KeaneyBlue - The URI Basketball Forum

URI at 21..

Here we go again.....
Rothstein also said our transfers were going to
make us wonderful two years ago.

21? Great.

On what basis? EC coming back 100%?

The new players being great?

We make shots at the end of games?

Dan becomes a tactical genius all of a sudden?

So many assumptions.

5 seed here we come! Good grief.........

Hope he's right, though, but I'm not betting the farm on it.

Cool. Better to be mentioned than not. There's no downside to this.

It's cool Ace....but do they need the pressure of expectations?

I agree with the sentiment from Rod and others but today's game is all about hype and marketing for the program. Any buzz is good buzz which will help Dan recruit this summer.

rambone 78 wrote: So many assumptions.

What else is there at this point? Kind of tough to make a Top 25 for next season based on anything but assumptions.

ace wrote:Cool. Better to be mentioned than not. There's no downside to this.

Right...absolutely none.

Sounds about right. I saw the clip on CBS of his top 25; he couldn't stop talking about us. Said were gonna be "sensational".

Let's be pissed about it!

haha so pissed about this.

rambone 78 wrote:It's cool Ace....but do they need the pressure of expectations?

^This...is just absurd. Rambo, please walk this back and we'll all pretend you never said it.
I'd even help petition the mods to remove it.

The post stays

I'm pissed that we are only 21....there is no downside to this......the kids and coaches need to live up to lofty expectations....

This is what he announced on CBS Tonight pregame:
Top 5 Surprise Teams:
1. Creighton
2. Clemson
3. LaSalle - said 3 transfers eligible led by DJ Johnson a transfer from Syracuse
4. Minnesota
5. Oklahoma State

Top 5 Surprise Players:
1. Jacob Evans - Cincinnati
2. Donavan Mitchell - Louisville
3. Dion Wiley - Maryland
4. Dante Buford - Oklahoma
5. Kassoum Yakwe - St Johns

Top 25:
1. Duke
2. Villanova
3. Kansas
4. Xavier
5. Kentucky
6. Virginia
7. Wisconsin
8. Oregon
9. UCLA
10. Arizona
11. Michigan State
12. Louisville
13. West Virginia
14. USC
15. UNC
16. UCONN
17. Cincinnati
19. Syracuse
20. Gonzaga
21. Rhode Island
22. Michigan
23. Creighton
24. Colorado
25. Virginia Tech

http://www.cbssports.com/video/player/v ... ext-season

Villanova #2? Haha yeah right. Recency bias run amock. Next year they will back to what they are. Probably a 6 seed bounced in first round.

Stop it.

23. Rhode Island

Returning: E.C. Matthews, Jared Terrell, Hassan Martin, Kuran Iverson, Jarvis Garrett, Danny Hurley
Newcomers: Stanford Robinson, Mike Layssard, Jeff Dowtin, Cyril Langevine, Michael Tertsea
Why they’re here: The Rams are as talented as any team in the Atlantic 10 in recent memory. Can Danny Hurley put the pieces together?

http://collegebasketball.nbcsports.com/ ... on-top-25/

Great to see us ranked in this one.
But wait........
Jonathon Holton returning for West Virginia? Huh?

rambone 78 wrote:It's cool Ace....but do they need the pressure of expectations?

Yes.

Brennan's way too early rankings leave us out......

I think we'll be in the "others receiving votes" category when the AP and coaches preseason rankings come out.

To me, that's a fair assessment. We have to prove we belong......

rambone 78 wrote:It's cool Ace....but do they need the pressure of expectations?

The players and staff embrace these expectations.

Only on this site would fans be upset at getting on this list.

I've learned to avoid having expectations. If this team doesn't live up to my unrealistic expectations then there is nothing but disappointment. It's OK to be excited for the season and this team but to set a bar so high will only make us all crazy. I hope they are in the top 25 but I'm not going to expect it. Now for making the NCAA's....that's a different story.

Well put, 1019. Agree.

Who the hell said anything about being upset????
Try being realistic,especially if the source is Rothstein.
Or didn't anyone learn a thing over these years?
Someone wants Rambone's post removed?
Are you fucking serious?
THAT upsets me.

18th in Parrish's (posted here), to go with 23rd (Dauster/NBC) and 21st (Rothstein) in the others


http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketb ... 25-and-one

Rod, it's quite useless to argue with some on here.

That much is predictable........

I find 208's evolution on this board interesting. Certainly a different tone there than 5 months ago.

I like Rambone's posts.

I dont think there will be tons of pressure on the team. It is fairly rare that a college team grasps the moment and it plays the way that they would like to play all of the time.

I think the pressure is on Dan Hurley. Especially with the preseason rankings. Throw in the Excellence fund. The tri-state schools barking at his door all of the time.

Also, I dont think the pressure is so much external as it likely is from himself. Of course our fan base and the college bb media expect a season URI can be proud of, but this isn't like hes Kirk Herbstreit moving out of Columbus or Tommy Tuberville being run out of Auburn. Our pressure is really low on the scale.

