KeaneyBlue - The URI Basketball Forum

Media

TV: Cox YurView (in Rhode Island, Cox channel 4 or HD channel 1004)

Radio: B101, 101.5 FM

Previews: GoRhody.com

Vegas:

Opponent

Record:
5-2 in Div I, 0-0 in the Colonial Athletic Association
Road:1-1
Last season: 25-10, 14-4 in the Colonial Athletic Association

Rankings:
RPI: 172
BPI: 178
KenPom: 100

Leaders (returning from 2016-17):
Points - Joe Chealey, 17.7 ppg
Rebounds - Jarrell Brantley, 8.4 rpg
Assists - Joe Chealey, 3.2 apg

Leaders (after the first 7 Div I games of 2017-18):
Points - Joe Chealey, 19 ppg
Rebounds - Nick Harris, 6.4 rpg
Assists - Joe Chealey, 4.6 apg

Preview

The College of Charleston is a public sea-grant and space-grant university located in historic downtown Charleston, South Carolina,. Founded in 1770, it currently has an undergraduate enrollment of just over 10,000 students.

The sports teams at College of Charleston are called the Cougars; their team colors are maroon and white.

Charleston plays its collegiate athletics in the Colonial Athletic Association, as does Northeastern, Hofstra, Drexel, Delaware, Towson, and other schools.

The current head coach for CofC men's basketball is Earl Grant, a former Wichita State assistant.

Grant is a local product, a native of North Charleston who attended R.B. Stall High School. He played his college ball at Georgia College, a NCAA Division II school where Grant earned a bachelors in psychology. He began his coaching career as an assistant at The Citadel, two years later moved to Winthrop University as an assistant, and then three years later followed the Winthrop head coach to Wichita State. Three years after arriving at Wichita State, Grant jumped to an assistant position at Clemson.

College of Charleston, which had joined the Colonial Athletic League in 2013, named Earl Grant the men’s basketball head coach for the College of Charleston in September of 2014. Grant took over from Antonio Reynolds-Dean, who was serving as interim head coach at CofC, following the suspension of the then-current head coach Doug Wojcik who was facing allegations of physical confrontation and verbal abuse.

Coach Grant, to his credit, quickly smoothed the troubled waters at Charleston, and has since succeeded in getting the Cougars players to improve consistently year over year, during his three seasons as head man.

During Grant's first season, the Cougars went 3-15 in CAA play; the next year they were 8-10 in league play.

Last year, Grant's third year with the Cougars, Charleton took second place in the Colonial, with a 14-4 record. In post-season tournament play, the Cougars ended up in the NIT after making a run to the CAA championship game where they lost to top-seeded UNC Wilmington. In the first round of the NIT, CofC fell to Colorado State, finishing their season 25-10.

The 2016-2017 season ended on a high note, since the Cougars were returning all five starters from the team that had just won 25 games in the 2016-2017 season, and so the Charleston fans were looking for an even better season in 2017-2018. As any of the Charleston fans will tell you, the Cougars haven’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 1999 (the same year URI had last made it before Rhody's successful run late last season), and a March-2018 trip to the Big Dance was looking to be a strong possibility for the fourth season of head coach Earl Grant's reign. Expectations only increased with a strong in-coming class that got the chance to bond with the team's veterans over the summer during the Cougars’ 10-day trip to Ireland in August.

Come the fall, sports pundits also seemed to agree with the high-expectations of the Charleston fans. The Cougars were a near-unanimous pick to win its conference, receiving 38 of 40 first-place votes in the Colonial Athletic Association’s preseason poll.

So far this season, Charleston is 5-2 in Division I out-of-conference play:

opponent RPI   DATE      Opponent                score
------------  ------     --------                -----
    258       Nov 10     Siena               W   68-60	
    027       Nov 13     @Wichita State      L   63-81
    301       Nov 18     @Charlotte          W   81-72	
    171       Nov 22     Cal Poly            L   68-73	
    163       Nov 23     @Sam Houston State  W   59-49	
    ---       Nov 25     @Alaska-Anchorage   W   55-46      Div II
    165       Nov 30     Western Carolina    W   69-60
    287       Dec  4     High Point          W   70-58
    ---       Dec 10     North Greenville          -        Div II

