2013 Exhibition: Southern Connecticut - Friday Nov 1

Rhodymob05 · Unread post by **Rhodymob05** » 10 years ago

I recall two charges being taken by Uri. Another wasn't called. But first and foremost, guard defense needs to improve. Eventually they all started to mold

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

When I was a kid, we learned to play defense with our feet. Kids today rely way too much on their hands. It's a big adjustment to get the hand checking out of the game. It won't be easy.

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

SG. I don't see Oneykaba and Martin battling for the same minutes.
Oneykaba is a center. I doubt if Hurley wants Biruta in the middle on a steady basis.
Martin is a 3-4, depending on the situation.
If the guard defense was as bad as everyone says, then the team should expect a tough week
ahead in practices.

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

on the new/old rules deal.....it seems the player with the ball(dribble drive) in using his forearm to fend off defender, resulting on contact; is now being called against the defender....even without a hand check/reach by the defender.....

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

Greetings from Thailand! Reading all this, I have three thoughts:

1. No way games are called that closely all year. Makes me feel like refs doing the typical ref thing of making themselves more important than they should be and doing a disservice to the players and the people who paid to see them.

2. Obviously hope Gil avoided a major injury and wish him the speediest recovery. In the meantime, maybe an opportunity for Mike to plant himself in the rotation for the rest of the season if Gil does miss any time. Hopefully Gil misses no time, but if he does I hope Mike makes the most of his chance.

3. I'll be back home Thursday after 3 weeks abroad, and I'll be in Kingston Friday night. Can't wait to get this thing started. Hope to see some of you guys there.

Rhody74 · Unread post by **Rhody74** » 10 years ago

Yeah, Rod, the guard defense was pretty awful. They kept getting beat on SoConn's break, especially in the first half. I imagine they're getting their asses kicked in practice this week. The only exception was TJ who played with a lot of energy.

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

Wow! TP is back! Sort of.....
You are missed.
Anyway, Aaman is a center only. Biruta is a PF, so if any time
is gained by anyone, my guess is it would be Martin, who can step in as a PF.
74, I'm surprised they came out so flat. That was one thing we didn't see last year.
Energy level was always high, until everyone was worn out towards game end.
I hope we're not going to be a play to the level of our opponent type team.
We need to bury the weak teams, and never lose any games we should win.

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

The referees/new checking rule made the game very painful to watch. No continuity possible when play stops, literally, every thirty or forty seconds. At one point, mid-way through the second half, after a perimeter foul was called on X, Buiuta, Reischel and TJ simultaneously raised their arms up, palms forward, in a ‘who me again?’ kind of questioning motion. I don’t think anyone who set foot on our beautiful new court last evening, and I mean everyone, knows exactly how this rule change was envisioned to work. If this exposition game was an indicator, figure on games being thirty minutes longer while watching a much duller product. Way to go NCAA rules committee.

Nice to see Matthew Butler come off the bench and sink a net-only -three from deep in the corner. We sorely needed a deep threat to keep opposing teams perimeter defenses a lot more honest.

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

Sometimes refs will call an exhibition game closer than usual. It may even be at the coaches request.
I think Hare will be missed. He is a center. I'd hate to see us go back to our "unwritten" rule of anyone over 6'7" has to play center at some time in their URI career.
TP, stay away from "Cowboy John's" (if it's still open-lol).

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

Disturbed by both the defensive and offensive efforts of the URI guards. Lots of turnovers. They allowed a SCSU freshman, Mallory, to come off the bench and score 19 points and he accomplished that despite having dreadful 3-point shooting. SCSU did not press so how will URI handle a pressing team like VCU's havoc?? I'm now convinced that how fast EC develops into a complete D1 player will tell us much about how this season goes.

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

ramfan85 wrote:Sometimes refs will call an exhibition game closer than usual. It may even be at the coaches request.

