KeaneyBlue - The URI Basketball Forum

Sorry, I'm sure he's a great kid and teammate,
but he is clearly the most overrated player ever
at URI.
41% FG% for his career, 32% from 3, for someone who's
supposedly this golden offensive player.
Doesn't pass well, defend well, or handle the ball well.
Rebounds well for his size and position.
He's the last guy I want with the ball for the last shot.
He's zero for his career doing so.

Seawrightspostgame wrote:Playing all guards turns it into a high wire act. Especially down a guard.

Frustrating year so far. Left some W’s out there already.

How can this year be considered frustrating so far? Going into last night rpiforecast says we've played the 6th toughest non-conference schedule in the nation. That was before we played a road game against a team expected to have an RPI of 45. We're expected to have an RPI of 28. We have a top 25 win on a neutral court. We have a top 50 win over our rival in front of a rapid fan base dying to see the win. We've done almost all of that without one of our top two players and with almost no contribution from our top frontcourt player. We have a very good resume to get in as an at large. What more could you realistically expect? Yeah, we've lost close games against very good teams, that's what happens when you're where we are as a program and you schedule like we did this year. Gone are the days when a Kansas will just blow us out in a holiday tournament, now we play a team like Virginia close enough where we can say "if only this..." If you want to be frustrated by individual games I can't blame you, but frustrating year? I don't see how.

rodfromcranston wrote:Sorry, I'm sure he's a great kid and teammate,
but he is clearly the most overrated player ever
at URI.
41% FG% for his career, 32% from 3, for someone who's
supposedly this golden offensive player.
Doesn't pass well, defend well, or handle the ball well.
Rebounds well for his size and position.
He's the last guy I want with the ball for the last shot.
He's zero for his career doing so.

This is just way overboard. Also Cincinnati was key for us last year and he was nails at the end. Besides the whole A10 tournament MVP and the huge shot at the end against VCU.

rodfromcranston wrote:Sorry, I'm sure he's a great kid and teammate,
but he is clearly the most overrated player ever
at URI.
41% FG% for his career, 32% from 3, for someone who's
supposedly this golden offensive player.
Doesn't pass well, defend well, or handle the ball well.
Rebounds well for his size and position.
He's the last guy I want with the ball for the last shot.
He's zero for his career doing so.

dont go full hyperbole, you're better than that.

He knocked down that ice cold 3 to lock up the Cincy game with under 1:30 to go, and carried the team on his back through the A10 tourney.

So, you guys base all this on a few games here and there?
He was invisible down the stretch with Oregon.
Dowtin carried them vs. Creighton, not EC.
3-12 and 0-4 from 3 vs. Creighton,
4-14 1-6 from 3 vs. Oregon.
Pretty poor in the biggest URI games since 1998.
Yes, EC was good in the A-10 tourney.
I'm talking about his career as a whole.
Go back and read some of the post game posts from
last year, with BlueMan calling him "the least clutch player ever"
or words to that effect, and other's comments along those lines.
I stand by what I said, and it's not hyperbole.
I can't think of a single Rhody player, since I began
following them in 1963, that was as over-hyped.
Sorry if this doesn't line up with your perceptions.

Rod your facts cannot be disputed.

I am optimistic however at this point with the NBA dream fading he will easily integrate back into our offense. I think our staff has matured as well which should facilitate convincing EC his best bet is to make certain the other 4 don't stand around and watch. I tried to compare Sexton returning last night late in the game to EC coming back. Sexton hit a couple of foul shots and a three but IMHO Alabama intensity dropped like a rock when he came back into the game. EC is a very similar player. Highly skilled with a huge reputation whether deserved or not. No question at times the rest of our team has stood around and watched EC go iso.

Somebody said in this thread all our guards are dribble drive players primarily. No one on the team is more dribble drive than EC. I love dribble drive players who make layups.

Last night we didn't make any.
EC might have made a few layups last night. Being 6'5" certainly helps.

We shall see in 10 days. If the EC who showed up in the Davidson game last year in March is what we get we just might catch fire.

It sure is better than the 7-20 years. We argue now over different ways to win.

Plus we beat Providence.

I like it.

Go Rhody

Seawrightspostgame wrote:Frustrating year so far.

