David Cox Line Up Changes and Overall Coaching 2020

[theblueram]

Cox might be well liked by everyone, but if he doesn't win, so what?

This isn't a popularity contest. Are some of his players playing hard for him? Doesn't seem so. Hurley would never have put up with some of the stuff we're seeing.

Thorr and URI know that when the time comes to hire a new coach/staff, it's going to cost a lot more than what they are paying them now.

With the loss of income due to covid, I doubt they will pull the plug at the end of this season no matter what happens.

But you get what you pay for. They will have to hire someone with a track record of experience and winning, most likely from another mid major or maybe just below our level.

DC might have been the best choice at the time, but he had no experience as a head coach. A lot of coaches are good at being assistants, but when it come to being the head man, they fail. Just look at the NFL for comparision.

Cox just may be in over his head.

Don't disagree, but I think they will probably wait till after season 5 if they decide to make a change, in the meantime he will probably get a 2 year extension after this year (that is just common practice).Also to get a quality hire, if that time comes, aside from the higher salary, they need to invest more money to upgrade the entire program (facilities, assistants $, charters, etc.). IMO

What facilities upgrades are you talking about? We have a great on-campus arena and the practice facility is being funded slowly but surely. How many games do they fly charter vs commercial? I agree we should pay top salary regardless of the coach, and demand performance. But we seem to always cheap out and get what we get.

[PCFriars]

I think there’s a lot of revisionist history with Hurley. Yes, in his final year, he put it all together and that was a legitimately top 20ish team nationally. But you’re talking about how certain things would have never happened under him... remember that even in the year before, you were ready to usher him out the door in late February. It was a good run for 3 weeks after that, but you’re talking about 1.2 good seasons out of his 6 in Kingston. Who is to say that Cox can’t do that?

[theblueram]

I think there’s a lot of revisionist history with Hurley. Yes, in his final year, he put it all together and that was a legitimately top 20ish team nationally. But you’re talking about how certain things would have never happened under him... remember that even in the year before, you were ready to usher him out the door in late February. It was a good run for 3 weeks after that, but you’re talking about 1.2 good seasons out of his 6 in Kingston. Who is to say that Cox can’t do that?

Sure, of course. We hold our coaches accountable to performance unlike friars who just love that they "made" the tournament and don't care they don't win when they get there. Cooley is perfect for pc. Perfect.

[PCFriars]

I think there’s a lot of revisionist history with Hurley. Yes, in his final year, he put it all together and that was a legitimately top 20ish team nationally. But you’re talking about how certain things would have never happened under him... remember that even in the year before, you were ready to usher him out the door in late February. It was a good run for 3 weeks after that, but you’re talking about 1.2 good seasons out of his 6 in Kingston. Who is to say that Cox can’t do that?

Sure, of course. We hold our coaches accountable to performance unlike friars who just love that they "made" the tournament and don't care they don't win when they get there. Cooley is perfect for pc. Perfect.

Lol

For the record I brought up nothing about PC and was just trying to add my own perspective to your conversation. Guess I’m not welcome here. Have a nice day.

[theblueram]

I think there’s a lot of revisionist history with Hurley. Yes, in his final year, he put it all together and that was a legitimately top 20ish team nationally. But you’re talking about how certain things would have never happened under him... remember that even in the year before, you were ready to usher him out the door in late February. It was a good run for 3 weeks after that, but you’re talking about 1.2 good seasons out of his 6 in Kingston. Who is to say that Cox can’t do that?

Sure, of course. We hold our coaches accountable to performance unlike friars who just love that they "made" the tournament and don't care they don't win when they get there. Cooley is perfect for pc. Perfect.

Lol

For the record I brought up nothing about PC and was just trying to add my own perspective to your conversation. Guess I’m not welcome here. Have a nice day.

Your perspective drips of sarcasm. Did we get on Hurley? Your damn right. Are we getting on Cox? Your damn right.

[PCFriars]

Zero sarcasm. Just an outsider perspective that you clearly don’t appreciate

[Jersey77]

Cox might be well liked by everyone, but if he doesn't win, so what?

This isn't a popularity contest. Are some of his players playing hard for him? Doesn't seem so. Hurley would never have put up with some of the stuff we're seeing.

Thorr and URI know that when the time comes to hire a new coach/staff, it's going to cost a lot more than what they are paying them now.

