Game #2 - @ SMU - November 11th @ 8:00pm

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

rambone 78 wrote:SMU, I will say this again, is NOT that good. They had a bunch of new players, just like we did.

That's the only thing that was similar about the two teams tonight.

We were overmatched from the get go, and outcoached likewise. Badly.

I guess this isn't the MAAC anymore.

I'm not sure I would jump out and say SMU is not that good. They had all 5 starters returning until Jones left last week and the #14 recruiting class in the country. We have none of those things.

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

jcru wrote:I would put in EC, play him for as long as he can physically go, or until he picks up two fouls. Put in Powell, as soon as he does something boneheaded like jack up a three point attempt air ball with 25 seconds on the shot clock, yank him, put EC back in.

He'd get the msg sooner rather than later.

Couldnt agree more with this approach.

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

Minnis's numbers from TT were totally underwhelming. If he was to be a defensive specialist, then that's a crock.

Those guys that predicted 15-16 wins for this group this year? Take a bow, you win. That's still an improvement, but still.....

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

RhodeIslandBred wrote:
Billyboy78 wrote:Yes, Powell played poorly. But, if I remember correctly, he was benched for most of the 2nd half. Did we play any better with him on the bench?
Yes.

When? I did not see one single point of the game where we even looked OK.

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

rambone 78 wrote:Minnis's numbers from TT were totally underwhelming. If he was to be a defensive specialist, then that's a crock.

Those guys that predicted 15-16 wins for this group this year? Take a bow, you win. That's still an improvement, but still.....

Minnis should get no mins at this point he is not ready. Wait until we have deep foul trouble to give him his next shot or in garbage mins.

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

FWIW, EC had a team high FIVE turnovers, some to the bench players of SMU.
I was one who questioned Minnis coming here. Yet I was told I wasn't being fair, and
he was this and that, blah, blah,blah.
Since this was from people who seemed tro know better, I bought into it.
Frankly, I see little in the time I've seen him play.

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

Billyboy78 wrote:
RhodeIslandBred wrote:
Billyboy78 wrote:Yes, Powell played poorly. But, if I remember correctly, he was benched for most of the 2nd half. Did we play any better with him on the bench?
Yes.
When? I did not see one single point of the game where we even looked OK.

It was also against the 3rd string SMU team.

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

adam914 wrote:
rambone 78 wrote:SMU, I will say this again, is NOT that good. They had a bunch of new players, just like we did.

That's the only thing that was similar about the two teams tonight.

We were overmatched from the get go, and outcoached likewise. Badly.

I guess this isn't the MAAC anymore.
I'm not sure I would jump out and say SMU is not that good. They had all 5 starters returning until Jones left last week and the #14 recruiting class in the country. We have none of those things.

I agree. I'd make a friendly wager that that is a tournament team, and possibly even better than that.

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

adam914 wrote:
rodfromcranston wrote: Sorry, I didn't see the Abu interview, I was at the game. Abu is knocking our players?
Never cared for him as a commentator.
It was pretty weird. The comment during the game wasnt so bad, but then bringing it up to the guy in the postgame interview was strange. Kind of put him on the spot. Onyekaba handled it well though, just ignored him and answered the rest of the question.

I taped the game so that I could watch the post game interviews. I also thought it a bit odd, but I think Abu was just poking fun at Iffy. Abu was clearly impressed by the performance of Iffy and I don't think he meant anything by it. Point made by someone earlier that Iffy is not 6'8" and I would agree. If you look at him next to Hare he is a good 4 inches shorter but I think Hare might even be pushing the 6'10" mark or maybe he just looks taller because of his lanky frame but next to Biruta, Reichel, Iffy, Martin and Mathews Hare is clearly above them all in height. Iffy is clearly one of our bright spots here in the early going and Rod you certainly called it early on Iffy -- great call.

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

Billyboy78 wrote:
RhodeIslandBred wrote:
Billyboy78 wrote:Yes, Powell played poorly. But, if I remember correctly, he was benched for most of the 2nd half. Did we play any better with him on the bench?
Yes.
When? I did not see one single point of the game where we even looked OK.

Ec had some good drives to the basket and made his ft. Had some turnovers and needs to make better decisions but looked better overall than when powell was at the point. Ecs upside is way better and he just earned his chance to prove it by powell playing so poorly tonight. Not playing like someone with experience, not ready to shoot, and abandoned dishing it to his big men inside who were carrying us. He should know better. His shots were terrible decisions not just misses.

