Is this a “rebuilding” year for our URI Rams?

[hrstrat57]

Well is it?

Do we dare guess what Thorr thinks?

What do you think Rhody fans?

[section(105)]

.......yes, I thought it was from the jump.....mainly due to the loss of the seniors scoring, leadership and new coach, replaced with freshmen that have to produce and new first year coach.....

[RhodysRelevant]

Absolutely, can't lose what we lost and not have a big drop off. I just hope we see progress as we move further along. Hopefully walker will be a player for us in the front court next year and we will have better guard depth to make a run to a post season berth next year.

[steviep123]

Of course it is, with some good experienced blocks in place.

[SGreenwell]

They lost two starters that were basically the core of the team that had two straight NCAA appearances, and accounted for 61 minutes per game, along with two really good "glue" / gamer types (Robinson and Garrett) that averaged another 48 MPG. Dotwin was already playing 32.9 MPG, so even if you assumed Fatts was stellar without needing to adjust to a bigger role and more minutes (17.9 MPG last year), you basically needed to replace 90 minutes of good to stellar play.

I probably would have pegged them for the 15 to 20-win range coming into the year as a result, although they're projecting more toward the lower end of that range right now. Thompson's stats are essentially the same as his sophomore year - except he missed a full year because of an injury - so I'm not entirely sure why people are surprised by his performance. On average, the freshmen have been better than I thought they would - Harris a tiny bit underwhelming, Martin quite a bit better than advertised. If there is a finger to be pointed at this team underperforming, it is probably because the mid-tier recruits haven't really progressed - Preston, Tertsea, Akele leaving, Lessyard leaving and not really earning PT either, etc. That is obviously not blame you can lay solely on Cox, and I'm not sure how much you parse to him, to Hurley, to other past assistant coaches that scouted and recruited, etc.

[Taylor Swift]

Having about a 1/3 of the roster graduate plus DH taking the job at UCONN, I have been expecting a "rebuilding year" since April 2018.

[theblueram]

Is next year a rebuild year?

[RamIt!]

Of course it's a rebuilding year. We lost something like 75% of our scoring from last year. We have 4 freshman, one player in CT who hadn't played in over a year.... AND a new coach...anyone who had higher expectations (sorry to be harsh) but was a fool.

It took Hurley 4 seasons to turn this program around.

[Taylor Swift]

Is next year a rebuild year?

No

[Rhodymob05]

Yes, but losing a coach(s) is a double wammy plus recruits on top of graduating all those guys. Not a typical rebuilding season by any means.

[ace]

It took Hurley 4 seasons to turn this program around.

It’s rebuild-ish, but there’s no comparison between the current situation and the one from 2012. Cyril and Jeff are great pieces to build around in this conference. The team certainly hasn’t over-achieved, which is what even being a bubble team would have required. Some people talked themselves into myth-like expectations regarding the head coach that were unfounded and unfair, especially if they’re now disappointed. The conference is (was?) theirs for the taking (it’s pretty bad, guys), but progress will have to be made quickly.

[Blue Man]

It took Hurley 4 seasons to turn this program around.

It’s rebuild-ish, but there’s no comparison between the current situation and the one from 2012. Cyril and Jeff are great pieces to build around in this conference. The team certainly hasn’t over-achieved, which is what even being a bubble team would have required. Some people talked themselves into myth-like expectations regarding the head coach that were unfounded and unfair, especially if they’re now disappointed. The conference is (was?) theirs for the taking (it’s pretty bad, guys), but progress will have to be made quickly.

This. Yeah no one had "second weekend" expectations like we may have the last 2 years.

Rational fans didn't even have post-season expectations going into this year, knowing that there was a new coach and one of the youngest rosters in D1.

The problem is that too many times this year, the team that has been put on the court has looked unprepared for D-1 basketball, un-interested in playing D-1 basketball, or flat out has not tried.

That is why a lot of us are typing in all caps and yelling at the television to keep sane in everything else we do in life.

No one expected us to be an at-large team, we just wanted to see a team TRY and IMPROVE.

There's been a little, yet not enough of the latter, and an alarmingly lacking amount of the former.

This whole season is supposed to be a dress-rehersal for a serious NCAA run next year, with the outside chance at winning an NCAA auto bid.

With no effort and no improvement, it all of a sudden could look like we're in for another long drought, which we were assured was not going to happen.

