1/28 | Dayton | 7:00PM (ESPN2)

[steveystuds06]

Thomas' PPG in high school isn't really "proof" that his offense is going to develop. It might anyway, but everyone on our roster would have dropped 20+ PPG if they played public, high school basketball in Rhode Island. I'm positive Steve Mello averaged more than 20 a game in his RIHS career, and he topped out at 4.5 PPG at URI. It's rare that teams have anyone greater than 6'2", never mind 6'7"+ that you're going to see in the paint in Division I basketball, and you're likewise getting plenty of easy buckets at the expense of worse athletes via transition points and steals on defense.

Bassy's mechanics are just so bad there's not much hope for his shooting ability

Steve’s senior year he may have averaged close to 40.

I didn’t only point to his PPG average

I also pointed to his hitting 11-11 in an important and close score playoff game

I’m more for letting him have more time in the game, getting over the freshman jitters, before judging his shooting capability. Coaches say he shoots ok in practice.

Just too soon to be so negative on his shooting ability.

Shaq once went 7-7 at the line. Does that make him a good free throw shooter??

I’m not saying Thomas can’t become a decent shooter. He seems like he’s a hard working kid. So far, he’s having issues scoring at this level. Sometimes the game will slow down for players, and sometimes players can’t adapt. It’s tough playing at D1 level….Cox is not going to say Thomas can’t shoot on a radio show. He will stay positive as he does with all of his players.

Let’s all hope he does make a big jump next year, so we have a guard that can make a difference.

[KingstonLane]

Play him now. Nothing to lose, everything to gain.

It’s not really a precedent you want to set with recruits though. “Hey when you’re a senior and I decide the season is over you’re going to get benched for a freshmen so we can see what he has”

Hell of a recruiting strategy

So never play freshmen. Play seniors. Don’t distribute minutes based on performance or lack thereof. Hell of a coaching strategy.

This is the big difference between you and me.
I don’t think the season is over. Still isn’t. Our possibility of a NCAA bid is to win the A10 Tournament.

So find the best 5 guys plus best 2 bench guys to have the highest possibility to win the A10.

All these games played now are for seeding and finding the optimal line up that gives the best chance for the A10 Championship.

Performance based playing time, not seniority.

I think your misinterpreting my comments to RI Bred. Thomas has already been playing plenty of minutes for a freshmen, RI BRED clearly wants him to play more.

I AGREE with you in that we shouldn’t be giving up on the season, you never should when there’s an automatic bid to be had.

My point is Thomas hasn’t done anything in my opinion to earn even more minutes than he’s getting. He makes a one dimensional offense even more one dimensional. Ultimately his teammates know he’s not ready to score at this level. If a coach plays a kid just cause he’s a freshmen and doesn’t put the team in the best position to win I think that’s what would deter a recruit

[ramster]

It’s not really a precedent you want to set with recruits though. “Hey when you’re a senior and I decide the season is over you’re going to get benched for a freshmen so we can see what he has”

Hell of a recruiting strategy

So never play freshmen. Play seniors. Don’t distribute minutes based on performance or lack thereof. Hell of a coaching strategy.

This is the big difference between you and me.
I don’t think the season is over. Still isn’t. Our possibility of a NCAA bid is to win the A10 Tournament.

So find the best 5 guys plus best 2 bench guys to have the highest possibility to win the A10.

All these games played now are for seeding and finding the optimal line up that gives the best chance for the A10 Championship.

Performance based playing time, not seniority.

I think your misinterpreting my comments to RI Bred. Thomas has already been playing plenty of minutes for a freshmen, RI BRED clearly wants him to play more.

I AGREE with you in that we shouldn’t be giving up on the season, you never should when there’s an automatic bid to be had.

My point is Thomas hasn’t done anything in my opinion to earn even more minutes than he’s getting. He makes a one dimensional offense even more one dimensional. Ultimately his teammates know he’s not ready to score at this level. If a coach plays a kid just cause he’s a freshmen and doesn’t put the team in the best position to win I think that’s what would deter a recruit

Fair enough.

I may also have been misinterpreted. When I say "nothing to lose" that is meant that we have no NCAA At-Large Bid to lose. So we can afford to take more risks to try to find the best possible distribution of minutes for the A10 Tournament. It's all on the A10 Auto Qualifier.

[NYGFan_Section208]

Yep.

I’m crazy.

But we still have plenty of time to get ready for DC

Odds are against us, but I lived through the Jim Baron 2.0 thread when Hurley and the team proved most everyone wrong.

Life’s too short to not have hope for this year’s team.

Who knows what next year brings. Last years 10-15 record and 10th place finish with no attendance was rough.

On to DC

True, but that team had a top 25 win and only had 5 losses in the A10. They had some star power as well… We have 0 good wins and already have 4 A10 losses. We don’t have any stars. I don’t see how it’s gonna work out.

Obviously, I hope it does. We’ll see

The fact that 9 players get so many minutes, is more proof that we don't have any stars than it is an indication of depth....

[KingstonLane]

So never play freshmen. Play seniors. Don’t distribute minutes based on performance or lack thereof. Hell of a coaching strategy.

This is the big difference between you and me.
I don’t think the season is over. Still isn’t. Our possibility of a NCAA bid is to win the A10 Tournament.

