Rhody's Best Moments of the Decade Countdown

[EZBuckets]

So I was inspired by the other thread asking for Rhody's best moments of the decade and between the replies here and some feedback on twitter, I've decided to do a Top 10 list (plus some honorable mentions) of all the best Rhody moments along with some video clips.

I'm compiling all the clips now and plan to do a countdown throughout the day on NYE on Twitter (and will also post here in a thread for those who don't visit the black abyss known as twitter)

The biggest issue I'm experiencing now is trying to put the moments in some kind of order. So I figured I'd make a poll here and let my fellow KB brethren vote for their top spots. Everyone has 3 votes for their top 3 moments!

If you think I've missed any, feel free to reply with any suggestions to add.

Go Rhody!!!

JV

[Rhodyram]

I’d like to write in the Greek’s 4 fouls in less 2 minutes in his only action in a Rhody uni.

[NYGFan_Section208]

Great list... very fortunate to have seen so many of these in person.

[Billyboy78]

I’d like to write in the Greek’s 4 fouls in less 2 minutes in his only action in a Rhody uni.

Right? I'm pretty sure that's one NCAA record that we own.

[Taylor Swift]

I cannot pick just one. The win against Nebraska always sticks out, but in actuality, the Newport Propane Minute of Mayhem needs some sort of honorable mention as it’s getting on Twitter.

[PeterRamTime]

Nebraska win. Biggest regular season win we had since Lamar Odom. We had beaten better teams before and after, but the fact they were ranked returning an entire NCAA tournament team and we FINALLY broke though was huge for the future. Winning in front of a big crowd for once too!

Win over VCU in the A-10 final. Obvious reasons.

Fatts steal and three against Trae Young was one of the most baddest plays in sports history if you consider the context of how those two players are connected in how Dan said Trae was the only player better than him at that AAU tournament. Fatts says "ILL PROVE YOU WRONG COACH"
Trae Young is as popular as lebron that year on ESPN and Fatts just DOGS him on national TV on a huge stage. Rhody created an iconic moment.

[reef]

My rankings were
1. NCAA win over Creighton - felt so good after 19 long years
2. Beating VCU 2017 final- can’t get to the NCAAs without winning that game
3. Hiring DH- Incredible hire turned program around and we don’t get NCAA wins without making that right hire

[Ram1019]

To me, it was the Nebraska game. Even though they turned out to be a bust, that moment just felt like a turning point for the program which, to me, felt like the best moment.

The A10 championship (I was there, that was FUN) and the seton hall game (remember that Ryan Preston swat?!) was a close second and third

[Blue Man]

For me the top 5 -
1) The A10 championship. I cried like a bitch.
2) Nebraska win, first time I felt hope in a decade
3) Creighton win NCAA
4) 2017 PC win
5) Oklahoma/Fatts show

Maybe if the Ryan Center showed replays I'd be able to remember a few plays more vividly

[TruePoint]

I think I totally agree with that list. It almost seems weird in retrospect how big that Nebraska win felt at the time because they turned out to be not that great and we didn’t get over the jump that year and it was actually another two seasons until we really did. But even more than that game itself, which was one of my best RC experiences since they opened the building, was the feel at Chop House after the game. Like you said, it was the return of hope. People were genuinely happy and optimistic. One of the most memorable scenes in my time as a Rhody fan.

[ramster]

For me:

1) Dan Hurley is hired in 2012

• After living through high quality Coaches including Jack Kraft, Tom Penders, Al Skinner and Jim Harrick the hiring of Jerry D (of course to try to keep Lamar Odom) and then Jim Baron (who was meant to stem the tide of coaches leaving too soon following success here) we needed a shot in the arm desperately - tremendous move by URI Administration to go after Dan Hurley,

• URI got the Ryan Center thanks to Jim Harrick’s success, Tom Ryan, Governor Lincoln Almond, etc. but Jim Baron was not able to maximize the potential benefits of the beautiful, brand spanking new, best on the east coast facility in recruiting

• Baron did not aim high enough in recruiting circles. He continuously recruited players in April and May who were oftentimes unknowns. It was difficult to find info on many of his recruits. Baron was A good guy who benefited from some players who turned out better than they were expected to be in guys like Keith Cothran, Lamont Ulmer, etc. but he often had difficulty managing rosters and distributing playing time effectively. He often made excuses blaming fan attendance, referees, ball inflation pressure, the schedule being not being spread out right, tired due to flights, they just shot the ball better than us, we just didn’t put the bawl in da basket. Worst period was when he said we were going to run more, which we did, but he let playing defense just go out the window. Let opponents fast break us to death and played very little defense versus the 3P shot consistently being at the bottom in 3P% defense. Baron got desperate his last couple years recruiting marginal players in behavior/work ethic/scholastics as he tried to hold onto his job in light of growing Keaney Blue poster criticisms.