Not to say there have not been some frustrating moments, last night chief among them, but its hard for me to understand what criteria you are using to characterize the year as a whole in that way.

When EC comes back he needs to integrate back into the system keep the ball flowing shoot open jumpers and don't force
When he takes people to the hoop go hard don't be tentative

I’d like to see our 3 point shot attempts go up, especially in games vs long athletic teams like Alabama. My reasons are below:

1. We can’t have the mindset that a contested layup against a long defender is a good shot just because it’s near the rim. Last night, our guards averaged .76 points per 2 point attempt (14/37). For comparison, our guards averaged .95 points per 3 point attempt (7/22) and that is on an off night shooting 3s.

2. Many NBA teams have increased their 3 point attempts over the last few years because the data shows that taking contested shots near the rim is less efficient than shooting 3s. Houston, Boston, golden state, Cleveland all good teams, all in the top 10 in 3 point attempts over the last few years.

3. We have an abundance of guards who can penetrate. Penetrators need to look more for the kick out pass and our shooters have to do a better job of creating angles so the pass can get to them. (I.e Like Dowtin to Garrett twice in the final minutes for open 3 point looks even against a defense that should’ve been guarding against the 3 at the time.)

4. We have 4 guys in at all times capable of making a 3.

5. We don’t have a true back to the basket player.

6. Three point attempts lead to offensive rebounds which is an area in which Langevine and even Akele and Preston can be factors.

7. We cause a lot of turnovers. But it seems that all 5 guys run to the front of the rim in transition even if a defender is there protecting the rim. No one spots up for a 3, no one looks for a 3 point shooter, and no one pulls up for a 3. Instead we end up trying to make a difficult layup over an athletic defender.

We forced so many turnovers last night but it didn't translate too much in points off turnovers

Because we couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. I think the reason last night was so frustrating and the reason it isn't all that concerning in the big picture are the same: it was a really unusual performance both in terms of our inability to make shots at a standard rate and our tendency to make boneheaded plays at the absolute worst times. We won the turnover battle but we saved our worst ones for the absolute worst moment. Every time we were in the cusp of turning the game we shot ourselves in the foot.

So, supposedly EC is back for the next game. Which guard sits? I think Jarvis has to start and Jeff has to sit. Anybody agree?

steviep123 wrote:Okay, if we win the rest of the OOC schedule, which is doable, we end up at 8-3 with 2 top 50 RPI wins in the OOC. We would all take that at the beginning of the season.

given the state of the A10, I am not satisfied with 8-3 and 2 top 50 wins. we likely will have no more chances at top 50 wins. last year we were probably on the wrong side of the bubble entering the A10 tournament. we had 2 top 50 wins going in (cincy and VCU) and didn't add another until beating VCU in the final. had we not beaten VCU, we would have at best been playing a play in game at Dayton. I think we will be sweating it out on selection Sunday if we don't win the conference tourney....unless we run through the conference with no more than a loss or two.

the other issue, if we do get in is seeding. however we get in, auto or at-large, it's hard to project us at any better than an 8 seed. I think one more win in OOC could have gotten us as high as a 6. I would hate to get stuck in that 8-9 game and then have to play a 1 seed in the 2nd round. I'd rather be an 11 seed like last year and hope for good match ups.

Billyboy78 wrote:So, supposedly EC is back for the next game. Which guard sits? I think Jarvis has to start and Jeff has to sit. Anybody agree?

Agreed. Jarvis has been on fire and Jeff has been struggling. Seems like a no-brainer. Although it's not hard to picture Dan playing EC with limited minutes (20 or less) for the first game or two back from the injury.

I will be happy with making the NCAA tournament.

There's a long way to go. The worm can turn at any time in both directions.

We as presently constituted, are not a 6 seed in anybody's dream world. If Cyril gets healthy and Preston improves, AND if the rest stay healthy, we are a no doubt NCAA tourney team though.

Sorry we do not have enough depth in the frontcourt to withstand any more issues. Beyond the two above, who have we got? Berry in spots, but we saw what happens when he's up against it like last night.

We will live and die with our FT and outside shooting. When it's on, we should win any and all of our remaining games. Will we?

Not on your life. We will still struggle to win games on the road in conference against the better teams such as VCU, Davidson, and the Bonnies.

