2012's Rebuild vs. Today

[Jersey77]

Losing 10 games by less than 5 seems like poor coaching to me. If you were that close how come you didn’t win some of those? If we started to win some of those close ones as the season went on then you could say we have something to point to, but that didn’t happen. I seem to remember a lot of people thinking we’d were going to be a better/different team as we got to mid-Jan, but we never really improved enough to make a difference.

I think with the talent level of this team, there's an argument to be made that we probably should have lost more games by 20+ points, instead of just two (Kansas State, UMass). KenPom has us at the 284th "luckiest" team, and at least in his rankings, we're more in the territory of teams with 11 to 14 wins. Ultimately, I don't think 8 wins vs. 14 means much, but I do think Miller is wringing the most he can out of this roster.

That may well be the case, but I seem to remember us being up in most of the games we lost, only to go into a 5+ min scoring drought that ended up doing us in.

Hey, I hope you’re right and Archie got the most out of this group of America East recruits and when he has enough time to recruit and land players that should be in P6 conferences like Dan did we will be good. I guess we will be good when we are good. Duh!

I didn’t realize how bitter I am at this season until now. It may be my inability to see signs of life and things coming together.

RIF, I am not bitter at all about this season.
I had no expectations so wins and losses really didn't matter that much to me.
The first season of a major rebuild is always a work in progress and filled with disappointments.
Anyone who thinks differently is just looking through rose colored glasses.

The whole situation and loss of Bray is a set-back, because pre-season everyone here felt he was going to be a major piece going forward, but he isn't irreplaceable.

Next year will be key as to see how these players develop, a glimpse of our recruits, and who else Archie adds to fill out this roster.

[Blue Man]

FWIW, I was just looking at our schedule to date and realized we’ve lost 10 games by five points or less and 16 by ten points or less. I think we’re closer to our goals than what many think.

Literally 5 of our last 7 losses (Fordham, GW, VCU, Mason, St Louis) were either missed buzzer beaters (Fordham, GW) missed shots in the last minute (StL), or a made buzzer beater for the other team (VCU).

The idea of "f moral victories" doesn't make sense in YEAR ONE of a rebuild. Yeah, a senior laden team that's been under the same coach for 4 years doesn't get the benefit of pulling positives out of losses. But the cobbled together young team full of injuries that's learning a new system and is all a work in progress? If you're not looking for silver linings maybe just watch this team in 2025 because you'll just be angry all the time.

If you add to the list above overall - La Salle, Brown, BC, Tulane, Texas State, and Quinnipiac all fall into the "make a shot in the last minute, win the game" category. For those keeping track at home - that's 11 games that the literal bounce of a ball changes the outcome.

Say of those 50/50 type games we only get 50% of those bounces instead of zero? Well then we're 14-14 (7-9). Even if all the breaks went our way, 19-9 (10-7) doesn't get us into any postseason play regardless. So no matter what this year you were looking for moral victories. We didn't need the bounces this year, save em for when we do.

Culture and expectations have been set. Hopefully next year you'll have guys with mindsets like Ish/Alex/Lou as the vocal leaders. You'll have Weston emerging as a player. Bassy - despite his shortcomings on the court is obviously doing the right things off the court in Archie's eyes. And you'll bring in guys this staff wants - not guys they have to take.

All of that said - we're inconsistent and this conference sucks. You can't say with absolute certainty that with a few bounces we couldn't turn heads next week.

stop it. moral victories are for losers.

Why did you bother watching this season then? It's a rebuild my man.

[KeaneyBluBallz]

Literally 5 of our last 7 losses (Fordham, GW, VCU, Mason, St Louis) were either missed buzzer beaters (Fordham, GW) missed shots in the last minute (StL), or a made buzzer beater for the other team (VCU).

The idea of "f moral victories" doesn't make sense in YEAR ONE of a rebuild. Yeah, a senior laden team that's been under the same coach for 4 years doesn't get the benefit of pulling positives out of losses. But the cobbled together young team full of injuries that's learning a new system and is all a work in progress? If you're not looking for silver linings maybe just watch this team in 2025 because you'll just be angry all the time.