Over the seven Division I games that Charleston has played so far this season, Coach Grant has pretty much stayed within an eight player rotation (likely starters in bold):

• Marquise Pointer (6-0 220) Junior guard from Jonesboro, Arkansas. Has been part of the Charleston rotation and has played in every game since the start of his freshman year, where he earned CAA All-Rookie Team honors. Continues to be a solid contributor; kind of a "jack of all trades but master of none" guy.
• Grant Riller (6-3 195) Third-year sophomore guard from Ocoee, Florida. Did not play in his first year (2015-16) due to a season-ending ACL injury in the preseason. Last year, he played in 35 games with 29 starts, earning him a selection on the 2017 CAA All-Rookie Team. At the start of this season, he was Preseason All-CAA Second Team. Currently averaging 14 points per game. In the loss to Wichita State, he had a game high 20 points. Most recently, he had 15 points against High Point.
  
• Joe Chealey (6-4 190) Fifth-year senior guard frpm Orlando, Florida. Played 27 games as a freshman before going down with a knee injury. Started for almost all of his sophomore season. In what would have been his junior year (2015-16) did not play due to a season-ending Achilles tendon injury in the preseason. Last season, he led his team in scoring, assists, and three-pointers made, and earned All-CAA First Team honors. At the start of the 2017-18 season, he was the pre-season favorite for CAA Player of the Year and was also a pre-season candidate for the top Mid-Major Player of the Year and for the top NCAA Division I Player of the Year. Chealey had 26 points and 10 assists in the loss to Cal Poly. He was team high scorer against High Point wth 17 points.
  
• Cameron Johnson (6-4 200) Senior guard from Athens, Georgia. Has been a starter since half way through his freshman year. Two-time CAA All-Defensive Team selection. Last season averaged 7 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal per game. This season, he is averaging 11 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal. Strong defender and strong perimeter scorer. By the way, he comes from an athletically accomplished family: his father (Mario Johnson) played football for the University of Missouri and for the New England Patriots; his mother played basketball at the University of Missouri, which is where his parents met.
  
• Evan Bailey (6-6 210) Senior forward from Canton, Ohio. Has been part of Coach Grant's rotation since freshman year. A chemistry major and a College of Charleston Presidential and Academic Merit Scholar, he has been a member of the CAA All-Academic Team for the past two years.
• Jaylen McManus (6-8 230) Sophomore power forward from Charlotte, NC. Last year as a freshman, he saw action in 28 games of the season, averaging 1.4 points and 1.2 rebounds per game off the bench. This year, he has been thrown into the mix as a starter. He is averaging 5.6 ppg and 3.8 rpg. Perhaps most notably, since arriving in Charleston from his high school in North Cackalacky, McManus has grown an inch and put on 25 pounds of mostly muscle. Now the size of a power forward and having retained his shooting touch, McManus would appear to be poised to have a breakout season. However, in his performances to date, McManus has appeared to be still acclimatizing himself to the college game. Given that the most improvement a college player typically makes is from his freshman to sophomore season, and given Rhody's weakness at the 4-position, McManus's breakout could well come against Rhody. In the recent game against High Point, McManus had a career high 12 points on 3-for-3 shooting from the floor, 2-for-2 from beyond the arc, and 4-for-4 from the charity stripe; a foreshadowing perhaps of what could be his performance in the Ryan Center.
  
• Osinachi Smart (6-8 235) Second year freshman from Nigeria. The big man is athletic but a bit raw, as he has only been playing basketball since coming to the U.S. in August of 2013 to attend New Garden Friends School in North Carolina. As an in-coming freshman at CofC in the 2016-2017 season, he took a red-shirt year. So far this season, he has seen court time in all of Charleston's games, and is averaging 4 rpg.
• Nick Harris (6-10 260) Fourth-year junior forward from Dacula, Georgia. Redshirted the 2014-15 season, his first year at College of Charleston. Played in 30 games during the 2015-16 season with 24 starts. Last season, he saw action in 34 games of the season with 31 starts, averaging 6.0 rebounds, 5.9 points, and 1.1 blocks per game. So far this season, he is the Cougars' top rebounder, averaging 6.4 rpg. He is also averaging 6.4 points per game, shooting 50% from the field and 73% from the charity stripe. Perhaps most importantly, his protective physical presence in the paint permits his teammates to play aggressive defense.
  