We had zillions of chances to win last night's game...and came up empty...waited too long to rally and then missed clutch shots at the end.

What we have should be good enough to get us to the field of 68. After that, how much more can we expect with this unbalanced roster?

We need to win these last 3 Ooc and end 8-3

In conference we need to go 14-4 or better

This I feel gets us in even if we slip up for some reason in the first game of a10 tournament

DH did a great job with the schedule so if we are a bubble team that gets us over the hump

TruePoint wrote:

PlayMikeMotenMore wrote:

TruePoint wrote:I'm not mad, but I am disappointed. Easily winnable game and we played (I hope) our worst game of the year. Just a completely frustrating night.

My biggest concern here is that I just don't think Alabam is very good after watching them. I think of the "big 5" teams on the OOC schedule, they turned out to be by far the weakest and losing this game may turn out to be a blemish rather than a nothing.

After the five games, I'd rank them UVA, Nevada, Seton Hall, PC, Alabama, FWIW.

You can be disappointed but I would never say any game is "easily winnable." Perhaps URI thought the game against Fordham last year was "easily winnable." If a player or team has the mindset that a game should be "easily winnable," then they're asking for trouble. If they don't bring maximum effort, attention to detail, and execution, then they will lose.

Don't believe me? Florida's game vs. Loyola tonight was "easily winnable" for the Gators, right? Notre Dame's game vs. Ball State was easily winnable for the Irish?

Winning is hard, especially at the highest levels. That's what makes what the Patriots do even more remarkable. (They make it look easy.)

Disappointed in the loss, yes certainly. Expected, yes too.

(Personal insult coming from True Point in 3...2...1...)

I was referring specifically to the way the game was played. Even a mediocre effort would have won the game. Not only all of the missed shots, which can happen, but the number of times that they shots themselves in the foot. I doubt that you watched the game, but this was a game that even a slightly below average performance by URI would have resulted in a pretty comfortable win.

Let's hope that URI brings that "mediocre effort" you refer to into future games. That should be written on the board in the locker room before the College of Charleston game by Dan. "Boys, if you bring even mediocre effort tonight, we'll win!"

And against FGCU, "Guys, all I need out of you tonight is a slightly below average performance! That's all. And we'll win comfortably! Let's go get 'em!"

If URI fan thinks Alabama was not a good team, then you can be sure that Alabama fan is thinking that the URI team was way overrated, was overmatched, and not very good.

The season is early.

We've played poorly at times, but we've also played better than we have ever played under Hurley in just the first month. With our injuries!

The only thing people are going to be worried about is whether or not we can make it to a sweet 16 after we devour the A-10.

We just need Cyril to make lay ups.
If he can do what he did to Oregon and JORDAN BELL whose playing for the best basketball team in the world right now, I think he could get going against the A-10.

A whole lot more to be optimistic about at this point for me.

reef wrote:We need to win these last 3 Ooc and end 8-3

In conference we need to go 14-4 or better

This I feel gets us in even if we slip up for some reason in the first game of a10 tournament

DH did a great job with the schedule so if we are a bubble team that gets us over the hump

Agreed. Failing to take advantage of the Alabama game where a win was withing reach means there can be no slip ups in the remaining three OOC home games. Really need to sweep Charleston, FGCU, and Iona to be in good NCAA at large position entering league play.

RhodyRam86 wrote:

steviep123 wrote:Okay, if we win the rest of the OOC schedule, which is doable, we end up at 8-3 with 2 top 50 RPI wins in the OOC. We would all take that at the beginning of the season.

given the state of the A10, I am not satisfied with 8-3 and 2 top 50 wins. we likely will have no more chances at top 50 wins. last year we were probably on the wrong side of the bubble entering the A10 tournament. we had 2 top 50 wins going in (cincy and VCU) and didn't add another until beating VCU in the final. had we not beaten VCU, we would have at best been playing a play in game at Dayton. I think we will be sweating it out on selection Sunday if we don't win the conference tourney....unless we run through the conference with no more than a loss or two.

the other issue, if we do get in is seeding. however we get in, auto or at-large, it's hard to project us at any better than an 8 seed. I think one more win in OOC could have gotten us as high as a 6. I would hate to get stuck in that 8-9 game and then have to play a 1 seed in the 2nd round. I'd rather be an 11 seed like last year and hope for good match ups.