Its less about ec playing good and more about powell playing bad. His defense is unacceptable for a pg. he let every person he was defending into the lane.

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

BB, I was as totally shocked as you. Where was our vaunted inside game? A joke, except for O, he at least tried. Our guard play was horrendous, except for EC at times.

Defense, what defense? I NEVER thought a Hurley coached team could play that badly against anybody. It's like, what have we been doing in practice? Maybe we look good against ourselves, but that's it.

I guess the warning signs were there, in Italy and in the exhibition game. I bought into the hype, though, should have known it's going to take another year or two to get where we want to go.

I've said this team needs a couple more pieces. I was right, but they need more than that. Somehow I think Dan knows that too.

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

I was stunned by this game. Never in my most negative dreams would I have expected this kind of team effort from a Dan Hurley coached team. Do this on Friday at home and get another loss will make for along winter in Kingston.

P. S. To Thorr, hey, my friend you are not having a good fall season in any sport.

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

The good thing is its only 1-1, plenty of more to learn from and theres a lot to learn from how we played tonight

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

Look at the Maine game replay carefully and you will see Powell's weakness - the 20 point margin win and his two early three pointers masked some of that.

BTW, in the Maine game, there were three 3 point shots made out of 4 attempted in the first 5 minutes. In the 75 minutes since then....... ugh!

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

I think the pieces might be right here, but they need to ripen.
I think Martin is the forward we need, who can rebound and score.
I think EC is a scorer we need. Munford is Munford.
Oneykaba is what I felt he'd be.
I want to see if Biruta is hurt or he's just not that good.
Reischel should be a useful player. He does a lot of things.
I think the yo-yo substitutions,unless it's for foul trouble, need to lessen.
The NCAA has ruined the game we love, with this stupid, "call everything" rule.

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

Like I said, I think Dan knew that this team has holes. I don't think, though, that he thought they would be outplayed that badly.

You can't build a great team with transfers. I know Dan didn't have anything to work with right away, so he had to fill a few gaps with them. With the transfers and the JB holdovers, it's just not going to work short term.

What this team has, is a few future bright spots in Hassan, EC, and the Big O. They are 4 year guys [hopefully for O too]. Dan has to bring in more 4 year guys with big potential like them. No more shortcuts and temporary fixes that aren't really fixes.

The next 2 years will really tell about the future of this program. In a couple of years, all the short timers will be gone, and those 4 year players will determine the ultimate success or failure of Dan's time here.

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

Well, because of that, offensive players are at a premium, defensive "specialists" are on the decline.

Hindsight being 20/20 aside, should have waited the week and pandered a smidge to get the offense creator (Keane), who doggedly got other players involved, instead of getting a guy who couldn't even make an immediate impact last year and is now pretty much rendered useless (Minnis).

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

Well, it's been a barren recruiting cycle thus far.
Possibly a juco PF.
I never liked transfers, especially on such a large scale.
Figured Dan knew all the kids he brought in and gave him the benefit of the doubt,
especially under the awful circumstances he inherited.
His three major recruits look like they'll be major contributors. Butler was a reach, I think.
Next year is a giant recruiting cycle for URI. If can't be a miss.
I wish some coach had come on and spoke after the game, so we could get an insight into
if Biruta and Munford are having injury problems. This isn't the Patriots. They should be
able to communicate this type of information.
I hope we don't lay an egg like this on Dec. 5th.
As far as Keene, I asked Bobby about why they didn't bring him in. He didn't hesitate to say,
"He just wasn't that good." He hasn't done anything at ISU, so far.

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

Well, Dan told me at Alpine that they are looking at more transfers.

I really hope not. That's not the answer for long term success. Most transfers are crap shoots. We could see that tonight. I know it's early, but guys weren't working together at all, like they never even practiced together.

I know recruiting the guys he really wants, are going to be a tough sell here. Hopefully Dan doesn't get too discouraged by situations like Terrell going elsewhere. If it does, then I can see him leaving sooner rather than later. That would be our worst nightmare.

And Rod, I agree. Next year is huge. They have to bring in a couple more PLAYERS, to help the 3 they've got now.

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

Not if he fills the cupboard first.

Don't talk to me about nightmares, we lived through two of them back to back.

I'd like him to stay, but as long as URI works intelligently to find great coaches like they did on the last search, they will be fine either way.

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

At least one thing's for sure.

Dan can promise any big time recruit, they will get some serious playing time if they come here!

Let's see, we've got a center [O] a forward [Hassan] and a guard [EC]. All other positions are open!