So find the best 5 guys plus best 2 bench guys to have the highest possibility to win the A10.

All these games played now are for seeding and finding the optimal line up that gives the best chance for the A10 Championship.

Performance based playing time, not seniority.

I think your misinterpreting my comments to RI Bred. Thomas has already been playing plenty of minutes for a freshmen, RI BRED clearly wants him to play more.

I AGREE with you in that we shouldn’t be giving up on the season, you never should when there’s an automatic bid to be had.

My point is Thomas hasn’t done anything in my opinion to earn even more minutes than he’s getting. He makes a one dimensional offense even more one dimensional. Ultimately his teammates know he’s not ready to score at this level. If a coach plays a kid just cause he’s a freshmen and doesn’t put the team in the best position to win I think that’s what would deter a recruit

Fair enough.

I may also have been misinterpreted. When I say "nothing to lose" that is meant that we have no NCAA At-Large Bid to lose. So we can afford to take more risks to try to find the best possible distribution of minutes for the A10 Tournament. It's all on the A10 Auto Qualifier.

Makes sense. I think Thomas unfortunately just plays a bad role for this teams current roster construction. On a team with more shooters he’s a lot more valuable.

[rhodyblue12]

Again Ramster, no one is trashing the kid. Just going off of the facts (see his %).
Everyone is a good shooter in warm ups.

I agree with Lane - poor roster construction. Not having 2-3 high end shooters in today's world is inexcusable.

[RI_Bred]

Thomas averaged 23.5 ppg at Hendricken
In one playoff game he hit 11-11 FTs in a pressure environment.

Cox said on his last radio show when Steve asked him about Thomas’ shooting. Cox said he shoots well in practices and it’s just a matter if time in games.

Guaranteed he is practicing his shooting and the best way to get him more confident is to play him now. These games only count towards seeding. We will need to beat the best teams to get the NCAA bid. His shooting is better than he has shown. And will improve.

I’d say his defense being average his freshman year is a good thing. Upward from there. URI is ranked very high in FG% defense nationally. A High level of defense is being played here.

Play him now. Nothing to lose, everything to gain.

It’s not really a precedent you want to set with recruits though. “Hey when you’re a senior and I decide the season is over you’re going to get benched for a freshmen so we can see what he has”

Hell of a recruiting strategy

It's all about who deserves the minutes based on merit, not seniority. You're there to win, who gives you the best chance? If you recruit with that message, you'll select the right players for the program that want to be there to win.

[Jersey77]

My biggest concern (shared by many others) the past several seasons has been the lack of having capable shooters.
We really don't have any legitimate consistent threats from the outside.
It's great to have a PG that can pass and distribute the ball, but even when they find the open player, you're almost holding your breath that they can make the basket.

Yes, we have seen them heat up on occasion, but not on a regular basis and too many lapses.
Certainly not in the past several games.

That has been my biggest criticism of this roster.

[RI_Bred]

My biggest concern (shared by many others) the past several seasons has been the lack of having capable shooters.
We really don't have any legitimate consistent threats from the outside.
It's great to have a PG that can pass and distribute the ball, but even when they find the open player, you're almost holding your breath that they can make the basket.

Yes, we have seen them heat up on occasion, but not on a regular basis and too many lapses.
Certainly not in the past several games.

That has been my biggest criticism of this roster.

Totally agree. Consistently inconsistent/poor perimeter shooting.

[Billyboy78]

Yep.

I’m crazy.

But we still have plenty of time to get ready for DC

Odds are against us, but I lived through the Jim Baron 2.0 thread when Hurley and the team proved most everyone wrong.

Life’s too short to not have hope for this year’s team.

Who knows what next year brings. Last years 10-15 record and 10th place finish with no attendance was rough.

On to DC

True, but that team had a top 25 win and only had 5 losses in the A10. They had some star power as well… We have 0 good wins and already have 4 A10 losses. We don’t have any stars. I don’t see how it’s gonna work out.

Obviously, I hope it does. We’ll see

The fact that 9 players get so many minutes, is more proof that we don't have any stars than it is an indication of depth....

And with all this supposed depth, the coach is still using fatigue as an excuse.

[KingstonLane]

Play him now. Nothing to lose, everything to gain.

It’s not really a precedent you want to set with recruits though. “Hey when you’re a senior and I decide the season is over you’re going to get benched for a freshmen so we can see what he has”

Hell of a recruiting strategy

It's all about who deserves the minutes based on merit, not seniority. You're there to win, who gives you the best chance? If you recruit with that message, you'll select the right players for the program that want to be there to win.

My point is Thomas doesn’t give you the best chance, not with this roster anyways. He’s a net negative to the lineup when there’s no shooters for him to facilitate to

[Billyboy78]

It’s not really a precedent you want to set with recruits though. “Hey when you’re a senior and I decide the season is over you’re going to get benched for a freshmen so we can see what he has”

Hell of a recruiting strategy

It's all about who deserves the minutes based on merit, not seniority. You're there to win, who gives you the best chance? If you recruit with that message, you'll select the right players for the program that want to be there to win.

