3 teams in the A10.

A little early to throw the freshman under the bus, if you ask me. McElvene (I better learn how to spell it now, have the sinking suspicion I'll be typing it a lot over the next four years) is not a true freshman, spent last year with the team after not qualifying academically (I believe). Thompson had a rough go of it today, but was dealing with upperclassman guards who are quicker than he is. I actually thought Akele gave a few minutes of pretty strong D on Peters, but he is not yet a contributor offensively. Remember how lost Hassan was on defense for the first half of his freshman year? I sure do. Now look at him.

Last but most importantly, under Dan Hurley we will NEVER see the same things we saw under Baron.

adam914 · Unread post by **adam914** » 8 years ago

And not to take anything away from Dayton, but Alabama was picked to finish 10th in the SEC. They didn't beat Kentucky today. My hunch is Valpo would run Alabama out of the gym to.

rjsuperfly66 · Unread post by **rjsuperfly66** » 8 years ago

I don't think free throws are something you just start practicing and get instant results. It's something that probably needs to be a focus on the offseason, when guys are getting up at least 1,000 shots per day. Same can be said for 3 point shooting, or low post offense. Your time spent practicing now, the limited time you have, is and should be spent on in-game stuff, scouting, defensive rotations, improving or implementing new offensive sets, etc. Someone can feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, just think practice time is too valuable at this stage trying to get everybody into different roles. But if you don't have it, you don't have it, didn't Shaq used to take 500 FT's a day in the offseason or something like that, didn't prevent him from being a 40% FT shooter.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 8 years ago

66, you are right on that one. Looks like they didn't work on FT's this summer....

and with EC, we still win today's game, poor FT's or not....

if Valpo is borderline top 25, then we're not far off

we lost 17 pts. a game with the loss of EC, and how much of that did we get back today?

Very little....

The more I think about it the madder I get.....

I will say, it's early with Akele and Thompson, but they'll be OK. I hope.

Keaney.Blue · Unread post by **Keaney.Blue** » 8 years ago

To people touting Dayton's attendance - have you ever been to UD arena? I have twice, and the average age there is in the 50's. Their arena sells out but it's quiet. Lots of white hair and 30 year old Dayton sweaters, not much noise!

As far as this game goes, we have defense and effort...two things that are very hard to coach. FTs will (hopefully) come, along with more cohesion after losing our talisman EC. We can build on this loss, as disheartening as it is.

Unread post by **SGreenwell** » 8 years ago

rjsuperfly66 wrote:I don't think free throws are something you just start practicing and get instant results. It's something that probably needs to be a focus on the offseason, when guys are getting up at least 1,000 shots per day. Same can be said for 3 point shooting, or low post offense. Your time spent practicing now, the limited time you have, is and should be spent on in-game stuff, scouting, defensive rotations, improving or implementing new offensive sets, etc. Someone can feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, just think practice time is too valuable at this stage trying to get everybody into different roles. But if you don't have it, you don't have it, didn't Shaq used to take 500 FT's a day in the offseason or something like that, didn't prevent him from being a 40% FT shooter.

Pretty much. There are cases like him, where with how god damn massive his hands were and how unusual his play style was, he probably wasn't ever going to be a good FT shooter. There are also things like Dwight Howard, who allegedly shoots 80 percent in practice, but struggles in game situations. There is typically a strong correlation between 3-point shooting and FT shooting (i.e. it's rare to find a great 3-point shooter who is bad at FT), but I haven't seen any studies that suggest improving 3-point shooting leads to increased FT shooting percentages.

To me, the bad FT shooting is probably more a result of the team recruited. Beyond the FT shooting, how many players on the team are good at coming off screens to shoot, or spotting up from 15-feet or 3-point range? You have energy / putback guys (Martin, Watson), drivers and slashers (Terrell), one very good shooter (Four), a question mark (Iverson), and freshmen. The strong defense will lead to some layups in transition that might keep some FG percentages high, but I imagine URI's halfcourt offense FG isn't great either. I think things will be better next year, since you'll get more talented players into the program, but the loss of EC this year probably means that the offense stays mired in the average to below average range.

