12/21 | Western Kentucky | 2:00PM (ESPN+/YurView)

[rambone 78]

The 32 refers to the number of made baskets. bar mistyped when he said turnovers....hey it happens.

Of course it took 83 shots to make 32...37% is not very good...but 51 rebounds is why we were able to take so many. Good thing.

21 assists on 32 baskets is very good.

[wpbrown8267]

......I guess some of the negative comments made by posters toward officials and visiting coaches are made in the heat of the moments during games, however......for me no excuse and it troubles me to read them.....the option to not read them doesn’t work......having prior, in an another live connections to college coaches and officials those comments trouble me......I have moved on and expect these attacks will continue......

I agree. I also think the majority of in-game comments are from fans watching on TV or Internet. Those at the game typically do not post until after. They can get caught up in the heat of the moment on the TV and live.

I was sitting courtside, very close to the call that the WKU Coach got the technical on. To be perfectly honest, when the call was made I said "What?" I honestly did not see any foul and even if there was one, I was not sure who it would have been on. They it was Long to the line. It was a mystery to me when the call was made. So for all who are criticizing the SKU HC, I had a better look at it than the HC did and I didn't see it. I then rewatched the game last night on ESPN+ replay and I still do not see the foul.

Being at the game, I did not feel that the Refs were bad or negatively influencing the game. I did not think that the fans were feeling a lot of animosity towards the Refs, so I was surprised to read so much negativity about the Refs toward URI when I read all of the Western Kentucky commentary.

I could not see the play in front of the WKU bench involving Fatts that is being mentioned here but in watching the replay on ESPN+ it looked like a very close call. It appeared to me that Fatts did a flop-like gesture to try to get a foul call, but that was a very big play in the game. WKU HC is doing what most HC's would do in the last minutes of a game with a play right in front of their bench on the road.

I don't feel that the WKU HC was much different in his behavior than our own Dan Hurley over the past several years.

I also confess that in the long run calls by Referees even out, nobody is singled out to receive more than their share of gad or good calls, home or away. I have also refereed before full disclosure.

totally agree with the both of you, I was there Sat and really didnt have an issue with the refs

Also, with Stansbury, the T was necessary but I do think he did that on purpose to provide a 'spark' to his guys. Outside of Williams (Up to that point in the game) everyone else didnt look like they had much life for WKU. The only thing that got me out of my seat was when he was very very close to I think Toppin (maybe it was Tyrese) when Topping was staring him down. On one position, I don't think Stansbury bumped Toppin when attempting a three, but he was so close that Toppin (or whover URI player it was) was definitely altered and could feel him behind them. To me, that is bush league, that's the only thing I'll say about Stansbury, that is complete garbage.

He did coach a solid game to get his kids to crawl back in the game, but that situation I have no patience on, I was glad Toppin stared him down after knocking a three down on another possession

[bigappleram]

Best stat of the night: 21 assists on 32 turnovers. 66% of FGs were assisted, anything in the 60s is tremendous.

Antwan Walker, how do you do...can't think of a better way to come back after a 2 year layoff. Kid may not do that every game but he is going to help A LOT.

At one point in 2nd half when Fatts was sitting our lineup was Jeff, Tyrese, Jacob, Antwan and Cyril. 6'3, 6'6, 6'9, 6'7, 6'8.
That type of lineup would have made a difference against WVU and LSU when we were simply outmanned in terms of size and strength.

My biggest area of improvement for this year was our ability to create easy offense. We struggled to score last year, really grinded to get in the 60s and 70s at times. Not the case this year.

Loved the high ball screen on the zone that freed up Fatts for that pull up near end of regulation, great call by Cox ATO.

BAR,
I think you meant 21 Assists on 10 Turnovers? Not sure where your 32 comes from. But agree that 21 Assists were phenomenal.

• Dowtin had 8 Assists and Zero TOs. His previous high for Assists this season was 4. Love to see Jeff creating on offense. He started the game off with a nice lob assists to Harris for an easy bucket.
  2 minutes into the 2nd half Fatts threw a long pass to Harris who leaped but it was too high and he deflected the ball to Dowtin in the corner in front of the URI Bench. Jeff threw a beautiful no-look pass to Langevine under the basket for an easy bucket. Just a beautiful, quick, catch everyone flat-footed Dowtin type pass.

• Russell also had 8 Assists and only 1 Turnover. Russell had several very nice bounce passes that led to easy baskets. We are at our best when Dowtin and Russell pass like this. The ball does not touch the floor much at all and we catch the opponents defense off balance and late to cover.