If you add to the list above overall - La Salle, Brown, BC, Tulane, Texas State, and Quinnipiac all fall into the "make a shot in the last minute, win the game" category. For those keeping track at home - that's 11 games that the literal bounce of a ball changes the outcome.

Say of those 50/50 type games we only get 50% of those bounces instead of zero? Well then we're 14-14 (7-9). Even if all the breaks went our way, 19-9 (10-7) doesn't get us into any postseason play regardless. So no matter what this year you were looking for moral victories. We didn't need the bounces this year, save em for when we do.

Culture and expectations have been set. Hopefully next year you'll have guys with mindsets like Ish/Alex/Lou as the vocal leaders. You'll have Weston emerging as a player. Bassy - despite his shortcomings on the court is obviously doing the right things off the court in Archie's eyes. And you'll bring in guys this staff wants - not guys they have to take.

All of that said - we're inconsistent and this conference sucks. You can't say with absolute certainty that with a few bounces we couldn't turn heads next week.

stop it. moral victories are for losers.

Why did you bother watching this season then? It's a rebuild my man.

Correct, it is a rebuild.

There are no moral victories. That is a loser’s mentality.

[Jdrums#3]

Since the season is almost over, who won the thread - the 2012 Rebuilds or the Today’s ?

Or, is it a tie and we are we going into off-season overtime ?

Oops. Spoke too soon…this baby is still going strong.

Looks like we are headed to best off-season overtime.

[Jersey77]

stop it. moral victories are for losers.

Why did you bother watching this season then? It's a rebuild my man.

Correct, it is a rebuild.

There are no moral victories. That is a loser’s mentality.

I would normally agree with you KBB about "moral victories" but being this is only the 1st year of a "major" rebuild I will over-look it and be satisfied at least for now with just being competitive.

[theblueram]

I think with the talent level of this team, there's an argument to be made that we probably should have lost more games by 20+ points, instead of just two (Kansas State, UMass). KenPom has us at the 284th "luckiest" team, and at least in his rankings, we're more in the territory of teams with 11 to 14 wins. Ultimately, I don't think 8 wins vs. 14 means much, but I do think Miller is wringing the most he can out of this roster.

That may well be the case, but I seem to remember us being up in most of the games we lost, only to go into a 5+ min scoring drought that ended up doing us in.

Hey, I hope you’re right and Archie got the most out of this group of America East recruits and when he has enough time to recruit and land players that should be in P6 conferences like Dan did we will be good. I guess we will be good when we are good. Duh!

I didn’t realize how bitter I am at this season until now. It may be my inability to see signs of life and things coming together.

RIF, I am not bitter at all about this season.
I had no expectations so wins and losses really didn't matter that much to me.
The first season of a major rebuild is always a work in progress and filled with disappointments.
Anyone who thinks differently is just looking through rose colored glasses.

The whole situation and loss of Bray is a set-back, because pre-season everyone here felt he was going to be a major piece going forward, but he isn't irreplaceable.

Next year will be key as to see how these players develop, a glimpse of our recruits, and who else Archie adds to fill out this roster.

Seeing as we don't have an EC or JT type player coming on board next year, we better hope these players develop and pronto.

[Not Mike Powell]

At least we had EC Matthews to look forward to in 2013.

[reef]

At least we had EC Matthews to look forward to in 2013.

Yeah we need to find that 1st signature recruit for Arch like EC was in 2013

[PeterRamTime]

At least we had EC Matthews to look forward to in 2013.

Don't worry we will get some stud transfers and everyone will be happier

[steveystuds06]

I love how some of you are already writing off our two incoming freshman and they haven’t played a second of basketball with us. I understand that this year sucked but man have some faith. Archie is going to bring in and develop talent. I’m excited for Cam and Connor.

[Jersey77]

I love how some of you are already writing off our two incoming freshman and they haven’t played a second of basketball with us. I understand that this year sucked but man have some faith. Archie is going to bring in and develop talent. I’m excited for Cam and Connor.

Yes I think they are a good start.
The staff will be busy this off-season.