With the loss of income due to covid, I doubt they will pull the plug at the end of this season no matter what happens.

But you get what you pay for. They will have to hire someone with a track record of experience and winning, most likely from another mid major or maybe just below our level.

DC might have been the best choice at the time, but he had no experience as a head coach. A lot of coaches are good at being assistants, but when it come to being the head man, they fail. Just look at the NFL for comparision.

Cox just may be in over his head.

Don't disagree, but I think they will probably wait till after season 5 if they decide to make a change, in the meantime he will probably get a 2 year extension after this year (that is just common practice).Also to get a quality hire, if that time comes, aside from the higher salary, they need to invest more money to upgrade the entire program (facilities, assistants $, charters, etc.). IMO

What facilities upgrades are you talking about? We have a great on-campus arena and the practice facility is being funded slowly but surely. How many games do they fly charter vs commercial? I agree we should pay top salary regardless of the coach, and demand performance. But we seem to always cheap out and get what we get.

I agree Blueram that sometimes we felt the administration didn't anti up when it came to the hiring process. We need to see the practice facility fully funded and in place, sooner than later, and there had been ongoing conversation regarding charters and the budget. I am far from giving up on Cox at this point and believe he may still be the right coach for us, even though many times I tend to be critical. In addition to the head coaches salary the assistants must be taken care of, they will never be successful without a good staff.

[Rhody72]

Time to shorten the regular rotation to
Mitchell, Harris, Walker, Martin, Fatts, Leggett, Betrand.

Wayyyyyyy to earlier to shorten the rotation. You gonna act like Johnson didn’t single handedly keep us in the last game. Or Sheppard isn’t one of our best (streaky) shooter.

Big oversight on my part, DJ should clearly be in rotation.

[bigappleram]

I think there’s a lot of revisionist history with Hurley. Yes, in his final year, he put it all together and that was a legitimately top 20ish team nationally. But you’re talking about how certain things would have never happened under him... remember that even in the year before, you were ready to usher him out the door in late February. It was a good run for 3 weeks after that, but you’re talking about 1.2 good seasons out of his 6 in Kingston. Who is to say that Cox can’t do that?

Back to back years of ncaa wins, an A10 tourney and regular season title and a full 365 days of not losing a conference game. No revisionist history needed. Folks who wanted his head were a small few similar to how after every game PC has lost in the last 3 seasons there are folks calling for ECs head on your board. We don’t need levity from Friar fans, isn’t there a thread you need to start about the downsides of the Flex offense ?

[reef]

AB first entered the game with under 6 minutes left 1h shouldn’t he have came in earlier ??

[rhodylaw]

I think there’s a lot of revisionist history with Hurley. Yes, in his final year, he put it all together and that was a legitimately top 20ish team nationally. But you’re talking about how certain things would have never happened under him... remember that even in the year before, you were ready to usher him out the door in late February. It was a good run for 3 weeks after that, but you’re talking about 1.2 good seasons out of his 6 in Kingston. Who is to say that Cox can’t do that?

Back to back years of ncaa wins, an A10 tourney and regular season title and a full 365 days of not losing a conference game. No revisionist history needed. Folks who wanted his head were a small few similar to how after every game PC has lost in the last 3 seasons there are folks calling for ECs head on your board. We don’t need levity from Friar fans, isn’t there a thread you need to start about the downsides of the Flex offense ?

BAR - lots of people were very angry on this board that February before the team finally started the run we knew they could. Maybe not quite ushering out the door yet, but if he didn’t turn things around that season it would have been a hot summer - fans were starting to think he couldn’t get it done and was all hype.

Cox needs to get this team running by the end of this season. I think a lot of people (myself included) underestimated the fact that 4 of the 10 guys we play now sat out all of last year, 1 played five games, 1 is a freshmen and 2 are transfers from lower level schools. It takes time for sit out transfers to re-adjust to playing and it will take awhile for this thing to come together even with the best coach in the world. If Dave Cox is who we hope he is as a coach, they will be in a good position for a February/March run.

[Rhody72]

One purpose of the early season is for players to show what they can bring to the success of the team. It is time for Cox to shorten the rotation to form a cohesive force that can achieve the greatest success as a team going forward. This is the tough part of being a head coach. He has to give bad news to players he recruited to join his program. He certainly gave them every chance to succeed,

[Jersey77]

Any guesses on line up changes or rotations we may see come 12/30 against the Bonnies? Injuries may play a big part. Cox has 11 days to prepare and experiment with different combinations. It is difficult because we have seen so much streaky play, not a lot of consistency, probably not uncommon for a roster that has been overhauled.

