Next year

reef · Unread post by **reef** » 11 years ago

I think X and Gil will battle it out for our scoring leader

I think they combine for about 33 a night

section(105) · Unread post by **section(105)** » 11 years ago

I have not given up on Jordan, however, I was expecting a bit more at the outset, and more than we saw as the season progressed. The before and after the season snapshots did not look at that different to me......I still want to see how the three point scorer is brought(or not)into the mix....I would like to see a remaining scholarship go there......

Rhody Guy · Unread post by **Rhody Guy** » 11 years ago

The only thing I expected from Jordan this year was blocked shots and rebounds. The blocked shots we got, the rebounding left a little to be desired.

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 11 years ago

Physically he had a long way to go. Most physical improvements happen during the offseason, so my expectations for his in-season improvement weren't terribly high. If he matures physically he will be a valuable player just based on his athleticism, and any improvements he makes to his skill will be determine whether he is a good rotation player or a star.

Seawrightspostgame · Unread post by **Seawrightspostgame** » 11 years ago

You guys are always so tough on hare and sky high on the guys in-wait. I hope the guys coming in are THAT good. As everything is, i am sure it is somewhere in between.

Hare is only like outerbridge in the jumping department. Outerbridge thought he was Channing Frye and Hare at least doesn't stray from the paint.

What true frosh doesn't mature physically??

lots of the star freshman in college come from prep schools and they requalify-- shabazz Muhammad turns 20 in
November... Kadji isnt a freshman @ miami but he is nearly 25!

So I hope nobody is quick to bury Jordan. He is fine, hopefully the added competition helps him and everyone else.

The best thing about this year coming up is the competition that exists on the team. We have not had that since Cothran Ulmer and Delroy were freshman.

I hope the guys that played this year show fight, and show up next fall with some polish.

Why wouldn't Hare be the first big off the bench of onyekaba and biruta are the projected starters?

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 11 years ago

You're right, Hare or Aaman would be the first and/or second off the bench at the 4-5.
Whatever anyone here thinks doesn't matter. Only the coaching staff's
opinions mean anything.
If Hare improves, he'll be valuable, if he doesn't, he'll become a role player.

CTRamfan · Unread post by **CTRamfan** » 11 years ago

Hare - 6 points/4 rebounds in 20 min/gm. That's fine for a frosh.
He has two weaknesses that I saw.
.....Gets pushed off the blocks too easily when on defense. When he chases he has trouble getting back, leaving open lanes. Inspite of that Hurley had him flash anyway. Strength and 30 lbs. will take care of that.
.....45% free throw is a liability. Must improve that.

I like his speed, athleticism and instincts. With the coaching he will be getting, a 13/9 junior/senior.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 11 years ago

How about bad hands, and the yips when he gets the ball.
It's like a guy catching a hot potato. Can't wait to get rid of it,
while bobbling it the whole time.
How about no shot technique at all. Flings the ball in the general direction of
the basket. Never squares up and shoots.
When I first saw him, I was very impressed with his speed and agility.
How many of us saw any actual improvement, as the season progressed?
His high point was the PC game, in December.

BFC · Unread post by **BFC** » 11 years ago

rodfromcranston wrote:How many of us saw any actual improvement, as the season progressed?
His high point was the PC game, in December.

Offensively no but I do think he battled harder in the paint as the season went on and he's actually made a few really nice passes, one on Saturday. He's still nowhere near strong enough.

sf2010 · Unread post by **sf2010** » 11 years ago

Hare has obvious deficiencies, but in watching him it doesn't seem as though any of them had no hope of improving. While he did only shoot 45% from the line, his stroke actually looked quite smooth. Not overly wristy, and he gets a decent arc on the shot (which a lot of bigs don't).

His hands were an issue at times, but he was certainly no Ryan Brooks. I think as his anticipation improves and he becomes more accustomed to the college game he'll do a better job holding on to passes and boards.