[TheGhostOfDH]

I saw this as a partial rebuild season. Win some and lose some. What concerns me are some of the observations I have made involving the body language, in particular Fatts’. He doesn’t seem to be a teacher to the young guys on the floor, but a scolder. I can’t count the number of times I have seen Jermaine with a look on his face and his hands outstretched, looking as if he is pleading with a parent not to ground him. At the other end of the plea is Fatts with a quick, flip comment and an eye roll. That’s not how you build a team; act as a leader or develop a following with young team members. I think all de-facto authority has to be placed in the hands of Jeff and Cyril, as teachers and leaders. They need to come together as a team and play in a unified, unselfish way...without the attitude. And let lessons be taught on the floor by them...or the coaches...

Watch on a Saturday - the body language when a play goes wrong...and who is looking and saying what. It cannot be helpful to continue as team as I have witnessed.

[rambone 78]

This team will be better next season....but the big question to me is.....how good will we end up?

What is their ceiling? Our inside game should be NCAA tourney quality, but will the outside game: read: guard play will determine how far we will go.

Our outside shooting will still be a problem imo.

[DC_Rams]

It took Hurley 4 seasons to turn this program around.

It’s rebuild-ish, but there’s no comparison between the current situation and the one from 2012. Cyril and Jeff are great pieces to build around in this conference. The team certainly hasn’t over-achieved, which is what even being a bubble team would have required. Some people talked themselves into myth-like expectations regarding the head coach that were unfounded and unfair, especially if they’re now disappointed. The conference is (was?) theirs for the taking (it’s pretty bad, guys), but progress will have to be made quickly.

This. Yeah no one had "second weekend" expectations like we may have the last 2 years.

Rational fans didn't even have post-season expectations going into this year, knowing that there was a new coach and one of the youngest rosters in D1.

The problem is that too many times this year, the team that has been put on the court has looked unprepared for D-1 basketball, un-interested in playing D-1 basketball, or flat out has not tried.

That is why a lot of us are typing in all caps and yelling at the television to keep sane in everything else we do in life.

No one expected us to be an at-large team, we just wanted to see a team TRY and IMPROVE.

There's been a little, yet not enough of the latter, and an alarmingly lacking amount of the former.

This whole season is supposed to be a dress-rehersal for a serious NCAA run next year, with the outside chance at winning an NCAA auto bid.

With no effort and no improvement, it all of a sudden could look like we're in for another long drought, which we were assured was not going to happen.

This team will have an 10-11 man rotation next year. We will be just fine.

[rambone 78]

Will Fatts, Jeff, and CT all of a sudden become 35% 3 point shooters? Will Hammond help alleviate that problem?

That's what could hold us back. UMass and Duquesne beat us because they can make 3's.....if we continue to not defend the 3, we're going to see more losses like the last 2.....

[DC_Rams]

Will Fatts, Jeff, and CT all of a sudden become 35% 3 point shooters? Will Hammond help alleviate that problem?

That's what could hold us back. UMass and Duquesne beat us because they can make 3's.....if we continue to not defend the 3, we're going to see more losses like the last 2.....

Jeff was lethal from 3 in HS. He’s going through a slump. Fatts is Fatts. CT will not play 25-30 minutes a game next year. Guaranteed. We have a solid 7 rotation. Add 4 more bodies to the roster that are expected to contribute, Cox will really have the flexibility to cut playing time based on performance.

[UCH21377]

I think this didn’t need to be a rebuild but it turned out to be. I would have loved to see us pick up a 5th year or JUCO wing scorer, but it didn’t work out that way for whatever reason. Now we are challenged offensively. The scary part is that our defense is lousy too. We get routinely beat off the dribble, and the wing defenders lose discipline drift off their guys and allow 3’s. That would not have happened as much or as long if Hurley was around. I hope we will be good next year but I am having trouble seeing it right now

[DC_Rams]

I think this didn’t need to be a rebuild but it turned out to be. I would have loved to see us pick up a 5th year or JUCO wing scorer, but it didn’t work out that way for whatever reason. Now we are challenged offensively. The scary part is that our defense is lousy too. We get routinely beat off the dribble, and the wing defenders lose discipline drift off their guys and allow 3’s. That would not have happened as much or as long if Hurley was around. I hope we will be good next year but I am having trouble seeing it right now

I have no idea how you all make those claims. Defense is defense. We don’t know what the defense would look like under DH. It’s such a baseless assessment.

Year One is going to be a mulligan. Next year if there is NO improvement, then I will straddle the fence. Year 3, do or die.