Members of Charleston roster who have not yet seen much (if any) court time this season:

• Trent Robinson (5-11 180) Junior guard from Columbia, SC. Walk-on and transfer from Charleston Southern.
• Zep Jasper (6-1 175) Freshman from Augusta, Georgia. Played a post-grad year at Notre Dame Prep in Fitchburg, Mass. Not sure what's up with this guy, as some roster sites list him as a member of the Cougars and others don't.
• Brevin Galloway (6-2 215) Second-year freshman guard from Anderson, SC. The attributes he showed during a stellar high school career have not yet manifested themselves in Division 1 play. He took a redshirt season during the 2016-2017 campaign. So far this season, the jovial underclassman with tossled yellow hair has been used sparingly in a mere handful of games, with a total contribution of one failed three-point attempt.
• Jermaine Blackmon (6-2 230) Junior forward from Charlotte, NC. During his first two years at Charleston, he was the student manager for the CofC basketball program. This year, as a walk-on, he gets to wear a uniform while he sits on the bench.
• John Eck (6-4 170) Senior guard from Hilton Head Island, SC. Third year walk-on. Did not play last year due to injury.
• Jarrell Brantley (6-7 250) Junior power forward from Columbia, SC. Prepped at Notre Dame (Fitchburg, Mass). His first two years at Charleston were outstanding. He started in all 31 games of his freshman season, averaging 11.7 points and a team-leading 7.3 rebounds per game, and was at season's end selected to the CAA All-Rookie Team and to the All-CAA Third Team. Last year, in his sophomore season, he once again was a starter, leading his team in rebounds (8.4 rpg) and steals (39), while averaging 14.2 ppg, and being selected for the All-CAA Second Team and CAA All-Defensive Team. Coming into his junior year, he was a 2017-18 Preseason All-CAA First Team selection. However, the Cougar's preeminent inside performer has not played so far this season due to a injured left knee. Although a full recovery is expected, Brantley is not likely to be ready to return in time for the Rhody game.
• Samba Ndiaye (6-10 230) Freshman center from Senegal. Graduated in 2017 from Sunrise Christian Academy in Wichita, Kan. Also attended SEK El Castillo International School in Madrid, Spain. Since appearing in Charleston, he has played in but two games so far this season for a total of 6 minutes.

The "go to" guy for the Cougars is Joe Chealey, the pre-season favorite for Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year. However, Jarrell Brantley has been a big part of the Cougars' offense since his arrival, and this year his early-season absence due to the knee injury has meant that there is a large piece missing from the Cougar puzzle. Brantley with his on-court confidence and tenacity brought leadership that is not easily replaced.

In short, the Cougars’ post presence is a bit different without Brantley's strength and bulk in the paint. With Brantley out of the lineup, Jaylen McManus has become a starter, and red-shirt freshman Osinachi Smart also is seeing more time than might have otherwise been expected. However, neither underclassman is capable of fully filling the star role played by Brantley.

Given the reality of Brantley's injured status, Coach Grant has taken to playing four guards against some of the teams that Charleston has faced. In a lot of games this season, it seemed that the Cougars went to a four guard lineup when they got into a tough situation.

On offense, the Cougars are a low scoring team, averaging 67 points per game, the lowest scoring offense in the CAA so far this 2017-2018 season. They are not an efficient scoring team, shooting just 39% from the field and 33% from the three-point-arc. They are 72% from the charity strip.

On defense, Charleston appears strong, allowing only 64.6 points per game. However, it is worth noting that the Cougars' schedule so far has been heavy with teams rated "over-150", and worth noting that Wichita State put up 80+ points against the Cougars.

On the rebounding side of the game, while the Cougars are not an exceptional rebounding team (averaging as a team 36 rpg, last among teams in the CAA), neither are the Rhody Rams (34 rebounds on average per game, third to last in the A-10). In terms of the up-coming mid-December meeting of the two teams, Charleston's Nick Harris (who is leading the Cougars in rebounds and in blocks) is a load underneath and will represent a challenge for guard-heavy and frontcourt-challenged Rhode Island. Do not be surprised should Harris record 30 or more minutes of playing time in Saturday's game.