[ramster]

I think there’s a lot of revisionist history with Hurley. Yes, in his final year, he put it all together and that was a legitimately top 20ish team nationally. But you’re talking about how certain things would have never happened under him... remember that even in the year before, you were ready to usher him out the door in late February. It was a good run for 3 weeks after that, but you’re talking about 1.2 good seasons out of his 6 in Kingston. Who is to say that Cox can’t do that?

Not all of us were down on Hurley in the JimBaron2.0 thread, most were down on him at the time, but there were 2-3 of us defending him and wanting to let the season play out. The thread is locked but feel free to peruse that debacle of a thread to refresh your memory.

What Hurley did do in his 6 seasons was:

• Addressed the academic issues that were worse then he thought coming into the position

• Recruited top ranked players including EC Mathews, Hassan Martin, Jared Terrell, Cyril Langevine, Jeff Dowtin plus recruited transfers Stanford Robinson and Kuran Iverson.

• EC Mathews became #3 and Jared Terrell #7 All Time Scorers at URI

• Cyril Langevine #5 and Hassan Martin #7 All Time Rebounders at URI

• Hassan Martin #2 and Cyril Langevine #5 All Time Shot Blockers at URI

• !st NCAA Appearance since 1999 in 2017 defeating Creighton. Included 1st NCAA win since March 20, 1998

• 2nd NCAA Appearance since 1999 in 2018 defeating Oklahoma

• Hired and developed Effective Staff for Assistant Coaching, Strength Building and Academic Counseling

• Upgraded facilities including laying the foundation for a future Practice Facility - stressed the importance of having such a facility

• Developed his replacement in David Cox versus needing to go outside

• Kept talented players from transferring out of the program

All of his success did not come in the last 1.2 years as you seem to indicate. He build a solid foundation from which the NCAA Tournament Results were the result.

[bigappleram]

I think there’s a lot of revisionist history with Hurley. Yes, in his final year, he put it all together and that was a legitimately top 20ish team nationally. But you’re talking about how certain things would have never happened under him... remember that even in the year before, you were ready to usher him out the door in late February. It was a good run for 3 weeks after that, but you’re talking about 1.2 good seasons out of his 6 in Kingston. Who is to say that Cox can’t do that?

Back to back years of ncaa wins, an A10 tourney and regular season title and a full 365 days of not losing a conference game. No revisionist history needed. Folks who wanted his head were a small few similar to how after every game PC has lost in the last 3 seasons there are folks calling for ECs head on your board. We don’t need levity from Friar fans, isn’t there a thread you need to start about the downsides of the Flex offense ?

BAR - lots of people were very angry on this board that February before the team finally started the run we knew they could. Maybe not quite ushering out the door yet, but if he didn’t turn things around that season it would have been a hot summer - fans were starting to think he couldn’t get it done and was all hype.

Cox needs to get this team running by the end of this season. I think a lot of people (myself included) underestimated the fact that 4 of the 10 guys we play now sat out all of last year, 1 played five games, 1 is a freshmen and 2 are transfers from lower level schools. It takes time for sit out transfers to re-adjust to playing and it will take awhile for this thing to come together even with the best coach in the world. If Dave Cox is who we hope he is as a coach, they will be in a good position for a February/March run.

Define lots of people? 50 people on a message board amongst a season ticket holder base of 4K ? Frustrated, sure...wanting Dan out was the wishes of a very small few.

[Jersey77]

I have been disappointed with the ball security of both Carey and Sheppard, sloppy dribbling and lazy passes. Hopefully Cox can coach them through it, in the meantime I can see Ish and AB eating away at their minutes. Once AB gets his legs and settles in, showing consistency, I can see him starting.

I like Walker's aggressiveness and we have seen improvement in his play along with DJ who has been a pleasant surprise at times, when he let's the action come to him. Malek looked great last game and other games disappeared, needs to show up on a regular basis.

Makhel is what I had thought he would be and hopefully he can stay on the floor out of foul trouble. JH will sub in at both the 4 and 5 at this point.

Fatts will be Fatts, the injury bug aside, he and several others need to step up their game. We all love his intensity and he does give the team a spark, but he still tries to do too much himself.