I truly believe the flashes we see will turn into consistency, just not simultaneously when we collectively stomp our feet and pout like little girls.

[theblueram]

I know what defense would look like under Hurley.

[DC_Rams]

I know what defense would look like under Hurley.

We are ranked 50 at defensive efficiency, UCONN sits at 68 per teamrankings.com

[ram1980]

I think this didn’t need to be a rebuild but it turned out to be. I would have loved to see us pick up a 5th year or JUCO wing scorer, but it didn’t work out that way for whatever reason. Now we are challenged offensively. The scary part is that our defense is lousy too. We get routinely beat off the dribble, and the wing defenders lose discipline drift off their guys and allow 3’s. That would not have happened as much or as long if Hurley was around. I hope we will be good next year but I am having trouble seeing it right now

Remember, Hurley left us with this group.. very unbalanced with one sophmore and not very deep.. he's not almighty!! This team has no depth!!. Hopefully will next year as long as no one leaves and incoming class has some talent.. noone knows the answer.. here's hoping.. lots of fun when this team is relevant.

[rambone 78]

Even when we sucked early in the Hurley years, our defense was constantly good....there were lapses sure but it was good enough to keep us in games where we were short talent wise, especially on offense.


I'm sure Cox knows defense, he witnessed it for 4 years under Dan. But he's having trouble getting it across to this current group.


I mean, 46 and 53 2nd half points to a bad UMass and mediocre Duquesne team is pathetic on many levels. And it certainly isn't all the freshmens' fault.

[steveystuds06]

I think this didn’t need to be a rebuild but it turned out to be. I would have loved to see us pick up a 5th year or JUCO wing scorer, but it didn’t work out that way for whatever reason. Now we are challenged offensively. The scary part is that our defense is lousy too. We get routinely beat off the dribble, and the wing defenders lose discipline drift off their guys and allow 3’s. That would not have happened as much or as long if Hurley was around. I hope we will be good next year but I am having trouble seeing it right now

I have no idea how you all make those claims. Defense is defense. We don’t know what the defense would look like under DH. It’s such a baseless assessment.

Year One is going to be a mulligan. Next year if there is NO improvement, then I will straddle the fence. Year 3, do or die.

I truly believe the flashes we see will turn into consistency, just not simultaneously when we collectively stomp our feet and pout like little girls.

Exactly how I feel.

Maybe some fans forget, but we had A LOT of growing pains under Dan Hurley when we were young. I can remember plenty of frustrating losses... especially on the road.

I kept telling myself we were young and we were learning. Did it suck? Yes. Did I lose faith sometimes? 100%. Did our guys get older, improve, and take this program to the top of the A10? Absolutely.

I see the same results with this bunch. We have loads a talent, a coach that is going to improve, and an incoming class I'm excited about. I'm ready for some more ups and downs this year and a legit run next year.

Go Rhody!!

[rambone 78]

As long as Cox next season can convince the soon to be sophs to take all of our 3 point attempts, we'll go far. Martin, Tate, and Omar can shoot it.

That means he will have to convince CT, Fatts, and JD to NOT take any 3's.....good luck with that!

Not totally serious of course, but you get the point.

[DC_Rams]

Do not lump JD in that bucket. He can shoot. He will be fine.

[theblueram]

Sooooo, when do we get to the point where we don't have rebuild years? Who is going to take us there?

[section(105)]

Is next year a rebuild year?

.......maybe, in that a “rebuild” could take more than a single year, if the goal is defined on getting back to the level of performance that had previously been achieved. Like URI is in the second year of a rebuild to return to the NCAA....

[section(105)]

Sooooo, when do we get to the point where we don't have rebuild years? Who is going to take us there?

........Me thinks in the life cycle of mid major teams, and A-10 type conferences, there are cycles of teams that hit it big, then tapper off into rebuild years, and then return to the top, to sustain top level performance is a constant challenge for these teams......we will not have rebuild years until we are the sustained top dog in the conference for long runs......

[RhowdyRam02]

I know what defense would look like under Hurley.

And effort. And we're not getting enough of either under Cox

[DC_Rams]

Sooooo, when do we get to the point where we don't have rebuild years? Who is going to take us there?

As long as we are in the A10, it’s always going to be this way.

[ace]

I know what defense would look like under Hurley.

We are ranked 50 at defensive efficiency, UCONN sits at 68 per teamrankings.com

They also don’t have a front court. I’d be thrilled if I never read another comparison between the two, but if you’re going to mention that other team...