• Dan Hurley came in and immediately had some recruiting victories in EC Mathews and Jordan Hare who were ESPN Top 100 players Hassan Martin. He got Stanford Robinson and Kuran Iverson who were former Top 50 ESPN caliber players from Indiana and Memphis respectively. Then the tremendous verbal of ESPN top 100 Jared Terrell who had spurned Hurley originally for Oklahoma State but then reconsidered and chose URI.

• Dan Hurley brought defensive coaching to URI which had been sorely missing during the Baron years

• Hurley brought enthusiasm, discipline in practicing, discipline in behavior, discipline in studying - all things this program desperately needed. He made fans, players, sports writers, etc believe.

• Hurley put URI back into the Top of the A-10 with Dayton, VCU and Davidson - something that was never going to happen with Baron

• None of the other highlights in the list happen without the Dan Hurley hire. Also important is that Thorr and Dr Dooley were able to keep Hurley at URI over noise from programs like St Johns, Seton Hall, Rutgers and others before finally UCONN won out.....but keeping Hurley those last couple of years was important

2) URI upsets #21 Ranked Nebraska in 2014

• viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3993&p=162027&hilit ... ka#p162027

• “Rhode Island, which returns 73.3 percent of its scoring and 86.7 percent of its rebounding from last season’s 14-18 team, has lost 22 straight games to ranked teams dating to a Dec. 2, 1998, victory against No. 25 Utah”.

• Hurley lost Jordan Hare who quit the team at the start of Game #1, #21 Ranked Nebraska was only the 3rd game that season

• URI had not beaten a top 25 Team since Jim Harrick. This is the type game that Jim Baron would always lose

• EC Mathews had a double-double vs Nebraska and Hassan Martin had a great game too as they would be the standard bearers of Dan Hurley’s URI Team. They helped Hurley recruit other top recruits to join the future successful run at URI

3) URI defeats Creighton in Sacramento for 1st NCAA Tournament Win in the 21st Century

• Hurley’s first NCAA Tournament win

• Defeats a Big East School that had many years of NCAA Tournament success

[Blue Man]

For me:

1) Dan Hurley is hired in 2012

• After living through high quality Coaches including Jack Kraft, Tom Penders, Al Skinner and Jim Harrick the hiring of Jerry D (of course to try to keep Lamar Odom) and then Jim Baron who was meant to stem the tide of coaches leaving too soon following success here we needed a shot in the arm desperately - tremendous move by URI Administration to go after Dan Hurley,

• URI got the Ryan Center thanks to Jim Harricks success, Tom Ryan, Governor Lincoln Almond, etc. but Jim Baron was not able to maximize the potential benefits of a beautiful, brand spanking new, best on the east coast facility in recruiting

• Baron did not aim high enough in recruiting circles. We continuously recruited played in April and May who were oftentimes unknowns. It was difficult to find info on many of his recruits. A good guy who benefited from some players who turned out better than they were expected to be in guys like Keith Cothran, Lamont Ulmer, etc. but he often had difficulty managing rosters and distributing playing time effectively. He often made excuses blaming fan attendance, referees, ball inflation pressure, the schedule being not being spread out right, tired due to flights, they just shot the ball better than us. Worst period was when he said we were going to run more, w
  hich we did, but we let playing defense just go out the window. Let opponents fast break us to death and played very little defense versus the 3P shot consistently being at the bottom in 3P% defense. Baron got desperate his last couple years recruiting marginal players in behavior/work ethic/scholastics as he tried to hold onto his job in light of growing Keaney Blue poster criticisms.

• Dan Hurley came in and immediately had some recruiting victories in EC Mathews and Jordan Hare who were ESPN Top 100 players Hassan Martin. He got Stanford Robinson and Kuran Iverson who were former Top 50 ESPN caliber players from Indiana and Memphis respectively. Then the tremendous verbal of ESPN top 100 Jared Terrell who had spurned Hurley originally for Oklahoma State but then reconsidered and chose URI.

• Hurley brought enthusiasm, discipline in practicing, discipline in behavior, discipline in studying - all things this program desperately needed. He made fans, players, sports writers, etc believe.