Based on Hurley's comments after the game, that seems unlikely. He seemed as frustrated as everyone on the court by the way the game was called. Doesn't seem isolated though, have noticed a lot of frustration throughout the country after early exhibition games regarding the change in rule. Obviously it's important to limit handchecking (some of the best teams in the country are notorious for harrasing players all over the court through their aggressive defense and getting away with it most of the time), but if you kill the flow of the game too much, people are going to flip. Anything above 50 fouls is often a lot, last night there were 56 called. That's an insane amount, especially considering there was no intentional fouling down the stretch.

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

How is Aaron Craft going to play this yr if he can't hand check? He was all over Powell last yr at the Sun. Under these rules he'll be out in 5 minutes.

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

If Southern had made its free throws this would have been a disaster. Thankfully we had a good defensive scheme at the foul line.

Rhodymob05 · Unread post by **Rhodymob05** » 10 years ago

I wondering this during the game. HOW THE HELL didn't some of those kids go to D1 schools. Our bad defense made them look good, but they were great anyways. Better than many D1 schools.

Iggy1979 · Unread post by **Iggy1979** » 10 years ago

I hope everyone realizes that the increase in the number of fouls called is a result of a rule change, not the refs deciding to call it tight in an exhibition game, or at the coaches' request. Granted, they might not enforce the new rules as the season goes on, but they might. I think this could impact two players big time: Munford and Minnis, who both are grabbers and pushers on D. Munford had foul trouble last year. Both had four fouls last night and for Minnis that was in 13 minutes.

Rhody74 · Unread post by **Rhody74** » 10 years ago

Interesting stat:

RIhoopz14 · Unread post by **RIhoopz14** » 10 years ago

Its sad that these rules are changing the game. I think the intensity with tight man D and pressing is what has made college basketball so much better than the NBA, and I'm just hoping that it wont change to the point where this element of the game is completely lost

twisted3829 · Unread post by **twisted3829** » 10 years ago

they should play defense with their hands behind their back in practice all week

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

Teams that play baseline to baseline pressure defense are the teams that will be hurt most by this. I can see our guards getting into very early foul trouble committing fouls 75 feet from the basket.

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

You can play smothering defense without having your hands all over someone…..Twisted has a great point: I had a coach who didn't roll-out the balls two weeks into practice, DID TIE OUR HANDS BEHIND OUR BACKS, DID SO MUCH "FOOT-FIRE" DRILLS THAT INSANITY REIGNED!!!!! We pressed, trapped and boxed-out -- and had no one taller than 6'3" -- and won two straight championships.
IT CAN BE DONE. YOU HAVE TO WANT IT AND DO IT BETTER THAN ANYONE ELSE.

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

Agree with many of the points here, specifically the backcourt defense being absolutely laughable. Minnis was very poor, though he may have been gun shy after getting two quick hand checks called on him. On the offensive side, he was undoubtedly the weakest of our ball-handling guards. Powell was steady, and EC in the second half showed a lot of ability to get to the line and convert once he got there.

Munford and Biruta need no mention, except for wishes to the latter for a speedy recovery. Specifically with our lack of perimeter defense, Hare's absence was noticed given that once their guards drove the lane, there was no one to alter their shot. I know Rod almost wishes that no one ever blocked shots, and while I do agree that it can be an overrated stat, what is NOT overrated is having a presence in the paint that can alter a driving guards decision-making process and force him to shoot either a contested layup or make a pass in traffic, as opposed to what happened last night in far too many easy shots within the paint. Hare will be missed in that regard.

Impressed with Martin and very much so with Reischel. Jarrelle and TJ both played with the most consistent energy on the team, specifically in the first half when it was lacking in the rest of the team.

The officiating made the game borderline unwatchable. Good remarks by Dan post-game, I think they'll definitely have some very focused practices in the week leading up to Maine. I especially loved this comment by DH: “I thought the only guys who really guarded on the perimeter for us were Jarelle (Reischel) and T.J. (Buchanan). The other guys gave us a sub-par effort defensively and that’s not going to be good enough to change the narrative of 15 wins in two years around here.”

Here's to changing that narrative, and I'm really excited about the prospects of this team to do that with consistent effort and improvement over the course of the season. They do have the talent.