My point is Thomas doesn’t give you the best chance, not with this roster anyways. He’s a net negative to the lineup when there’s no shooters for him to facilitate to

He does a nice job of driving and dropping to the bigs. That's how he's been getting most of his assists. When Shep is in the game dribbling out around the perimeter, nobody is moving. What good is that?

[KingstonLane]

It's all about who deserves the minutes based on merit, not seniority. You're there to win, who gives you the best chance? If you recruit with that message, you'll select the right players for the program that want to be there to win.

My point is Thomas doesn’t give you the best chance, not with this roster anyways. He’s a net negative to the lineup when there’s no shooters for him to facilitate to

He does a nice job of driving and dropping to the bigs. That's how he's been getting most of his assists. When Shep is in the game dribbling out around the perimeter, nobody is moving. What good is that?

I don’t know why so many people on this board are having trouble understanding how one dimensional our offense is. This is intentional. Our best players are bigs, so we play through them.

Our guards are mediocre shooters. Thomas is the worst shooter on the team. Having 3-4 players on the floor that can’t shoot a 3 pointer is not how you win in modern day basketball.

[ramster]

Again Ramster, no one is trashing the kid. Just going off of the facts (see his %).
Everyone is a good shooter in warm ups.

I agree with Lane - poor roster construction. Not having 2-3 high end shooters in today's world is inexcusable.

No, everyone is not a good shooter in warm ups. Bad FT Shooters are bad FT Shooters. Bad 3P Shooters in games are usually not good in warmups either.


Thomas is 4-13 FTs. Very small sample. If a guy makes 11-11 in a State Playoff game then that tells me he is not likely a lifetime 30.8% FT shooter like he is now.

People are saying Thomas is not a good shooter and will hurt the lineup:

And just going off facts (see his %) for his predecessor at Point Guard:

• Russell is having his best shooting year of his 5 year career this season at Maryland in his 5th Grad Year at .398. Thomas is .397

• Sheppard is .373 and Leggett is .360

FG%
.397 - Thomas Freshman
.398 - Russell Grad
.337 - Russell Senior
.388 - Russell Junior
.338 - Russell Sophomore
.352 - Russell Freshman

3FG%
.158 - Thomas Freshman (3-19)
.286 - Russell Grad
.235 - Russell Senior
.357 - Russell Junior
.223 - Russell Sophomore
.298 - Russell Freshman

Assist / Turnover Ratio
3.42 - Thomas Freshman (41/12)
1.67 - Russell Grad (72/43)
1.91 - Russell Senior (103/54)
2.09 - Russell Junior (138/66)
1.58 - Russell Sophomore (117/74)
1.96 - Russell Freshman (53/27)

[Billyboy78]

My point is Thomas doesn’t give you the best chance, not with this roster anyways. He’s a net negative to the lineup when there’s no shooters for him to facilitate to

He does a nice job of driving and dropping to the bigs. That's how he's been getting most of his assists. When Shep is in the game dribbling out around the perimeter, nobody is moving. What good is that?

I don’t know why so many people on this board are having trouble understanding how one dimensional our offense is. This is intentional. Our best players are bigs, so we play through them.

Our guards are mediocre shooters. Thomas is the worst shooter on the team. Having 3-4 players on the floor that can’t shoot a 3 pointer is not how you win in modern day basketball.

And who's fault is that?

[ramster]

My biggest concern (shared by many others) the past several seasons has been the lack of having capable shooters.
We really don't have any legitimate consistent threats from the outside.
It's great to have a PG that can pass and distribute the ball, but even when they find the open player, you're almost holding your breath that they can make the basket.

Yes, we have seen them heat up on occasion, but not on a regular basis and too many lapses.
Certainly not in the past several games.

That has been my biggest criticism of this roster.

Totally agree. Consistently inconsistent/poor perimeter shooting.

I pulled together FG and 3FG Team Shooting Percentages for the past 7 seasons:

• FG% this year is best in last 7 seasons at 47.6%

• FG% this year for opponent of 37.1% which is the lowest in last 7 years. By FAR the Largest Gap between URI and Opponent FG% of 10.5%

• 3FG% this year at 34.2% is the best since the last NCAA Hurley year of 35.2%

• 3FG% this year for opponent of 30.6% . Gap between URI and Opponent FG% of 3.6% is 2nd largest in last 7 years. Largest was 3.8% in 1st Hurley NCAA Tournament year

FG URI / Opponent and gap
47.6 / 37.1 = +10.5 - Current
44.2 / 41.6 = +2.6 - Cox
42.3 / 41.8 = +.5 - Cox
42.9 / 42.6 = +.3 - Cox
45.5 / 45.3 = +.2 - Hurley - NCAA 2nd round
45.4 / 40.6 = +4.8 - Hurley - NCAA 2nd round
44.4 / 42.6 = +1.8 - Hurley

3FG URI / Opponent and gap
34.2 / 30.6 = +3.6 - Current
31.2 / 33.0 = -1.8 - Cox
31.5 / 29.7 = +1.8 - Cox
28.0 / 32.3 = -4.3 - Cox
35.2 / 33.2 = +2.0 - Hurley - NCAA 2nd round
33.3 / 29.5 = +3.8 - Hurley - NCAA 2nd round
36.5 / 33.3 = +3.2 - Hurley