This staff has a lot of work to do with this group, let's hope they can pull it together.

[McRam]

When we talk URI basketball culture, we should be talking defense first. Smothering, primarily man to man; everyone on the court is committed to it--

If this is our culture, Carey must sit at the end of the bench UNTIL he shows he has that attitude- If someone has the above culture, they take charges and they get floor burns diving for loose balls- When we see Carey stand and watch two loose balls in the Davidson game, that should put him at the end of the bench. This should have happened immediately after this happened during the game.

DJ is obviously struggling on defense and rebounding- right now, he is a pure shooter and not much else- therefore, he needs to be used for specific situations.

We are not an offensive powerhouse; we need to be successful on the defensive end and forcing turnovers- playing these two, especially at the same time, results in what we saw in the highly winnable Davidson game.

[Billyboy78]

When we talk URI basketball culture, we should be talking defense first. Smothering, primarily man to man; everyone on the court is committed to it--

If this is our culture, Carey must sit at the end of the bench UNTIL he shows he has that attitude- If someone has the above culture, they take charges and they get floor burns diving for loose balls- When we see Carey stand and watch two loose balls in the Davidson game, that should put him at the end of the bench. This should have happened immediately after this happened during the game.

DJ is obviously struggling on defense and rebounding- right now, he is a pure shooter and not much else- therefore, he needs to be used for specific situations.

We are not an offensive powerhouse; we need to be successful on the defensive end and forcing turnovers- playing these two, especially at the same time, results in what we saw in the highly winnable Davidson game.

Another reason Ish should be playing a lot of minutes.

[reef]

I haven’t been impressed with Carey at all either. I feel when the ball comes to him he just dribbles it and doesn’t move it around and then just goes 1 on 1 settling for a mid ranger

[steveystuds06]

When we talk URI basketball culture, we should be talking defense first. Smothering, primarily man to man; everyone on the court is committed to it--

If this is our culture, Carey must sit at the end of the bench UNTIL he shows he has that attitude- If someone has the above culture, they take charges and they get floor burns diving for loose balls- When we see Carey stand and watch two loose balls in the Davidson game, that should put him at the end of the bench. This should have happened immediately after this happened during the game.

DJ is obviously struggling on defense and rebounding- right now, he is a pure shooter and not much else- therefore, he needs to be used for specific situations.

We are not an offensive powerhouse; we need to be successful on the defensive end and forcing turnovers- playing these two, especially at the same time, results in what we saw in the highly winnable Davidson game.

Another reason Ish should be playing a lot of minutes.

If only our coach thought so...

[rambone 78]

Leggett will be our primary PG next season.

Until then, Cox will defer to Fatts, no matter what happens.

It's that loyalty thing, you know. Fatts will have a few good games, and more often than not, have poor or bad games. Expect anything different?

But Ish should, and will, play more as this season goes on.

He's the future, if we want to have a chance to be an NCAA tourney team starting next season.

[Rhody Sody]

I haven’t been impressed with Carey at all either. I feel when the ball comes to him he just dribbles it and doesn’t move it around and then just goes 1 on 1 settling for a mid ranger

I was pretty high on Carey but the past few games haven’t been that impressive. Agreed with some he needs to start diving for balls and that goes for the entire team. I think his biggest issue is similar to Shep, ball handling has been far too sloppy. Otherwise i like his speed, driving ability, and mid range game in his better games. Needs to limit TOs.

[PCFriars]

There’s a reason why Carey and Goodine didn’t work out at Syracuse. Carey is a much better overall player than Goodine, but both have similar flaws in their game.

[Ibn34]

When we talk URI basketball culture, we should be talking defense first. Smothering, primarily man to man; everyone on the court is committed to it--

If this is our culture, Carey must sit at the end of the bench UNTIL he shows he has that attitude- If someone has the above culture, they take charges and they get floor burns diving for loose balls- When we see Carey stand and watch two loose balls in the Davidson game, that should put him at the end of the bench. This should have happened immediately after this happened during the game.

DJ is obviously struggling on defense and rebounding- right now, he is a pure shooter and not much else- therefore, he needs to be used for specific situations.

We are not an offensive powerhouse; we need to be successful on the defensive end and forcing turnovers- playing these two, especially at the same time, results in what we saw in the highly winnable Davidson game.