[reef]

Yeah I’m hopeful for both Cam and Dubs and maybe we can get about 3 solid transfers whether it’s Juco or D1 , we just need an infusion of better hoop players than we have now

[Jersey77]

Now that the regular season has ended, some final thoughts.

No way to sugar coat it, this season has been very disappointing.
Even though I knew we would struggle and have a losing year, I didn't expect it to be quite this bad.

Yeah our overall record was similar to Hurley's in 2012-2013 and had a couple more conference wins, I still expected more.
Remember the A10 was stronger in Dan's first year, sending 5 teams to the NCAAT.
Dan also came in as a young up and comer and moved up from a much weaker conference.
Archie although sitting out last year had previous success in our conference and was also a HC in P5.

On a positive note, going forward I still have plenty of faith that Archie and this staff will turn it around and build a very competitive roster.
Ish is an All-A10 caliber player and I feel Weston with his athletic talent may have the most upside.
Foumena we know little about, except from his recruiting videos, but he is athletic and has great size.
It is a shame Bilau struggled with injuries, but we did get a positive small glimpse from him.
Rory is not a 5 but can stretch it at the 4, still raw but only a freshman,
Alex also long and athletic but also very raw, can develop though.

Bassy had a poor game against Davidson, his worst in the last several.
Still he can play a role going forward, just not a starter.

And yes, I am excited to see what Dubs and Cam will do in Rhody blue.

There are several pieces currently on this roster that Archie will probably want to upgrade, so let's see what happens in the portal.

Dan Hurley brought in EC and Hassan his 2nd year, which set the stage for his future success and that big jump in his 3rd season.
I expect no less from Archie, hope it plays out well for us.

[adam914]

Now that the regular season has ended, some final thoughts.

No way to sugar coat it, this season has been very disappointing.
Even though I knew we would struggle and have a losing year, I didn't expect it to be quite this bad.

Yeah our overall record was similar to Hurley's in 2012-2013 and had a couple more conference wins, I still expected more.
Remember the A10 was stronger in Dan's first year, sending 5 teams to the NCAAT.
Dan also came in as a young up and comer and moved up from a much weaker conference.
Archie although sitting out last year had previous success in our conference and was also a HC in P5.

On a positive note, going forward I still have plenty of faith that Archie and this staff will turn it around and build a very competitive roster.
Ish is an All-A10 caliber player and I feel Weston with his athletic talent may have the most upside.
Foumena we know little about, except from his recruiting videos, but he is athletic and has great size.
It is a shame Bilau struggled with injuries, but we did get a positive small glimpse from him.
Rory is not a 5 but can stretch it at the 4, still raw but only a freshman,
Alex also long and athletic but also very raw, can develop though.

Bassy had a poor game against Davidson, his worst in the last several.
Still he can play a role going forward, just not a starter.

And yes, I am excited to see what Dubs and Cam will do in Rhody blue.

There are several pieces currently on this roster that Archie will probably want to upgrade, so let's see what happens in the portal.

Dan Hurley brought in EC and Hassan his 2nd year, which set the stage for his future success and that big jump in his 3rd season.
I expect no less from Archie, hope it plays out well for us.

I think you nailed it here. This is pretty much exactly where I'm at right now.

[ram1980]

Disappointed in the season overall. All I expected was continuous improvement as the season wore on. Let's be honest, we didn't get that . I'm a little worried about Archie's stubbornness in not adapting his defensive philosophy to his personnel. It's ok to play zone once in awhile, especially with Rory on the floor. It was painfully obvious that he was over his head defensively at the 5. I understand Archie has a defensive philosophy. But with the new portal world is he going to be first able to recruit players to install his defense and more importantly keep these players. Next year will certainly be important for his plans to come more into focus. Improvement is a must next year. Looking forward to it.

[section(105)]

Disappointed in the season overall. All I expected was continuous improvement as the season wore on. Let's be honest, we didn't get that . I'm a little worried about Archie's stubbornness in not adapting his defensive philosophy to his personnel. It's ok to play zone once in awhile, especially with Rory on the floor. It was painfully obvious that he was over his head defensively at the 5. I understand Archie has a defensive philosophy. But with the new portal world is he going to be first able to recruit players to install his defense and more importantly keep these players. Next year will certainly be important for his plans to come more into focus. Improvement is a must next year. Looking forward to it.