All in all, Charleston is a good team, probably better than UNC-Asheville, and roughly equivalent to a mid-to-low tier A-10 team (think "George Mason"). The Cougars have a good coach, and they are going to be well-rested when they arrive in Kingston. They will be "up" for Rhode Island, with the hope of stealing a win against a more accomplished oppponent.


Look -- this should be a fun game of match-ups and mismatches, and a great game for E.C. to make his return to action. While Charleston could well finish the season at the top of the Colonial, the Cougars are at best a Top-100 team and they will be playing on the road, while gritty Rhode Island is a Top-50 team playing at home. Give yourself an early holiday treat, and get to the game. Why should Fatts be the one having all the fun?


GO RHODY!

Loving this early preview

URI wins this 81-68

I think after our losses I've just learned to read the heights of the opposing team's back court. If they're starting 4 guys at 6'5 or longer, we'll have trouble.

Fortunately those teams don't grow on trees. Unfortunately we've played 3 of them.

I think Charleston has the potential to pose issues if they hang around, but I'm more confident in Rhody winning this by 8-13 pts.

I have to sort of disagree with you Blue Man, they aren't as big on paper, remember Brantley won't be playing and he's their best rebounder, Harris could be an issue on the glass at 6'10", but other than him I think we'll be fine. they're starting 5 looks like 6'3", 6'4", 6'4", 6'8", and 6'10". McManus, the other big isn't as experienced and skilled so i think we'll be ok with our starting line up, especially with EC back and we're at home

with a decent amount of time to rest, it only can help Cyril and Akele (listen i know a lot on here give him crap, but if you look at least at rebounding Akele isn't doing a terrible job)

I am slightly worried about the chemistry and flow of the offense with EC back, I want to see us run, i dont want to see everyone clear out with ISO for him and it gets JT, Fatts, etc out of rhythm

I'll be the one to say it.

Easy win

URI'21 wrote:I'll be the one to say it.

Easy win

yup.

sorry, I dont get the hand wringing at all. I look at that schedule and results and think *yawn*

This game will be easier than Brown was. This will be another game where our perimeter defense completely overwhelms a lesser opponent

wpbrown8267 wrote: I am slightly worried about the chemistry and flow of the offense with EC back, I want to see us run, i dont want to see everyone clear out with ISO for him and it gets JT, Fatts, etc out of rhythm

THey have been running tons of ISO for Jeff and Jared though so not much changes if it its EC running the ISO instead.

Either way, EC needs to be back, chemistry will adjust.

wpbrown8267 wrote:I think Charleston has the potential to pose issues if they hang around, but I'm more confident in Rhody winning this by 8-13 pts.

I have to sort of disagree with you Blue Man, they aren't as big on paper, remember Brantley won't be playing and he's their best rebounder, Harris could be an issue on the glass at 6'10", but other than him I think we'll be fine. they're starting 5 looks like 6'3", 6'4", 6'4", 6'8", and 6'10". McManus, the other big isn't as experienced and skilled so i think we'll be ok with our starting line up, especially with EC back and we're at home

with a decent amount of time to rest, it only can help Cyril and Akele (listen i know a lot on here give him crap, but if you look at least at rebounding Akele isn't doing a terrible job)

I am slightly worried about the chemistry and flow of the offense with EC back, I want to see us run, i dont want to see everyone clear out with ISO for him and it gets JT, Fatts, etc out of rhythm

good point...I would hate to see EC mess up the flow on offense we had the last 3 games (not including brown). from the field---35.2%, 42.4% and 44%. overall 40%.

RhodyRam86 wrote:

wpbrown8267 wrote:I think Charleston has the potential to pose issues if they hang around, but I'm more confident in Rhody winning this by 8-13 pts.