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

I'll say this and hate myself for saying it, as someone who's bought into Hurley as much as anyone....
what if Hurley is not the man for the job? What if
he's not what we thought he was? I mean it's possible.
I don't know any coach worth his salt, who wants a steady diet of transfers.
Now, if he means jucos, that's another story.
I think, judging from the transfers we've seen over the years,
the Mike Brown's and Abdul Foxes, were the exceptions not the rule.
Mainly, they bring unwanted baggage.

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

We'll see. I saw a few games his last year with Wagner and those teams didn't play anything like what we saw today. They slowed it down, chewed the shot clock, waited for very good looks, etc.

He needs to scale down the lineup and reward intelligent play. Step on a few egos if need be, and get this wreck moving again in the right direction Jersey (his father, Parcels, etc) style.

Too many transfers are a red flag but he is a young coach and understandably he could be trying to do anything to improve the talent level here to try and get quicker results. It's a gamble either way.

I hope he succeeds obviously. But our AD proved he can hire a good coach, which is encouraging.

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

Why all the negative talk about transfers? I, Eric Leslie, was the greatest transfer to ever set foot on the URI campus. Just gimme the damn ball and let me shoot it. Still waiting for my first assist.

The loss vs. SMU...don't worry about. It was the ref's fault. We've been screwed in every game for the last 10 years by the refs. It's a conspiracy to keep URI down.

Forget you Gene Monje!! You're blind Art McDonald!!!

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

rodfromcranston wrote:I'll say this and hate myself for saying it, as someone who's bought into Hurley as much as anyone....
what if Hurley is not the man for the job? What if
he's not what we thought he was? I mean it's possible.
I don't know any coach worth his salt, who wants a steady diet of transfers.
Now, if he means jucos, that's another story.
I think, judging from the transfers we've seen over the years,
the Mike Brown's and Abdul Foxes, were the exceptions not the rule.
Mainly, they bring unwanted baggage.

Rod get some sleep. Its one loss. At the end of the year, when they add them all up, it still counts as one whether it was by 5 or 35. You can't question everything because you got your ass handed to you on the road in November (by what could turn out to be a good team). This kind of things happens to programs on their way from terrible to good. It won't be a linear transition.

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

I'm not hitting the panic button just yet. If they have another game like this at some point this season, then I'm right there with you guys. But as of right now, I see this as a wake up call. Now let's see if they wake up.

EDIT: Good post, TP.

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

Rod, one last thing about Keane. I figure if I am going to bring this up at all, I might as well do it now, rather than later.

Something always felt weird about the way that recruitment ended. We were there, we read all of the updates, all of the comments, all of the reactions, all of the aftermath...

I know after your initial outburst of disappointment, you got censored basically. But think back on that.

This kid was basically informed that URI wasn't going to take him. He was stunned and dumbfounded and basically had to scramble for about a week to get ISU to take him. The comments were bizarre. He was basically talking like a groom that got left at the alter by the runaway bride. When does that ever happen around here? It's always the other way around. Always.

This was more personal than "he just wasn't that good". And that Minnis was better. Something about this kid offended Hurley. Maybe he had a mouth and he said the wrong thing. But something odd happened here.

There was a suggestion at the time, that Hurley said "well, that's what happens if you wait too long (to make a decision), you get recruited over." That, coupled with the fact that obviously Minnis somehow contacted Hurley and made it known out of nowhere that he wanted to transfer and Hurley pulled the trigger. There was also the suggestion that "well, Hurley wanted him, but there are no more scholarships left." Like he just swapped out two snacks in the checkout isle at Walmart.

I just thought it was especially odd, because why would you want other recruits out there to know that's how you operate?

Anyway, it is in the past, hopefully it doesn't come back to bite us. I have trouble seeing how Minnis is going to provide anything over the next two seasons however.

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

Wow glad I missed this one sounded awful

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

So I ended up going to the game, and obviously took a while to sift through almost 400 of these posts, so apologies if I repeat anything that has been said. Just a few observations:

- starting off, there was very few people there at the beginning of the game... about 5 minutes in it actually filled in quite a bit. A decent crowd for being 30 minutes from smu's campus, from what initially seemed like a neutral court game. I like the away unis.

-at one point, they announced Jordan Hare was entering the game.

- Not sure how it looked on tv, but SMU looked so much bigger than us at almost every position. Every time Gil or Iffy got the ball down low they were swarmed. This especially killed us when we couldn't hit *any* open outside shots. Saw a lot of tough rebounds lost too.