Well said...when your offense goes south (which has happened often in both Hurley & Cox’s tenure), your defense is supposed to be present ALWAYS!! Hasn’t been the case at all. Once again, I believe this is based off of a lack of identity. They look a whole better when they’re pressuring. It’s actually gotten them back in the game multiple times so far this year. But, they seem reluctant to pressure, unless they are behind. There’s no pace/tempo being established by Rhody. No full court zone pressure...no run and jump stuff , similar to VCU...to “good” zone looks provided...etc. With the athletes in this roster, teams like Davidson, BC, and even Wisconsin should have been shittin their pants, with the kind of pressure this groups capable of bringing. It would guys get easier baskets too, which is a whole issue here. I don’t understand why they don’t do it...

[section(105)]

.......bingo, I thought this describes what our style/identity was, post Hurley.....interchangeable positionless players going in waves playing deep bench of fresh players.......a playing style of 94 attacking feet, not 50 ft......I also thought this collection of talent was the cast to play that way.......with Coach implying this group fulfill his desire to play this way.......guess not......my bad......unless the weak sisters of the poor, we don’t dictate and force tempo......against the top OOC teams, we can’t talent wise or choose not to try to disrupt.......

[rambone 78]

.......bingo, I thought this describes what our style/identity was, post Hurley.....interchangeable positionless players going in waves playing deep bench of fresh players.......a playing style of 94 attacking feet, not 50 ft......I also thought this collection of talent was the cast to play that way.......with Coach implying this group fulfill his desire to play this way.......guess not......my bad......unless the weak sisters of the poor, we don’t dictate and force tempo......against the top OOC teams, we can’t talent wise or choose not to try to disrupt.......

Yes, that's what I thought Cox wanted to do also.

We have the players and depth to do so.

When we stand around, we stink.

When we are moving with and without the ball, good things usually happen.

Up tempo is the way to go.

Our opponents know this, so they dictate the tempo, slow it down, and negate our advantages.

Coaching, coaching, coaching.

Or lack of it.

[steveystuds06]

When we talk URI basketball culture, we should be talking defense first. Smothering, primarily man to man; everyone on the court is committed to it--

If this is our culture, Carey must sit at the end of the bench UNTIL he shows he has that attitude- If someone has the above culture, they take charges and they get floor burns diving for loose balls- When we see Carey stand and watch two loose balls in the Davidson game, that should put him at the end of the bench. This should have happened immediately after this happened during the game.

DJ is obviously struggling on defense and rebounding- right now, he is a pure shooter and not much else- therefore, he needs to be used for specific situations.

We are not an offensive powerhouse; we need to be successful on the defensive end and forcing turnovers- playing these two, especially at the same time, results in what we saw in the highly winnable Davidson game.

Well said...when your offense goes south (which has happened often in both Hurley & Cox’s tenure), your defense is supposed to be present ALWAYS!! Hasn’t been the case at all. Once again, I believe this is based off of a lack of identity. They look a whole better when they’re pressuring. It’s actually gotten them back in the game multiple times so far this year. But, they seem reluctant to pressure, unless they are behind. There’s no pace/tempo being established by Rhody. No full court zone pressure...no run and jump stuff , similar to VCU...to “good” zone looks provided...etc. With the athletes in this roster, teams like Davidson, BC, and even Wisconsin should have been shittin their pants, with the kind of pressure this group capable of bringing. It would guys get easier baskets too, which is a whole issue here. I don’t understand why they don’t do it...

I think that sounds great, but our team lacks discipline. Our guys seem to go for the home run play and risk being out of position, which leads to an easy layup or wide-open shot. We also commit so many silly fouls. I worry that if we were to increase pressure, it would lead to our entire team getting in foul trouble fast.. Under Hurley, our guys would stay in a athletic stance the entire possession, draw chargers, bump cutters, dive for balls, and they would have high hands-on every closeout. They communicated and played beautiful team defense. I don't see that much on this team.. Can Cox get our guys locked in like that every night? Either way, we need change, and I agree we need an identity.

[section(105)]

.......for me another bingo, regarding defensive stances, hands in passing lanes, constant pressure on the ball, denying passes......in order to play that way, you gotta teach that way.......I just wonder if that is the teaching MO......

