Game #25: @ Dayton - Wed Feb 23, 7pm WHIO/SNY

sf2010 · Unread post by **sf2010** » 10 years ago

Blue Man wrote: When everyone is just ok with all of this, it shows to the outside world that this is uri basketball. We arent big-time and don't expect to be. So when projo doesnt give a shit about us, and we get no national media attention, and we never get the recruits who want to play in programs with all of that coverage and the winning mentality...it comes from the fans.

If we're ok with sucking, don't be mad when the outside world expects it as well.

I still don't think anyone has said that they're "ok" with this season, some just aren't flying off the handle. I also think there may be an inflated sense of self-importance from the fans at times. Quite frankly, I don't think our expectations mean shit about what happens on the court or anything to do with the program. The coach's expectations matter, and the culture that he/they set. The players' expectations matter. Our expectations do not (as evidenced very clearly by the preseason prediction contest...) What we can do is show up and support the program. Be loud at home games. The Ryan Center should be a better home court advantage than it currently is. That's our role.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 10 years ago

Good points, Rod.

We all need to look forward now. What's done is done.

We are better than last year for 2 reasons. Their names are EC and Hassan. I guess we can add Gil to that, too.

Those pluses are more than the subtractions.

Now we need to look forward to more pluses.

BPR2010 · Unread post by **BPR2010** » 10 years ago

Understandable Rod. I can totally see where you're coming from in regards to Crean coming into a top 5 all-time program. However, is it my/our fault that I/we bought into a guy who promised all of these things? As many have said before, trust the staff. I did that. I trusted a guy who saw and has been around a lot more than I ever will in my lifetime in this sport. Shame on me I suppose, but to jump on us for having expectations based pretty much on what our coach for the foreseeable future said and expected as well, is a bit much don't ya think?

adam914 · Unread post by **adam914** » 10 years ago

sf2010 wrote: I still don't think anyone has said that they're "ok" with this season, some just aren't flying off the handle.

Thank you, took the words right out of my mouth. Just because everybody isn't posting long, drawn out, profanity filled rants about how much we suck it doesn't mean we're ok with it. There are actually quite a few posts on here at the moment about how bad we are and what needs to change.

Seawrightspostgame · Unread post by **Seawrightspostgame** » 10 years ago

Silly to say that the Indiana or Mich state comparisons don't apply. They are playing B10 teams and we are playing the vaunted A10. Its all relative. URI doesn't need to compete with Michigan State today, they need to beat the Fordhams of the world. The Daytons. The mediocre teams of the A10.

Same goes for recruiting. URI beats out its peers for recruits and maybe wins, then they will rise. Dismissing our lack of success against peer institutions on account of anything going forward is deplorable.

DH needs to win on the court as much as the kitchen table. He can point to the late success of his team and tout them as up and coming. Will it be true? hopefully, but up and coming for this team(as they are) looks like 5-7 finish in the a10 next year. Thats sad.

ace · Unread post by **ace** » 10 years ago

Blue Man wrote:
When everyone is just ok with all of this, it shows to the outside world that this is uri basketball. We arrant big-time and don't expect to be. So when projo doesnt give a shit about us, and we get no national media attention, and we never get the recruits who want to play in programs with all of that coverage and the winning mentality...it comes from the fans.

Except it really doesn't. At all. I get that you're emotional and all enmeshed in this, but no. I'm probably more on the fringe of this whole thing than almost anyone else on the board. The URI program had dropped to pretty much nothing nationally. They're getting mentions now, and it has very little to do with anything the fans do or don't do. You want your school to have a fan base but to act like they're controlling this thing here and to get so enraged that you feel duped or something? It's a curious approach.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 10 years ago

BPR, agree 100%.
If we were told, "well, don't expect miracles from guys who've been out for over a year,
and never played together, plus freshmen who weren't prep school players", yes, many less
season tickets and donations would have been made.
We'd have gone in thinking, this is a rebuild from the ground up, and taken a more
wait and see attitude.
Then we wouldn't have the hysterical reactions we see here.
Still, I see the big picture, and while I'm not happy about how the season had turned out,
I'm not going anywhere. GO, RHODY!

