Game #12: New Hampshire - Sunday Dec 22 @ 2pm

Running Ram · Unread post by **Running Ram** » 10 years ago

These online streams are horrible!! I'm not wasting my money on them again, if I can't get em free, I'll just listen to Don and Steve.

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

I don't get the issue with the streaming. I've never had a problem with the stream on my iPad or phone (although I have seen it look bad on my laptop). I think if it doesn't work for you it might be your setup rather than the stream.

Regarding the game, though, the second half was not bad. The last nine minutes of the first half were depressing, but the other 31 minutes weren't terrible. This UNH team stinks, so can't read a lot into that. But good to come back from exam break and get rolling with a comfy win.

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

Thought they played well. My one big problem was lack of post play. The few times we did get it in down low we scored but besides that we didn't even try. Minnis good shooting

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

Good games by Biggie and Gil (double double); 4 blocks by Martin. Munford didn't break out of slump. Reischel a complete non-factor. Usual effort/hustle from TJ.

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

Again too many missed fts , too many fouls and too many turnovers. They came out stong for a change, but as usual they didn't focus for the full twenty minutes in the first half. It could have been the competition, but really good teams roll against weak teams for at least the first twenty minutes. On the other hand, the defense was there again, and the shooting was better. Hope they can shoot against a good team when the time comes. They seem to be getting good shots every game which is a good thing.

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

Hard to take much away from this win, mainly cause UNH was simply god awful, maybe two FGs in their first 1/2, our early lead was not so much as our own doing as it was their inability to score. IMHO.....

ram1980 · Unread post by **ram1980** » 10 years ago

not one of the more impressive wins we will ever see.. UNH is real bad.. Still can't shoot and no fire except Buchanan.. Did have one of our pretty ramettes give me one of the burrito t shirts.. that was a highlight.. May be a long league season..

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

Long season,?.......if we can't keep our bigs on the floor and we/re playing major minutes with the four guard lineup.....yes , long season.....

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

We are painfully thin in the front court, our high post was usually a guard in this game. That is simply crazy.

With Jarelle Reischel, he is the most predictable on the court = either a turnover or a missed lay up. His stat metrics have to be abysmal.

Hope they reel off a few more wins here going forward.

Continue to be proud of TJ, guy that stuck with the team through adversity and is finally being rewarded. Hope he continues to grow and guys follow his lead.

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

The only thing I really have to say is that I'm glad the UNH coach made sure he was dressed up for this game.

My dad wears jeans and crew sweatshirts too!

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

Maine and UNH are dragging down the.....Yankee conference........

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

EasyEdBrown wrote:The only thing I really have to say is that I'm glad the UNH coach made sure he was dressed up for this game.

My dad wears jeans and crew sweatshirts too!

He was like a red neckier Bob Huggins.

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

My take on this game.
We scored almost all our points in the first half, in the first seven or so minutes.
Almost no scoring the final 13 minutes.
Awful offense.
You can't keep yo-yo-ing people in and out and expect any chemistry on offense.
No rhyme nor reason to the substitution pattern. You find your best five players and have
subs it someone is in foul trouble or is having a bad time on defense or a poor shooting
game, or to rest a starter.
It also works on defense, where communication is important.
Players seem confused by it, because nobody seems to know who coming in or out.
Offense is very stagnant. Biruta looks good on offense, but again, foul problems limit
his production.
Biggie had a nice game all around.
TJ comes to play every game. Wish they all had his grit.
X seems shooting the ball off his right shoulder. Shot looks like crap.
EC had some good looks and the ball just didn't fall.
Reischel is a major disappointment so far. 5 fouls, no points.
Butler took 2 shots, hit his first three.
Martin is a keeper, and is an effort guy. Four blocks is nice.,
Defense looked good, but who knows, given the competition.
Boring game with no flow.
I keep waiting for Matthews or Biruta to have a big breakout game,
but 11 games in, and it hasn't happened yet.

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

and many in the JB days were similarly critical of the reasoning behind the subs pattern......maybe the problem is we don't have five best players.....a collection of average players......??

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

This game can only be evaluated considering the inferior competition UNH represented. Good teams consistently build leads against such competitor. The lead may yo-yo a bit, but the margin consistently grows. That definitely did not happen today and the win was less than impressive. Here's one perspective. URI built a 20 point lead in the first 12 minutes of the game, aided by bad UNH shooting, to lead 22-2. In the remaining 28 minutes of game UNH outscored the Rams, 45-40.

The bad ball handling continued - butter fingers, bumbling and dumb passes and tied up feet. This was the 9th game out of 12 where URI had more TO's than the opposition. The opposition has also had more steals to the same extent. Maybe it was rust of the 2 week lay-off, but I saw no substantial improvement in this team. Other than that, the streaming was excellent.

