KeaneyBlue - The URI Basketball Forum

A game they should have won, and they did. Great game from Nik.

4-7 isn't great but just think, last year on this date they were 1-10

And there's this!

Overall I'm pretty happy with 4-7, its just when you think about how we should have had a couple of those tough losses early that it becomes a little disappointing.

TruePoint wrote:He's really having a great second half. If we can get Munford and Nik off in the same game, we will always have a chance.

This is a great statement to read out of context

Ha! Get your mind out of the gutter, Greenwell!

Don't forget, we're taking calls in two hours with highlights of this win! Shortly before the show starts at 7p we will post with the number, great win!

adam914 wrote:Overall I'm pretty happy with 4-7, its just when you think about how we should have had a couple of those tough losses early that it becomes a little disappointing.

No! Save yourself, don't do it.

I mean, you can if you want- it's your headache, but don't, not this year

I know...we could easily be 6-5 right now...

Our first win streak under Hurley!

Great second half from Xavier.

Did anyone else notice Marquis Jones & Anthony Malhoit in attendance?

Post-game presser and story now up - http://patch.com/A-07F9 - The nice thing about this time of the year is that the server strain is real low on the ole Patch Network, so both videos encoded and posted really quick.

Ryan Rowdy wrote:Did anyone else notice Marquis Jones & Anthony Malhoit in attendance?

I'm not sure if he was at the game, but there was also talk that Parfait Bitee is in town as well.

ace wrote: No! Save yourself, don't do it.

I mean, you can if you want- it's your headache, but don't, not this year

Haha, I know, you are absolutely right.

Some observations from the RC:
Markus Crider is Ron Hunter's whipping boy. I swear Hunter called a couple of timeouts just to yell at him.
Did anyone else see Hurley push Nik during a timeout because Nik had let his guy go baseline for a layup.
And did anyone see Hurley ask Steve Mac a question during a timeout and Steve looked at a piece of paper and answered him.
Terrible defensive effort in the post by Hare. Flat footed, didn't move his feet. Remember only one block.
Bigby played like he was still in finals.
Strong finish by X. Very sloppy with the ball, though.
Another nice game by Powell.
I remember Aaman hitting his head on floor against SMU. Hope he's back soon.

Feel bad missing a win.
4-2 in our last 6 games.
Look out, A-10!
Why was Munford shut out in the first half, again? Was he in foul trouble?

yes, saw the anger of Coach when Nik got taken baseline. Coach Hurley seems to take all of the opponents hoops as a breakdown somewhere in the defense, rotations, loosing sight of man/ball, not getting to helpside, leaving player w/o ball even slightly open.....(I like that aspect of his coaching)......didn't recall seeing any zone today to mix it up a bit coming out of a TO?

rodfromcranston wrote:Feel bad missing a win.
4-2 in our last 6 games.
Look out, A-10!
Why was Munford shut out in the first half, again? Was he in foul trouble?

He did have 2 fouls in the first half and played 11 minutes, but it really just took him awhile to get going. 0-3 from the field in the half as well.

rodfromcranston wrote:Feel bad missing a win.
4-2 in our last 6 games.
Look out, A-10!
Why was Munford shut out in the first half, again? Was he in foul trouble?

Yeah, he had 2 fouls in the 1st half and only played 11 minutes. He was never in a rhythm .... Second half he really picked up his game. That's the thing I like about X; he doesn't let a bad half influence him in the second. He recovers nicely.

I thought the officiating stunk, by the way. Very inconsistent.

he'd been struggling with his outside shot so it was nice to see him hit a few 3s today, hopefully he gets hot again.

Call-in show starts now, thanks!

I would have to offer there's a consistency to all of our games; and it stems from the defense which is basically steady game in game out. We know what to expect out of the defensive toughness which is evident, we play the offensive end with running plays and a system that is well drilled in practice and then executed in games. No more sloppy picks/ball screens and players going throught the motions, even with the GSU matchup stuff, we played it with confidence on how to attack, keys words I hear, "push it and use it"....."pressure on the ball/shooter/screener.....and all sorts of other delights from the Head Coach. I like this team, the way it works, like these coaches, and really like the direction we are headed, regardless of what conference of the month we/ll be in...........

Good effort today. I would have liked to see less cross court passes. At least four turnovers on sloppy passes. Bigby looked like he had vasaleen on his hands. He just couldn't hold onto the ball. Overall, well played/coached game. Keep up the effort. Stoked for the start of league play.

Hare's defense was nonexistent today. Didn't jump to contest, move his body, do anything. Real poor effort.

I didn't think that URI was capable of playing this poorly and winning. We missed Aaman - he probably would have fouled out, but he would have fought inside. It was a chippy game with two flagrant fouls called and then the refs starting to call it close. Hard to figure how we got this effort after the SMU game. Where was X in the first half? Where was Hare? I'm glad Bigbee is just a one year player.

Andre and Nik played good games. We are not a good team when they go out.

My first attended game this year...sat in 207, Row A (of course, the section was virtually empty!).

I'm admittedly not a hard-core basketball X's and O's guy like some of you guys are...but man, this team looks SO MUCH MORE DISCIPLINED than in the last ten years-passed!

Mumford - HELLO - this kid can play - such quickness!

Love the Hurley coaching style. And acumen!

Thing that struck me the most = last year we would have folded like a cheap tent with < 5 minutes to go in this game, and lost.