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 10 years ago

It seems to me that most of the angst is related to preseason expectations and what was said about the team. There are a variety of reasons why those might have been wrong, but bottom line is they were wrong. You want to be angry about that? Go ahead. Not my place to tell you what to be angry about. For me, it matters very little because it has no impact on where we are actually at right now and how we will go about getting better.

Everyone associated with the program agrees that 11-14 isn't satisfactory. It needs to get better. Just because it isn't better right now doesn't mean it won't be. Keeping some perspective on where we are in the rebuild doesn't mean you accept mediocrity.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 10 years ago

If we add no one else for next year, a 5th-7th A10 finish might be a little high.

Add a couple big pieces, and a top 4 finish is possible, imo. See GW.

One thing about this year. Even though most of us predicted 20 wins or close to it, I don't think too many of us figured we would Dance. I know I didn't. NIT maybe.

So on the surface, since "NCAA's or bust" is our motto, what's the difference?

The difference is, we expected more improvement than what we got. That's it.

Next year, I expect a big jump in performance, IF we recruit well. If not, my expectations will be low, and I won't be surprised if we meet those low expectations.

BPR2010 · Unread post by **BPR2010** » 10 years ago

I see it as well Rod, still very hopeful for the future with our boys. regardless of what Dan and the staff says. It's mainly because E.C. and Hassan are going to be the best pair we've had at this school since Cat and Tyson. Just a bit impatient with the whole waiting game I suppose.

theblueram · Unread post by **theblueram** » 10 years ago

rodfromcranston wrote:Rambone, it's just a saying, like
"You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear".
It simply means you can't change somethings.
They are what they are.

Ace, as always, 100% on the mark!

BPR, you're talking about Tom Izzo and a BCS program.
It's apples and oranges.
A better comp would be Indiana, and how long did it take
Tom Crean to get them beck to respectability.
6-25, 10-21, 12-20, and 27-9 and 29-7.
A formerly elite NCAA championship program.
I want everyone to look at those numbers, who are blubbering about
what Hurley is doing, and ABSORB THEM!
Nothing happens overnight, even with a great program like Indiana.
LEARN SOMETHING!

Rod
only exception is that Indiana is at 14-10 on the year, bottom 4 of the Big10, and fans want Crean's head on a platter.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 10 years ago

Indiana is a program that their fans expect to win big every year, not just 2 out of 3 or what have you.

I doubt we will ever get to that point, as much as we'd like to.

Just being real, folks.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 10 years ago

IF we had 56 wins in Hurley's fourth and fifth season, we'd all
be in heaven.
Crean had some heavy graduation losses. Look it up.
They'll recover again.

Seawrightspostgame · Unread post by **Seawrightspostgame** » 10 years ago

[/quote]Rod
only exception is that Indiana is at 14-10 on the year, bottom 4 of the Big10, and fans want Crean's head on a platter.[/quote]

That is funny. Other fan bases and message boards are way more extreme than ours. Our board is generally friendly and it is a testament to this board.

I hope this team gets good by year 4 or there will be no reason not to be critical.

Not getting injured is a talent, winning is a talent, effort is a talent, lots go into being good. Not too long until this program and DH will be down to crunch time.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 10 years ago

Not my quote, It was Blueram's.

Gonebarongone · Unread post by **Gonebarongone** » 10 years ago

rodfromcranston wrote:IF we had 56 wins in Hurley's fourth and fifth season, we'd all
be in heaven.
Crean had some heavy graduation losses. Look it up.
They'll recover again.