89er · Unread post by **89er** » 8 years ago

So elementary students=600? And URI Students =200? Approx 5,000 went to class? That is not the URI I went to... Weak showing!!

luke · Unread post by **luke** » 8 years ago

sf 2010 I wasn't including Macelvene with the freshman. Mikesell had 21 in their opener. Today Miller had 7 and Williams 6.
I realize that Alabama isn't Valpo, but Dayton hit their open shots. Garrett missed open shot including one fro about 8 feet.
Terrell missed several wide open jumpers. Thompson and Akele made no impact on the game. I am not saying they won't
be good players in the future, but they are needed to help now. we were led to believe that both could shoot from the outside.
I haven't seen it yet. Garrett and Terrell have to shoot better for this team to beat a good team. I have scary thoughts of
Davidson raining threes and winning by 20. They don't even have to have a good shooting night to outscore this group.

sf2010 · Unread post by **sf2010** » 8 years ago

luke, we are certainly not a team built on the strength of our jumpshooting, I will give you that. I have doubts about Terrell ever becoming much better than a 30-35% shooter from 3, Garrett I still have hope for. Thompson made a couple 3s in the exhibition, we'll have to see about Akele. On a related note, we DID shoot 42% on 3s today. Jarvis made one, Jared made a couple, and Four did as well. Regarding freshman production, I do recall a recently departed member of our team who dropped 20/10 on Maine in his debut...

With how well our team defends the perimeter, I do not have scary thoughts of any team raining 3s and winning by 20.

bigappleram · Unread post by **bigappleram** » 8 years ago

Pardon my language but our fan base kinda sucks -- embarrassing crowd. Students show up for AU and not ESPN? Don't tell me its because of class, its either an apathetic student body or bad marketing. Those that were there were loud, but that was not a hostile environment for Valpo and it should have been.

We dont have a great shooting team = we dont have a great FT shooting team. Case closed. Go to practice, the guys take plenty of foul shots.
Jarvis, Jared, Four have to shoot mid 70s - you have to take what you get from Hass, Earl and Kuran. Jarvis cannot miss those 2 in crunch time.

That said, Jarvis carried us in the 2nd half when we could have folded, not sure who said they werent impressed with his game thus far but for a kid who was hobbling up and down the court he played a great floor game.

Jared is trying to make up for EC, you can see it - he is forcing things and that isn't his game. Not sure what the answer is to reinvent ourselves post EC but some posters here who think its just give the ball to Jared because he was a higher rated recruit need to learn the game. He is not an alpha dog scorer, he is a junk yard dog type player who can do a little bit of everything. Net net, he is not EC and we shouldn't ask him to be.

You guys can bemoan FTs losing the game, but I think two different 5-point swings is what cost us the game...we were on a run, Hass grabbed a rebound and threw an errant pass that Valpo retrieved and hit an open 3. Then Jarvis missed 2 FTs and they came down and the Peters kid hit a 3. 10 pt swing in a game like that is impossible to overcome.

I did not like how Dan handled the last 30 seconds....you have to foul sooner and extend the game. I understand trying to play for a steal for a few seconds but we let way too much time pass.

All this said, and despite the sky is falling crowd, we had a wide open look with our best 3 pt shooter to tie the game. It rimmed out...did anyone notice that the second one Four threw up was left handed, and it almost went in!

IMO we are going to be just fine, it just is a reinvention of everything by Dan in the midst of preparing for our next opponents due to losing EC...have some patience. All is not lost, Valpo is going to win close to 30 games and go to the dance. That was a big, fundamentally sound team that put up 85 points a few night earlier and struggled every possession to score on us. Defense and toughness will win us plenty of games this year, it just might not be pretty.

luke · Unread post by **luke** » 8 years ago

As a Dayton grad, though my heart is now with URI, I have to disagree with you keaney blue about the Dayton attendance.
The crowds are very loud. why do you think they have won 17 in a row there? sure there are plenty of older people and
even they are loud. Most of their 6600 undergrads show up for every game because it is the thing to do there. I guess
the majority of URI students are not fanatical basketball fans. most of the Dayton students are. It is traditional there.
There is no reason to diminish this. You have to respect it. I drive to URI for 5 hours to go to games because I am a
fanatical basketball fan still and everyone on this site is a fanatic but this team does deserve to have more fanatical
fans than it does. Maybe the lack of recent success has hurt attendance. I hope when they turn the corner next year
more people will permanently join the fan base.

luke · Unread post by **luke** » 8 years ago

sf2010 you make some valid points and I do remember your Iffy reference. and about Davidson
I guess my point was URI can't afford to get far behind because Davidson can open big leads
very quickly and the thought concerns me. I do agree that this group plays amazing defense
and it won't be that easy to get open looks against them. They can't afford toget down double
digits against them this year without Matthews.

section(105) · Unread post by **section(105)** » 8 years ago

Not to pile on, but. I expected Earl to come back with a new FT look, new stroke, more arch in his free throws.....evidence of some teaching, not repeating the flaws...

15 Year Lurker · Unread post by **15 Year Lurker** » 8 years ago

Dayton is one of the loudest places out there (i have been there once), you must have been too busy playing

I think practicing free throws is a great idea

Also, banking them in maybe or backing up to the three point line are worth considering

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 8 years ago

luke, that last comment, "when they turn the corner next year , isn't it all about NEXT year, sad to say?