Successful leaders(coaches)have to be able to adapt to changes in the environment which they work.

[Billyboy78]

Yes, we need a lot of changes to the roster. But that also means that the 'rebuild' basically starts from scratch again next year. If Archie's defense takes so much time to learn, won't having 7 or 8 new players next year look very similar to this year? Obviously, talent upgrades will help, but I don't expect much of an improvement next year either.

[RamStock]

Yes, we need a lot of changes to the roster. But that also means that the 'rebuild' basically starts from scratch again next year. If Archie's defense takes so much time to learn, won't having 7 or 8 new players next year look very similar to this year? Obviously, talent upgrades will help, but I don't expect much of an improvement next year either.

I think you are right that they will be starting from scratch in some aspects. A couple of the players that remain will have learned Archie’s system, but even with upgraded talent it will take time for them to learn the system and develop to where we are winning more games. It has to be done for the program to move forward into NCAA caliber team. It is a big off season for Archie.

[KevanBoyles]

I expect some but not a lot of improvement next year because we will still be a very young team. I only expect see significant improvement starting in year 3 when we will have twice as much collective experience than what we have now or next yer.

[RF1]

I think this season was just an exercise in futility that likely only further delayed the rebuild. Very little good came out of this season. I did not see the player development as the year progressed which would be something to build upon. Most of the players were just as bad at the end as they were when the season started. The program appears to have a big shortage of talent preventing it from significant future improvement.

[section(105)]

I think this season was just an exercise in futility that likely only further delayed the rebuild. Very little good came out of this season. I did not see the player development as the year progressed which would be something to build upon. Most of the players were just as bad at the end as they were when the season started. The program appears to have a big shortage of talent preventing it from significant future improvement.

I think Ish made significant progress and confidence from last year. After last year, I was not big n him. Hope he stays.

[RF1]

I think this season was just an exercise in futility that likely only further delayed the rebuild. Very little good came out of this season. I did not see the player development as the year progressed which would be something to build upon. Most of the players were just as bad at the end as they were when the season started. The program appears to have a big shortage of talent preventing it from significant future improvement.

I think Ish made significant progress and confidence from last year. After last year, I was not big n him. Hope he stays.

Agreed. You however need more than JUST ONE building block.

[Billyboy78]

One example of young players having a hard time learning the system is Hutchinson. We saw early in the season that he had some offensive ability. You have to go way back, but he scored 15 points in a game very early on. Then once conference play started, he had a string of 9 straight DNPs. I could be wrong, but I assume that was related to struggles on defense. The frosh next year seem to have good offensive skills. But can they pick up this defense enough to help the team next year? Louis couldn't.

[bigappleram]

Rory was 8-15 on threes over his last month of season. That’s night and day from month 1 Rory. Still overmatched on defensive end which was exacerbated by him having to play out of position but to say he didn’t improve is erroneous. Same on Weston and Alex. I think Alex and Rory can be role pieces on a good team…and I think Weston can be an all conf player in this league. I think all 3 plus Ish are potential foundational pieces.

Now we have to surround them with 2-3 more guards that can score and defend including a true PG. And we desperately need a legit 4 man. I think Cam and Connor have potential but I will never rely on FR to be major impact pieces on a good team. Those missing pieces have to come from the portal. It’s go time for Archie and 99% sure he knows what he needs too.

[RIFan]

Is Xavier playing the pack line? I assume they are since it’s a Miller family staple. If they are running it, how did they learn it so quick? Or did Sean adapt to his players?

Also, Sean who was out of the game with infraction allegations was able to secure 2 top 100 freshmen. But Archie, being out is an excuse for his poor recruiting.

[steveystuds06]

Is Xavier playing the pack line? I assume they are since it’s a Miller family staple. If they are running it, how did they learn it so quick? Or did Sean adapt to his players?

Also, Sean who was out of the game with infraction allegations was able to secure 2 top 100 freshmen. But Archie, being out is an excuse for his poor recruiting.