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

I wish I had a dollar for every time I read the word rust on here......it would help support my gambling

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

EasyEdBrown wrote:The only thing I really have to say is that I'm glad the UNH coach made sure he was dressed up for this game.

My dad wears jeans and crew sweatshirts too!

Herrion might be gone at years end

rhodyfan3 · Unread post by **rhodyfan3** » 10 years ago

Running Ram wrote:These online streams are horrible!! I'm not wasting my money on them again, if I can't get em free, I'll just listen to Don and Steve.

I see some complaints about the stream but I streamed the game today from Cox for the first time and it was perfect

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

Was Aaman on the bench today?

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

Yes, he didn't seem all that banged up from the 200 level.

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

Well I was at this game, and it was nice beating a JV team....

We may end up playing like last year's team. We have no depth anymore, but more talent than last year.

Defense will keep us in games, which is nice, but offense is totally lacking except in spots...

Grind it out games going forward, especially once league games start.

Biruta can play on the offensive end, but foul trouble will kill us. X has some sort of problem, his shot looks like shit.

We'll hang all right, but finishing mid pack in the A10 may be a stretch. April will be huge, go Dan and Preston on the recruiting trail!!!!

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

rodfromcranston wrote:Yes, he didn't seem all that banged up from the 200 level.

His left eye looks really bad.

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

We aren't more talented than last year if you discard anyones "possible future potential," we are very close to the same. We suck.

I was a Baron substitution critic, right now I would complain about subs if guys were good enough to gripe about them being out or that they could stay out of foul trouble. Who gets in foul trouble every game(Biruta)? Its dumb.

Occurred to me a few times that Munford and Biruta are running a screen-and-roll that they ran in high school. What an awful connection, it really isn't even a top 45 screen-and-roll or pop combination. How bad is that. That didn't come into play today but just saying.

With the win.... can't ask for more at this point. Just win baby, thats all I am looking for.

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

It isn't about who's in or out of the game.
It's about continuity and chemistry on offense
and defense.
No coach among the ones who come to mind, have the revolving door.
Most have a seven or eight man rotation, with five playing the bulk of the minutes.
Arizona is a young team, but they keep the starters on the floor most of the game.
Duke rarely substitutes.
Calipari does with this years team, because he's still looking to blend 7 McDonald's AAs and keep
everyone happy.
John Wooden ran a caste system, with his starters ruling the roost and his bench players merely along for the ride.
I can't think of many winning coaches, who evenly spread playing time throughout the roster.

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

rodfromcranston wrote:It isn't about who's in or out of the game.
It's about continuity and chemistry on offense
and defense.
No coach among the ones who come to mind, have the revolving door.
Most have a seven or eight man rotation, with five playing the bulk of the minutes.
Arizona is a young team, but they keep the starters on the floor most of the game.
Duke rarely substitutes.
Calipari does with this years team, because he's still looking to blend 7 McDonald's AAs and keep
everyone happy.
John Wooden ran a caste system, with his starters ruling the roost and his bench players merely along for the ride.
I can't think of many winning coaches, who evenly spread playing time throughout the roster.

With those teams cited though, I think it's much more that they had quality players to begin with though. It's easy to keep the starters out there for 30 to 35 minutes per game when they're playing well and not getting into foul trouble. When you essentially have Biruta, Matthews, Munford and role players, it's trickier. You might as well go through lineups based on who you're facing, or who's playing well that day.

Also, at this point, URI has a seven or eight man rotation almost by default. Munford is playing 32 MPG, and Matthews is at 27, which is probably only that low when you factor in that he wasn't starting to begin the year. Biruta is at 25, but also fouls the most on the team. With Powell gone and Aaman's return TBA, the other scholarship players minus Butler are averaging between 12 and 20 minutes.

People would get upset with Baron's substitutions because they often didn't make sense with the team's roster construction, and seemed to be based more on "traditional" wisdom than any coherent evaluation of the team's strengths. The most glaring thing there was his obsession with playing the Nominal Center of the Year for four minutes at the beginning of each half and then keeping them firmly rooted to the bench. Also, IIRC, he wasn't willing to play his better players when they had two fouls in the first half, even if it meant that a walk-on of non-Malhoit quality had to play.

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

Sorry, NINE players played at least 11 minutes today.
If you were there, you'd see players who were confused as to who was coming in
or out.
You can't develop chemistry, or confidence, with guys looking over their shoulder at ever play stoppage.
You failed to mention Minnis, who had 31 minutes today and is becoming the most important
player on the team.
You have Minnis, Munford, Matthews, and Biruta, who should be playing 35 minutes a game, unless they're in
foul trouble.

brady1 · Unread post by **brady1** » 10 years ago

Baron was here way to long, I lost any faith when I realized him and Carothers did not really care if URI made the DANCE as long as we won some games and were clean. It's not hard to stay clean and go to the DANCE at URI. After I lost faith everything about baron bothered me substitution patterns(the fraken guy would substitute during a 5-7 pt run for URI and kill it I'd bet big $ if we bought baron to a high end shrink he's classic self destructive at this point in his career), coach speak , recruiting ect ect ect. Glad he's done. Wish him luck.