• Hurley put URI back into the Top of the A-10 with Dayton, VCU and Davidson - something that was never going to happen with Baron

• None of the other highlights in the list happen without the Dan Hurley hire. Also important is that Thorr and Dr Dooley were able to keep Hurley at URI over noise from programs like St Johns, Seton Hall, Rutgers and others before finally UCONN won out.....but keeping Hurley those last couple of years was important

2) URI upsets #21 Ranked Nebraska in 2014

• viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3993&p=162027&hilit ... ka#p162027

• “Rhode Island, which returns 73.3 percent of its scoring and 86.7 percent of its rebounding from last season’s 14-18 team, has lost 22 straight games to ranked teams dating to a Dec. 2, 1998, victory against No. 25 Utah”.

• Hurley lost Jordan Hare who quit the team at the start of Game #1, #21 Ranked Nebraska was only the 3rd game that season

• URI had not beaten a top 25 Team since Jim Harrick. This is the type game that Jim Baron would always lose

• EC Mathews had a double-double vs Nebraska and Hassan Martin had a great game too as they would be the standard bearers of Dan Hurley’s URI Team. They helped Hurley recruit other top recruits to join the future successful run at URI

3) URI defeats Creighton in Sacramento for 1st NCAA Tournament Win in the 21st Century

• Hurley’s first NCAA Tournament win

• Defeats a Big East School that had many years of NCAA Tournament success

Your first point cannot be understated. It's a watershed moment for sure. I guess it's a tough thing to compare since it wasn't the "on court" excitement like the other things, but you're 100% on.

The more I listened to Hurley speak post-game, and now Cox - breaking down individual plays, things we tried to do, things we saw on tape beforehand, adjustments to be made - just all the high BB IQ details that Dan and Dave understand and coach to - make it so much more apparent how bad of a miss Baron's hiring and his extension were.

We were extremely fortunate that Thorr had the ability to see Dan at Wagner and know he was the right guy to turn it around. Now with Cox it feels like the Hurley hiring was the complete beginning of a new era in Kingston.

[ace]

For me:

1) Dan Hurley is hired in 2012

• After living through high quality Coaches including Jack Kraft, Tom Penders, Al Skinner and Jim Harrick the hiring of Jerry D (of course to try to keep Lamar Odom) and then Jim Baron who was meant to stem the tide of coaches leaving too soon following success here we needed a shot in the arm desperately - tremendous move by URI Administration to go after Dan Hurley,

• URI got the Ryan Center thanks to Jim Harricks success, Tom Ryan, Governor Lincoln Almond, etc. but Jim Baron was not able to maximize the potential benefits of a beautiful, brand spanking new, best on the east coast facility in recruiting

• Baron did not aim high enough in recruiting circles. We continuously recruited played in April and May who were oftentimes unknowns. It was difficult to find info on many of his recruits. A good guy who benefited from some players who turned out better than they were expected to be in guys like Keith Cothran, Lamont Ulmer, etc. but he often had difficulty managing rosters and distributing playing time effectively. He often made excuses blaming fan attendance, referees, ball inflation pressure, the schedule being not being spread out right, tired due to flights, they just shot the ball better than us. Worst period was when he said we were going to run more, w
  hich we did, but we let playing defense just go out the window. Let opponents fast break us to death and played very little defense versus the 3P shot consistently being at the bottom in 3P% defense. Baron got desperate his last couple years recruiting marginal players in behavior/work ethic/scholastics as he tried to hold onto his job in light of growing Keaney Blue poster criticisms.

• Dan Hurley came in and immediately had some recruiting victories in EC Mathews and Jordan Hare who were ESPN Top 100 players Hassan Martin. He got Stanford Robinson and Kuran Iverson who were former Top 50 ESPN caliber players from Indiana and Memphis respectively. Then the tremendous verbal of ESPN top 100 Jared Terrell who had spurned Hurley originally for Oklahoma State but then reconsidered and chose URI.

• Hurley brought enthusiasm, discipline in practicing, discipline in behavior, discipline in studying - all things this program desperately needed. He made fans, players, sports writers, etc believe.