Bos8 · Unread post by **Bos8** » 10 years ago

I don't understand the idea of tying hands behind their backs in practice? I want guys with active hands, including off the ball. A big emphasis should be placed on deflections. Ideally even if you don't get a deflection, those active arms discourage passes. We should want high hands on outstretched arms, not necessarily to block shots, but to force an uncomfortable amount of arc on the shot or to block vision of the rim.
In practice many coaches typically let their guys get after each other, to get guys use to playing aggressive defense and to get guys use to playing through contact on offense. I would assume this would be dialed back. Hurley, along with other coaches may go out and bring in officials to officiate certain segments of practice. I could see with all of the negative attention the emphasis on hand checking has received that officials get the mandate to dial it back slightly.

twisted3829 · Unread post by **twisted3829** » 10 years ago

it's to get them to play defense with the feet and not hand checking

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

The point is, arms/hands should be very active, but should be waving by their sides and over their heads, not in front of them. When the arm is in front and the offensive player is closing in, the first instinct is to handcheck.

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

One other thing to note rotation-wise: it was quite clearly a goal of Dan's to get all of his players significant court time. 10 players logged 12+ minutes, and while I expect depth to be a strength of the team this year, I also expect Biruta and Munford to play more than 21 and 23 minutes, and wouldn't be shocked to see Reischel eclipse 23 either. Stronger rotations and player combinations will see more time during the year, rather than last nights experimental groupings. Stronger play will result from that.

Bos8 · Unread post by **Bos8** » 10 years ago

I mean I understood the purpose in theory, it's just not a good idea. We need guys that are stronger, so lets strap bricks to their backs too!
Guys are going from high school, AAU and summer league games, to now being whistled for every touch. It is an adjustment, but coaches will need to get more involved with officiating practice, while still striving to keep their intensity on defense. They will make the adjustment, it will just take time.
On an interesting side not, RIC has been called for 18 first half fouls against PC.

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

Twisted and Rod make good points about playing with your feet. Good defense is all about positioning and anticipation. You should never need to push or hand check an offensive player i f you stay in front of him and anticipate his movement. We were taught also to play man to man with your palms up, flicking the ball upward to avoid slapping down on an offensive player or pushing with your hands. Once the player has stopped his dribble, hands straight up in the air. If you try to block a shot or block the shooter's vision you make sure your hands are vertical and you won't get called for a foul. Today players are so used to getting away with pushing, shoving, hand checking and using their forearms they don't learn to play properly. I know Dan Hurley knows how to play it. He played in an era when this stuff didn't fly with refs. He will get them straight once it is determined what will be allowed and what won't be allowed.

89er · Unread post by **89er** » 10 years ago

After seeing Martin for the first time last night, he will be a monster. I remember Kenny Green as a frosh. He was tall and skinny and turned himself into a physical specimen. Martin is starting to look like that at barely 18 years old. He is going to be gooooood!

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

Martin will play 5 college games at age 17- very unusual, that rarely happens anymore.

Rhody72 · Unread post by **Rhody72** » 10 years ago

Remember, the reason they instituted the no hand-checking rule was to increase scoring. Last night was high-scoring when you consider the average last year was 67 points. i sense that average scoring for the season will be significantly higher if this rule is enforced. It will be interesting to see what component of scoring (FTs, 3FGs or 2FGs) really increases. I fear that it will be FTs which will make success in this area critical for success.

When the trey was first introduced, some coaches embraced it and others were slow to change. The coaches that embraced it saw significantly more success. This suggests to me that URI's coaches should embrace FT shooting proficiency. Don't fight the rule change, use it to your advantage.

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

Interesting that you mention the three point line. Giannini was recently quoted as saying that the rule changes could change basketball as much as anything since the three point shot. I still think it remains to be seen how much will carry over throughout the season, or if it ends up being like when MLB tried to enforce the old strike zone but then just kind of forgot about that.