Hurley's no baron he'll get us to the DANCE in my opinion. In year two I still don't care if he brings in all transfers or subs minute by minute w/ 12 men(as long as he doesn't kill a run which he doesn't). It's his gig let's let him run it for now. I'll bet he succeeds.

GO RHODY!

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

My guess is Dan would have told you at the start of the season that he did not want anyone playing 30 minutes per game, never mind 35 minutes per game.

The plan was to be more VCU-like. They have 8 guys getting 15 plus minutes per game and 10 getting 10 plus minutes per game. Seems to work for them.

We won't see that now with the holes in our roster but I still expect 8-9 guys getting significant minutes and ideally I don't think Dan wants anyone regularly getting 35 minutes. I don't see any issue with the substitutions/minutes. I don't think it's the reason why we have periods where we are stagnant on O.

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

Wew on by 17 over a bad team, So Miss will be a nice home test

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

I don't mind the subbing in a game like this if Dan is trying to work on some groupings - unfortunately I think it is going to be every game complaint. Unless they are sucking ass or have foul issues you should keep 5 guys out there for three to four minutes to try to gel.

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

As I said in an earlier post, Biggie Minnis is the key to how this team progresses. He had a good all around game against an decidedly inferior team. This was his best scoring game since UNC-Asheville. But even when he isn't scoring e.g. Mc Neese State, he is active around the basket getting rebounds and dishing assists. Now if he can keep this tempo up against the better competition coming up, we'll be in better shape.

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

Biggie and EC played more than 30 minutes. Biruta and X had foul problems. I think Dn was concerned about conditioning coming off a long break.
There's nothing wrong with this offense that can't b solved by X being the player he was last year. Teams are plaing zone for 40 minutes! The packed in zones ar making it hard to get the balls to the bigs and for the guards to get into the lanes. X is missing wide open jumpers.

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

Right Iggy. Teams are daring us on our perimeter shooting. It would be nice if Butler could become a threat on the perimeter to keep the zone off a bit. Good to see him get his first three, but unfortunately, as Dan mentioned it takes a more complete player to have an impact, and Butler showed some bad defense, ball handling and decision making in his 14 minutes of PT. Let's hope that more PT will give him the experience to improve that part of his game, but with the competition significantly improving from here on, that will be a challenge

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

Yes, if X could ever get on a hot streak, we could beat a few good teams down the road.

Until he does though, it's going to be tough.

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

I've noticed teams playing us in zone more often than usual. We seam to become stagnent against it. But sometimes we do make nice plays using the triangle offense when a man goes to fouline and two on the blocks. Big O needs to remember how to get open again. He has the power and has shown vs Maine that he can do it. Guards need to pass it down low more too. Hope we fix that

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

Everyone getting minutes, simply means that you don't have four or five players
who are superior to the others.
Again, name ONE top ten program playing everyone equal minutes. VCU isn't a top ten program.
Basketball isn't socialism, share the wealth all around.
It's the strongest and best players get the lions share of playing time.
Anyone who's ever played any sport, hates playing for a coach with a quick hook.
Defense means communication, and offense requires rhythm, both require chemistry.
You don't get that with a Chinese fire drill of players coming in and out every two minutes.
Fact.
Look at last years Final Four teams. Five guys playing 30 plus minutes and subs. That's the
way of winning basketball, with very few exceptions.
As for what Dan said in pre season, he also said he had enough shooters, that nobody would believe how good Reischel was,
and not to worry about recruiting.
How'd that work out for him?
I like Dan, but he's not infallible.

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

Glad you brought that up Rod. About Reischel, that is. He has disappeared.

As for recruiting? We will worry until we get some good news next spring. It's just the nature of the beast.

The only issue about the subbing, I think Dan would like to get to a point where he can rely on a starting five that will play major minutes.

We just don't have 5 dominant players at this point. Actually, we know who our best players are. The problem is, they can't stay on the court long enough due to fouling.

Look at PC. They have 5 good players right now. And that's it. They play all the minutes, they have to, or they will lose most of the time. They get away with it, because they're never in foul trouble.

Are our players good enough to stay out of foul trouble?

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

About breaking a zone.
If you notice, teams that do well against the zone,
put a post player at the free throw line, and the offense goes through
that post player. In that offense, there are cutters going to the basket,
getting passes from the post and making layups or short shots.
Us passing aimlessly around the zone, results in what you saw yesterday.
Mostly outside shots of low percentage.
The most useful thing they did against the zone was have Biggie drive in, draw people to him,
and dish off.
Strange, but in many ways, Biggie has become the most effective player on the team.
He fills the stat sheet and plays defense well.