[Shinze88]

The most frustrating part of watching a URI game for me is the constant fouling on almost every possession. It was also a huge issue with Hurley's teams, its hard to win when you put the other team in the bonus so early in each half, and we do this every game. Equally maddening is why our center continues to hedge out on ball screens 30 feet from the basket resulting in a foul or an easy layup, you literally dont see any other team use this strategy. Team needs to learn how to play good defense without constant fouling.

[rhodylaw]

.......for me another bingo, regarding defensive stances, hands in passing lanes, constant pressure on the ball, denying passes......in order to play that way, you gotta teach that way.......I just wonder if that is the teaching MO......

I just don't think you can say it is a coaching issue yet - we have a bunch of guys who sat out last year (or two years for Shep) that need time to get comfortable playing generally, not to mention playing together. Sit out transfers almost always take a little bit to get into the flow. We have 5 guys (4 now with Makhi out) who didn't play at all, or played only a couple games last year.

[Blue Man]

I think there’s a lot of revisionist history with Hurley. Yes, in his final year, he put it all together and that was a legitimately top 20ish team nationally. But you’re talking about how certain things would have never happened under him... remember that even in the year before, you were ready to usher him out the door in late February. It was a good run for 3 weeks after that, but you’re talking about 1.2 good seasons out of his 6 in Kingston. Who is to say that Cox can’t do that?

Not all of us were down on Hurley in the JimBaron2.0 thread, most were down on him at the time, but there were 2-3 of us defending him and wanting to let the season play out. The thread is locked but feel free to peruse that debacle of a thread to refresh your memory.

What Hurley did do in his 6 seasons was:

• Addressed the academic issues that were worse then he thought coming into the position

• Recruited top ranked players including EC Mathews, Hassan Martin, Jared Terrell, Cyril Langevine, Jeff Dowtin plus recruited transfers Stanford Robinson and Kuran Iverson.

• EC Mathews became #3 and Jared Terrell #7 All Time Scorers at URI

• Cyril Langevine #5 and Hassan Martin #7 All Time Rebounders at URI

• Hassan Martin #2 and Cyril Langevine #5 All Time Shot Blockers at URI

• !st NCAA Appearance since 1999 in 2017 defeating Creighton. Included 1st NCAA win since March 20, 1998

• 2nd NCAA Appearance since 1999 in 2018 defeating Oklahoma

• Hired and developed Effective Staff for Assistant Coaching, Strength Building and Academic Counseling

• Upgraded facilities including laying the foundation for a future Practice Facility - stressed the importance of having such a facility

• Developed his replacement in David Cox versus needing to go outside

• Kept talented players from transferring out of the program

All of his success did not come in the last 1.2 years as you seem to indicate. He build a solid foundation from which the NCAA Tournament Results were the result.

I would say it was about 2-5 morons on here calling Hurley Baron 2.0. It was the same handful of people who just posted about it a lot.

Hurley changed the culture here when it badly needed it, he just needed the talent. The rebuild was bad enough that you figure to add a year for what he had to dig out of. He couldn't even take a chance on recruiting talented guys with potential academic issues because our APR situation was so terrible.

Although in his year 3, he did get a top 4 NIT seed and won a game with a team led by sophomores.

His year 4 would've been a breakthrough if his 2 star players didn't miss the year with injuries.

The problem most of us are having is that Cox was given the talent, and the culture. He was given a built program with an established "bar" of championships and NCAA appearances. It's fair that some of us start to get a little impatient when in year 3 of a non-rebuild, we haven't seen a win against a ranked team, or seen a team that was going to the NCAA tournament.

The year 1 team at a MINIMUM should've gone to the NIT. They didn't. The year 2 team would have - but that's not really the "bar' we were told to expect, especially with 2 all conference seniors on the roster.

Anyone calling what Cox was given a rebuild is being intentionally obtuse or is someone who's opinion should be discarded.

David Cox was hired to PREVENT a rebuild.

Continuity. Jeff. Cyril. Fatts. Highest ranked recruiting class ever. Brand recognition. Nationally televised games.

Why anyone is still arguing this "rebuild" point is absurd.

A rebuild is what we will need if we go another 2 years without an NCAA appearance.

[rjsuperfly66]

I think there’s a lot of revisionist history with Hurley. Yes, in his final year, he put it all together and that was a legitimately top 20ish team nationally. But you’re talking about how certain things would have never happened under him... remember that even in the year before, you were ready to usher him out the door in late February. It was a good run for 3 weeks after that, but you’re talking about 1.2 good seasons out of his 6 in Kingston. Who is to say that Cox can’t do that?