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

I did not see this game and only followed the game flow on the internet. Given the rule changes, I was surprised that Hurley did not use a more attacking style of offensive play where the talent is read and react rather than utilizing a ton of sets. Rhody.com did not provide points off fast break. How much did the Rams use the fast break?

twisted3829 · Unread post by **twisted3829** » 10 years ago

they played a basic offensive not wanting to really show anything, Hurley said it was only 5-10% of the offense

Iggy1979 · Unread post by **Iggy1979** » 10 years ago

Rhody72 wrote:Remember, the reason they instituted the no hand-checking rule was to increase scoring. Last night was high-scoring when you consider the average last year was 67 points. i sense that average scoring for the season will be significantly higher if this rule is enforced. It will be interesting to see what component of scoring (FTs, 3FGs or 2FGs) really increases. I fear that it will be FTs which will make success in this area critical for success.

When the trey was first introduced, some coaches embraced it and others were slow to change. The coaches that embraced it saw significantly more success. This suggests to me that URI's coaches should embrace FT shooting proficiency. Don't fight the rule change, use it to your advantage.

I see URI as average at best from FT line.

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

Obadiah wrote:I did not see this game and only followed the game flow on the internet. Given the rule changes, I was surprised that Hurley did not use a more attacking style of offensive play where the talent is read and react rather than utilizing a ton of sets. Rhody.com did not provide points off fast break. How much did the Rams use the fast break?

Twisted touched on this, but yeah, it was clear they weren't really going deep into the playbook, or playing their best players the majority of the game. Munford and Biruta sat out ~10 minutes of the first half, which probably isn't going to happen in the regular season unless there is foul trouble. Even in the Baron years, you would see bench guys get heavy run in the exhibition season.

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

Re: the hand checking calls, it is a point of emphasis / rule change this year, so it's probably not going away. I think players will eventually adjust though - The NBA changes its rules more frequently than the NCAA, and usually after an adjustment period of about a month, players get used to it. I'm generally in favor of it, since the college game was trending more and more toward that slowdown Wisconsin / 1990s Knicks and Pistons style over the past couple of years.

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

On a side note, VCU had only 14 fouls in their exhibition. They forced 22 turnovers as well. Looks like Shaka already has the system beat.

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

Jordan Hare, we hardly knew ye.

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

Had no time to post over the weekend. Everyone had insightful posts so there is not much to add.
1. Guards need to step up their defense.
2. Worried about outside shooting, Mike needs to take and make some outside shots.
3. When we made our run in the second half, most of the players on the floor were not the starters. I like our depth, and hope that wearing down of an opponent in the second half will occur often.
4. EC and Martin have a great future ahead. Hopefully, some of it in a ram uniform.
5. EC's game is above many of the others, even his foul shooting seems right on target.
6. Let's hope for some more fans on Friday.
Go Rhody!

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

RIhoopz14 wrote:Its sad that these rules are changing the game. I think the intensity with tight man D and pressing is what has made college basketball so much better than the NBA, and I'm just hoping that it wont change to the point where this element of the game is completely lost

Disagree here. College hoops has really gotten tough to watch over the past 5-10. These guys are so big, even the guards, and fast that they needed to loosen it up. The kids and coaches will adjust. Either play better team defense and defense with footwork or get killed. My next hope is that they move the 3 point line back. It's become a crutch almost. Get back to when passing, ball screens, cuts were the mark of a good offense. Not drive and kick all day. When I watched the 1983 NC State doc, I remembered how great college hoops was to watch. That was the first title game I remember being allowed to stay up and watch. Even the rough and tumble 80s/90s Big East was far more skilled.

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

Agree, GBG.
The mid-range game is defunct, since it's either people trying for
Sports Center dunks or 3 pointers.
Half court passing is obsolete, too. The great passes that get notice are the alley oop passes
or fast break passes.
Can you name an NBA player noted for great passing? The one's you'll name are
older players. Driving and passing to an open teammate constitutes half court passing, today.
The game is not as pretty as it once was.
I blame the 3 point line, Michael Jordan (through no fault of his own) and Sports Center.

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

It wasn't broke, not sure why they are trying to fix it. There is nothing that will turn a casual fan off more then a game with no flow.

Now college games will be decided by guys who work as part time refs. They will now have to call tic tack fouls late in close games. Once again the NCAA has dropped the ball.