RhodeIslandBred · Unread post by **RhodeIslandBred** » 11 years ago

I would agree Rod- I think you're being overly critical of jordan this year. I think on a better team and some more size you will see his development next year, and I could see him becoming very valuable in his junior/senior year. That is- if we don't have enough star power around him that he sees his role diminished any. Like was stated earlier I could see him developing into an efficient 13/9 player which we need.

I think as he gains strength and size jordan can be taught to make his moves under more control while under duress. He will need to work on his FT % over the summer as well. Lifting and FT's should be all he thinks about over the summer. FT will help his overall stroke when shooting as well.

Gonebarongone · Unread post by **Gonebarongone** » 11 years ago

Next year's roster is like one of those optical illusion pictures that look like something different every time you look at it. You can make a case for ten wins or 22+ wins. Biruta looks to be the best bet in the post but his Rutgers #s are pretty good but not mind blowing. I see Minnis did not make a single three point basket at TT. I know he didn't take very many but how is that even possible for a perimeter player playing 300 minutes? Reischel did nothing. At Rice. The flip side, of course, is that this crew reportedly murdered this year's team in practice.
Still would like a late sign who can hit a three pointer but, wow, this is harder than forecasting a winter storm two weeks out.

ace · Unread post by **ace** » 11 years ago

Gonebarongone wrote:Next year's roster is like one of those optical illusion pictures that look like something different every time you look at it. You can make a case for ten wins or 22+ wins. Biruta looks to be the best bet in the post but his Rutgers #s are pretty good but not mind blowing. I see Minnis did not make a single three point basket at TT. I know he didn't take very many but how is that even possible for a perimeter player playing 300 minutes? Reischel did nothing. At Rice. The flip side, of course, is that this crew reportedly murdered this year's team in practice.
Still would like a late sign who can hit a three pointer but, wow, this is harder than forecasting a winter storm two weeks out.

Not so sure I'd say Reischel did nothing at Rice. He averaged about 6 points in 14 minutes, and his 3pt% was higher than anybody's on the 12-13 team and field goal percentage was higher than any of the scorers from this year's team (damning with faint praise on those, I know). Minnis is a very specific type of guard- quick, physical driver and passer, who will need to develop more of a jumper to advance his game.

3wisemen · Unread post by **3wisemen** » 11 years ago

It's actually not that hard to forecast, GBG. They tried to make chicken salad out of chicken shit this year and still won more games against a tougher schedule than in 2011-12. You put Baron and Holton on this team and they have an outside shot at .500. They wouldn't have been killed so badly in the paint and on the glass. They would have had a point guard who -- like it or not -- started his career in the ACC and is a huge upgrade over Powell.
Biruta was a contributing Big East player. Matthews is a top-100 recruit. The key here is the talent will be considerably better and they'll be forced to play as hard as this season's collection of spare parts. The result in predictable. They'll win more. They'll lose less. How much I don't know, but to suggest they only win 10 games -- two more than this season's team -- is a bit disingenuous.

ramster · Unread post by **ramster** » 11 years ago

rambone 78 wrote:I never said Hare doesn't have potential. He does. Will he realize it? That's the question, and you're right, we'll know a lot more by next year.

Hare needs to do a lot more than just dunk or block shots. He doesn't rebound well, his hands are suspect. That's a hard thing to teach. He also needs to shoot FT's better, as does X and Powell.

I did predict 15 wins. Oops. As I said before, they would have done that if Billy and Holton had played.

I did think they would win more close games than they did, due to the Hurley factor. But the players have to win the games on the court, not the coaches.