Agree. Crean also recruited Christian Watford, Oladipo, Etherington, Hulls, Zeller, Yogi Ferrell which helped with those 56 wins

Like most coaches, it comes down to recruiting. We can quibble where DH ranks on the Frank Haith-John Wooden spectrum. EC and Hassan can't do it by themselves. Need 2-3 more high level (I don't care where they rank but how they end up playing) guys on this roster to get to the NCAAs. The biggest disappointment this year is not the wins and losses, although it's been rough, it's the 2014 recruiting cycle.

bigappleram · Unread post by **bigappleram** » 10 years ago

If EC and Hassan become what they look like they can be, you do not need another 2-3 high level guys around them to get to the NCAAs. Our best teams have had at most 3 studs and the rest mostly role/situational players. Josh King, David Arigbabu, Bonzie Colson, Mergin Sina, John Evans and even someone like ARD were not high level recruits. I can assure you an elite PG with EC and Hassan and you can compete at the top of our league, assuming you have serviceable role players. Where that is going to come from I don't know....

sf2010 · Unread post by **sf2010** » 10 years ago

Gonebarongone wrote:The biggest disappointment this year is not the wins and losses, although it's been rough, it's the 2014 recruiting cycle.

Agree with most of your post, although let's wait to say that until May.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 10 years ago

Just like Indiana, if we get good for a couple of years, no guarantees we can keep it up.

Like after EC and Hassan graduate. Ideally, it would be nice if we had 2 or 3 good players come in every year, to keep the performance level consistently high.

That's going to be tough to do. Might have to rebuild again. Especially if there's a coaching change.

Some schools just reload, and stay good. Like X has done.

Gonebarongone · Unread post by **Gonebarongone** » 10 years ago

bigappleram wrote:If EC and Hassan become what they look like they can be, you do not need another 2-3 high level guys around them to get to the NCAAs. Our best teams have had at most 3 studs and the rest mostly role/situational players. Josh King, David Arigbabu, Bonzie Colson, Mergin Sina, John Evans and even someone like ARD were not high level recruits. I can assure you an elite PG with EC and Hassan and you can compete at the top of our league, assuming you have serviceable role players. Where that is going to come from I don't know....

Maybe high level is a little much. Better than what we have now?

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 10 years ago

Agree to a point. IF we have Terrell, we'd all be pumped.
As I said, that would have forced EC to the point, and I'm not
certain he fits the bill. As least not now.
Still, if they can pull a couple or three of the players I know they're
involved with, the outlook brightens.
There's still plenty of talent remaining unsigned.
UNLV got a five star guard yesterday. PC is chasing a four star, Lyle.
I'll be happy with some three stars who can be coached up.
VCU and Gonzaga prove that you can win with three star players.
Yes, the ratings are flawed, but using them for conversation sake.

BAR, right on the three and anciilary players.

Rambone, leave it to you to sneeze at two years of top 10 Indiana rankings,
because they're having a less than stellar year. Ridiculous.

BPR2010 · Unread post by **BPR2010** » 10 years ago

He's got an absolute stud once again this year in Vonleh. Being a State fan, I'm up on the state of the Big Ten probably more than the A-10. Indiana wasn't expected to finish higher than 6th this year, with the majority around 7th or 8th. So stacked at the top, and so deep this year as well. He has a stud in Vonleh, and Yogi running the point. Lost Oladipo, Hulls, Watford, and Zeller all from last year's team. That's as huge a hit as you'll see from last year to this. Same thing I'll go through next year with Sparty losing Harris, Payne, and Appling. To bring Rhody into this, they've got the nucleus going forward. What concerns me is the lack of recruiting as GBG stated. Not getting Terrell was huge, although he's going into a messy situation it seems like down in Stillwater. Getting a PG that can just be a floor leader, manage a game, and play controlled basketball (Low turnovers) is a start. We don't need a Tyler Ennis, just someone who can stay controlled and get EC and Hassan the ball efficiently.

ace · Unread post by **ace** » 10 years ago

sf2010 wrote:
Gonebarongone wrote:The biggest disappointment this year is not the wins and losses, although it's been rough, it's the 2014 recruiting cycle.
Agree with most of your post, although let's wait to say that until May.