- The only position they didn't have a size advantage was the point, which didn't matter because nic moore was quicker and played with more confidence than our guards.

- EC was the only one who could create his own shot. We actually had quite a few clean looks from outside.

- I saw a lot of tentative defense, in addition to poor positioning from Gil down low. Biggie's defense seems better suited for the older rules.
Sometimes it takes an ass kicking like this to wake up. I think they right the ship, just kind of pissed the one game I could watch in person turned out like this. Go rhody.

Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk

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

Gil's ankle is not 100% and it hurts him at both ends of the court.

URI wanted a fast start toward success this season to get the program
some respect. If this was some big-time program (eg Syracuse), it would be a building
process toward conference play and conference tournament and beyond. This means
developing the most talented at each end as a team and getting them to play better game
after game.

At PG, the player with the best future is EC and MP is an experienced back-up with
BM a third guard who would see time if EC and MP can't play.

XM is our best shooter and should play the SG. We have no one else who even
comes close. TJ can get it done as a defensive replacement. Don't put EC here
and make him a combo guard. SG requires a shoot-first mentality whereas PG
requires a pass-first mentality. Having EC do both will retard his development.

At SF, the most talented option with the best upside is HM. He is more of an
inside player right now whereas JR looks more comfortable on the outside and
slashing. Develop HM and JR to do what they do best before expanding their
game.

IO is the most talented PF and AA is an adequate replacement now the JH
is out. Enough said.

GB is the most talented center but he has a bad wheel right now. AA and IO will
need to fill in when he needs a blow. JH's situation hurts here.

The rest of the squad will need to upgrade their status to substitute in practice

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

Who is AA? Andy Aaman?

15 Year Lurker · Unread post by **15 Year Lurker** » 10 years ago

Wow everybody is really freaking out lol

Sometimes it is good to get blown out. We'll see what happens from here. It's just one game.

Gil is definitely still hurt. You don't just immediately get better from an ankle injury after a week. We should give him credit for just being out there but he is hurt

On to the next one..

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

I've never jumped off the bandwagon and won't be doing this now but this one is on Hurley. Did that look like a team that had 10 extra practices and four extra games? How do they go into this game so unprepared. Hurley told us this was a good team. Time to step up Dan.

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

I'm not normally freaked out by a bad loss, but this one has a different vibe to it given the high expectations. I just hope SMU turns out to be a powerhouse in the new AAC. Anything to explain this game. Dan Hurley, our lonely eyes turn to you.

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

I'm with Iggy on this one.
We looked like a bad AAU team, or bunch of guys who just
met for a pickup game.
'72, Biruta is a PF, not a center.
Are there any comments from any of our coaches about this
debacle? I'd love to hear what they have to say.

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

Not much to add after such a disappointing loss (imagine, I put this one in the W column)

Some thoughts...
I do think this team will score, even from three. It will happen
I do think this team will play better defense - the coach will not accept this kind of debacle.
I do think the team will form some better team chemistry, with players knowing their roles.
I do think this team will improve.
It seems however, that the point guard position has some major problems. All of us know that every successful ram team had one outstanding person to run the show (ok easterling and alexander shared it)
We have Biggie who is supposed to play defense but at the moment appears lost. We were told he was not an offensive player. What was he doing over the summer? Can you become a better shooter? One would hope so.
We have Mike who, for the most part, has not really improved since his freshman year. His inconsistency will not make us a contending team.
We have TJ, who plays great defense but has no outside shot, or least does not want to show us that he has one.
That leaves EC, who is the future, but will be playing his third varsity game on Friday. We gave Silk, Tyson and Jiggy the ball and took our chances.
If we want this team to improve, we don't need a "four headed" point guard.
Coach, make a decision!, and also I never thought we would lose to anyone by thirty points. Motivate these players so that it doesn't happen again! Go Rhody!

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

Good god, after one game you guys are all ready to jump off the Newport bridge?

It was ugly for sure...but come on, it's game #2.

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

Rod, so far only crickets. I really think they have some serious egg on their faces, after telling us for months this is a good team.

The new defensive rules have really thrown them for a loop. As for offense, there is no cohesion whatsoever right now. Adding to the mess, nobody can hit a shot. Looks like last year all over again.

However, that won't continue, these guys [well some of them anyway] are a lot better than that.

15 Year Lurker · Unread post by **15 Year Lurker** » 10 years ago

Iggy1979 wrote:I've never jumped off the bandwagon and won't be doing this now but this one is on Hurley. Did that look like a team that had 10 extra practices and four extra games? How do they go into this game so unprepared. Hurley told us this was a good team. Time to step up Dan.