FT URI / Opponent and gap
67.1 / 75.0 = -7.9 - Current
66.8 / 69.3 = -2.5 - Cox
67.6 / 70.5 = -2.9 - Cox
68.0 / 72.4 = -4.4 - Cox
69.7 / 73.4 = -3.7 - Hurley - NCAA 2nd round
66.8 / 70.8 = -4.0 - Hurley - NCAA 2nd round
66.9 / 72.8 = -5.9 - Hurley

[bigappleram]

At minimum a team playing defense like we do and blocking shots at the rate we do should have a much better record against the comp we have faced. It’s more damning of the coaching and game strategy IMO

[Jersey77]

My biggest concern (shared by many others) the past several seasons has been the lack of having capable shooters.
We really don't have any legitimate consistent threats from the outside.
It's great to have a PG that can pass and distribute the ball, but even when they find the open player, you're almost holding your breath that they can make the basket.

Yes, we have seen them heat up on occasion, but not on a regular basis and too many lapses.
Certainly not in the past several games.

That has been my biggest criticism of this roster.

Totally agree. Consistently inconsistent/poor perimeter shooting.

I pulled together FG and 3FG Team Shooting Percentages for the past 7 seasons:

• FG% this year is best in last 7 seasons at 47.6%

• FG% this year for opponent of 37.1% which is the lowest in last 7 years. By FAR the Largest Gap between URI and Opponent FG% of 10.5%

• 3FG% this year at 34.2% is the best since the last NCAA Hurley year of 35.2%

• 3FG% this year for opponent of 30.6% . Gap between URI and Opponent FG% of 3.6% is 2nd largest in last 7 years. Largest was 3.8% in 1st Hurley NCAA Tournament year

FG URI / Opponent
.476 / .371 Current
.442 / .416 Cox
.423 / .418 Cox
.429 / .426 Cox
.455 / .453 Hurley - NCAA 2nd round
.454 / .406 Hurley - NCAA 2nd round
.444 / .426 Hurley

3FG URI / Opponent
.342 / .306 Current
.312 / .330 Cox
.315 / .297 Cox
.280 / .323 Cox
.352 / .332 Hurley - NCAA 2nd round
.333 / .295 Hurley - NCAA 2nd round
.365 / .333 Hurley

FT URI / Opponent
.671 / .750 Current
.668 / .693 Cox
.676 / .705 Cox
.680 / .724 Cox
.697 / .734 Hurley - NCAA 2nd round
.668 / .708 Hurley - NCAA 2nd round
.669 / .728 Hurley

Ramster, I understand the stats are what they are, but they don't necessarily tell the whole story.

You need to factor in the level of competition we have faced as compared to the previous years also our shot making ability at clutch times.

Sheppard arguably our best outside threat and who has taken the most 3's is only shooting 24% (3PT) in A10 play.

Again, I am going by my eyeball test from what I have seen these past several seasons.

It may only be my own opinion and you may feel differently, but I think one of our biggest needs on this roster is a reliable outside shooter.

[ramster]

So with Sheppard at 24% not losing much with Thomas taking over for him, or Martin, or Walker or Carey.

[Jersey77]

So with Sheppard at 24% not losing much with Thomas taking over for him, or Martin, or Walker or Carey.

That is why I say Shep is my biggest disappointment this season.

Yeah, some say Ish, but he is still young and going thru growing pains.
At least when he is not scoring, he still brings the intangibles defense and rebounding.

[Rhody15]

So with Sheppard at 24% not losing much with Thomas taking over for him, or Martin, or Walker or Carey.

That is why I say Shep is my biggest disappointment this season.

Yeah, some say Ish, but he is still young and going thru growing pains.
At least when he is not scoring, he still brings the intangibles defense and rebounding.

Can we stop using the young/sophomore slump excuse for Leggett?

He started towards the end of last year, averaging 20 minutes for the entire season.

Started every game this season, 26 minutes per game.

He gets 3 rebounds per game, pretty average for a guard, nothing special.

The young and inexperienced excuse really doesn’t fly.

[ramster]

So with Sheppard at 24% not losing much with Thomas taking over for him, or Martin, or Walker or Carey.

That is why I say Shep is my biggest disappointment this season.

Yeah, some say Ish, but he is still young and going thru growing pains.
At least when he is not scoring, he still brings the intangibles defense and rebounding.

Agree
I had high expectations for Sheppard. Biggest reason for optimism this year and biggest disappointment

That’s why I’d move him out as PG now. Either sub him in or move him to shooting guard.

[Jersey77]

So with Sheppard at 24% not losing much with Thomas taking over for him, or Martin, or Walker or Carey.

That is why I say Shep is my biggest disappointment this season.

Yeah, some say Ish, but he is still young and going thru growing pains.
At least when he is not scoring, he still brings the intangibles defense and rebounding.

Cancer stop using the young/sophomore slump excuse for Leggett?

He started towards the end of last year, averaging 20 minutes for the entire season.

Started every game this season, 26 minutes per game.

He gets 3 rebounds per game, pretty average for a guard, nothing special.

The young and inexperienced excuse really doesn’t fly.

15, I am not giving him a total pass on the offensive end.

I just haven't given up on him and still feel he will break out of it and be a contributor in the future.