I have to sort of disagree with you Blue Man, they aren't as big on paper, remember Brantley won't be playing and he's their best rebounder, Harris could be an issue on the glass at 6'10", but other than him I think we'll be fine. they're starting 5 looks like 6'3", 6'4", 6'4", 6'8", and 6'10". McManus, the other big isn't as experienced and skilled so i think we'll be ok with our starting line up, especially with EC back and we're at home

with a decent amount of time to rest, it only can help Cyril and Akele (listen i know a lot on here give him crap, but if you look at least at rebounding Akele isn't doing a terrible job)

I am slightly worried about the chemistry and flow of the offense with EC back, I want to see us run, i dont want to see everyone clear out with ISO for him and it gets JT, Fatts, etc out of rhythm

good point...I would hate to see EC mess up the flow on offense we had the last 3 games (not including brown). from the field---35.2%, 42.4% and 44%. overall 40%.

Thanks, appreciate the sarcasm. I said slightly and I was leaning on how he lets the game come to him opposed to JT who looks to be more aggressive. I’m obviously happy EC will be back and excited for the Charleston game

Again thanks for the sarcasm, just an opinion I had with each of there styles of play

wpbrown8267 wrote:

RhodyRam86 wrote:

wpbrown8267 wrote:I think Charleston has the potential to pose issues if they hang around, but I'm more confident in Rhody winning this by 8-13 pts.

I have to sort of disagree with you Blue Man, they aren't as big on paper, remember Brantley won't be playing and he's their best rebounder, Harris could be an issue on the glass at 6'10", but other than him I think we'll be fine. they're starting 5 looks like 6'3", 6'4", 6'4", 6'8", and 6'10". McManus, the other big isn't as experienced and skilled so i think we'll be ok with our starting line up, especially with EC back and we're at home

with a decent amount of time to rest, it only can help Cyril and Akele (listen i know a lot on here give him crap, but if you look at least at rebounding Akele isn't doing a terrible job)

I am slightly worried about the chemistry and flow of the offense with EC back, I want to see us run, i dont want to see everyone clear out with ISO for him and it gets JT, Fatts, etc out of rhythm

good point...I would hate to see EC mess up the flow on offense we had the last 3 games (not including brown). from the field---35.2%, 42.4% and 44%. overall 40%.

Thanks, appreciate the sarcasm. I said slightly and I was leaning on how he lets the game come to him opposed to JT who looks to be more aggressive. I’m obviously happy EC will be back and excited for the Charleston game

Again thanks for the sarcasm, just an opinion I had with each of there styles of play

if anything, I would be more concerned with how EC affects the defensive chemistry. it's that side of the ball that is carrying this team to this point.

RhodyRam86 wrote:

wpbrown8267 wrote:

RhodyRam86 wrote:
good point...I would hate to see EC mess up the flow on offense we had the last 3 games (not including brown). from the field---35.2%, 42.4% and 44%. overall 40%.

Thanks, appreciate the sarcasm. I said slightly and I was leaning on how he lets the game come to him opposed to JT who looks to be more aggressive. I’m obviously happy EC will be back and excited for the Charleston game

Again thanks for the sarcasm, just an opinion I had with each of there styles of play

why even be slightly worried? their offense has been stagnant unless they are able to get open court turnovers. if anything, I would be more concerned with how EC affects the defensive chemistry. it's that side of the ball that is carrying the team to this point. right now, I think the biggest thing EC will bring is added depth. if he turns out to be who most think he is everything will play out nicely.

rhodysurf wrote:

wpbrown8267 wrote: I am slightly worried about the chemistry and flow of the offense with EC back, I want to see us run, i dont want to see everyone clear out with ISO for him and it gets JT, Fatts, etc out of rhythm

THey have been running tons of ISO for Jeff and Jared though so not much changes if it its EC running the ISO instead.

Well, I don't think EC is as good a ball handler as Jeff or Jared. He's actually a turnover machine in the halfcourt. EC is at his best in the open court and in space. He struggles in traffic.

I think the offensive chemistry will take a hit. I love EC and he is extremely talented, but I think he is better served on a less talented team where he has to be the guy. He's a volume scorer and a good one, but the rest of his game hasn't improved much if at all. Him and JT don't seem to mesh well on offense and JT always defers to EC. They never seem their best selves when both are on the court at the same time.

Thinking with 10 days off and most likely EC back and maybe CL is a bit more healthy that we will jumpstart this team early

The A-10 to date is getting beat up by the CAA. It is just 2-5 versus the league.