• Hurley put URI back into the Top of the A-10 with Dayton, VCU and Davidson - something that was never going to happen with Baron

• None of the other highlights in the list happen without the Dan Hurley hire. Also important is that Thorr and Dr Dooley were able to keep Hurley at URI over noise from programs like St Johns, Seton Hall, Rutgers and others before finally UCONN won out.....but keeping Hurley those last couple of years was important

2) URI upsets #21 Ranked Nebraska in 2014

• viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3993&p=162027&hilit ... ka#p162027

• “Rhode Island, which returns 73.3 percent of its scoring and 86.7 percent of its rebounding from last season’s 14-18 team, has lost 22 straight games to ranked teams dating to a Dec. 2, 1998, victory against No. 25 Utah”.

• Hurley lost Jordan Hare who quit the team at the start of Game #1, #21 Ranked Nebraska was only the 3rd game that season

• URI had not beaten a top 25 Team since Jim Harrick. This is the type game that Jim Baron would always lose

• EC Mathews had a double-double vs Nebraska and Hassan Martin had a great game too as they would be the standard bearers of Dan Hurley’s URI Team. They helped Hurley recruit other top recruits to join the future successful run at URI

3) URI defeats Creighton in Sacramento for 1st NCAA Tournament Win in the 21st Century

• Hurley’s first NCAA Tournament win

• Defeats a Big East School that had many years of NCAA Tournament success

Your first point cannot be understated. It's a watershed moment for sure. I guess it's a tough thing to compare since it wasn't the "on court" excitement like the other things, but you're 100% on.

The more I listened to Hurley speak post-game, and now Cox - breaking down individual plays, things we tried to do, things we saw on tape beforehand, adjustments to be made - just all the high BB IQ details that Dan and Dave understand and coach to - make it so much more apparent how bad of a miss Baron's hiring and his extension were.

We were extremely fortunate that Thorr had the ability to see Dan at Wagner and know he was the right guy to turn it around. Now with Cox it feels like the Hurley hiring was the complete beginning of a new era in Kingston.

To the first point- it’s an interesting take. There are a number of coaches that could have turned the program around, Dan just happened to be the hire. But, there are also guys who would have left after year 3 or year 5 or wouldn’t have identified a talent like Cox, given his situation, to eventually be pretty much hand-picked to follow. The story could have been so different at every turn, but it worked out very well. It’s satisfying to look back and see what worked. And, Cox never has to hear or feel the pressure of “haven’t made the tournament since 1999!”

[ramster]

For me:

1) Dan Hurley is hired in 2012

• After living through high quality Coaches including Jack Kraft, Tom Penders, Al Skinner and Jim Harrick the hiring of Jerry D (of course to try to keep Lamar Odom) and then Jim Baron who was meant to stem the tide of coaches leaving too soon following success here we needed a shot in the arm desperately - tremendous move by URI Administration to go after Dan Hurley,

• URI got the Ryan Center thanks to Jim Harricks success, Tom Ryan, Governor Lincoln Almond, etc. but Jim Baron was not able to maximize the potential benefits of a beautiful, brand spanking new, best on the east coast facility in recruiting

• Baron did not aim high enough in recruiting circles. We continuously recruited played in April and May who were oftentimes unknowns. It was difficult to find info on many of his recruits. A good guy who benefited from some players who turned out better than they were expected to be in guys like Keith Cothran, Lamont Ulmer, etc. but he often had difficulty managing rosters and distributing playing time effectively. He often made excuses blaming fan attendance, referees, ball inflation pressure, the schedule being not being spread out right, tired due to flights, they just shot the ball better than us. Worst period was when he said we were going to run more, w
  hich we did, but we let playing defense just go out the window. Let opponents fast break us to death and played very little defense versus the 3P shot consistently being at the bottom in 3P% defense. Baron got desperate his last couple years recruiting marginal players in behavior/work ethic/scholastics as he tried to hold onto his job in light of growing Keaney Blue poster criticisms.

• Dan Hurley came in and immediately had some recruiting victories in EC Mathews and Jordan Hare who were ESPN Top 100 players Hassan Martin. He got Stanford Robinson and Kuran Iverson who were former Top 50 ESPN caliber players from Indiana and Memphis respectively. Then the tremendous verbal of ESPN top 100 Jared Terrell who had spurned Hurley originally for Oklahoma State but then reconsidered and chose URI.

• Hurley brought enthusiasm, discipline in practicing, discipline in behavior, discipline in studying - all things this program desperately needed. He made fans, players, sports writers, etc believe.