Clearly you don't know this but it's easier to recruit at a big east program like Xavier compared to an A10 program coming off back-to-back bad seasons. Archie didn't do a good enough job with the recruits but Archie walked into a tougher situation

[adam914]

The pack line stuff is way overblown on here. Sure it's more difficult to learn than a typical man to man, but I think it's just been used as an excuse to try and find a way to explain such a bad season when in reality we just need more talent at this point.

[bigappleram]

The pack line stuff is way overblown on here. Sure it's more difficult to learn than a typical man to man, but I think it's just been used as an excuse to try and find a way to explain such a bad season when in reality we just need more talent at this point.

This. There is not much evidence at all that our defensive schemes are unique or in any way overly complex. Not yet anyhow. A team that struggles to rebound and protect the paint will be hard pressed to be great defensively I don’t care what the scheme is.

[section(105)]

The pack line stuff is way overblown on here. Sure it's more difficult to learn than a typical man to man, but I think it's just been used as an excuse to try and find a way to explain such a bad season when in reality we just need more talent at this point.

Is it like brain science or rocket surgery?

[SandorClegane]

In 2023, a rebuild will likely be much quicker with the ability to secure immediate transfers. Back in our previous rebuild, Hurley had to recruit freshman and watch them grow. This is different. Teams can go from last to first in the blink of an eye if you can bring in difference makers via the portal.

[RIFan]

Is Xavier playing the pack line? I assume they are since it’s a Miller family staple. If they are running it, how did they learn it so quick? Or did Sean adapt to his players?

Also, Sean who was out of the game with infraction allegations was able to secure 2 top 100 freshmen. But Archie, being out is an excuse for his poor recruiting.

Clearly you don't know this but it's easier to recruit at a big east program like Xavier compared to an A10 program coming off back-to-back bad seasons. Archie didn't do a good enough job with the recruits but Archie walked into a tougher situation

Just coming out of hibernation and didn’t know the BE has advantages! Glad Dan didn’t know that! Seriously, I wasn’t expecting 2 top 100 recruits, but I was certainly expecting better than what we ended up with.

Ok, if the pack line excuse is overblown, which was an excuse people were using, then these kids just are not good at rebounding and defending. Once again, America East recruits for an A10 team.

[Jdrums#3]

Yes, we need a lot of changes to the roster. But that also means that the 'rebuild' basically starts from scratch again next year. If Archie's defense takes so much time to learn, won't having 7 or 8 new players next year look very similar to this year? Obviously, talent upgrades will help, but I don't expect much of an improvement next year either.

I think you are right that they will be starting from scratch in some aspects. A couple of the players that remain will have learned Archie’s system, but even with upgraded talent it will take time for them to learn the system and develop to where we are winning more games. It has to be done for the program to move forward into NCAA caliber team. It is a big off season for Archie.

Regarding portal players learning the pack line D, I will be closely watching other teams coaches who utilize the same D philosophy as Archie (Virginia, for instance) to see how successful they are at incorporating new pieces from the portal.

[Rhody22]

I hope Archie realizes/admits his approach to roster building this year was a failure and can put together a much better roster for next year.

[KevanBoyles]

I

Yes, we need a lot of changes to the roster. But that also means that the 'rebuild' basically starts from scratch again next year. If Archie's defense takes so much time to learn, won't having 7 or 8 new players next year look very similar to this year? Obviously, talent upgrades will help, but I don't expect much of an improvement next year either.

I think you are right that they will be starting from scratch in some aspects. A couple of the players that remain will have learned Archie’s system, but even with upgraded talent it will take time for them to learn the system and develop to where we are winning more games. It has to be done for the program to move forward into NCAA caliber team. It is a big off season for Archie.

Regarding portal players learning the pack line D, I will be closely watching other teams coaches who utilize the same D philosophy as Archie (Virginia, for instance) to see how successful they are at incorporating new pieces from the portal.

It took TB 3 years to dance and he went through a lot of players to get there.

[rhodyrudder]

In 2023, a rebuild will likely be much quicker with the ability to secure immediate transfers. Back in our previous rebuild, Hurley had to recruit freshman and watch them grow. This is different. Teams can go from last to first in the blink of an eye if you can bring in difference makers via the portal.