[ramster]

So with Sheppard at 24% not losing much with Thomas taking over for him, or Martin, or Walker or Carey.

That is why I say Shep is my biggest disappointment this season.

Yeah, some say Ish, but he is still young and going thru growing pains.
At least when he is not scoring, he still brings the intangibles defense and rebounding.

Cancer stop using the young/sophomore slump excuse for Leggett?

He started towards the end of last year, averaging 20 minutes for the entire season.

Started every game this season, 26 minutes per game.

He gets 3 rebounds per game, pretty average for a guard, nothing special.

The young and inexperienced excuse really doesn’t fly.

Move Sheppard and Leggett then but PG is hurting us.

[Rhody15]

People were talking about Leggett like he was going to be on the same level as EC, Terrell, Fatts, Dowtin, etc.

I think I’d take Baron’s heralded transfer Daniel West over Leggett at this point.

[Jersey77]

So with Sheppard at 24% not losing much with Thomas taking over for him, or Martin, or Walker or Carey.

That is why I say Shep is my biggest disappointment this season.

Yeah, some say Ish, but he is still young and going thru growing pains.
At least when he is not scoring, he still brings the intangibles defense and rebounding.

Cancer stop using the young/sophomore slump excuse for Leggett?

He started towards the end of last year, averaging 20 minutes for the entire season.

Started every game this season, 26 minutes per game.

He gets 3 rebounds per game, pretty average for a guard, nothing special.

The young and inexperienced excuse really doesn’t fly.

Also 15, in last year's " Ishmael Leggett is the Future" you were a big supporter.
You felt he is a winner and even posted "I’d have to say shooting is one of Leggett’s strengths."

Don't give up on him so fast, he hasn't forgotten how to score.

[rambone 78]

If we had a very good PG it would mitigate some of our late game problems......but we don't, and that's on Cox.

[Rhody15]

That is why I say Shep is my biggest disappointment this season.

Yeah, some say Ish, but he is still young and going thru growing pains.
At least when he is not scoring, he still brings the intangibles defense and rebounding.

Cancer stop using the young/sophomore slump excuse for Leggett?

He started towards the end of last year, averaging 20 minutes for the entire season.

Started every game this season, 26 minutes per game.

He gets 3 rebounds per game, pretty average for a guard, nothing special.

The young and inexperienced excuse really doesn’t fly.

Also 15, in last year's " Ishmaels Leggett is the Future" you were big supporter.
You felt he is a winner and even posted "I’d have to say shooting is one of Leggett’s strengths."

Don't give up on him so fast, he hasn't forgotten how to score.

Last year he was a decent shooter when he wasn’t even thought of in opponents defensive schemes.

Looks lost now when teams key in on him.

Same with Sheppard.

They both aren’t good enough to beat added defensive attention.

[Jersey77]

Cancer stop using the young/sophomore slump excuse for Leggett?

He started towards the end of last year, averaging 20 minutes for the entire season.

Started every game this season, 26 minutes per game.

He gets 3 rebounds per game, pretty average for a guard, nothing special.

The young and inexperienced excuse really doesn’t fly.

Also 15, in last year's " Ishmaels Leggett is the Future" you were big supporter.
You felt he is a winner and even posted "I’d have to say shooting is one of Leggett’s strengths."

Don't give up on him so fast, he hasn't forgotten how to score.

Last year he was a decent shooter when he wasn’t even thought of in opponents defensive schemes.

Looks lost now when teams key in on him.

Same with Sheppard.

They both aren’t good enough to beat added defensive attention.

Look I didn't even participate in that thread and felt we should pump the brakes on him.

But I have seen a lot of videos on Ish and watched him against good competition and feel he will break out of whatever he is in.
Believe me, I never came close to comparing him to EC, Jared, or even Jeff.

[Rhody72]

Ahhhh no one will ever forget your breakdown of Jimmy Baron’s flaw in his near perfect foul shooting. That was an instant classic!

Apparently you forgot that I posted after seeing him rocking when he missed 2 FTs in a game. Do you not think that great hitters, golfers and FT shooters etc. develop flaws that need correction from time to time?

[Rhody15]

Ahhhh no one will ever forget your breakdown of Jimmy Baron’s flaw in his near perfect foul shooting. That was an instant classic!

Apparently you forgot that I posted after seeing him rocking when he missed 2 FTs in a game. Do you not think that great hitters, golfers and FT shooters etc. develop flaws that need correction from time to time?

..and your genius ass is gonna be the one to correct them?

Got it.

Also, now is a good time to justify why Cox deserves a 3 year extension.

People here would love to know your reasoning.

[KingstonLane]

I think everyone agreed this teams ceiling would be capped by its guard play. Front court was never a question, and for the most part they’ve lived up to their end of the bargain.

If the guards had even been a little more consistent we probably are closer to 15-4 or 16-3 and the season at least feels more in control.

[PeterRamTime]

At minimum a team playing defense like we do and blocking shots at the rate we do should have a much better record against the comp we have faced. It’s more damning of the coaching and game strategy IMO

It should be impossible to struggle as much as we do on offense.

Our defense is almost as good as any of Hurleys, but we have all these guards that can't score. Literally can't make a basket.