• Langevine also had some nice passes as did Toppin

• I also liked the lineup of Dowtin, Martin, Toppin, Walker and Langevine. You could also sub Harris into that Lineup for Martin and have a huge physical line up. Nice that we can compete with the larger lineups that we could see in the NCAA Tournament. Toppin, Long and Walker give us some nice height that we did not have last season

Typo, meant 21 assists on 32 made field goals. 66% of our baskets were off assists. Anything over 50% is good. 60s/70s start to be elite level. Even more impressive is that we accomplished that on a night we didn’t shoot particularly well from the outside. So what that tells me is that we were patient and not settling, guys were looking for each other, and we were getting good 2s instead of bombing away. If Fatts/Jeff are putting up 16 assists to 1 turnover no matter what their FG% is we are going to be tough to beat.

[Rhody74]

In short we pass as well as anybody as a team.

[bkoeppen]

how about only 30 turnovers from Dowtin (9) and Russell (21) through 10 games. Given how many minutes these two play with almost 100% of the ball handling responsibility it's a pretty amazing stat. With how hard Russell drives to the basket and the speed he plays at, I'm really impressed he only gives up the ball about 2 times a game.

[Rhody83]

Early in the game Jeff threw a bounce pass to Harris that didn’t even come up to his knees. That turnover was given to Harris. I think it should’ve been Jeff’s.

[theblueram]

Thinking back, I think the purple out was a failure, but if they were selling the purple shirts the team was wearing I would have bought a couple for sure.

[ramster]

Best stat of the night: 21 assists on 32 turnovers. 66% of FGs were assisted, anything in the 60s is tremendous.

Antwan Walker, how do you do...can't think of a better way to come back after a 2 year layoff. Kid may not do that every game but he is going to help A LOT.

At one point in 2nd half when Fatts was sitting our lineup was Jeff, Tyrese, Jacob, Antwan and Cyril. 6'3, 6'6, 6'9, 6'7, 6'8.
That type of lineup would have made a difference against WVU and LSU when we were simply outmanned in terms of size and strength.

My biggest area of improvement for this year was our ability to create easy offense. We struggled to score last year, really grinded to get in the 60s and 70s at times. Not the case this year.

Loved the high ball screen on the zone that freed up Fatts for that pull up near end of regulation, great call by Cox ATO.

BAR,
I think you meant 21 Assists on 10 Turnovers? Not sure where your 32 comes from. But agree that 21 Assists were phenomenal.

• Dowtin had 8 Assists and Zero TOs. His previous high for Assists this season was 4. Love to see Jeff creating on offense. He started the game off with a nice lob assists to Harris for an easy bucket.
  2 minutes into the 2nd half Fatts threw a long pass to Harris who leaped but it was too high and he deflected the ball to Dowtin in the corner in front of the URI Bench. Jeff threw a beautiful no-look pass to Langevine under the basket for an easy bucket. Just a beautiful, quick, catch everyone flat-footed Dowtin type pass.

• Russell also had 8 Assists and only 1 Turnover. Russell had several very nice bounce passes that led to easy baskets. We are at our best when Dowtin and Russell pass like this. The ball does not touch the floor much at all and we catch the opponents defense off balance and late to cover.

• Langevine also had some nice passes as did Toppin

• I also liked the lineup of Dowtin, Martin, Toppin, Walker and Langevine. You could also sub Harris into that Lineup for Martin and have a huge physical line up. Nice that we can compete with the larger lineups that we could see in the NCAA Tournament. Toppin, Long and Walker give us some nice height that we did not have last season

Typo, meant 21 assists on 32 made field goals. 66% of our baskets were off assists. Anything over 50% is good. 60s/70s start to be elite level. Even more impressive is that we accomplished that on a night we didn’t shoot particularly well from the outside. So what that tells me is that we were patient and not settling, guys were looking for each other, and we were getting good 2s instead of bombing away. If Fatts/Jeff are putting up 16 assists to 1 turnover no matter what their FG% is we are going to be tough to beat.

Absolutely BAR,
Also have to give Credit to the coaching staff when seeing the degree and level of passing in place. Love seeing the extra passes and even more so the decreased amount of dribbling. I’d like to see more passes into Harris and Langevine in Conference play. Really like the passing and unselfish play that I’ve seen in Toppin and Walker to date.

[section(105)]

......sometimes, not often I see Fatts not making the pass on a break our other player in the 2 on 1 situation, the defender often commits to Fatts......yes, the Fatts success rate is probably pretty high with his circus shots at the rim.....

[ramster]

......sometimes, not often I see Fatts not making the pass on a break our other player in the 2 on 1 situation, the defender often commits to Fatts......yes, the Fatts success rate is probably pretty high with his circus shots at the rim.....

I have rarely seen Fatts pass on a fast break, even when his teammate is open. If I was the opposing Coach I would focus heavily on Fatts on breaks. I was impressed with Fatts getting 8 assists vs WKU vs 1 assist. The more frequently Fatts passes the better for the team I think, and he can be more effective on drives to the hoop.