[rambone 78]

It's not that everyone is slacking, in terms of effort. Certain players look at times like they aren't hustling....especially Thompson....you really can't blame Jeff or Cyril or the freshmen for the most part. Same with Fatts...the effort is misguided more than anything.

I think it's more lack of concentration or focus.....it has to be 100% all the time, or they shouldn't be out there. Especially on defense.

That's on them AND the staff.....both have to share the blame. Even Cox looks like he's at his wit's end when he pulls someone for making a boneheaded play...and the replacement does the same thing soon after!

[TruePoint]

Is next year a rebuild year?

No. I’m willing to give a lot of leeway this year because ultimately this isn’t a tournament team and if you’re not in then you’re out. But next year is back to NCAA or Bust for me.

[theblueram]

Seems like Gonzaga of the East has left the building. But I still believe we can be one day.

[theblueram]

It's not that everyone is slacking, in terms of effort. Certain players look at times like they aren't hustling....especially Thompson....you really can't blame Jeff or Cyril or the freshmen for the most part. Same with Fatts...the effort is misguided more than anything.

I think it's more lack of concentration or focus.....it has to be 100% all the time, or they shouldn't be out there. Especially on defense.

That's on them AND the staff.....both have to share the blame. Even Cox looks like he's at his wit's end when he pulls someone for making a boneheaded play...and the replacement does the same thing soon after!

Cyril has been a beast. Jeff has been great. Fatts, after Cox cut his 3's has been great. But the second half of that game was something I don't want to see again. Complete and utter collapse.

[ace]

Also, rebuild or not, I’ll be very disappointed if they don’t finish in the top half of the conference. That was my floor for them going in, and I still think that is more than fair.

[RhodysRelevant]

Well by your stated criteria Ace they are close as we currently sit 8th in the 14 team conference.

[rambone 78]

Well we lost 2 very winnable games against mediocre or worse teams. I don't care if they were on the road....that's just another weak excuse.

How does this team make those up? They don't, unless they start to play close to 40 solid minutes consistently.

Not expecting that this season.....well I was before UMass.....before they started giving up huge runs....

[adam914]

Is next year a rebuild year?

No. I’m willing to give a lot of leeway this year because ultimately this isn’t a tournament team and if you’re not in then you’re out. But next year is back to NCAA or Bust for me.

I'm with you here. Cyril and Jeff as seniors, Fatts as a junior and the freshman class a year older has to be a tournament team. No excuses.

[DeanDome88]

This is surely a rebuilding year.

Coming into this season we had two proven players, Dowtin and Langevine, but they still have things to figure out to be stars. Langevine is a moderately skilled, aggressive, strong, overachiever but needs to learn how to pass out of a double team among other things. Dowtin is a really well rounded player and will continue to improve with experience. It looks like he is having trouble dealing with ironman like minutes and should do some training to improve his stamina.

Thompson was a question mark coming into the season off a redshirt year and limited success in his first two seasons.

Preston is a senior who has not played meaningful minutes at this level.

Tertsea is a project without meaningful experience.

Fatts is a mercurial player who Hurley did nothing to rein in during his freshman year. Hurley also put allusions of future super stardom out into the media that Fatts and the current coaching staff still need to come to terms with. I think Dan was feeding off of Fatts' self confidence more than what Fatts did on the court. Unfortunately, Fatts plays the same natural position as our best player and is not yet an efficient scorer at shooting guard.

The freshman are decently talented but nothing like the blue blood recruiting classes that are destined for the NBA.

Tyrese Martin- starting to come into his own. I hope he improves his handle . Really like what he is doing currently at small forward. Game has slowed down for him already. He is the most athletic player on the team.
Jermaine Harris- a little bit raw - I am baffled when some posters are thinking we should feature him in the offense. He plays hard and is a decent athlete. I think he eventually is very solid player. He needs to learn a lot of the little things-better techniques that will help him be more successful.
Dana Tate-good head for the game and usually in good position on the offensive end of the court, but not that athletic, will improve with experience and physical training.
Omar S.-limited so far, should improve with playing time, can he get quicker?

For some perspective the 1985-86 Rams had Silk Owens, Tommy Garrick, John Evans, Bonzi Colson Sr., Kenny Green (part-season before injury) and a few decent upperclassman. They won 9 games. Their former head coach, Brendan Malone, was not incompetent and he ended up being an NBA assistant/head coach for many years. Players at this talent level need experience and time to improve their athleticism to win. I think if we make the NCAA's next year that Cox will be a very hot coach.