How are we going to pay any players to come here?

[NYGFan_Section208]

In 2023, a rebuild will likely be much quicker with the ability to secure immediate transfers. Back in our previous rebuild, Hurley had to recruit freshman and watch them grow. This is different. Teams can go from last to first in the blink of an eye if you can bring in difference makers via the portal.

How are we going to pay any players to come here?

GoFundMe? Have a 5k to raise money? Bake sale?

[Jersey77]

In 2023, a rebuild will likely be much quicker with the ability to secure immediate transfers. Back in our previous rebuild, Hurley had to recruit freshman and watch them grow. This is different. Teams can go from last to first in the blink of an eye if you can bring in difference makers via the portal.

Although the path to the NCAAT may be more difficult now then it was before.
The expanded P5 conferences and schedules (BE also with 20 games) and the NIL isn't making it any easier for the mid-majors.
The portal can work both ways, the A10 has also lost many impact players transferring out.

As for Hurley, the staff did a great job recruiting, but they didn't just rely on growing the freshman.
Some of the transfers and jucos he also brought in: Munford, Biruta, Malone, McGlynn, Iverson, Stan, and Berry.

[LIRAM]

The pack line stuff is way overblown on here. Sure it's more difficult to learn than a typical man to man, but I think it's just been used as an excuse to try and find a way to explain such a bad season when in reality we just need more talent at this point.

This. There is not much evidence at all that our defensive schemes are unique or in any way overly complex. Not yet anyhow. A team that struggles to rebound and protect the paint will be hard pressed to be great defensively I don’t care what the scheme is.

Chris Mack and Sean Miller play a more open sceme using many packline principles. They both like to attack the offensive glass and extend on the perimeter. They occasionally blast dribble handoffs and rarely ever go under/drop on screen and roll. You are even seeing Coach Bennett loosen up as he gets better athletes and looks to score at a higher rate (almost 70 pts per game for a Virginia team). Many on the board think this packline is something special or a real difference maker. Defense is Defense. We had/have two bad perimeter defenders- Bray and Bassy(fouls and gets bullied) and three good defenders (Malik, Carey, Ish). B.Wes shows grit and toughness that will make him effective. Our interior defense was the major problem. Once we lost Bilou we could not hedge out on ball screens and disrupt flow.

I think Archie would like to play more of the system Sean and Chris play. Coach Bennett is even moving closer to this system than the traditional sprint back and set packline of his old man. I have never been a huge fan of the packline and very few teams use it. I love the Coach Huggins Box/line system that many use or what Buzz does at A@M, Danny did here, or what Coach Barnes does at Tenn.

[rhodyrudder]

We had/have two bad perimeter defenders- Bray and Bassy(fouls and gets bullied) and three good defenders (Malik, Carey, Ish).

If Bassy is a bad defender, why was he the one guarding the only guy who could hurt us last night?
Wtf?
Ish ended up grabbing him a few times when Bassy was sitting, but Loyer was the only guy in a 25-mile radius who could hit a shot.
BlueMan and others have a lot of KoolAid, but I’m not sold yet.

Let’s go 10 minutes without a single F-n point during some stretch, AND STILL NOT CALL A BLEEPING TIMEOUT?!?

[section(105)]

With such awful offense with inability to score, any deficiencies in defense are going to get overblown, No?

[McRam]

In 2023, a rebuild will likely be much quicker with the ability to secure immediate transfers. Back in our previous rebuild, Hurley had to recruit freshman and watch them grow. This is different. Teams can go from last to first in the blink of an eye if you can bring in difference makers via the portal.

How are we going to pay any players to come here?

We are not competing against the P5's, It would be illustrative to know what Loyer,Baldwin and Oduro are getting in NIL money. That is our competition.

[Rhody15]

We had/have two bad perimeter defenders- Bray and Bassy(fouls and gets bullied) and three good defenders (Malik, Carey, Ish).

If Bassy is a bad defender, why was he the one guarding the only guy who could hurt us last night?
Wtf?
Ish ended up grabbing him a few times when Bassy was sitting, but Loyer was the only guy in a 25-mile radius who could hit a shot.
BlueMan and others have a lot of KoolAid, but I’m not sold yet.