[hrstrat57]

......sometimes, not often I see Fatts not making the pass on a break our other player in the 2 on 1 situation, the defender often commits to Fatts......yes, the Fatts success rate is probably pretty high with his circus shots at the rim.....

I have rarely seen Fatts pass on a fast break, even when his teammate is open. If I was toe opposing Coach I would focus heavily on Fatts on breaks. I was impressed with Fatts getting 8 assists vs WKU vs 1 assist. The more frequently Fatts passes the better for the team I think, and he can be more effective on drives to the hoop.

When my player is the fastest player on the floor (even with the ball) the last thing I want to encourage is passing the ball! I’ll take Russell attacking the bucket all day every day every time.

Catch him if you can!

[Obadiah]

If you look at the 4 minute drought that URI experienced from 4:47 to 0:54 sec. when the Rams' lead went from 9 points to 1, you will see Fatts driving to the bucket twice putting up low percentage circus shots which were not close to going in. Both plays led to WKU transition baskets. Is that what you want in crunch time?

[Rhody83]

If you look at the 4 minute drought that URI experienced from 4:47 to 0:54 sec. when the Rams' lead went from 9 points to 1, you will see Fatts driving to the bucket twice putting up low percentage circus shots which were not close to going in. Both plays led to WKU transition baskets. Is that what you want in crunch time?

Fatts did force it. However, when they started managing the shot clock, Fatts ended up with the ball outside with less than 8 seconds left. He had to force something.

[hrstrat57]

If you look at the 4 minute drought that URI experienced from 4:47 to 0:54 sec. when the Rams' lead went from 9 points to 1, you will see Fatts driving to the bucket twice putting up low percentage circus shots which were not close to going in. Both plays led to WKU transition baskets. Is that what you want in crunch time?

Nope driving into the teeth of the defense with the shot clock expiring vs running the high post sets the team is working so hard on perfecting is not what I want. Did that 2x vs WKU.

That’s dumb, no speed advantage there...

What I want is taking the ball to the hole on the fast break. All day every time.

[reef]

If Fatts can beat his guy on the break he should go if we have a teammate ahead of the field he should pass , the important thing is to score when we have the fast break advantage

[rambone 78]

Again, the thing is keep running our offense, and Fatts won't have to drive into the trees late in the shot clock.

Managing the shot clock? We did a piss poor job of that. If we had waited until 2 minutes or less to hold the ball, WK would have had to foul.

Lesson learned, or so we hope.

[TruePoint]

......sometimes, not often I see Fatts not making the pass on a break our other player in the 2 on 1 situation, the defender often commits to Fatts......yes, the Fatts success rate is probably pretty high with his circus shots at the rim.....

I have rarely seen Fatts pass on a fast break, even when his teammate is open. If I was toe opposing Coach I would focus heavily on Fatts on breaks. I was impressed with Fatts getting 8 assists vs WKU vs 1 assist. The more frequently Fatts passes the better for the team I think, and he can be more effective on drives to the hoop.

When my player is the fastest player on the floor (even with the ball) the last thing I want to encourage is passing the ball! I’ll take Russell attacking the bucket all day every day every time.

Catch him if you can!

It isn’t just Fatts. It’s an observation I’ve made about basketball in general - high level college and NBA - over the last decade or so that the ball doesn’t move on fast breaks anymore. It is only anecdotal, but my impression is that URI has been even more guilty of this than even other teams over that time. Whoever starts the run out with the ball in their hands attacks the basket directly and never appears to consider giving the ball up, to the point that I assume they’re specifically coached to play it that way by design. But I still wish the ball would move more on breaks. Go on YouTube and watch the 80s Celtics pass the ball in transition. It’s fucking high art. What percentage of our fast-breaks end with a leave for the trailer for an easy dunk, or spin around the last defender back with quick ricochet passes, or drawing a defender and dishing to the guy cutting to the other block? That’s why that transition dunk by Cyril where the entire 5 on the floor touched the ball a few years ago is still my favorite individual play from this whole era of Rhody basketball.

I am not to one of these guys that comes on here after we have a bad shooting night and says that the coaches should think about working on shooting at practice. The coaches know what they’re doing, for the most part, and I’m not and have never been a college coach. Still, if I could get run one practice with this team I’d devote the entire length of it to doing the 3-on-2/2-on-1 drill (this probably sounds super basic but then again our most effective offensive set is the weave, so....).

I really feel like it’s an area where, in addition to just making the game more aesthetically pleasing, it would be good for us basketball-wise to get more easy finishes in transition. It seems like once a game, and sometimes more, we go right at a defender in a run out where we have numbers and the guy challenges the play at the rim and doesn’t bite for a cheap foul and we end up missing the layup and wasting an easy opportunity for points.