He has to feel the pressure of someone that identifies himself as a competitor. And not just any competitor, but one that carry's his last name and a reputation for fierce competition.

rodfromcranston wrote:Who the hell said anything about being upset????
Try being realistic,especially if the source is Rothstein.
Or didn't anyone learn a thing over these years?
Someone wants Rambone's post removed?
Are you fucking serious?
THAT upsets me.

I don't "want" Rambone's post removed...but, would think, after giving some thought to his silly "I hope they aren't ranked" statement...that HE would. And I offered to help.

rodfromcranston wrote:Who the hell said anything about being upset????
Try being realistic,especially if the source is Rothstein.
Or didn't anyone learn a thing over these years?
Someone wants Rambone's post removed?
Are you fucking serious?
THAT upsets me.

Apparently, we are not only upset. We are pissed.

I love this. It is easier to stay in it than to get there if you aren't ranked early. Put pressure on them. Danny's make or break year.

Its is good for the A10 Conference too for Dayton and URI to be in the Rankings.
I'd much rather have Dayton and URI in the rankings than Dayton and VCU, George Washington, Davidson, St Louis or others from the past.
I'd also much prefer the University of Rhode Island Rams in the Preseason Top 25 than the Providence College Friars. SeanMc, Boxworth and Darth must be having a particularly hard time with these rankings Going to be a long summer for them

I DON'T SEE GOING FROM AN RPI OF 120 TO BEING RANKED SOLEY ON EC RETURN

WHO SITS IF WE PLAY ONE OF THE FROSH AT THE 5;PROBABLY NOT IN THE FRONT COURT;THAT MEANS EC,TERRELL OR GARRET SITS

MY EXPECTATIONS ARE EITHER A PLAY IN GAME OR AN 11 OR 12 SEED

A HIGH EARLY RANKING IS IS CRAZY--IT TAKES TIME TO BUILD CHEMISTRY

You try not to get excited, but THIS IS AWESOME.

It is going to take time for EC to get back to 100%. Practice is intense, but it's not games.

It will also take a while for the freshmen to acclimate themselves, same as it did for EC, Hassan, etc.

Still, we can't afford to lose most of our close games against better teams in the OOC schedule.

Things have to click, and click relatively quickly, or we'll be in the hole early.

I will be surprised if we are ranked by the time conference play starts. This is all too early, but it's an opinion only.

That's why I think we end up around a 10 seed by the time it's over. Winning 25+ games and being a 5 or 6 seed is just too optimistic in my view. It's possible yes. Likely? No.

I always thought Rothstein had about 40 teams in his Top 25.

kal-65 wrote:I DON'T SEE GOING FROM AN RPI OF 120 TO BEING RANKED SOLEY ON EC RETURN

WHO SITS IF WE PLAY ONE OF THE FROSH AT THE 5;PROBABLY NOT IN THE FRONT COURT;THAT MEANS EC,TERRELL OR GARRET SITS

MY EXPECTATIONS ARE EITHER A PLAY IN GAME OR AN 11 OR 12 SEED

A HIGH EARLY RANKING IS IS CRAZY--IT TAKES TIME TO BUILD CHEMISTRY

It's not only based on EC's return:
1. EC Healthy and now a Senior
2. Martin Healty. We learned late in the season that Hassan had been hurt for most of the season explaining why he was not his dominating self. He will be a Senior
3. Iverson Healthy and now a Senior. He was hurt for several games.
4. Garrett Healthy and now a Junior
5. Terrell now a Junior
6. So a 3 Senior and 2 Junior Line Up with no Starters graduating is about as veteran a group as you can get.
7. Stanford Robinson now a Junior. Top 100 ESPN transfer from Indiana provides defense and depth at guard
8. Christion Thompson, Nikola Akele and Berry are all Sophomores having received significant Playing time as Freshmen due to injuries to EC, Hassan, Jarvis and Kuran
9. Dowtin, Layssard, Tertsea and Langevine all signed in early signing period last November. All solid prospects.
10. Other teams in A10 have lost key contributors to graduation. URI returns all 5 starters and adds experience and depth. If there was ever at time in the DH era this is it.

Agree it is a big jump from 120 to 21. I look at it more as URI should be one of the top 2 teams in the A10 and the A10 deserves 2 teams in the Top 25.