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

Smokinjimit wrote:It wasn't broke, not sure why they are trying to fix it. There is nothing that will turn a casual fan off more then a game with no flow.

Now college games will be decided by guys who work as part time refs. They will now have to call tic tack fouls late in close games. Once again the NCAA has dropped the ball.

That's the point. There was no flow. It was broken. These games have regressed so much it is ridiculous. Look at what happened in the NBA when they installed the hand check rule. It was rough for a while and now it is a MUCH better product. I am a college hoops junkie but right now the NBA has the better product. First with the hand check rule, then the restricted zone under the hoop for charge/blocks, longer three point line. I think putting up with a few weeks or even months of uneven hoops while everyone adjusts (refs, coaches, players) is a small price to pay.

Blue Man · Unread post by **Blue Man** » 10 years ago

From my view in 205.

The good: Onyekaba. Looks like a game-changer. Strong post moves, and resists the urge like all our other low post players to put the ball on the floor before going up. He'll be a lightning rod for how we control the paint. X still looks smooth. Looks like we'll be seeing a lot of alley oops this year as well.

The bad: Point guards. Biggie looked slower than I've seen him, so I think he was just getting that out. Powell looked like powell. Still has the tendency to drive into the lane and throw it out, except he's not 6'5 and he's lucky we were playing against a small d2 team. If he pulls that in the regular season hopefully he'll be doing a lot of time thinking on the bench. Richelle looked not as advertised...I'm acutally shocked at the +/- number, I feel like he'll get it together.

The Ugly: My section. 205. Woof. Aside from the pocket in the middle of the section that contains myself and a few friendly board members - one man in ATP's row fell asleep. One woman had her shoes off and was trying to tell my girlfriend that the ref got a technical foul. One man was reading the freaking newspaper, and one woman 2 rows in-front of me was reading a danielle steele literary porn novel on her ipad. All seemed to be unappreciative of my commentary and volume. Sucks to be them.

I get we need the money from these people, but kindly donate your seats to people who actually care about the game.

Also ugly - the refs, the fouls, and the game speed. Can't see how this makes it's way through the year, too many widespread complaints from every level of coach and program.

I'm not really worried based on how little Dan seemed to be worried. It was either just a really bad game that we're getting out of our system, or like the pats in the pre-season, he was just looking for things that we didn't know about and didn't really care too much about winning an exhibition game.

Friday will be interesting...

Rhody74 · Unread post by **Rhody74** » 10 years ago

Blueman, agree with most of what you said, but I strongly disagree about Reischel. As I said, he's a "glue" guy .... lots of energy, important rebounds, putbacks, and decent defense. The team was noticeably better when he was in the lineup.

ELeslie's 1st assist · Unread post by **ELeslie's 1st assist** » 10 years ago

A few things...

1) I would guess the number of people on this board that have done any level of basketball officiating is about less than 1%. It's not easy. You complain about A-10 officials. Big Ten fans complain about Ed Hightower and their officials. The NBA complains about Steve Jaffe, Ed T. Rush, Violet Palmer, etc. It goes on and on. Stop complaining about ref's. Good calls and bad calls are part of the game. At the end of the season, it's all a wash.

2) To insinuate that "this ref" doesn't like us or "he's for St. Joe's" is reckless, baseless, and comes from somebody who's always looking for an excuse. These officials are regular people, with no agenda, doing the best they can. Do they miss calls? Absolutely. Do they miss more than one call a game? Sure do. But it's not because of the reasons stated on this board.

3) Games will be tight early on as officials are only following the decree from their superivisors and edicts of those in college basketball to allow for more "freedom of movement." It is incumbent on the coaches to teach the players how to play defense properly with these newly enforced rules. Even more so, it's incumbent on the players to adjust to the rules, the officials, and how each group of officials is officiating a particular game. If 50+ fouls were called, I would say I would blame the players more than the refs. How many times are you going to put your hand on a hot stove and get your fingers burned before you4 learn not to do that?