Another long wait.

This year's team will give it their all, but they don't have enough.

Enough scorers, enough depth, enough FT shooting.

theblueram · Unread post by **theblueram** » 8 years ago

Bone
If they don't have enough after EC, they never did. I still think they do.

BleedBlue87 · Unread post by **BleedBlue87** » 8 years ago

Just going to throw this out there but I do believe there is a place for fans in between "the season is over" and "everything is great, just need time" crowds. It seems like a lot of folks are either to one side or the other.

rhodysurf · Unread post by **rhodysurf** » 8 years ago

Been reading for a while but finally had to post. Man you guys are downers.. I'm bummed but its one game!! If anything it should be comforting that URI played like dog crap on offense and still had a chance to win the game down to the wire against a good Valpo team. Yeah they have to get better, but jeesh its not like this was going to be a new team over night.

Give it time.

rhodysurf · Unread post by **rhodysurf** » 8 years ago

BleedBlue87 wrote:Just going to throw this out there but I do believe there is a place for fans in between "the season is over" and "everything is great, just need time" crowds. It seems like a lot of folks are either to one side or the other.

And this is most likely where the team actually stands.

hrstrat57 · Unread post by **hrstrat57** » 8 years ago

Couple foul shooting whines from an ex hoops coach.

1. Freeze the LED banner when we are shooting

2. Take the microphone away from Yorke when we step to the line, he talks his drama right up to the stroke - actually talking today on the PA while Four was shooting resulting in a miss. That point would have been nice on the board for the last play call.

3. All you 70% ft shooters crack me up - go run for 40 minutes turn on your car flashers and see how many you make in the driveway then = you'll turn into world class bricklayers. Shooting foul shots with a crowd behind the basket in a big arena is also just a bit different than your friendly driveway folks.

Except for HM most of the misses are on line but long, it should get better as the season goes on.

Oh and....

The negativity in this town sucks....

Seawrightspostgame · Unread post by **Seawrightspostgame** » 8 years ago

The season has changed. Thats all. Things happen. They lost by 3 against a returning NCAA team??? a few days removed from losing EC.

They still suck at a couple things. They still do some awesome things. Now we watch and wait for DH to coach them up.

STC · Unread post by **STC** » 8 years ago

hrstrat57 wrote:
2. Take the microphone away from Yorke when we step to the line, he talks his drama right up to the stroke - actually talking today on the PA while Four was shooting resulting in a miss. That point would have been nice on the board for the last play call.

.

They need to take Yorke away from the mic entirely. He is the worst PA guy I've ever heard at a D1 or pro level.

neil · Unread post by **neil** » 8 years ago

Couple of thoughts from 205 (sorry about being repetitive)
1. Amazing that every pep band student had a required class to go to at 10 today. I guess being on national television was not important. All those alumni watching waiting for the band to strike up the fight song. Anyone have an answer? thor?
2. Thanks to the elementary schools. As a former teacher I'm not sure of the educational value. Unless they want to understand why middle to old age people go crazy for forty minutes.
3. I know he missed the foul shots, but Jarvis played his ass off. In the first couple of minutes, it looked like his knee/ was giving out. Keep him healthy!
4. As Rod mentioned, Thompson let his man go right by him for two lay ups. We need him especially to give our starting guards some rest.
5. Iverson will get better but he was eaten alive by players the same size but maybe 60 pounds larger. We needed Earl in there to help rebound the ball.
6. Question - how many times did we grab a rebound and either lost it dribbling or the ball got knocked out of a players hand.
7. We need to make layups when we are fouled. How many old fashioned three point plays did we have versus two foul shots. - talk about throwing away points.
8. Valpo is good.
9. We played outstanding defense, and we will need it until the offense finds themselves.
10. After the game I called my dad who at 91 watched from his room in assisted living. He got me addicted to all of this and was at MSG when Calverley made his shot. He told me "the team didn't play all that well, and it's the second game, don't quit now." I think I'll take his advice.
11. Last, going back to Rods thoughts. I've seen this game numerous times, the ball doesn't seem to go in during the last couple of seconds. Yes, I've seen Lamar, Brian Woodward, Dawan, and Jenkins (class of '66) put in shots, but it usually ends up with "we tried hard, we gave a good effort", the refs blew it, we can't shoot foul shots etc.
12. Don't quit, - see you Saturday! Go Rhody!

860_rhody · Unread post by **860_rhody** » 8 years ago

Ya it was amazing how many students really didn't want to miss their classes. I would bring it up to people, and they would be shocked and appalled at the idea of missing 1 class to go to a game.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 8 years ago

Back in the day some of us would be shocked and appalled if we went to a class!