Last year our losses in the OOC were much worse than what we have now. 3 losses to top 15, top 25, and another possible top 25 come season end. With the new selection process those are all quadrant 1 games. None of which at home. We snagged another quadrant 1 win.

If we avoid a quadrant 3 or 4 loss, we'll be fine. I'm not sure why you're not satisfied, since our SOS will probably keep our RPI in the low 30's no matter how bad the A10 is. We got the win we needed. Avoid the bad losses and enjoy the ride.

I just don't get this board's propensity to melt down. A year ago today people were literally calling for a coaching change. 9 months ago people were about to wear white shoes and commit suicide in a pact.

Considering no one has been undefeated since Bobby Knight and the Hoosiers in the 70s, I'm not sure how everyone has these expectations and needs to win every single game.

We will have an OOC schedule that will probably rank top 15 in the country. We played most of it without the player who is known nationally as our best. We still did everything we needed to up to this point. As long as we avoid a loss in our next 3, life is golden.

I can't say it won't be entertaining if we throw up a bad loss somewhere in the next 4 months and people start up a coaching search. It's wild how quickly everyone forgets.

Blue Man, at least I'm not on the coaching search train.....this is not a complete team......our weaknesses are there to see.

If we don't shoot well, we're in trouble against better teams. We don't rebound well, and that won't change unless Cyril gets back to 100% which could be unlikely....EC might help there a little.

When we play true road games, for some reason the bucket looks like a thimble....and when we play outside of our region, the refs aren't our friends.

Doesn't happen every time, but way too often.

We will stumble at least a couple of times going forward, and yes many here will question everything afterward, it's the nature of the beast.

But we know from past experience that when there are high expectations, we rarely if ever meet them. When have we ever been the favorite to win the A10? That's pressure.....let's hope this team doesn't let that get to them.

My problem with this 4 guard offense is that Stan the Man is getting berried (no pun intended) in the paint. A guard playing the 4 and its causing him to foul out every other game and doesn't allow for his offense to prosper. In my mind hes our second or third best complete player, put him at the 2 or 3 and I think our offense would improve. Easier said than done but the kids good, give him the opportunity.

My lineup idea,

Garrett
EC
Stan
Cyril
Berry

Blue Man wrote:Last year our losses in the OOC were much worse than what we have now. 3 losses to top 15, top 25, and another possible top 25 come season end. With the new selection process those are all quadrant 1 games. None of which at home. We snagged another quadrant 1 win.

If we avoid a quadrant 3 or 4 loss, we'll be fine. I'm not sure why you're not satisfied, since our SOS will probably keep our RPI in the low 30's no matter how bad the A10 is. We got the win we needed. Avoid the bad losses and enjoy the ride.

According to RPI forecast if we lose one more OOC and go 14-4 in conference we should have an RPI around 30. We go 21-8 we almost definitely go dancing no matter what we do in the conference tournament. Better than that we're definitely in. 20-9 we still have an RPI in the upper 30's, so we'd be on the bubble, but we'd probably be in, especially with one win in the A10 tournament. 19-10 and we probably need to win the A10 tournament to get in.

Rhodymob05 wrote:My problem with this 4 guard offense is that Stan the Man is getting berried (no pun intended) in the paint. A guard playing the 4 and its causing him to foul out every other game and doesn't allow for his offense to prosper. In my mind hes our second or third best complete player, put him at the 2 or 3 and I think our offense would improve. Easier said than done but the kids good, give him the opportunity.

My lineup idea,

Garrett
EC
Stan
Cyril
Berry

But the problem with this is now you're sitting Jared.

rambone 78 wrote:Blue Man, at least I'm not on the coaching search train.....this is not a complete team......our weaknesses are there to see.

If we don't shoot well, we're in trouble against better teams. We don't rebound well, and that won't change unless Cyril gets back to 100% which could be unlikely....EC might help there a little.

When we play true road games, for some reason the bucket looks like a thimble....and when we play outside of our region, the refs aren't our friends.

Doesn't happen every time, but way too often.

We will stumble at least a couple of times going forward, and yes many here will question everything afterward, it's the nature of the beast.