Larry Brown is a good coach too. And I'm sure he put in a few extra film hours after they got blown out last year. I'm sure Dan is more upset than anyone.

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

One game does make a trend, we/ll re-group, lots of wins out there, coaches to clear their heads, make necessary adjustment in line-ups, make the necessary "stylistic" changes in play/strategy, and play on to Brooklyn........

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

We were lucky to almost be playing on a neutral court last night.
By contrast Bryant did better against Gonzaga in a house of horrors.
I'm certainly not running up the white flag, but which of you can say
a loss of this dimension doesn't shake your faith just a bit?
It's not losing, but how we lost that disturbs me.

Ram1019 · Unread post by **Ram1019** » 10 years ago

After watching last night's horror show, I guess now the big question has become when Dan Hurley decides to do something about the PG position--our obvious weakness. We already know Powell's capabilities. I don't know that he is ready to give up on Minnis just yet only after 2 games. I am really interested to see if he changes his mind about the whole 'lets let E.C. learn and adjust to college-level play before assigning him that pg role.' Would he reconsider now after 2 games? I don't know but it should be interesting to see how he takes it from here. That being said, I am not ready to panic over one bad game this early on in the season, especially against a good SMU team on the road.

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

I'm with smarty. If there is another one I'll worry. It seems like these types of games happen because things snowball on you. A couple things go a different way early and maybe the game unfolds differently. I'll reserve judgment for now. I will say that I didn't believe a Hurley team could be completely handled like that, but now that it happened I can talk myself into it being a growing pains situation. We will learn a lot based on how they bounce back on Friday.

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

Before the season began, I looked at the @Detroit game and figured we would know what we had by then. So, I am not going to dive off the deep end. I've watched a lot of college hoops over the years and there are scores of successful teams that had ridiculous November losses. I'll reserve judgement until then. EC played 27 minutes which is just about right but he needs the ball in his hands more. It's clear that this team over the next few years will thrive on a two man game of EC and Gil with the other guys (including X until he graduates) playing complementary roles. I also know that there were those who downplayed the role Hare would have but he was sorely missed.

Keaney.Blue · Unread post by **Keaney.Blue** » 10 years ago

Some of the knee jerk reactions in here are making me laugh in the office this morning.

First of all, this is the 2nd game of the season. This is a patchwork team in that there are freshmen, transfers, and veterans all trying to gel into one unit. These games happen, and anyone expecting our squad to be hitting on all cylinders in early November is delusional.

Personally attacking players on this board has to stop. Criticizing a player's performance can be warranted, but the way some people deride these kids who are URI students is ridiculous. They're 18-22 year old student-athletes. The guys on the team READ this message board, they've read through this thread. Quit being assholes.

URI fans are quick to praise our teams and even quicker to dump them. I've been to a lot of college basketball arenas and talked to many fans in my day, and I've rarely seen a more fickle fanbase. Instead of questioning whether Hurley was the right hire (really?!) why don't you get behind the team and support them? The mentality of some fans in here really is astonishing. No, it's embarrassing.

gorhody89 · Unread post by **gorhody89** » 10 years ago

Get off your high horse Keaney blue....what are we supposed to talk about from last nights game, the positives? Ohh wait I forgot there were none, those saying we didnt quit and were hustling what game were you watching. You are not hustling when you give up about 15 fast break dunks....I understand it was just one game but last night we would have lost to last years team

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

KB: It's also the second game of the year for SMU, they have a lot of new players, they have a heralded second-year coach, and as far as I know they didn't play four games overseas.

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

This is Rhode Island, where we respect a man's right to get frustrated and "have a mental". On a public msg board, even.

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

Spare me the sanctimony, KB. I was in the stands at Keaney long before you were born.
Now back to reality.
Because of the APR mess, there has to be a juggling act to keep everyone happy
with playing time, or some might leave and put us on APR suspension.
This presents a real problem. How do you put your best players out there, while keeping the others
happy? A true dilemma.

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

Well, I have to say. In that first 10 mins or so, SMU hadn't yet figured out that they could steamroll URI and manhandle them at will.

If URI had taken advantage of that with better shooting, this could have turned out to be a different ballgame.

I'm actually kind of glad it didn't though, because then none of these serious flaws would have been exposed and this team would have gotten their collective rumps handed to them at a later date, say, at home against Providence in front of a packed crowd.

Still could happen if they don't make some drastic changes.