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 8 years ago

Neil, your dad is wise. People are drawing too many conclusions based on a game that was played against a good team in odd and difficult circumstances.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 8 years ago

Neil, one of the few people who can recall
Dick"The Shot" Jenkins.
Jenkins was an end of the bench player, who was pressed into
action when a bunch of Rams fouled out against
UConn .
Don Kaulll's last game was his career high.
The game went into OT, with Jenkins hitting a last second shot
from the foul line to win it.
Don told me that Jenkins quit the team to join the golf team.
Neil's point is on the money that you can almost count our last second wins
on one hand. We're both talking some 50 plus years of watching
the Rams.
We can both think of many more last second misses in key games.
It's just the fate of being a Rhody fan.

eli#10 · Unread post by **eli#10** » 8 years ago

I just watched the replay and the offensive goaltending was blatant. Not only was the ball tipped while on the rim but Peters also grabbed the rim. Of course after this not being called Valpo retained possession and made a 3. The call on Four's steal and almost breakaway could have gone either way. Of course it went the other way.
I must say that Bryce Drew showed some class when after shaking hands with Dan before the game started he went over to EC to shake his hand and they had a brief conversation.

Billyboy78 · Unread post by **Billyboy78** » 8 years ago

Another thing about Thompson besides the defense. He needs to look for his offense. He didn't look at the basket once today. I know it's only his 2nd college game and it's all about gaining confidence. He's got ability. It'll come. We'll need some offense from him.

adam914 · Unread post by **adam914** » 8 years ago

Billyboy78 wrote:Another thing about Thompson besides the defense. He needs to look for his offense. He didn't look at the basket once today. I know it's only his 2nd college game and it's all about gaining confidence. He's got ability. It'll come. We'll need some offense from him.

Yeah like you said, just going to take some time with him. One of the advantages coming into the season was that we didn't think the freshman would have to do too much right away and could find their way a little. That's changed quickly.

ElmCityRhody · Unread post by **ElmCityRhody** » 8 years ago

Just got done watching after not knowing the result.

I am pissed

Fucking FTs

Year after fucking year

Unreal

Get your act together at the line already

My goodness

(Sorry, I am just pissed and needed to vent)

luke · Unread post by **luke** » 8 years ago

Ya know I think today's game bothered me so much because we see the same problems that existed for the past
two seasons. So when I hear it said that it was just one game, I don't look at it that way. If the way this one
game went was an anomaly I would agree, but it wasn't an anomaly. Will the whole season continue to show the
same issues? I don't know. can the team improve rapidly enough to salvage the rest of the season? We can only
hope. It is possible that the players right now are suffering a bit of a crisis of confidence with their ft shooting
and overall shooting, and it could change with just a few shots dropping. That's why they play the games.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 8 years ago

Rod, you're right about all the games where it didn't go Rhody's way in the end....

We also never seem to get a call in these close games.

You would think it should be like flipping a coin, in the long run, the breaks [and calls] should even out.

In URI's case, they never do and never have......

Of course, there has been quite a few times where a missed FT [or more] has cost us games.

The opponents never miss when it counts, or so it seems. At the line or shooting 3's.....Ours rim out...

It's like the curse of the Bambino. It finally had to end though. When will it end for us?

Luke, that's a good point. Same old same old......

Billyboy78 · Unread post by **Billyboy78** » 8 years ago

John Nelson's around the rim and out at the buzzer against Duke is the one I'll never forget.

Unread post by **SGreenwell** » 8 years ago

luke wrote:Ya know I think today's game bothered me so much because we see the same problems that existed for the past
two seasons. So when I hear it said that it was just one game, I don't look at it that way. If the way this one
game went was an anomaly I would agree, but it wasn't an anomaly. Will the whole season continue to show the
same issues? I don't know. can the team improve rapidly enough to salvage the rest of the season? We can only
hope. It is possible that the players right now are suffering a bit of a crisis of confidence with their ft shooting
and overall shooting, and it could change with just a few shots dropping. That's why they play the games.

It's still the same players, or type of players. I mean, it would be awesome if URI had 10 grinders on defense who were awesome on offense too. Those players are incredibly rare; they tend to be all-conference types. In his first few years, I think Hurley has prioritized getting athletic wings who slash and play defense, vs. players like Four McGlynn. I think Matt Butler was recruited to hopefully fill that shooting role, but he didn't work out or develop how they thought he would, which happens sometimes. I'd like to see some more roster variety in the future - maybe some more "offense first" types. But as others have said, having Mathews for this game probably flips it to a 5-point win.