But we know from past experience that when there are high expectations, we rarely if ever meet them. When have we ever been the favorite to win the A10? That's pressure.....let's hope this team doesn't let that get to them.

Rambone I'm curious what you have in your life that has given you the sense that things are ever "complete" or perfect. This is the way life, sports and definitely non-P5 college athletic always is. There will always be flaws, there will always be strengths and weaknesses. I'm worried you're not going to be able to enjoy what is good because you are permanently locked in on what is imperfect.

PlayMikeMotenMore wrote:

TruePoint wrote:

PlayMikeMotenMore wrote:
You can be disappointed but I would never say any game is "easily winnable." Perhaps URI thought the game against Fordham last year was "easily winnable." If a player or team has the mindset that a game should be "easily winnable," then they're asking for trouble. If they don't bring maximum effort, attention to detail, and execution, then they will lose.

Don't believe me? Florida's game vs. Loyola tonight was "easily winnable" for the Gators, right? Notre Dame's game vs. Ball State was easily winnable for the Irish?

Winning is hard, especially at the highest levels. That's what makes what the Patriots do even more remarkable. (They make it look easy.)

Disappointed in the loss, yes certainly. Expected, yes too.

(Personal insult coming from True Point in 3...2...1...)

I was referring specifically to the way the game was played. Even a mediocre effort would have won the game. Not only all of the missed shots, which can happen, but the number of times that they shots themselves in the foot. I doubt that you watched the game, but this was a game that even a slightly below average performance by URI would have resulted in a pretty comfortable win.

Let's hope that URI brings that "mediocre effort" you refer to into future games. That should be written on the board in the locker room before the College of Charleston game by Dan. "Boys, if you bring even mediocre effort tonight, we'll win!"

And against FGCU, "Guys, all I need out of you tonight is a slightly below average performance! That's all. And we'll win comfortably! Let's go get 'em!"

If URI fan thinks Alabama was not a good team, then you can be sure that Alabama fan is thinking that the URI team was way overrated, was overmatched, and not very good.

OK, guy. I definitely suggested that we should aim for a mediocre performance every time we take the floor. I also definitely give a great goddamn what Alabama fan thinks. These are people who are about to elect a child molester to the U.S. Senate.

RhowdyRam02 wrote:

Rhodymob05 wrote:My problem with this 4 guard offense is that Stan the Man is getting berried (no pun intended) in the paint. A guard playing the 4 and its causing him to foul out every other game and doesn't allow for his offense to prosper. In my mind hes our second or third best complete player, put him at the 2 or 3 and I think our offense would improve. Easier said than done but the kids good, give him the opportunity.

My lineup idea,

Garrett
EC
Stan
Cyril
Berry

But the problem with this is now you're sitting Jared.

That might be ok. EC and Jared are both alphas, they don't always play well together anyways. I think its more about team balance, then throwing all your best players on the floor at once just because theyre the best.

Jared Terrell will be starting until the day he graduates.

PlayMikeMotenMore wrote:

TruePoint wrote:

PlayMikeMotenMore wrote:
You can be disappointed but I would never say any game is "easily winnable." Perhaps URI thought the game against Fordham last year was "easily winnable." If a player or team has the mindset that a game should be "easily winnable," then they're asking for trouble. If they don't bring maximum effort, attention to detail, and execution, then they will lose.

Don't believe me? Florida's game vs. Loyola tonight was "easily winnable" for the Gators, right? Notre Dame's game vs. Ball State was easily winnable for the Irish?

Winning is hard, especially at the highest levels. That's what makes what the Patriots do even more remarkable. (They make it look easy.)

Disappointed in the loss, yes certainly. Expected, yes too.

(Personal insult coming from True Point in 3...2...1...)

I was referring specifically to the way the game was played. Even a mediocre effort would have won the game. Not only all of the missed shots, which can happen, but the number of times that they shots themselves in the foot. I doubt that you watched the game, but this was a game that even a slightly below average performance by URI would have resulted in a pretty comfortable win.

Let's hope that URI brings that "mediocre effort" you refer to into future games. That should be written on the board in the locker room before the College of Charleston game by Dan. "Boys, if you bring even mediocre effort tonight, we'll win!"

And against FGCU, "Guys, all I need out of you tonight is a slightly below average performance! That's all. And we'll win comfortably! Let's go get 'em!"