[Rhody15]

At minimum a team playing defense like we do and blocking shots at the rate we do should have a much better record against the comp we have faced. It’s more damning of the coaching and game strategy IMO

It should be impossible to struggle as much as we do on offense.

Our defense is almost as good as any of Hurleys, but we have all these guards that can't score. Literally can't make a basket.

It’s actually comical how bad the 3 guard are.

[SGreenwell]

At minimum a team playing defense like we do and blocking shots at the rate we do should have a much better record against the comp we have faced. It’s more damning of the coaching and game strategy IMO

It should be impossible to struggle as much as we do on offense.

Our defense is almost as good as any of Hurleys, but we have all these guards that can't score. Literally can't make a basket.

It’s actually comical how bad the 3 guard are.

I mean, we don't have to exaggerate to make a point either. We have two average guards (Sheppard and El-Amin), one below average guard we thought would be better (Leggett), and one that's pretty bad but he's a freshman forced into minutes (Thomas). Carey and Martin together have been average at the 3. The Mitchell twins and Walker have been above-average to great for those two rotation spots. We're 12-7, 3-4 in conference, not 0-7 in A-10 conference play. I just think there's a lot of despair in the air because it's hard to see a path for URI to get better in 2022-23, unless Stephens is the second coming of Jimmy Baron, or we find a guard that can penetrate and shoot via the transfer portal.

[Jersey77]

It should be impossible to struggle as much as we do on offense.

Our defense is almost as good as any of Hurleys, but we have all these guards that can't score. Literally can't make a basket.

It’s actually comical how bad the 3 guard are.

I mean, we don't have to exaggerate to make a point either. We have two average guards (Sheppard and El-Amin), one below average guard we thought would be better (Leggett), and one that's pretty bad but he's a freshman forced into minutes (Thomas). Carey and Martin together have been average at the 3. The Mitchell twins and Walker have been above-average to great for those two rotation spots. We're 12-7, 3-4 in conference, not 0-7 in A-10 conference play. I just think there's a lot of despair in the air because it's hard to see a path for URI to get better in 2022-23, unless Stephens is the second coming of Jimmy Baron, or we find a guard that can penetrate and shoot via the transfer portal.

With our guard play average at best, why wouldn't they start Martin at wing.
He has been one of the steadiest players we have at this point.

I think he is deserving of his name being introduced in the opening lineup, especially at the RC.

[KingstonLane]

It’s actually comical how bad the 3 guard are.

I mean, we don't have to exaggerate to make a point either. We have two average guards (Sheppard and El-Amin), one below average guard we thought would be better (Leggett), and one that's pretty bad but he's a freshman forced into minutes (Thomas). Carey and Martin together have been average at the 3. The Mitchell twins and Walker have been above-average to great for those two rotation spots. We're 12-7, 3-4 in conference, not 0-7 in A-10 conference play. I just think there's a lot of despair in the air because it's hard to see a path for URI to get better in 2022-23, unless Stephens is the second coming of Jimmy Baron, or we find a guard that can penetrate and shoot via the transfer portal.

With our guard play average at best, why wouldn't they start Martin at wing.
He has been one of the steadiest players we have at this point.

I think he is deserving of his name being introduced in the opening lineup, especially at the RC.

I suppose you’re right in that he’s earned the right to be a “starter”

If we want to get technical (I can never help myself) he already plays the 4th most mpg on the team. Plays like a starter, just doesn’t start

[bigappleram]

Love Malik but he’s another guy who can’t shoot and isn’t a threat off the dribble. He’s a great glue guy and defensive stopper that if surrounded by scoring would be a great cog in a good team. I don’t think he’s the answer to our offensive malaise.

[Rhody15]

Love Malik but he’s another guy who can’t shoot and isn’t a threat off the dribble. He’s a great glue guy and defensive stopper that if surrounded by scoring would be a great cog in a good team. I don’t think he’s the answer to our offensive malaise.

The current starting lineup isn’t the answer either.

What’s the harm in switching things up? There’s no downside whatsoever.

[SGreenwell]

I mean, we don't have to exaggerate to make a point either. We have two average guards (Sheppard and El-Amin), one below average guard we thought would be better (Leggett), and one that's pretty bad but he's a freshman forced into minutes (Thomas). Carey and Martin together have been average at the 3. The Mitchell twins and Walker have been above-average to great for those two rotation spots. We're 12-7, 3-4 in conference, not 0-7 in A-10 conference play. I just think there's a lot of despair in the air because it's hard to see a path for URI to get better in 2022-23, unless Stephens is the second coming of Jimmy Baron, or we find a guard that can penetrate and shoot via the transfer portal.

With our guard play average at best, why wouldn't they start Martin at wing.
He has been one of the steadiest players we have at this point.

I think he is deserving of his name being introduced in the opening lineup, especially at the RC.

I suppose you’re right in that he’s earned the right to be a “starter”

If we want to get technical (I can never help myself) he already plays the 4th most mpg on the team. Plays like a starter, just doesn’t start

Martin and Carey combine for 37.9 MPG, so yeah, I kind of think they're maximizing the skills of both at the 3. I think if you try to play either at the 2 or ask them to attack more on offense, the result is more turnovers. It also looks like Martin's one year at Charlotte shooting 37 percent from 3-point range was the outlier, as compared to his other three college seasons.