Let’s go 10 minutes without a single F-n point during some stretch, AND STILL NOT CALL A BLEEPING TIMEOUT?!?

Yea I found it ironic that during senior night introductions, Carey was announced as our best on ball defender, then didn’t guard Loyer.

[LIRAM]

We had/have two bad perimeter defenders- Bray and Bassy(fouls and gets bullied) and three good defenders (Malik, Carey, Ish).

If Bassy is a bad defender, why was he the one guarding the only guy who could hurt us last night?
Wtf?
Ish ended up grabbing him a few times when Bassy was sitting, but Loyer was the only guy in a 25-mile radius who could hit a shot.
BlueMan and others have a lot of KoolAid, but I’m not sold yet.

Let’s go 10 minutes without a single F-n point during some stretch, AND STILL NOT CALL A BLEEPING TIMEOUT?!?

Just calling as I see it. Please don't take it personal. We were terrible last night! No one played well. Anyone who thinks that defense is a positive in the young man's game is truly drinking a lot of KoolAid. 31 minutes can expose a lot. 10 minutes a game can hide a lot. I think most are in agreement that 10 minutes on a good team is the ceiling right now. Timeouts will not save this group! lol This is a bad team without an A10 level lead guard. We are currently doomed. We were in trouble with Bray running the show too... at least his offense kept people honest and teams had to game plan for him. Now teams game plan for Ish and who?
I will stick with my statement that Bassy is not a good defender. He certainly has the heart of a lion and I would want him on my team any day. Just not playing 30 plus minutes a game. Let's not get confused here. Lots of players across the Country could come in here and put up numbers on our team. We are terrible. If he played defense like Howard Smith or Carlos Easterling than he would see more time. I do not want to bash the kid he does a tremendous job representing our University but... he would be hard pressed to be on any decent Rhody team of the past. So would more than half our current roster. Its a credit to the guy who did not use a timeout that this group was in as many games as they were in. I will continue to drink Archie's Kool Aid.

[section(105)]

The Archie Kool Aid is Keaney Blue color. For anyone to say we were ‘3.6pts average loss for X number of games’ as an indicator of a near miss, a bounce or two our way etc, etc, and the record would be better, is not seeing the steep hill ahead.

[steveystuds06]

Is Xavier playing the pack line? I assume they are since it’s a Miller family staple. If they are running it, how did they learn it so quick? Or did Sean adapt to his players?

Also, Sean who was out of the game with infraction allegations was able to secure 2 top 100 freshmen. But Archie, being out is an excuse for his poor recruiting.

Clearly you don't know this but it's easier to recruit at a big east program like Xavier compared to an A10 program coming off back-to-back bad seasons. Archie didn't do a good enough job with the recruits but Archie walked into a tougher situation

Just coming out of hibernation and didn’t know the BE has advantages! Glad Dan didn’t know that! Seriously, I wasn’t expecting 2 top 100 recruits, but I was certainly expecting better than what we ended up with.

Ok, if the pack line excuse is overblown, which was an excuse people were using, then these kids just are not good at rebounding and defending. Once again, America East recruits for an A10 team.

Some of you are so obsessed with the top 100 recruits. We need Archie to land a couple of cornerstone players. It can be a first-year player, transfer, or juco with any ranking. I don’t care.

We all expected better. That doesn’t mean that every recruit coming in is gonna be a letdown. I still believe in his ability to bring in talent.

I think Cam Estevez could be a big part of our future. Im sure you and others instantly think he’s nothing special because of a star rating that a random website gave him, but I think we are getting a very good player.

I like Connor as well.

If the rumor is true that we are getting that 3rd SG, that will give us 3 incoming guards that can shoot the rock. My guess is Archie may want to land an older immediate impact PG as well as it's tough to rely on true freshman.

We may need another wing, but I hope Weston is our starting SF next year. He showed in the last game that when he has a role, he can make an impact. He's only going to get better

Some people gave up on Rory, but as many of us said, he actually can shoot! He will be a nice piece moving forward

I like Alex, but as I said, I heard the staff knows they need to upgrade the position, and he may be moving on. I hope he stays

Foumena will be raw, but he’ll be the post-presence we need eventually

So I like some of our pieces, but Archie has to land some of his top targets this off-season.