If URI fan thinks Alabama was not a good team, then you can be sure that Alabama fan is thinking that the URI team was way overrated, was overmatched, and not very good.

Wrong. Try reading their boards.

They feel lucky to have won and are saying they stole that game. They are calling us one of the best teams they'll see in the OOC and calling it a resume building win. They are also very impressed with our defense and toughness. Saying playing a hard nosed, physical, rough team like us is gonna pay dividends in conference play

Yeah, Terrell is a starter, end of story. I also feel like people are forgetting that when everyone was healthy Berry and Langevine were both starting together. If Cyril is 100% and able to get back on track, I would not be surprised to see that become the case again.

adam914 wrote:Yeah, Terrell is a starter, end of story. I also feel like people are forgetting that when everyone was healthy Berry and Langevine were both starting together. If Cyril is 100% and able to get back on track, I would not be surprised to see that become the case again.

Agree, if Cyril is 80% or better i think he would move back into the starting line up, he's playing through a sports hernia so i dont think he'll ever get to 100% this year unfortunately. Something like JD or JG (toss up -all depends on this slump that JD is in and if JG is putting up decent numbers), EC, JT, Cyril, Berry. w/Stan, Fatts having good minutes off the bench and Akele and Preston (please no foul trouble) helping out the bigs

Folks need to chill out a bit. If it's one thing I learned last year it's that calling game must-win in December doesn't mean much. The season was suppose to be over a whole bunch of times last year. I thought that myself. Just a reminder, we won the A-10 and did pretty well in the NCAAT. This team is fine, enjoy the ride.

BleedBlue87 wrote:Folks need to chill out a bit. If it's one thing I learned last year it's that calling game must-win in December doesn't mean much. The season was suppose to be over a whole bunch of times last year. I thought that myself. Just a reminder, we won the A-10 and did pretty well in the NCAAT. This team is fine, enjoy the ride.

Yes, the season was "over" multiple times last year, as late as, and never more so than on Feb 15 with that classic dump v Fordham.
Talk about a lesson in 'wait and see' and 'it ain't over 'til it's over...'

Wow!
Imagine someone suggesting Jared Terrell sit,
while five guys who aren't as good as him, start.
Full moon was last week.

wpbrown8267 wrote:

adam914 wrote:Yeah, Terrell is a starter, end of story. I also feel like people are forgetting that when everyone was healthy Berry and Langevine were both starting together. If Cyril is 100% and able to get back on track, I would not be surprised to see that become the case again.

Agree, if Cyril is 80% or better i think he would move back into the starting line up, he's playing through a sports hernia so i dont think he'll ever get to 100% this year unfortunately. Something like JD or JG (toss up -all depends on this slump that JD is in and if JG is putting up decent numbers), EC, JT, Cyril, Berry. w/Stan, Fatts having good minutes off the bench and Akele and Preston (please no foul trouble) helping out the bigs

Yep, I feel the same way. I still like the idea of having the energy of both Stan and Fatts coming off the bench. And then since both guys tend to be a bit streaky at times so far, you ride the hot hand each night as the game unfolds.

I still think Terrell is our best overall player and I definitely want him out there, but the problem is that he has the tendency to disappear for several games at a time which is discouraging. We won't win many games that way. If any starter deserves to have his minutes reduced it's Dowtin. He seems to be employing a shoot-first mentality this year which is resulting in a lot of forced shots. Unfortunately, he's not a very good shooter. And that includes at the FT line. I still think he can be a valuable contributor this season, but he's currently averaging 33 minutes per game while Fatts is averaging 19. It should be the other way around.

.....the only coach to decide to not start Jared would be ......Ben McAdoo....

Okay, I agree with JT over Stan at the 2 with Stan off the bench, I just don't want Stan getting crushed in the paint and fouling out every game.