Instead, nice strong win.

LOVE IT!

Great to get a win

Nice to see Nik score 22

Get back soon Aaman !!

ace wrote:

That's what I love about Hurley. He gets in these kids faces during practice and games when they do something wrong, but when they play well, he makes sure everybody knows it. He actually goes out of his way to praise his players, whether it be on twitter, the newspaper or press conferences. Nik is a great example. I'm sure Hurley was rough on Nik earlier in the season. After last night's game, he raved about Nik, saying he has been playing at an all-conference level the last two games. This makes the kids realize that when he is screaming at them, it only means he cares and is trying to make them better players.

Yeah I love Hurley and I am enjoying the fact our team is getting better. A10 coming up.

The fact Brooks hedges those screens so hard and fights inside is amazing. I still wish he would just try to finish like a maniac anytime he gets it dumped off, but if he can lay it in with a few fakes that is fine. He's also in such better shape.

Lots of positives to take away, as has been the case recently.

Big O still in the mix to get a waiver? cant help but think of the height of say st josephs. but overall the league is down on height this year I would say. Hare has the tools to be one of the next A10 dominant bigs.

BC knocked off PC? strange.

The challenge with this team going forward seems to be maintaining in-game momentum and the players focus. Our wings are tall save for Powell and he is really coming along so that he is not a liability.

Malone and Nik are tall wings and down-low we have serviceable guys capable of breaking out.

_________________

I want to see Munford shut down Butler's Clarke, Powell go head to head with Umass's Williams...... Lots to look forward to.

Oh and burying Brown.

Seawrightspostgame wrote:The challenge with this team going forward seems to be maintaining in-game momentum and the players focus.

Nothing breaks momentum like a bench full of players who can't score. Aaman will have his moments this year, but there are not going to be a lot of points coming from Brooks, Buchanan, or Bigby- nothing against them, they all seem to be working hard- it's just the type of players they are. The team tend to look a bit more disorganized on offense when they start rotating in because the actual offensive options go way down. You saw it yesterday when Bigby was wide open outside on several occasions- that was purposeful on the part of the defense.

Ace is 100% on the money.
When you have Buchanan, Bigby and Brooks in at the same time, it's
like playing 2 on 5 on offense.
I've seen Bigby, espcecially, pass up wide open looks.
You know when you see this combination on the floor, you'll get
all out effort, but almost no scoring.

Iggy1979 wrote:Some observations from the RC:
Markus Crider is Ron Hunter's whipping boy. I swear Hunter called a couple of timeouts just to yell at him.
Did anyone else see Hurley push Nik during a timeout because Nik had let his guy go baseline for a layup.
And did anyone see Hurley ask Steve Mac a question during a timeout and Steve looked at a piece of paper and answered him.
Terrible defensive effort in the post by Hare. Flat footed, didn't move his feet. Remember only one block.
Bigby played like he was still in finals.
Strong finish by X. Very sloppy with the ball, though.
Another nice game by Powell.
I remember Aaman hitting his head on floor against SMU. Hope he's back soon.

Pretty sure Hurley asked Stevie Mac something about GSU's shooting pct. As soon as he entered the huddle he started screaming about them shooting 42 percent.

A ragged game at best. Any URI post play was absent and the Rams got away with it because GSU had even less. Very disorganized on offense. URI has moved up the defensive effort over last year, but this game was a step back in that respect as shown by GSU getting a few uncontested lay-ups, in addition to several other easy ones. GSU should not have gotten that many points in the paint. Good defensive effort is not only showing frantic intensity, diving for balls, etc. it's also disrupting the passing lanes and disrupting the ball handling and in this respect the Rams were not effective as shown by not getting one steal and forcing very few turnovers - GSU had six for the entire game.

The first half went to URI only because GSU came out so slow. In the second half, except for the three minute spurt by Munford to give URI a ten point lead, URI overall play continued erratic. In a span of three minutes, the 10 point URI lead was down to two. Other than the Munford spurt, Nik carried the load very well with Powell also doing a good job. The best take away from the game was that URI played poorly, yet came away with a win.

Issac wrote:A ragged game at best. Any URI post play was absent and the Rams got away with it because GSU had even less. Very disorganized on offense. URI has moved up the defensive effort over last year, but this game was a step back in that respect as shown by GSU getting a few uncontested lay-ups, in addition to several other easy ones. GSU should not have gotten that many points in the paint. Good defensive effort is not only showing frantic intensity, diving for balls, etc. it's also disrupting the passing lanes and disrupting the ball handling and in this respect the Rams were not effective as shown by not getting one steal and forcing very few turnovers - GSU had six for the entire game.

The first half went to URI only because GSU came out so slow. In the second half, except for the three minute spurt by Munford to give URI a ten point lead, URI overall play continued erratic. In a span of three minutes, the 10 point URI lead was down to two. Other than the Munford spurt, Nik carried the load very well with Powell also doing a good job. The best take away from the game was that URI played poorly, yet came away with a win.

Way to put a positive spin on it...

A win is a win. You're misguided if you're looking for perfection from this group. Seeing them learn how to win ugly is good step.

We need Jordan, Ryan and MikeA to play tough inside. They have 15 fouls to give. The inside lay-ups were a set-back defensively - maybe Ryan and Jordan played softer because MikeA was out. I thought GSU tried to intimidate us. Winning ugly is a good sign. There is no quit in these guys.