Actually, if we use his criteria of seeing how the recruits play out and not necessarily using rankings, we don't know until next season. Either way, too early now for me to get all upset.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 10 years ago

Rod, no clue what you're on about.

I'm not discounting their success. They've had a pretty good track record over the years, as I recall.

We have to establish our own track record. Of being good, that is.

We've had success, just never been able to sustain it. We're not a program that can keep our good coaches. That's OK, as long as we can get another good coach to follow that success.

Unfortunately, as we all know, that hasn't happened here, with the exception of hiring Harrick after Skinner.

But we know how that all ended.

rjsuperfly66 · Unread post by **rjsuperfly66** » 10 years ago

Let's be honest, is URI that far away from decency this year? You flip a couple of close games and perception changes tremendously. Have you played with the new RPI forecast tool? You can change wins and losses, predict future games, it will give you the projected RPI under those circumstances.

http://www.rpiforecast.com/wizard/Rhode%20Island.html

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 10 years ago

We're not far away, but close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.

Hell, if we go 5-1 the rest of the way, we're projected to be in the CBI. Woot woot!!!

theblueram · Unread post by **theblueram** » 10 years ago

If we lose the next four and then not lose a game, we are National Champs!!!!!

adam914 · Unread post by **adam914** » 10 years ago

theblueram wrote:If we lose the next four and then not lose a game, we are National Champs!!!!!

I like where your head is at!

Unread post by **SGreenwell** » 10 years ago

URI's point differential (points scored minus points scored) is only -31 for the year, suggesting that they're probably about a .500 team. The "win close games" thing tends to fluctuate and flip over time; URI lost a couple close ones against PC and St. Joe's and others, but they also beat Metro State and George Mason in close games. One aspect that separates a good to great coach from just an average one is avoiding close games, by getting up on teams by 15 to 20, so that a few possessions at the end of the game suddenly don't make things dire. (I realize that probably seems kind of simple, but I'm just bringing it up to try to illustrate that most great coaches don't have some innate ability to do better in close games.)

bressler3south · Unread post by **bressler3south** » 10 years ago

adam914 wrote:
theblueram wrote:If we lose the next four and then not lose a game, we are National Champs!!!!!
I like where your head is at!

My wife told me that she's got Powerball and MegaMillions lined-up for next week, "No problem, Bressler-hon."

ramfan85 · Unread post by **ramfan85** » 10 years ago

Know what the definition of the eternal optimist is? That's the person who receives the envelop from Publishers Clearing House and immediately quits his job.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 10 years ago

More like the definition of an idiot.

ramster · Unread post by **ramster** » 10 years ago

ramfan85 wrote:Know what the definition of the eternal optimist is? That's the person who receives the envelop from Publishers Clearing House and immediately quits his job.

Have you seen the recent movie "Nebraska"? Seriously I very much enjoyed it. Very much related to your comment.

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 10 years ago

rambone 78 wrote:More like the definition of an idiot.

I think that may have been the point/joke.

Billyboy78 · Unread post by **Billyboy78** » 10 years ago

Who the hell covered this game for the Projo? It was a woman, but I don't remember her name. Anyway, she says that we were shorthanded because our top two point guards were injured. She then went on to say that because of that, the two guys taking over at the point were TJ Buchanan and Hassan Martin. Could we at least get someone who knows something about the team to cover the game? Is that too much to ask?

Billyboy78 · Unread post by **Billyboy78** » 10 years ago

Actually it was X and Hassan who filled in at point. Here it is...

http://www.providencejournal.com/sports ... flyers.ece

Sweep The Leg · Unread post by **Sweep The Leg** » 10 years ago

I guess we don't need to recruit a PG after all. We have Hassan. heh heh...

adam914 · Unread post by **adam914** » 10 years ago

Wow thats embarrassing

section(105) · Unread post by **section(105)** » 10 years ago

Another reason why it's the problow

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 10 years ago

The only time I've read any part of the projo the last few years, was what was taped on the walls of the john at the old Casey's.