4) You'll see adjustment by the players, coaches and officials as the season progresses. That's how things work in every sport. A few years ago, baseball umpires were instructed not to let guys step out of the box on every pitch. Tell that to meathead Jonny Gomes who has to fiddle with his helmet every friggin' time, or Big Papi after stepping out, spitting into his battling gloves. I think 2 years ago the NBA prohibited players from even saying a word following a foul call by giving them a technical immediately. Now, the NBA (which is unwatchable) is back to every player whining about every single call.

5) Aaron Craft is the best on the ball defender in college ball. He's outstanding at moving his feet and using his hands to steal the ball. Ask any college coach and they would tell you Craft on the ball is among the best they've ever seen. (Bobby Hurley was pretty damn good too...although I couldn't stand Duke at the time.)

6) If you want to find blame for the "handcheck" rule, point the finger at John Thompson's GTown teams in the 80's and then Rick Pitino's pressing teams. They used to (Pitino still does) handcheck and foul all over the court. They'd substitute guys in and out...and force officials to make the call every time. But officials don't. This is one of the reasons why defense is the way it is.

7) One of the other reasons for hand checking is the liberal ballhandling now. Guys palm and carry the ball at will. Try guarding a guy who is already super quick. Then try guarding that super quick guy when he can palm on a hesitation dribble or carry it left to right on a crossover right in front of you. You have no choice other than to hand check defensively. (When I play pick up hoops, I call palming on a guy. I tell him I'm slow enough. He doesn't need to dribble illegally to blow by me.)

Blue Man · Unread post by **Blue Man** » 10 years ago

Rhody74 wrote:Blueman, agree with most of what you said, but I strongly disagree about Reischel. As I said, he's a "glue" guy .... lots of energy, important rebounds, putbacks, and decent defense. The team was noticeably better when he was in the lineup.

I'm adjusting to what I expected out of him. Based on what people who've played with him said he was "smooth," and a heady player who had a great shot. Obviously he brought a lot of intangibles to the table with that +/- number...I just was expecting more of a scorer, albeit incorrectly.

With all those intangibles, I still saw a lot of sloppy passes and shots regardless. No one was really on their game Friday night, I'm just hoping we got it all out because if we look anything close to that, we're not the 20 win team most of us are thinking we'll be.

Blue Man · Unread post by **Blue Man** » 10 years ago

ELeslie - please rewatch some historic URI games (Stanford Elite 8, the Umass screwjob of 2010, the UNC NIT final four) and let me know how fair and balanced those games were.

You don't need to have officiated a basketball game to understand what's a good call and what's a bad call. All fans want is a ref who they don't remember. Someone who let's teams play, and more importantly is consistent. I dont remember a game URI has played that's had that happen.

that being said, the profession as a whole is being invaded by blowhards who want to be the subject and focus in postgames. They want their names to be heard. They want their whistles to make an impact - that's a fact across all sports and it's disgusting.

Don't sit there for one second and tell me that URI hasn't been on the wrong side of a disproportionate amount of calls the past decade.

PS if you're the ref that called the weak tech on hurley in an exhibition game and then ran away to the other baseline like a little girl for the rest of the second half, you should probably hang up the whistle tough guy.

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

True, BM. If we play like that against Arizona or even Metro State, they'll wipe the floor with us.

Having said that, I think we're better, quite a bit better, than the other night. The game was really just a glorified scrimmage.

Every year, a few D1 teams lose [or almost lose] to D2 teams in exhibition games. With or without Biruta, we should beat Maine fairly handily. If we struggle again, then the doubts will start to creep in.

There's no doubt that EC and Hassan will be big time players in time, most likely by no later than next season. The Big O and Biruta are the real deal, too. X of course is good, but this is his last year. After that, not so sure.

Hurley knows he doesn't yet have all the pieces in place to make a big run toward the NCAA tourney. The others players on the team besides the ones I mentioned above, are interchangeable role players, not stars. This team is a couple of pieces short. Next year's recruits might ? make the difference, whoever they are.

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

ELeslie's 1st assist wrote:These officials are regular people, with no agenda, doing the best they can.

Tim Donaghy anyone?