Rothstien is a total asshat and talks out of both sides of his mouth.This is one of his tweets from yesterday Jon Rothstein ‏@JonRothstein Apr 4
Much has been made about Villanova stepping up a weight class vs. UNC, but opposite is also true: Cats will be best team Heels have played.
I don't deny that NC was the best team Nova played but stepping up in weight class from Kansas and Oklahoma are very good wins. I personally think he was the only one thinking this. URI will have very high expectations next year I think everyone knows that. Not sure why everyone gets giddy when this clown says it.

ramster wrote:

kal-65 wrote:I DON'T SEE GOING FROM AN RPI OF 120 TO BEING RANKED SOLEY ON EC RETURN

WHO SITS IF WE PLAY ONE OF THE FROSH AT THE 5;PROBABLY NOT IN THE FRONT COURT;THAT MEANS EC,TERRELL OR GARRET SITS

MY EXPECTATIONS ARE EITHER A PLAY IN GAME OR AN 11 OR 12 SEED

A HIGH EARLY RANKING IS IS CRAZY--IT TAKES TIME TO BUILD CHEMISTRY

It's not only based on EC's return:
1. EC Healthy and now a Senior
2. Martin Healty. We learned late in the season that Hassan had been hurt for most of the season explaining why he was not his dominating self. He will be a Senior
3. Iverson Healthy and now a Senior. He was hurt for several games.
4. Garrett Healthy and now a Junior
5. Terrell now a Junior
6. So a 3 Senior and 2 Junior Line Up with no Starters graduating is about as veteran a group as you can get.
7. Stanford Robinson now a Junior. Top 100 ESPN transfer from Indiana provides defense and depth at guard
8. Christion Thompson, Nikola Akele and Berry are all Sophomores having received significant Playing time as Freshmen due to injuries to EC, Hassan, Jarvis and Kuran
9. Dowtin, Layssard, Tertsea and Langevine all signed in early signing period last November. All solid prospects.
10. Other teams in A10 have lost key contributors to graduation. URI returns all 5 starters and adds experience and depth. If there was ever at time in the DH era this is it.

Agree it is a big jump from 120 to 21. I look at it more as URI should be one of the top 2 teams in the A10 and the A10 deserves 2 teams in the Top 25.

Exactly.

One thing they get with Hurley is the benefit of doubt and great press. Anyone who is concerned about living up to expectations should realize how helpful it is for recruiting to go all summer listed in the top 25. I'll take it!

In summary,

And it's overstating to say go from 120 to 20, when the rankings are a lot more aligned with metrics like KenPom -- not RPI.

URI was 83rd last year in KenPom and 56 in the NIT year.

Some of you guys are unbelievable!!! Upset because we are getting a ton of great press already???Enjoy the next few years. This is what we waited for, it'll be fun... Just too funny.

I love it. People legitimately getting PISSED we have hype for next year.

Ok fine, lets be St Louis, GM, Fordham, with zero buzz going into next year.

Rhody15 wrote:I love it. People legitimately getting PISSED we have hype for next year.

Ok fine, lets be St Louis, GM, Fordham, with zero buzz going into next year.

Yep...doesn't get much sillier really...

We are in every preseason top 25 except for espn's.

It's just awesome to see Rhode Island on lists like that.
These guys like Rothstein have always believed in Dan Hurley and EC.
Although if they all watched as much Rhode Island basketball as we did this year I don't think they would rank us in the top 25.
However, I don't think they're crazy to put us with those teams. I may not expect what I want, but if say we very well should be in the top 25 next year with the talent we have.

PeterRamTime wrote:We are in every preseason top 25 except for espn's.

It's just awesome to see Rhode Island on lists like that.
These guys like Rothstein have always believed in Dan Hurley and EC.
Although if they all watched as much Rhode Island basketball as we did this year I don't think they would rank us in the top 25.
However, I don't think they're crazy to put us with those teams. I may not expect what I want, but if say we very well should be in the top 25 next year with the talent we have.

I have not been so excited to see the College Basketball Magazines come out in October since last Century with Jim Harrick.

I find these sort of polls to be like when a team 'wins the offseason'. It gives the team a buzz and gets the fan base excited but is really meaningless once the games start. This team has the talent and coaching to be a Top 25 team next year and make the tournament but a lot of stuff is going to happen between today and Selection Sunday 2017.

Count me among the folks who will be cautiously optimistic going into next season but not ready to anoint based off a few meaningless polls.

Has Rothstein ever written anything negative about Hurley? Can the guy be objective?

I disagree that it doesn't matter when games begin. It's huge for the program to be ranked for Game 1. As we all know, it's hard for A10 teams to "Break in" to the Top 25. It's a huge boost for marketing to fans and students that the nationally ranked Rams open their season on [insert date] against the [other team].

For the teams that are in the pre-season AP top 25, they are essentially in until they lose their way out. It's great to be in and have to fall out.

There are few things that get the peripheral, casual fans' attention. National Rankings are huge. Any additional fans in the seats as a result (students or paying customers) is a great thing for this program. Then Hurley's Rams will have to win to keep the ranking. That would mean winning the kinds of games the team has generally not won in the past few years.

STC wrote:Count me among the folks who will be cautiously optimistic going into next season but not ready to anoint based off a few meaningless polls.

I think that basically describes almost everyone here, doesn't it?

STC wrote:Has Rothstein ever written anything negative about Hurley? Can the guy be objective?

I think Hurley's irrelevant in this case. That's just Rothstein's style- ridiculously joyful and hyperbolic, from basketball to restaurants to cliched and repetitive tweets. The title of this says Rothstein, but URI has shown up in a few of these really early polls.