If all our players suck next year and he has a bunch of recruiting misses, then I’ll start to agree with some of the negative people on here, but I think we will have a better team and better pieces to build upon.

[theblueram]

I'm going to wait until the October signings. This would be a full year for Archie to recruit and sign freshmen. The '24 class for me will let me know where this is going.

[Rhody72]

...
We all expected better. That doesn’t mean that every recruit coming in is gonna be a letdown. I still believe in his ability to bring in talent.
...

I didn't expect much better. We got about what I expected. Eventually we will dig our way out of the hole, and then we will dig another hole for ourselves. Our problems are self-inflicted.

[reef]

Yeah I’m all about where we are after the 2nd 3rd 4th year , this year stunk on par with DH 1st year , let’s see what happens when the roster gets upgraded which I expect

[rhodyrudder]

I am not into bashing anybody on our team. Ever.
I was just wondering how the defensive matchups got decided.
Somebody told the guys who to guard…

And there aren’t many CYO coaches who would let a team go ten minutes without a point and fail to use a timeout…not even the use-it-or-lose-it one that we ended up losing.

Coach the damn team! There are a lot of people watching…

I really like KoolAid, I swear…
I just haven’t had any yet, I guess.
Plain and simple, this team stinks, and I want better.
I want better from the players, and yes thank you for establishing culture…
But I want better from the coaches too.
I can’t believe some of the things I watched this year, and last night in particular, in terms of our offensive ineptitude.

And oh yeah, I’ve already renewed my tickets for next year. But I couldn’t do it at the Ryan Center BECAUSE THE FREAKING INTERNET DOESN’T WORK!!!

See you in Brooklyn.

[RIFan]

Clearly you don't know this but it's easier to recruit at a big east program like Xavier compared to an A10 program coming off back-to-back bad seasons. Archie didn't do a good enough job with the recruits but Archie walked into a tougher situation

Just coming out of hibernation and didn’t know the BE has advantages! Glad Dan didn’t know that! Seriously, I wasn’t expecting 2 top 100 recruits, but I was certainly expecting better than what we ended up with.

Ok, if the pack line excuse is overblown, which was an excuse people were using, then these kids just are not good at rebounding and defending. Once again, America East recruits for an A10 team.

Some of you are so obsessed with the top 100 recruits. We need Archie to land a couple of cornerstone players. It can be a first-year player, transfer, or juco with any ranking. I don’t care.

We all expected better. That doesn’t mean that every recruit coming in is gonna be a letdown. I still believe in his ability to bring in talent.

I think Cam Estevez could be a big part of our future. Im sure you and others instantly think he’s nothing special because of a star rating that a random website gave him, but I think we are getting a very good player.

I like Connor as well.

If the rumor is true that we are getting that 3rd SG, that will give us 3 incoming guards that can shoot the rock. My guess is Archie may want to land an older immediate impact PG as well as it's tough to rely on true freshman.

We may need another wing, but I hope Weston is our starting SF next year. He showed in the last game that when he has a role, he can make an impact. He's only going to get better

Some people gave up on Rory, but as many of us said, he actually can shoot! He will be a nice piece moving forward

I like Alex, but as I said, I heard the staff knows they need to upgrade the position, and he may be moving on. I hope he stays

Foumena will be raw, but he’ll be the post-presence we need eventually

So I like some of our pieces, but Archie has to land some of his top targets this off-season.

If all our players suck next year and he has a bunch of recruiting misses, then I’ll start to agree with some of the negative people on here, but I think we will have a better team and better pieces to build upon.

It was illustrative just to compare what one Miller did compared to the other while both being unemployed for a year. As the year off was a common reason for the lack of impact players in this class. The one who was not alleged to have cheated didn’t do as well.

I don’t care about ratings either, those are just for off season hype. I’m not sure what to think about Connor, if it’s true he had to transfer because he wasn’t playing enough at the first prep school…is his current one as good?