LaSalle 0-2 L: Towson/Drexel
GMU 1-1 W: JMU/L: W&M
Richmond 0-1 L: Delaware
Davidson 1-0 W: UNC-W
Dayton 0-1 L: Hofstra

Yet to play:
Richmond-JMU
URI-Charleston
SBU-Notheastern

Does anyone know if this game is streamed anywhere? Hard to believe it is not, but, I sure can't find it!

Another way to compare the A10 with the CAA is to take a look at the ESPN BPI ratings as of this morning, and compare the number of teams in each 50-team bucket (A10-CAA):

3-0 Teams 1-50
1-1 Teams 51-100
3-4 Teams 101-150
3-1 Teams 151-200
4-2 Teams 201-250
0-2 Teams 250+

The above numbers above are a bit misleading, because there are more teams in the A10 (14) than there are in the CAA (10), and because one's eye is drawn to larger numbers. Looking at percentages is a little more even-handed:

• 20% of the A10 is in the Top 50 of the BPI, while 20% of the CAA is in the Top 125 of the BPI
• half of the teams of each league are in the Top 150 of the BPI.

The attachment below is the equivalent information in tabular format: The attachment below shows the percentage information graphically:

I have been a big Akele critic, but he was pretty good at shooting open 3balls. I would like to see him get some of those looks. Seems too quick to put the ball on the deck this year. Knock it down!

This game can’t come soon enough.. Charlestown is 7-2 with an RPI that will continue to improve as the season goes on. Need to start this home streak off with a win.

Preston out multiple weeks due to injury.

Good grief.

Looks like Mike L will get his chance.....

Rhody15 wrote:Preston out multiple weeks due to injury.

Where'd you see that? I'm not finding anything about an injury online

What the hell are they doing in practice, six point stance drills??

Ugh this is horrendous news

......do we really know there is an injury?......maybe Koch knows......

This is the same source that gave me the Hassan injury last year when I first posted about it.

So whats up. Jarvis is playing like Jarvis.

EC is ready and back?

Cyril vanquished a sports hernia in a few weeks?

What are we looking at for Saturday.

Obviously we never want to see a player get hurt, especially one that we really need to develop sooner rather than later, but this team will be fine without Ryan Preston the next couple of weeks.

Hopefully this gives Akele some confidence and maybe Mike Layssard sees this as his shot to prove he belongs. Then again, I could see Dan not playing Layssard a minute.

I assumed we would have heard more information on the injury report of this team by now.

Any chance this rumor is false ??

is it game time yet ?

i am going thru Rhody withdrawal.....

steveystuds06 wrote:Obviously we never want to see a player get hurt, especially one that we really need to develop sooner rather than later, but this team will be fine without Ryan Preston the next couple of weeks.

I agree that the team will be fine for however many games Preston misses in December. The issue, though, is that this is the exact stretch in the schedule where we would have hopefully been able to start expanding his role. As many have said, our ceiling in March is considerably higher if our most athletic player can work his way into a contributing role. His missing time at this point in the season likely diminishes the chances of that happening.

My wife finally went to a game at the RC! She went to the pc game and had a good time. I brought her to the pub for a drink, got her some stadium nachos and she had a good time. She wants to go to the Charleston game! Only took me 20 years, but I was persistent. See, we can get new fans to the games if we keep at it

Will students still be on campus for this one ? My daughter goes to UVM and they are done with finals tomorrow. Is it the same for URI?

Some students may already be gone but finals go until the 21st here.

I think finals start tomorrow or something

RhowdyRam02 wrote:Some students may already be gone but finals go until the 21st here.

That's good. Hopefully we can get a decent student turnout.

rhodysurf wrote:I think finals start tomorrow or something

They started yesterday

TruePoint wrote:

steveystuds06 wrote:Obviously we never want to see a player get hurt, especially one that we really need to develop sooner rather than later, but this team will be fine without Ryan Preston the next couple of weeks.

I agree that the team will be fine for however many games Preston misses in December. The issue, though, is that this is the exact stretch in the schedule where we would have hopefully been able to start expanding his role. As many have said, our ceiling in March is considerably higher if our most athletic player can work his way into a contributing role. His missing time at this point in the season likely diminishes the chances of that happening.