Blue Man wrote:

RhodyRam86 wrote:

steviep123 wrote:Okay, if we win the rest of the OOC schedule, which is doable, we end up at 8-3 with 2 top 50 RPI wins in the OOC. We would all take that at the beginning of the season.

given the state of the A10, I am not satisfied with 8-3 and 2 top 50 wins. we likely will have no more chances at top 50 wins. last year we were probably on the wrong side of the bubble entering the A10 tournament. we had 2 top 50 wins going in (cincy and VCU) and didn't add another until beating VCU in the final. had we not beaten VCU, we would have at best been playing a play in game at Dayton. I think we will be sweating it out on selection Sunday if we don't win the conference tourney....unless we run through the conference with no more than a loss or two.

the other issue, if we do get in is seeding. however we get in, auto or at-large, it's hard to project us at any better than an 8 seed. I think one more win in OOC could have gotten us as high as a 6. I would hate to get stuck in that 8-9 game and then have to play a 1 seed in the 2nd round. I'd rather be an 11 seed like last year and hope for good match ups.

Last year our losses in the OOC were much worse than what we have now. 3 losses to top 15, top 25, and another possible top 25 come season end. With the new selection process those are all quadrant 1 games. None of which at home. We snagged another quadrant 1 win.

If we avoid a quadrant 3 or 4 loss, we'll be fine. I'm not sure why you're not satisfied, since our SOS will probably keep our RPI in the low 30's no matter how bad the A10 is. We got the win we needed. Avoid the bad losses and enjoy the ride.

I just don't get this board's propensity to melt down. A year ago today people were literally calling for a coaching change. 9 months ago people were about to wear white shoes and commit suicide in a pact.

Considering no one has been undefeated since Bobby Knight and the Hoosiers in the 70s, I'm not sure how everyone has these expectations and needs to win every single game.

We will have an OOC schedule that will probably rank top 15 in the country. We played most of it without the player who is known nationally as our best. We still did everything we needed to up to this point. As long as we avoid a loss in our next 3, life is golden.

I can't say it won't be entertaining if we throw up a bad loss somewhere in the next 4 months and people start up a coaching search. It's wild how quickly everyone forgets.

I guess it depends on your expectations for the team. Last year people were saying the goal was just to make the tournament. This year people are saying they want to make it to the second weekend. I might be getting way ahead of myself here but if we end up as a 7-10 seed I don't see any chance of us making it to the second weekend unless there's a huge upset by a 15 or 16 seed (very unlikely). A win against Alabama would most likely have gotten us in the top 25 and given us a much better chance to have a higher seed. Also we have a long stretch of home games coming up with no students on campus so getting into the top 25 would most likely have somewhat offset all the students we'll lose over the next few weeks.

Either way I don't think this board is anywhere close to what I'd call having a meltdown. It was a disappointing loss in possibly our last opportunity to get a quadrant 1 win.

NJRhodyFan wrote:I still think Terrell is our best overall player and I definitely want him out there, but the problem is that he has the tendency to disappear for several games at a time which is discouraging. We won't win many games that way. If any starter deserves to have his minutes reduced it's Dowtin. He seems to be employing a shoot-first mentality this year which is resulting in a lot of forced shots. Unfortunately, he's not a very good shooter. And that includes at the FT line. I still think he can be a valuable contributor this season, but he's currently averaging 33 minutes per game while Fatts is averaging 19. It should be the other way around.

I feel like Dowtin is our Marcus Smart this year - prob has a great +/- but can't shoot a lick but plays good defense

josephski wrote:Either way I don't think this board is anywhere close to what I'd call having a meltdown. It was a disappointing loss in possibly our last opportunity to get a quadrant 1 win.

The St. Bonaventure away game should almost definitely be a quadrant 1 game and the Davidson away game is going to be borderline.

josephski wrote: It was a disappointing loss in possibly our last opportunity to get a quadrant 1 win.

Consider me interested -- per RPI Forecast ...

To date ...

Quadrant 1: 1-3 (at Nevada, vs. Seton Hall, vs. Virginia, at Alabama)
Quadrant 2: 1-0 (Providence)
Quadrant 3: 1-0 (UNC Asheville)
Quadrant 4: 2-0 (Holy Cross, Brown)

Projected:

Quadrant 1: 1 (at St. Bonaventure)
Quadrant 2: 4 (St. Bonaventure, at Dayton, at VCU, at Davidson)
Quadrant 3: 11 (Charleston, Iona, Florida Gulf Coast, LaSalle, at George Washington, at St. Louis, at UMASS, Davidson, at LaSalle, Dayton, St. Joseph's)
Quadrant 4: 5 (George Mason, UMASS, Fordham, Duquesne, Richmond)

NYGFan_Section208 wrote:

BleedBlue87 wrote:Folks need to chill out a bit. If it's one thing I learned last year it's that calling game must-win in December doesn't mean much. The season was suppose to be over a whole bunch of times last year. I thought that myself. Just a reminder, we won the A-10 and did pretty well in the NCAAT. This team is fine, enjoy the ride.