Rambone,
Baron and Holton were not on the URI Team when the Prediction Contest was done - it was in November.
We all knew that.
I predicted 4 wins. I can tell you on the other hand that we won more close games than we should have. I was at the Auburn Game and some of hte other close wins and we could have hit my prediction of 4. We really slid at the end of hte season - I thought we would get stronger and better as the year went on but it just seemed like we wore out.
I think Baron adn Holton were better players than many on this Board gave them credit for - and that is showing in what they are accomplishing. The Baron $%#&Storm made a lot of posters emotional about their thoughts and observations.
On the other hand, Hurley was viewed by many as the Savior, the Miracle Worker -
Hurley couldn't possibly achieve the level of optinistic predictions that accompanied this years Prediction Thread -

Gonebarongone · Unread post by **Gonebarongone** » 11 years ago

Not sure disingenuous is the right word. I put it at the low end of a range up to 22+. You get unlucky in coin flip games, you get a few injuries, none of the bigs really show up, EC needs a year to develop. That's a recipe for ten wins. At the same time, everything goes right and they are competing for the NCAA/NIT. I really wasn't trying to make a case either way only that this is not a typical set up for trying to predict a season. LOTS of moving parts. I guess without Butler, Temple, and X we'll be getting the bottom half of the A10 more, so maybe ten is a little low.

Unread post by **ATPTourFan** » 11 years ago

Also, ramster, keep in mind that there are many entries to the prediction contest that are not necessarily what the member believes the team will produce, but rather their strategic entry in response to other earlier entries.

ramster · Unread post by **ramster** » 11 years ago

ATPTourFan wrote:Also, ramster, keep in mind that there are many entries to the prediction contest that are not necessarily what the member believes the team will produce, but rather their strategic entry in response to other earlier entries.

Sure,
That is why I predicted 4 wins when I really thought it would be 5.
But to predict 15 wins when the team really only gets 8 is not strategic and then to say it was because baron adn holton did not play - my point was everyone knew Holton and Baron were not on the team at the time of the Contest. Everyone had even the benefit of preseason play observation.

Rhody72 · Unread post by **Rhody72** » 11 years ago

I have to disagree with TP's argument that MikeP has earned first crack at the PG position next year based on what he took on this season.

You need to give the reigns to your most talented players and develop them. By mid-season you will be further ahead. Start your most talented players and then sit them down to settle them down and then re-insert them.

MikeP has been a starter for 2 years and what we see now is about all that we are going to get. I don't see any large improvements for him between his sophomore and junior years. Did you notice that DH didn't have MikeP bring the ball up court against the UMASS press? More times than not it was Andre. There is a message there.

Obadiah · Unread post by **Obadiah** » 11 years ago

Interesting to note that in Mike Powell's six games, all loses, his ability to score and disrupt play, especially of the opposing point guard simply was not there. In that period, he scored a total of 31 points, he took 48 shots, hit on 10 for a FG% of .208, his FT's were 7-14 for 50%, and he had exactly one steal. His assist ratio did improve to 2-1.

BFC · Unread post by **BFC** » 11 years ago

Rhody72 wrote:I have to disagree with TP's argument that MikeP has earned first crack at the PG position next year based on what he took on this season.

You need to give the reigns to your most talented players and develop them. By mid-season you will be further ahead. Start your most talented players and then sit them down to settle them down and then re-insert them.

MikeP has been a starter for 2 years and what we see now is about all that we are going to get. I don't see any large improvements for him between his sophomore and junior years. Did you notice that DH didn't have MikeP bring the ball up court against the UMASS press? More times than not it was Andre. There is a message there.

I don't believe that at all. Not having Powell bring the ball up was about Chaz Williams and trying to win the game, not sending a message to Powell.
Playing a guy who hasn't earned it over a guy who has goes against everything Hurley preaches. If Powell is the best point guard in practice, he'll get the spot. I don't think he'll be the starter because I don't think he can do everything Hurley wants his point guard to do.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 11 years ago

Hurley has an obligation to his employers as well as the program to play
the best five players he has, regardless of seniority.
This "seenyiz" menality was a Baron staple for over a decade.
Scott Hazleton sitting for a year behind Jamal Wise, kind of insanity.
I doubt we'll be seeing this from Hurley next season, or any season.
He's about winning, and that means on merit for the players, not
sentimentality.

ramster · Unread post by **ramster** » 11 years ago

With the trip to Italy and all of the additional practice time, Hurley, the Assistants and the players themselves will know who the best starting 5 will be.
The cream will rise to the top - if it hasn't already.
I would not be surprised if we don't see a "surprise" transfer or two or even threee coming in the next 2 months.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 11 years ago

"We're like Alcatraz! Nobody leaves!" - Dan Hurley

Unread post by **ATPTourFan** » 11 years ago

Transfers don't hurt APR as long as the student-athlete is in good academic standing upon leaving.