[NYGFan_Section208]

Love Malik but he’s another guy who can’t shoot and isn’t a threat off the dribble. He’s a great glue guy and defensive stopper that if surrounded by scoring would be a great cog in a good team. I don’t think he’s the answer to our offensive malaise.

The current starting lineup isn’t the answer either.

What’s the harm in switching things up? There’s no downside whatsoever.

"Switching things up"? You do that, you're altering the script and you'll be sucking away the fun from someone. DC not that kinda guy.

[ramster]

I mean, we don't have to exaggerate to make a point either. We have two average guards (Sheppard and El-Amin), one below average guard we thought would be better (Leggett), and one that's pretty bad but he's a freshman forced into minutes (Thomas). Carey and Martin together have been average at the 3. The Mitchell twins and Walker have been above-average to great for those two rotation spots. We're 12-7, 3-4 in conference, not 0-7 in A-10 conference play. I just think there's a lot of despair in the air because it's hard to see a path for URI to get better in 2022-23, unless Stephens is the second coming of Jimmy Baron, or we find a guard that can penetrate and shoot via the transfer portal.

With our guard play average at best, why wouldn't they start Martin at wing.
He has been one of the steadiest players we have at this point.

I think he is deserving of his name being introduced in the opening lineup, especially at the RC.

I suppose you’re right in that he’s earned the right to be a “starter”

If we want to get technical (I can never help myself) he already plays the 4th most mpg on the team. Plays like a starter, just doesn’t start

If you listen to David Cox Radio Show with Steve Mac that I posted last week, Cox talks about Walker and Martin both having bought into their roles and that the team has 7 starters. Cox was very, very complimentary of both of them. Martin played the 3rd most minutes last game. I'm not sure Walker and Martin feel frustrated about their coming off the bench roles but they don't appear to act like they are unhappy. Both guys seem to be team first players and act like elder statesmen to their teammates.

[ramster]

At minimum a team playing defense like we do and blocking shots at the rate we do should have a much better record against the comp we have faced. It’s more damning of the coaching and game strategy IMO

With shot blocking and defense there should be more breakaway baskets. Seems when Sheppard gets the ball on the break he dribbles a lot and slows the pace.

When Thomas is PG he forces the pace, passes more, looks upcourt as would a Kolek or Dowtin.

7 A10 games and Thomas has 19 assists to 3 turnovers. 1 TO was the all time steals leader trapped him at half court and stole it, last game Thomas threw a lob pass to a Mitchell who seemed to slow down a bit on his stride and pass went long, can’t recall the 3rd TO which says something when I can recall TOs because the are so few.

Thomas makes the team go, forces the tempo and does so efficiently.

Cox was too conservative in allocating minutes to Toppin - DC_Rams and I disagreed. He was conservative in replacing Christion Thompson with Tyrese Martin. I give him credit for finding Thomas, noticing his ability to bypass the scheduled Red-Shirt year and for giving him the start with 38 minutes vs Richmond and Gilyard - I’d love for him to give the PG duties to Thomas and see where it goes.

This team needs some energy on offense.

4A319EA0-AD98-4C82-9A12-674613B48D70.jpeg

[Jersey77]

With our guard play average at best, why wouldn't they start Martin at wing.
He has been one of the steadiest players we have at this point.

I think he is deserving of his name being introduced in the opening lineup, especially at the RC.

I suppose you’re right in that he’s earned the right to be a “starter”

If we want to get technical (I can never help myself) he already plays the 4th most mpg on the team. Plays like a starter, just doesn’t start

If you listen to David Cox Radio Show with Steve Mac that I posted last week, Cox talks about Walker and Martin both having bought into their roles and that the team has 7 starters. Cox was very, very complimentary of both of them. Martin played the 3rd most minutes last game. I'm not sure Walker and Martin feel frustrated about their coming off the bench roles but they don't appear to act like they are unhappy. Both guys seem to be team first players and act like elder statesmen to their teammates.

I don't question whether Martin is unhappy about his role on the team.
Both him and Walker have been class acts and have carried themselves extremely well.

I just feel our trio of starting guards and Makhi haven't separated themselves enough to totally earn it.
Martin and Walker (both graduating) because of their performances on the court definitely deserve the honor of being introduced in the opening lineup.

[KingstonLane]

At minimum a team playing defense like we do and blocking shots at the rate we do should have a much better record against the comp we have faced. It’s more damning of the coaching and game strategy IMO

With shot blocking and defense there should be more breakaway baskets. Seems when Sheppard gets the ball on the break he dribbles a lot and slows the pace.

When Thomas is PG he forces the pace, passes more, looks upcourt as would a Kolek or Dowtin.

7 A10 games and Thomas has 19 assists to 3 turnovers. 1 TO was the all time steals leader trapped him at half court and stole it, last game Thomas threw a lob pass to a Mitchell who seemed to slow down a bit on his stride and pass went long, can’t recall the 3rd TO which says something when I can recall TOs because the are so few.

Thomas makes the team go, forces the tempo and does so efficiently.