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

It would help if we had a big man who could pass. Our 4 bigs have a total of 9 assists in 12 games....Gil has 7, Iffy has 1, Aaman has 1, Hassan has 0.....wow.

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

Rod, do you think it's more coaching, or the players themselves, not attacking a zone?

I mean, we had the same complaints when you-know-who was here.

I don't like criticizing Dan for his half court offense, or lack of it, at least not yet. Still too many missing pieces, imo, to pass full judgement.

It's funny, before the season started, I think we were all in agreement that this team would have no trouble scoring, but the defense would be suspect, at least for a while.

Look how it's turned out. We can't score on a CYO team, but at least the defense is coming around. Some day we'll have both ends taken care of. Some day.

And BB, you're right big time.

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

It's because we don't use a post offense.
I've seen some brilliant post passers over the years.
Those guys make everyone better.
The idea is, pass the ball to the post, and he either takes it to the hoop, or
dishes out to someone with an open shot.
If our bigs get an assist, it's almost by accident.
Rambone, I'm looking at player development.
Biggie has come along and been better than expected.
Gil is fine when he's in the game. You can see him improving on offense.
Rieschel has digressed, as has Oneykaba, from the early season.
Martin plays hard, and has no offensive game yet.
Matthews isn't the "two and done" player, as of today. Needs to improve on his shot,
and be more aggressive going to the hoop.
Yesterday, there were times, when players on the floor seemed reluctant to shoot.
There isn't the confidence in their individual offensive games that makes such a difference.

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

rodfromcranston wrote:Everyone getting minutes, simply means that you don't have four or five players
who are superior to the others.
Again, name ONE top ten program playing everyone equal minutes. VCU isn't a top ten program.

Yeah, but when you make this statement, it's almost as if you're mixing up cause and effect. The players aren't All-American because they're not being played major minutes. They're not being played major minutes because they aren't talented enough to "demand" that they get that much time. The best players on this team (Munford, Matthews, Minnis and Biruta) do seem to be getting 30+ minutes in non-blowouts, as long as they're not fouling. Much like their offensive woes, I don't think it's a coaching issue with the lineup, I think it's more of a matter of not having enough talented players on the roster yet.

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

Rod, that's a great analysis of our players. Dead on.

We've got some talent. Some building blocks. Agree about EC, but he and Hassan will be a LOT better next year. That's encouraging. Biggie is the real deal too. Gil will have a big senior year.

This team needs scorers. A bunch of them. That includes passers too.

Our assist numbers are pathetic. That has to change. In time, it will.

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

We need a jolt of offense, that can only come from two places.
An impact freshman, or a juco stud scorer at the 2,3 or 4.
There's a lot of teams that are building on transfers. Look at Oregon.
Problem is that year of waiting. So, how about a post grad transfer?
There's not much information on jucos out there, so staff needs to
do its homework.
I just don't want to see us go into next year, minus X, and expecting so much
improvement from the existing players, which may or may not happen.
Oh, speaking of transfers, I've watched UMass play several times this year.
I'm glad Gordon picked UMass instead of us. Against FSU, they took him out during the final play, because they needed a shooter in there. Plus, he's a 50% free throw shooter.

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

Do you remember when dan called t/o after gil made a 3 and proceded to RIP THE ENTIRE TEAM during the break? At another point in the second half he gestured to the guys on the bench, who had just been taken out, and screamed "You have to play better!"
When they run the plays, they score or have open looks.
When they forget how to run the plays, they look terrible.
It seems as if they still aren't sure where they need to be when certain plays are called.

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

Rod, we absolutely MUST add a couple of impact players, whether juco, transfers, or freshmen, for next season.

You're right, some players will improve, but we'll still be way shorthanded depth wise. Adding Watson is nice for our front line, but we need more.

Without help, we still won't be able to score.

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

"It seems as if they still aren't sure where they need to be when certain plays are called"
Well. this team has been practicing since August.
If they don't know where they're supposed to be here almost into January, that's a
big problem.
It's like they have collective ADD. They do well for a while, running their sets crisply and
moving the ball around, with purpose.
Just as suddenly, it turns into Jerry D ball, with sloppy passes and no purpose offense.
Is Dan and staff just not getting though to these players?
Or, is it a Frankenstein team, with players who don't fit with each other?

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

In a way, Dan was right. We do have shooters. It's just that they can't hit anything.
I'm concerned about how long it will take for this program to improve. We're losing more players than we're recruiting. I guess we have to go the juco/transfer route, since we don't seem able to bring in good freshman.

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

Let's say this game was the final exam for the first semester. First semester grade report C for everyone.

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

The assists are low because the shooting is awful.

JR is playing poorly on both ends of the court and should see more bench time.

Hassan Martin must be developed but there is potential- give him more PT.