Yes, the season was "over" multiple times last year, as late as, and never more so than on Feb 15 with that classic dump v Fordham.
Talk about a lesson in 'wait and see' and 'it ain't over 'til it's over...'

The season was over last year if not for an A10 run. When posters speak of "must win games" or "the season is over", they are speaking about getting an at-large birth.

RhodyRam86 wrote:

NYGFan_Section208 wrote:

BleedBlue87 wrote:Folks need to chill out a bit. If it's one thing I learned last year it's that calling game must-win in December doesn't mean much. The season was suppose to be over a whole bunch of times last year. I thought that myself. Just a reminder, we won the A-10 and did pretty well in the NCAAT. This team is fine, enjoy the ride.

Yes, the season was "over" multiple times last year, as late as, and never more so than on Feb 15 with that classic dump v Fordham.
Talk about a lesson in 'wait and see' and 'it ain't over 'til it's over...'

The season was over last year if not for an A10 run. When posters speak of "must win games" or "the season is over", they are speaking about getting an at-large birth.

Which we had, win or lose in the A10 finals last year. Winning took us out of the play in game

Da_Process_Survivor wrote:

RhodyRam86 wrote:

NYGFan_Section208 wrote:
Yes, the season was "over" multiple times last year, as late as, and never more so than on Feb 15 with that classic dump v Fordham.
Talk about a lesson in 'wait and see' and 'it ain't over 'til it's over...'

The season was over last year if not for an A10 run. When posters speak of "must win games" or "the season is over", they are speaking about getting an at-large birth.

Which we had, win or lose in the A10 finals last year. Winning took us out of the play in game

an at large was no guarantee going into the VCU game, but either way, making one of the last four spots is not what we projected for this team going into this season.

NYGFan_Section208 wrote:

BleedBlue87 wrote:Folks need to chill out a bit. If it's one thing I learned last year it's that calling game must-win in December doesn't mean much. The season was suppose to be over a whole bunch of times last year. I thought that myself. Just a reminder, we won the A-10 and did pretty well in the NCAAT. This team is fine, enjoy the ride.

Yes, the season was "over" multiple times last year, as late as, and never more so than on Feb 15 with that classic dump v Fordham.
Talk about a lesson in 'wait and see' and 'it ain't over 'til it's over...'

Let's not rely on winning the A-10 tournament to make the dance. Crazy things happen in conference tournaments and the #1 seed a lot of times don't win.

Rhody has a OOC resume better than several P5 teams let alone mid-majors.

RhodyRam86 wrote:an at large was no guarantee going into the VCU game, but either way, making one of the last four spots is not what we projected for this team going into this season.

This is not true. The spokesman for the committee said URI was in no matter what happened in the championship game. If we lost we would have gone to Dayton for the first four. When we won we bumped Providence to that spot.

RhowdyRam02 wrote:

RhodyRam86 wrote:an at large was no guarantee going into the VCU game, but either way, making one of the last four spots is not what we projected for this team going into this season.

This is not true. The spokesman for the committee said URI was in no matter what happened in the championship game. If we lost we would have gone to Dayton for the first four. When we won we bumped Providence to that spot.

That's what they said, but I have this weird feeling that the Cuse would have taken our spot if we lost. Jimmy is as slimy as they come and the committee placate to him, so I'm glad we won against VCU.

Seriously Terrell might be the best skilled overall defender in the NCAA.

Sit Terrell.....??

His D always shows up.

What?

Oh my.

RhowdyRam02 wrote:

RhodyRam86 wrote:an at large was no guarantee going into the VCU game, but either way, making one of the last four spots is not what we projected for this team going into this season.

This is not true. The spokesman for the committee said URI was in no matter what happened in the championship game. If we lost we would have gone to Dayton for the first four. When we won we bumped Providence to that spot.

Yeah this, they definitely said we were in no matter what happened in the championship game.