[Rhodymob05]

Seems like Gonzaga of the East has left the building. But I still believe we can be one day.

You know what you need to be Gonzaga of the east? A coach that stays put. Gonzaga has had their coach for 20 straight years.

[Rhodymob05]

Great post DeanDome88.

[PeterRamTime]

I think this didn’t need to be a rebuild but it turned out to be. I would have loved to see us pick up a 5th year or JUCO wing scorer, but it didn’t work out that way for whatever reason. Now we are challenged offensively. The scary part is that our defense is lousy too. We get routinely beat off the dribble, and the wing defenders lose discipline drift off their guys and allow 3’s. That would not have happened as much or as long if Hurley was around. I hope we will be good next year but I am having trouble seeing it right now

I have no idea how you all make those claims. Defense is defense. We don’t know what the defense would look like under DH. It’s such a baseless assessment.

Year One is going to be a mulligan. Next year if there is NO improvement, then I will straddle the fence. Year 3, do or die.

I truly believe the flashes we see will turn into consistency, just not simultaneously when we collectively stomp our feet and pout like little girls.

Exactly how I feel.

Maybe some fans forget, but we had A LOT of growing pains under Dan Hurley when we were young. I can remember plenty of frustrating losses... especially on the road.

I kept telling myself we were young and we were learning. Did it suck? Yes. Did I lose faith sometimes? 100%. Did our guys get older, improve, and take this program to the top of the A10? Absolutely.

I see the same results with this bunch. We have loads a talent, a coach that is going to improve, and an incoming class I'm excited about. I'm ready for some more ups and downs this year and a legit run next year.

Go Rhody!!

Yes this team reminds me a whole lot like the team in Dans second year with EC and Hassan as freshmen, with Gilvydas Biruta, Minnis, Reischel, Tj and X.

We had pretty high expectations of that team if I remember correctly and it did not go nearly as well as a lot of people thought.

14-18 talented enough to beat someone like LSU, but would have just awful head scratching games.

I remember quite a bit of uncertainty after that year.

We are performing better this year with more freshman.

I cant knock people for being concerned, but it's just normal for young teams to have issues.

Its encouraging that we have kept a lot of the stupid shooting at bay, we just need more effort from on the defensive end.

It has appeared that Cox can make adjustments, just seems that it's hard to get guys to be consistent with those adjustments.

[DC_Rams]

I have no idea how you all make those claims. Defense is defense. We don’t know what the defense would look like under DH. It’s such a baseless assessment.

Year One is going to be a mulligan. Next year if there is NO improvement, then I will straddle the fence. Year 3, do or die.

I truly believe the flashes we see will turn into consistency, just not simultaneously when we collectively stomp our feet and pout like little girls.

Exactly how I feel.

Maybe some fans forget, but we had A LOT of growing pains under Dan Hurley when we were young. I can remember plenty of frustrating losses... especially on the road.

I kept telling myself we were young and we were learning. Did it suck? Yes. Did I lose faith sometimes? 100%. Did our guys get older, improve, and take this program to the top of the A10? Absolutely.

I see the same results with this bunch. We have loads a talent, a coach that is going to improve, and an incoming class I'm excited about. I'm ready for some more ups and downs this year and a legit run next year.

Go Rhody!!

Yes this team reminds me a whole lot like the team in Dans second year with EC and Hassan as freshmen, with Gilvydas Biruta, Minnis, Reischel, Tj and X.

We had pretty high expectations of that team if I remember correctly and it did not go nearly as well as a lot of people thought.

14-18 talented enough to beat someone like LSU, but would have just awful head scratching games.

I remember quite a bit of uncertainty after that year.

We are performing better this year with more freshman.

I cant knock people for being concerned, but it's just normal for young teams to have issues.

Its encouraging that we have kept a lot of the stupid shooting at bay, we just need more effort from on the defensive end.

It has appeared that Cox can make adjustments, just seems that it's hard to get guys to be consistent with those adjustments.

Most logical and level headed post of the day, by far.

[ramster]

Well is it?

Do we dare guess what Thorr thinks?

What do you think Rhody fans?

Good question and has generated a lot of commentary.
Reading the commentary, many seem to think that a Rebuilding year is like a Bye year - all is ok, give the Head Coach a chance
I think it goes deeper into not just is it a "Rebuilding Year" but how do you grade the performance of the "Rebuilding Year" as with any other year - What Grade do you give the year, the individual player performances and the Head Coach performance?