Cox was too conservative in allocating minutes to Toppin - DC_Rams and I disagreed. He was conservative in replacing Christion Thompson with Tyrese Martin. I give him credit for finding Thomas, noticing his ability to bypass the scheduled Red-Shirt year and for giving him the start with 38 minutes vs Richmond and Gilyard - I’d love for him to give the PG duties to Thomas and see where it goes.

This team needs some energy on offense.


4A319EA0-AD98-4C82-9A12-674613B48D70.jpeg

Big difference is Dowtin was a great scorer in addition to being a great facilitator.

Thomas has the vision to be a great PG, no one is doubting that. He doesn’t have enough shooters around him right now and his individual ability to score is lackluster

[Rhodymob05]

Thomas has a nice floater in the lane and I’m sure he’ll develop more offense.

[PlayMikeMotenMore]

Not sure there are any haters. He is a good player that will no doubt get better.
However he cant shoot right now. He seems to have the work ethic to get better, but sometimes players just don't.
So, a PG that can't shoot from 3 causes the lane to become clogged.
Worse, a PG that you can't play at the end of close games is tough (31% FT).

He may get better, but he also may just be a good 6-8th man going forward.

"PG that can't shoot from 3 causes the lane to become clogged." This statement is not entirely true. There have been plenty of good to great point guards who are and were not good shooters.

At a high level...
Jason Kidd, Eric Snow, Lonzo Ball, Rajon Rondo

On the college level...
Marc Wade (UNLV), Andre Curbelo (current Illinois), Jacque Vaughan (Kansas), Pepe Sanchez (Temple)

[steveystuds06]

Not sure there are any haters. He is a good player that will no doubt get better.
However he cant shoot right now. He seems to have the work ethic to get better, but sometimes players just don't.
So, a PG that can't shoot from 3 causes the lane to become clogged.
Worse, a PG that you can't play at the end of close games is tough (31% FT).

He may get better, but he also may just be a good 6-8th man going forward.

"PG that can't shoot from 3 causes the lane to become clogged." This statement is not entirely true. There have been plenty of good to great point guards who are and were not good shooters.

At a high level...
Jason Kidd, Eric Snow, Lonzo Ball, Rajon Rondo

On the college level...
Marc Wade (UNLV), Andre Curbelo (current Illinois), Jacque Vaughan (Kansas), Pepe Sanchez (Temple)

It's tough when you play Thomas with 2 centers like the twins. But, I still think he can make it work.

Lonzo can shoot. People think he can't, but he's become a good 3 pt shooter.

[SGreenwell]

Not sure there are any haters. He is a good player that will no doubt get better.
However he cant shoot right now. He seems to have the work ethic to get better, but sometimes players just don't.
So, a PG that can't shoot from 3 causes the lane to become clogged.
Worse, a PG that you can't play at the end of close games is tough (31% FT).

He may get better, but he also may just be a good 6-8th man going forward.

"PG that can't shoot from 3 causes the lane to become clogged." This statement is not entirely true. There have been plenty of good to great point guards who are and were not good shooters.

At a high level...
Jason Kidd, Eric Snow, Lonzo Ball, Rajon Rondo

On the college level...
Marc Wade (UNLV), Andre Curbelo (current Illinois), Jacque Vaughan (Kansas), Pepe Sanchez (Temple)

Most of the players you listed were still efficient though because they had decent 2-point jumpers, or, they draw a lot of free throws. Right now, Thomas isn't doing either of those - He'd need to shoot 8 FTs in URI's next game to even get to 1 FTA per game.

[rhodylaw]

At minimum a team playing defense like we do and blocking shots at the rate we do should have a much better record against the comp we have faced. It’s more damning of the coaching and game strategy IMO

With shot blocking and defense there should be more breakaway baskets. Seems when Sheppard gets the ball on the break he dribbles a lot and slows the pace.

When Thomas is PG he forces the pace, passes more, looks upcourt as would a Kolek or Dowtin.

7 A10 games and Thomas has 19 assists to 3 turnovers. 1 TO was the all time steals leader trapped him at half court and stole it, last game Thomas threw a lob pass to a Mitchell who seemed to slow down a bit on his stride and pass went long, can’t recall the 3rd TO which says something when I can recall TOs because the are so few.

Thomas makes the team go, forces the tempo and does so efficiently.

Cox was too conservative in allocating minutes to Toppin - DC_Rams and I disagreed. He was conservative in replacing Christion Thompson with Tyrese Martin. I give him credit for finding Thomas, noticing his ability to bypass the scheduled Red-Shirt year and for giving him the start with 38 minutes vs Richmond and Gilyard - I’d love for him to give the PG duties to Thomas and see where it goes.

This team needs some energy on offense.


4A319EA0-AD98-4C82-9A12-674613B48D70.jpeg

Big difference is Dowtin was a great scorer in addition to being a great facilitator.

Thomas has the vision to be a great PG, no one is doubting that. He doesn’t have enough shooters around him right now and his individual ability to score is lackluster

The first half of Jeff’s freshmen year he wasn’t a great scorer, and even in the second half of the year he was not a great three point threat. I’m not saying the Thomas will have the end of freshmen year that an all time Rhody great did, but he can improve on where he is now. He is getting decent looks, he is getting to the rim as well just needs to work on finishing those takes and playing into the contact to draw the foul.