Agreed that Dan would like to avoid transfers and any other roster shuffling as he continues to lay the foundation for this championship level program.

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 11 years ago

I have to say that over the last month of the season Powell did not look like the same player I saw earlier. He just looked worn down and exhausted to me. I think he's better than what he looked like the last half dozen games of the year, an next year he likely won't play more than half the total minutes he did this year so fatigue won't be a problem.

Anyways, I'm not predicting that Mike will have the job a specific period of time. I'm just saying he has the pole position as the incumbent. The other guys will have every opportunity to win the job, but they'll have to outplay him. That's all I'm saying. I just feel like everyone assumes Biggie is better than Powell the same way we tend to assume that anyone we haven't seen yet is better than the guy who we've had the chance to pick apart. I believe that Biggie or EC very well may win the job, but it shouldn't just be handed to them. They have to earn it.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 11 years ago

APR for the NCAA is a rolling four year average for basketball.
The guys that left last year, were not stellar students, except for Billy.
This, I think is why Hurley is concerned about who leaves and who comes in,
and why he's brought in a top academic advisor.

Unread post by **SGreenwell** » 11 years ago

TruePoint wrote:I have to say that over the last month of the season Powell did not look like the same player I saw earlier. He just looked worn down and exhausted to me. I think he's better than what he looked like the last half dozen games of the year, an next year he likely won't play more than half the total minutes he did this year so fatigue won't be a problem.

Anyways, I'm not predicting that Mike will have the job a specific period of time. I'm just saying he has the pole position as the incumbent. The other guys will have every opportunity to win the job, but they'll have to outplay him. That's all I'm saying. I just feel like everyone assumes Biggie is better than Powell the same way we tend to assume that anyone we haven't seen yet is better than the guy who we've had the chance to pick apart. I believe that Biggie or EC very well may win the job, but it shouldn't just be handed to them. They have to earn it.

I think this is true. You can also find examples on this year's team - Early in the year, Ryan Brooks started a couple games. As the freshmen got used to the pace and level of play of D-1 basketball, Brooks was down to 1 to 5 mpg, excluding extenuating circumstances like Hare being out of the lineup for discipline reasons or Senior Day. (Crazy stat that Mike Laprey shared - Senior Day was the only time in his URI career that Brooks 1) hit two free throws in a game and 2) hit two free throws in a trip to the line. I might have misheard him on #1, but #2 definitely seems correct.)

reef · Unread post by **reef** » 11 years ago

I can see Hare becoming a valuable bench player over his career, if our starting bigs get in foul trouble we will need him

Rhody72 · Unread post by **Rhody72** » 11 years ago

Again, Hare is a freshman and I'll need to see what improvement he makes for next season before labeling him a career bench player.

My goal each season is for the team to make the NCAAs or develop a program to get there soon. Baron retarded the development of his most talented players in favor of senors and this strategy got us no where. The best programs use the OOC schedule to build their most talented players into a team that can win the conference and do well in the post-season tournaments.

There is no reason to believe that MikeP will be appreciably better next season. Decent PGs can run their team's offense against any defender including a Chaz Williams by adjusting their game. MikeP didn't start the game run-down from the long season. Maybe he would tire more quickly. MikeP is below average in ball-handling, shooting and defense. I think he is a good kid and works hard; the type of player Baron would reward with playing time.

Iggy1979 · Unread post by **Iggy1979** » 11 years ago

Doesn't happen often, but I agree with R72

rhodyfan3 · Unread post by **rhodyfan3** » 11 years ago

Will there be any coverage of the trip overseas this summer?

ramster · Unread post by **ramster** » 11 years ago

Iggy1979 wrote:Doesn't happen often, but I agree with R72

I also agree with all he said here.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 11 years ago

MikeP would be a fine PG for a low mid major program.