Otherwise, nyet.

adam914 · Unread post by **adam914** » 10 years ago

rambone 78 wrote:The only time I've read any part of the projo the last few years, was what was taped on the walls of the john at the old Casey's.

Otherwise, nyet.

Waste of valuable wall space.

Unread post by **SGreenwell** » 10 years ago

Billyboy78 wrote:Who the hell covered this game for the Projo? It was a woman, but I don't remember her name. Anyway, she says that we were shorthanded because our top two point guards were injured. She then went on to say that because of that, the two guys taking over at the point were TJ Buchanan and Hassan Martin. Could we at least get someone who knows something about the team to cover the game? Is that too much to ask?

It looks like they used a freelancer from that area, and she's a recent journalism grad. I'm guessing they asked The Dayton Daily News for a contact out there, since that's where the photo came from. However, that being left in the article reflects more poorly on the editing job the Projo did - When you're using a freelancer, you have to assume they aren't going to be 100 percent familiar with the team you're asking them to cover, and assign copy desk help appropriately.

Unread post by **ATPTourFan** » 10 years ago

rjsuperfly66 wrote:Let's be honest, is URI that far away from decency this year? You flip a couple of close games and perception changes tremendously. Have you played with the new RPI forecast tool? You can change wins and losses, predict future games, it will give you the projected RPI under those circumstances.

http://www.rpiforecast.com/wizard/Rhode%20Island.html

Thanks, RJ. I didn't even know what that Wizard was, and I visit Live-RPI.com (RPIForecast.com) daily.

Andrew · Unread post by **Andrew** » 10 years ago

ATPTourFan wrote:
rjsuperfly66 wrote:Let's be honest, is URI that far away from decency this year? You flip a couple of close games and perception changes tremendously. Have you played with the new RPI forecast tool? You can change wins and losses, predict future games, it will give you the projected RPI under those circumstances.

http://www.rpiforecast.com/wizard/Rhode%20Island.html
Thanks, RJ. I didn't even know what that Wizard was, and I visit Live-RPI.com (RPIForecast.com) daily.

Just changed three games to wins, and we're in a much better spot: PC (one pt loss), St Louis (one pt loss), and @Detroit (2 pt loss). I didn't predict outcomes for future games. That gives us a 16-14 record, an RPI of 99, and a SOS of 75. Some of you need to back off the ledge a bit.

Unread post by **ATPTourFan** » 10 years ago

Andrew, those are the exact 3 I flipped!

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 10 years ago

Exactly. Andrew!

adam914 · Unread post by **adam914** » 10 years ago

Man imagine how different the feeling around here would be with that scenario.

Gonebarongone · Unread post by **Gonebarongone** » 10 years ago

Holy cow. Now we are doing ifs, buts, candies, and nuts? Metro State, LSU, and GMU wins were all one possession games under twenty seconds left. What if we change those to losses? This board would be apoplectic. If you change those three wins, you need to change them for every team in America that had close losses as a result of bad FT shooting or turnovers. Then you are back to where you were originally.

The record is what it is.

adam914 · Unread post by **adam914** » 10 years ago

Gonebarongone wrote:Holy cow. Now we are doing ifs, buts, candies, and nuts? Metro State, LSU, and GMU wins were all one possession games under twenty seconds left. What if we change those to losses? This board would be apoplectic. If you change those three wins, you need to change them for every team in America that had close losses as a result of bad FT shooting or turnovers. Then you are back to where you were originally.

The record is what it is.

I don't think anybody is arguing any of that. Merely speculation about what could have been. We all understand the reality of the situation. Relax.

Seawrightspostgame · Unread post by **Seawrightspostgame** » 10 years ago

The 1 point losses aren't a positive in my book. Specifically when your team had the ball at the end of them and fumbled it away. Realizing what they could be is the frustrating part of this team, its not the silver lining.

The other team I follow takes the cake on close losses. So maybe my optimism is used up.