We need Preston to be able to make a significant impact for our ceiling to be considerably higher. Right now he's the fourth big on our roster in minutes, even if he jumps ahead of Akele in minutes he'd still have to be playing much better than Akele to make the team better overall. I'm not sure how realistic that is, at this point I think we keep riding the four guard lineup and hope we don't end up with an awful mismatch in the first round of the tournament.

Preston looks fine. He hasn't figured the fouls out yet. That's a big problem for him to me. He fouls and DH sits him down.

He also hasn't showcased his hops. IMHO he is just around the corner from having a breakthrough. Tough break.

His height and athleticism obviously offer the highest ceiling a few months from now. Too bad.

That off ball shot blocking can be so helpful. Hassan Martin was a revelation in that department. Most teams don't have that. I would be surprised to have another shot blocker like him in the next 5 years.

Seawrightspostgame wrote:Preston looks fine. He hasn't figured the fouls out yet. That's a big problem for him to me. He fouls and DH sits him down.

Langevine and Preston both have 18 fouls this season in 69 and 72 minutes respectively. Berry has 19 fouls in 161 minutes. If both those guys could figure out how to play defense without fouling it would make a big difference but obviously that's easier said than done.

Some things I’d like/hope to see in this game:

A win, obviously. A win against Charleston would be one of those sneaky good ones on the overall resume. Rhode Island is the clear favorite, especially at home, but someone referred to Charleston as a “cupcake,” which is not at all accurate. The long lay-off might lead to a rough start, but a solid, pull away win would be ideal.

A comfortable, double-digit minutes’ game for a healthy EC, while making a couple of those moves to the basket that remind us why he’s a very good player.

A Fatts’ dunk for no other reason than they’re fun.

A solid shooting game from Jared Terrell. He’s shooting 6 for 24 (2-11 against PC, 4-13 against Alabama) in his last two games. We know who and what he is, so I’m not concerned, but everything looks and feels better if he can tighten that up a bit.

The Rhody defense shutting down one of Charleston’s really good, experienced guards.

Any stream for this game? I'm hoping to head down from the Boston area, but the in laws are in town, so it's going to be tough to get away. Was hoping to take my father in law, but he has no interest in the sport at all.

steviep123 wrote:Any stream for this game? I'm hoping to head down from the Boston area, but the in laws are in town, so it's going to be tough to get away. Was hoping to take my father in law, but he has no interest in the sport at all.

Aren't having the in-laws in town all the more reason to get away? Kidding!!!

Billyboy78 wrote:

steviep123 wrote:Any stream for this game? I'm hoping to head down from the Boston area, but the in laws are in town, so it's going to be tough to get away. Was hoping to take my father in law, but he has no interest in the sport at all.

Aren't having the in-laws in town all the more reason to get away? Kidding!!!

LOL. I actually get along very well with them. They are wonderful people. I feel fortunate b/c I know many who do not get along with their in laws at all.

steviep123 wrote:Any stream for this game? I'm hoping to head down from the Boston area, but the in laws are in town, so it's going to be tough to get away. Was hoping to take my father in law, but he has no interest in the sport at all.

A10 Network

https://www.nmnathletics.com/liveEvents ... M_ID=31600

Nice video by the boys

ace wrote:Some things I’d like/hope to see in this game:

A win, obviously. A win against Charleston would be one of those sneaky good ones on the overall resume. Rhode Island is the clear favorite, especially at home, but someone referred to Charleston as a “cupcake,” which is not at all accurate. The long lay-off might lead to a rough start, but a solid, pull away win would be ideal.

A comfortable, double-digit minutes’ game for a healthy EC, while making a couple of those moves to the basket that remind us why he’s a very good player.

A Fatts’ dunk for no other reason than they’re fun.

A solid shooting game from Jared Terrell. He’s shooting 6 for 24 (2-11 against PC, 4-13 against Alabama) in his last two games. We know who and what he is, so I’m not concerned, but everything looks and feels better if he can tighten that up a bit.

The Rhody defense shutting down one of Charleston’s really good, experienced guards.

I'd like to see a solid 20-24 minutes from Cyril, showing that he's recovered from his hernia. We need a healthy, productive Cyril to make a decent post-season run.