At this level, he's not a starter or a major contributor. Well, he was this year, but not going forward.

I don't mean that as an insult. Just reality.

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 11 years ago

Not everybody has to be a star. Powell is a serviceable player. A tournament team will require more from its starting PG than what Powell can deliver. If/when one of the other guys beats him out, that's a good sign for the upside of the team. Powell will still have a role, though. He is a good backup PG for this level.

BCRhody03 · Unread post by **BCRhody03** » 11 years ago

I couldn't help but watch the 98 elite 8 and the 99 A10 championship on YouTube the other night. If nothing else it's a reminder that we've been on the national stage before and are in position to do it again if Everthing stays as planned.

I'm also a believer that Hare will contribute next year. With Gil and the big O on the roster, it allows Hare to play at the 4 sometimes, which will allow him to use his height and athleticism more on both ends of the court. He could be a force on D if he's able to roam the paint and block shots.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 11 years ago

How can Hare play the four in Hurley's ball movement offense?
The guy has hands of stone, and panics when he gets the ball.
Same reason he can't play back to the basket post.
A four has to be able to shoot, too. Hare flings the ball, and has
zero technique to his shot. Never squares up and puts the ball over his head.
He has so much to work on this summer. I hope he gets it, for his sake and the team's.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 11 years ago

This is good!:

Adam Schemm‏@AdamSchemm
Rhode Island Basketball 2013-2014 coming soon... #RhodyMBB via @youtube

Rhodymob05 · Unread post by **Rhodymob05** » 11 years ago

MikeP is ABOVE average in ball handeling. Shooting and passing and making quick decisions are below average. Although he can catch fire from long at times.

rhodylaw · Unread post by **rhodylaw** » 11 years ago

Mob - I agree about mike. He is very secure with the ball which is a good thing.

Unread post by **ATPTourFan** » 11 years ago

Rhodymob05 wrote:MikeP is ABOVE average in ball handeling. Shooting and passing and making quick decisions are below average. Although he can catch fire from long at times.

Like vs Seton Hall at Mohegan? That was one of those nights.

Rhody74 · Unread post by **Rhody74** » 11 years ago

The message didn't come through the picture. X tweeted:

I love this game . The season just ended and I already can't wait until next year. I got a lot to prove

Rhody72 · Unread post by **Rhody72** » 11 years ago

A good ball-handler can use his body to protect the ball against any defender - even Chaz Williams. It requires the ability to dribble while seeing the floor and pass before the double-team gets to him. Good on-ball defenders require the PG to use good technique.

Unread post by **ATPTourFan** » 11 years ago

The team next year will be very likeable. I know some were put off by Nik's behavior in his time in the Rhody uniform, but who remaining on the team does anything like that? They all seem to have the right team-first attitude and willingness to work their ass off for shared success.

Rhodymob05 · Unread post by **Rhodymob05** » 11 years ago

Its a clean slate. NO bs, just hard working skilled players. I think the season will be the most fun to watch since jimmy was hitting threes At Duke like it was his job. WHich it was. But I keep analyzing the incoming recruits and transfers. I dont think the college basketball world knows what is coming.

Rhody74 · Unread post by **Rhody74** » 11 years ago

Nothing new, but this will still get Rhody fans drooling .... some nice video of the transfers, too:

http://coxsportsonline.com/2013/03/uri- ... next-year/

Rhodymob05 · Unread post by **Rhodymob05** » 11 years ago

Awsomeeeee videooo

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 11 years ago

Always lots of great EC video. I wish there was more of Hassan Martin.

adam914 · Unread post by **adam914** » 11 years ago

Watching Biruta and O make those low post moves in that video make me a very happy man.

Gonebarongone · Unread post by **Gonebarongone** » 11 years ago

Thanks for posting the video. This team needs a guy that can reliably knock down open jumpers. Other than that, lots of good pieces out there.