• Hurley put URI back into the Top of the A-10 with Dayton, VCU and Davidson - something that was never going to happen with Baron

• None of the other highlights in the list happen without the Dan Hurley hire. Also important is that Thorr and Dr Dooley were able to keep Hurley at URI over noise from programs like St Johns, Seton Hall, Rutgers and others before finally UCONN won out.....but keeping Hurley those last couple of years was important

2) URI upsets #21 Ranked Nebraska in 2014

• viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3993&p=162027&hilit ... ka#p162027

• “Rhode Island, which returns 73.3 percent of its scoring and 86.7 percent of its rebounding from last season’s 14-18 team, has lost 22 straight games to ranked teams dating to a Dec. 2, 1998, victory against No. 25 Utah”.

• Hurley lost Jordan Hare who quit the team at the start of Game #1, #21 Ranked Nebraska was only the 3rd game that season

• URI had not beaten a top 25 Team since Jim Harrick. This is the type game that Jim Baron would always lose

• EC Mathews had a double-double vs Nebraska and Hassan Martin had a great game too as they would be the standard bearers of Dan Hurley’s URI Team. They helped Hurley recruit other top recruits to join the future successful run at URI

3) URI defeats Creighton in Sacramento for 1st NCAA Tournament Win in the 21st Century

• Hurley’s first NCAA Tournament win

• Defeats a Big East School that had many years of NCAA Tournament success

Your first point cannot be understated. It's a watershed moment for sure. I guess it's a tough thing to compare since it wasn't the "on court" excitement like the other things, but you're 100% on.

The more I listened to Hurley speak post-game, and now Cox - breaking down individual plays, things we tried to do, things we saw on tape beforehand, adjustments to be made - just all the high BB IQ details that Dan and Dave understand and coach to - make it so much more apparent how bad of a miss Baron's hiring and his extension were.

We were extremely fortunate that Thorr had the ability to see Dan at Wagner and know he was the right guy to turn it around. Now with Cox it feels like the Hurley hiring was the complete beginning of a new era in Kingston.

To the first point- it’s an interesting take. There are a number of coaches that could have turned the program around, Dan just happened to be the hire. But, there are also guys who would have left after year 3 or year 5 or wouldn’t have identified a talent like Cox, given his situation, to eventually be pretty much hand-picked to follow. The story could have been so different at every turn, but it worked out very well. It’s satisfying to look back and see what worked. And, Cox never has to hear or feel the pressure of “haven’t made the tournament since 1999!”

Absolutely. I thought about that when Blue Man mentioned David Cox. The fact that Dan Hurley stayed as long as he did Plus hired/developed an Assistant Head Coach to be a candidate to be considered as his replacement is noteworthy.

I have been impressed by David Cox to this point. Cox has recruited well, improved his game coaching techniques, put together an excellent OOC Schedule, continued with an excellent academic support team/program and this year Beat PC
Being a fan of height, I love the overall height of the starters and substitutes. Tallest team I can ever remember at URI - and talented to boot. So far David Cox and his Staff have exceeded my expectations.

[section(105)]

.....if during the past decade, the move to beer in the seats happened......what rank would that have been.....?

[Taylor Swift]

.....if during the past decade, the move to beer in the seats happened......what rank would that have been.....?

It could make the reel of One Shining Moment or could be the worst thing to ever happen since nails on a chalkboard depending on who you talk to on here.

[steveystuds06]

I remember doing clapping push ups on Blue Man's floor after URI took care of Creighton. Man that was an awesome game.

[Rhody15]

EZ’s countdown on Twitter is a 10/10.

Too perfect.

[EZBuckets]

Alright, guys. Here's the final countdown of the Top 16 Rhody Basketball Moments of the Decade.

Hope everyone enjoys the stroll down memory lane. And thanks for all your votes & suggestions! There were quite a few other moments that didn't make the list - mostly due to a lack of available footage. I had a helluva time trying to track down usable video for a bunch of these.

Here's to another decade of magical moments on the horizon!

Happy New Year & Go Rhody!

[theblueram]

That is some great stuff EZ!!!!!!!! Thanks for posting it here to for us non twitter folks.

[EZBuckets]

Here’s the full compilation on YouTube;

[NYGFan_Section208]

One of my favorite parts is in #1 at 1:43, when Steve talks about Lamar Odom's big shart. That must have been something else.

[Taylor Swift]

JV, well done. Happy New Year to you, and GO RHODY!

[Rhode_Island_Red]

Thanks, JV, for a great New Year’s present. Let’s make this the best Rhody decade ever!

[wpbrown8267]

Great work EZ!

Stone listed his top 10 on GoRhody...

https://www.gorhody.com/sports/m-baskbl ... 0101iudjug