[TruePoint]

Just watch the fast breaks here. I know this Celtics team had like 19 hall of famers on it, and URI likely doesn’t, but still this is something that we should at least try to emulate:



Here is that play we made a couple years ago which legitimately every bit as good as anything from the 86 Celtics video:



Note that the last three guys to touch it are still on the team this season.

[reef]

That 86 Celts team was amazing always made that extra pass

[steviep123]

NBC Sports Boston had a special on the 1986 Celtics last night. The passing was incredible and contagious.

[RhodyRam86]

First off, I'm in total agreement with you TP. I don't think we have 19 HOFers either.

I know Fatts got bottled up a couple times taking the ball to the basket against WKU, but I'm usually okay with him taking it himself on the break. He is so much faster than anyone else and seems to have an innate ability to hang in the air and control himself when he gets to the net. My problem is with just about everyone else on the team. The play from 2 years ago being an outlier, very rarely does anyone on the team pass the ball when they get out on the break.

[Obadiah]

After watching a replay of the WKU game, I came to the conclusion that Carson Williams is the best player to come into the Ryan Center so far this season. Great body language and one cool dude with no antics after hitting beautiful shots. His body movements show quiet intensity as opposed to being casually detached.

[TruePoint]

First off, I'm in total agreement with you TP. I don't think we have 19 HOFers either.

I know Fatts got bottled up a couple times taking the ball to the basket against WKU, but I'm usually okay with him taking it himself on the break. He is so much faster than anyone else and seems to have an innate ability to hang in the air and control himself when he gets to the net. My problem is with just about everyone else on the team. The play from 2 years ago being an outlier, very rarely does anyone on the team pass the ball when they get out on the break.

Totally agree - I posted that clip from two years ago to highlight the exception that proves the rule. As I mentioned in the post above that one, I feel that the lack of ball movement on the break is prevalent all throughout high level basketball but has been especially lacking for Rhody. Nothing in basketball is as thrilling to watch as a well executed break, and it has the added benefit of giving you a higher percentage shot (an uncontested dunk or lay in) than you get by taking on and challenging a defender at the rim, where even if you get fouled that ends up being worth only like 1.4 points per play and often leads to misses and wasted chances.

[NYGFan_Section208]

First off, I'm in total agreement with you TP. I don't think we have 19 HOFers either.

I know Fatts got bottled up a couple times taking the ball to the basket against WKU, but I'm usually okay with him taking it himself on the break. He is so much faster than anyone else and seems to have an innate ability to hang in the air and control himself when he gets to the net. My problem is with just about everyone else on the team. The play from 2 years ago being an outlier, very rarely does anyone on the team pass the ball when they get out on the break.

Totally agree - I posted that clip from two years ago to highlight the exception that proves the rule. As I mentioned in the post above that one, I feel that the lack of ball movement on the break is prevalent all throughout high level basketball but has been especially lacking for Rhody. Nothing in basketball is as thrilling to watch as a well executed break, and it has the added benefit of giving you a higher percentage shot (an uncontested dunk or lay in) than you get by taking on and challenging a defender at the rim, where even if you get fouled that ends up being worth only like 1.4 points per play and often leads to misses and wasted chances.

Even better than a backdoor pass that leads to a dunk off the weave The Weave?

[hrstrat57]

After watching a replay of the WKU game, I came to the conclusion that Carson Williams is the best player to come into the Ryan Center so far this season. Great body language and one cool dude with no antics after hitting beautiful shots. His body movements show quiet intensity as opposed to being casually detached.

This.

100%

I was thinking he was right there with Peyton Aldrich and how perfect he would fit into McKillop’s motion half court sets! Lucky for us he went to WKU instead.

[Rhody83]

After watching a replay of the WKU game, I came to the conclusion that Carson Williams is the best player to come into the Ryan Center so far this season. Great body language and one cool dude with no antics after hitting beautiful shots. His body movements show quiet intensity as opposed to being casually detached.

This.

100%

I was thinking he was right there with Peyton Aldrich and how perfect he would fit into McKillop’s motion half court sets! Lucky for us he went to WKU instead.

I agree.
This was his best game of the year. He had hit 4 threes all year (out of 10 attempts) and went 4-4 vs Rhody. He had one other game over 15 points and it was against NAIA Campbellsville.

[Rhody83]

Does this shed light on Rhody’s performance?
WKU lost at home to Belmont 79-62

[rambone 78]

Yes it does.

Not good. [Obviously]

[TruePoint]

Im not sure any one game sheds much light on anything. It’s a data point to be considered with many others, but by itself I’m not sure you can glean all that much from it.

[PeterRamTime]

Consider we only had one game with tape of them without Bassey. Was against a D2 school. We weren't sure what they were going to do and Carson William's played his best game of the season.

We also got sluggish because we hate to pull away from teams.

It says we still have work to do for sure.

Dont think Belmont would beat us by 17, if at all either.