96 Posters predicted (weighted average) 18.5 Total Wins and 11.1 A10 Conference wins
Right now we are (11-9) Overall and (4-4) Conference with 10 games to go
Means we need to win 7 of next 10 games to hit the 18.5 Overall and 11.1 A10 wins, respectively to meet what the average expectations were. A long shot.
In addition, the 18.5 and 11.1 wins were predicted before the season started. Most all would agree that the OCC Conference Schedule turned out weaker than expected and the A10 League has turned out weaker than expected with many predicting only 1 NCAA Bid - the automatic bid.
The best of the OCC Teams have not played to expectations. PC (13-8 NET 72), West Virginia (9-12 NET 104), Charleston (16-6 NET 111), Bucknell (13-8 NET 176). Can't recall a weaker OOC Schedule than this season.

I personally don't think any year is a rebuilding year. Teams like Duke and Kentucky have every year as a rebuilding year with all of their "1 and done" players. I'll prefer to grade the year based on the full year - very important for a year like this. Some of the important criteria:
- How many players transfer out? With Hurley the numbers were very low. Unfortunately we lost Akele and Layssard this year. Would have liked to have seen what they would have done this season - and would have given us some needed experience and depth. How many and who transfer out prior to next season?
- How well do the Freshmen grow? How many Freshmen make Rookie of the Week and All Conference Rookie Team?
- How is our overall OCC and A10 Record compared to preseason expectations?
- Is the Team better, worse or the same for the last 10 games compared to the first 10 games?
- How do we do in the A10 Post Season Tournament?
- How does the Coaching staff perform and grow in their first year? Do they make adjustments? What is the result of those adjustments?

To be determined by Mid March

[UCH21377]

I think this didn’t need to be a rebuild but it turned out to be. I would have loved to see us pick up a 5th year or JUCO wing scorer, but it didn’t work out that way for whatever reason. Now we are challenged offensively. The scary part is that our defense is lousy too. We get routinely beat off the dribble, and the wing defenders lose discipline drift off their guys and allow 3’s. That would not have happened as much or as long if Hurley was around. I hope we will be good next year but I am having trouble seeing it right now

I have no idea how you all make those claims. Defense is defense. We don’t know what the defense would look like under DH. It’s such a baseless assessment.

Year One is going to be a mulligan. Next year if there is NO improvement, then I will straddle the fence. Year 3, do or die.

I truly believe the flashes we see will turn into consistency, just not simultaneously when we collectively stomp our feet and pout like little girls.

DC, of course my assessment is baseless; it's my opinion based on I've seen so far. Defense is defense? Let's just agree to disagree on that one. When Hurley came in here, the change was obvious, and it started and finished with defense. That first team didn't have much but they played their asses off. This team does not, based on what I see. And he inherited some good talent, plus a good recruiting class, so any comparison between the early Hurley years and this year with Cox is plain wrong, IMO. Hurley started with NOTHING. As far as pouting goes, a poster asked a question, I answered. Sorry if any post questioning Cox upsets you. I think he will be fine; but this season is a disappointment to me.

[rambone 78]

Yes Dan started with nothing, but he did have more experience as a HC than Cox has.....

DC has made some nice adjustments and the team has responded....

And there's the flip side.....everything falls apart and there's no response.

What's maddening is the level of effort is so up and down, even within a game....that can't keep happening.

To me Cox has been all over the place just like his team....and what his staff has done to help, no one knows.

Major improvement next year is needed...if we have the same issues, it's not all the players fault. This team has shown it's potential at times, so it's not like they can't do it....

The offense is good enough most nights to win games in this league....but the defense has to show up EVERY night especially on the road, or we will see more repeats of the last 2 games.

I expect by next season we will see far more consistent play, or it will be time for major discontent.

[Rhody72]

Shocking that so many of you who projected URI as a top tier A10 team are now calling this a rebuilding year. Look at the W-L records that each of you projected in our annual contest. How can this be? We must have had some serious injuries?

[rambone 78]

72, this team is both good and bad, and everything in between.....the coach seems to have his ups and down just like his team....

No need to gloat over failures. My prediction of 18-12 was on point until the last couple of games.

The biggest disappointment for me this year, is the seeming lack of improvement in certain players development.....and the overall lack of improvement in team performance. To this point at least.

That to me is more troubling in the big picture. Maybe they will get it, maybe they won't. And that includes the staff.

All we can do is try to keep our sanity over what will likely be more frustrating losses to come this season.