Not all of us were down on Hurley in the JimBaron2.0 thread, most were down on him at the time, but there were 2-3 of us defending him and wanting to let the season play out. The thread is locked but feel free to peruse that debacle of a thread to refresh your memory.

What Hurley did do in his 6 seasons was:

• Addressed the academic issues that were worse then he thought coming into the position

• Recruited top ranked players including EC Mathews, Hassan Martin, Jared Terrell, Cyril Langevine, Jeff Dowtin plus recruited transfers Stanford Robinson and Kuran Iverson.

• EC Mathews became #3 and Jared Terrell #7 All Time Scorers at URI

• Cyril Langevine #5 and Hassan Martin #7 All Time Rebounders at URI

• Hassan Martin #2 and Cyril Langevine #5 All Time Shot Blockers at URI

• !st NCAA Appearance since 1999 in 2017 defeating Creighton. Included 1st NCAA win since March 20, 1998

• 2nd NCAA Appearance since 1999 in 2018 defeating Oklahoma

• Hired and developed Effective Staff for Assistant Coaching, Strength Building and Academic Counseling

• Upgraded facilities including laying the foundation for a future Practice Facility - stressed the importance of having such a facility

• Developed his replacement in David Cox versus needing to go outside

• Kept talented players from transferring out of the program

All of his success did not come in the last 1.2 years as you seem to indicate. He build a solid foundation from which the NCAA Tournament Results were the result.

I would say it was about 2-5 morons on here calling Hurley Baron 2.0. It was the same handful of people who just posted about it a lot.

Hurley changed the culture here when it badly needed it, he just needed the talent. The rebuild was bad enough that you figure to add a year for what he had to dig out of. He couldn't even take a chance on recruiting talented guys with potential academic issues because our APR situation was so terrible.

Although in his year 3, he did get a top 4 NIT seed and won a game with a team led by sophomores.

His year 4 would've been a breakthrough if his 2 star players didn't miss the year with injuries.

The problem most of us are having is that Cox was given the talent, and the culture. He was given a built program with an established "bar" of championships and NCAA appearances. It's fair that some of us start to get a little impatient when in year 3 of a non-rebuild, we haven't seen a win against a ranked team, or seen a team that was going to the NCAA tournament.

The year 1 team at a MINIMUM should've gone to the NIT. They didn't. The year 2 team would have - but that's not really the "bar' we were told to expect, especially with 2 all conference seniors on the roster.

Anyone calling what Cox was given a rebuild is being intentionally obtuse or is someone who's opinion should be discarded.

David Cox was hired to PREVENT a rebuild.

Continuity. Jeff. Cyril. Fatts. Highest ranked recruiting class ever. Brand recognition. Nationally televised games.

Why anyone is still arguing this "rebuild" point is absurd.

A rebuild is what we will need if we go another 2 years without an NCAA appearance.

Perhaps there is a greater learning lesson there -- On Feb 15, 2017, URI lost to Fordham to drop to 16-9, 8-5 in conference. They then won their next 8 games in a row to win the auto-bid. 7 games in a row with an A10 Championship loss would have brought them to 23-10, 13-5, would have still put them into a tournament play-in game. That team nearly made the second weekend of the tournament. They obviously had to get red hot to be in that position, but they pulled it off, and that was the start of the legend that would become DH. If URI lost to Davidson in the A10 semis, the team doesn't make the tournament, which may have had a impact on the next season, which changes many things for Hurley, URI, etc.

Obviously both coaches had different expectations, and that was Danny Hurley Year 5 versus the current David Cox Year 3, but does Cox deserve to at least let the season play out, before there are such bold proclamations made about what he can and cannot do as the coach at URI? And Blue, I'm not specifically calling you out, just in general. Seems to be a lot of talk if DC is the right man for the job. If the team wins their next 12 in a row, goes to 15-5, 12-1 in conference, looking solid for the tournament, people will be singing a different tune. Should fans be careful of such sweeping generalizations on his long-term future?

[Blue Man]

Not all of us were down on Hurley in the JimBaron2.0 thread, most were down on him at the time, but there were 2-3 of us defending him and wanting to let the season play out. The thread is locked but feel free to peruse that debacle of a thread to refresh your memory.

What Hurley did do in his 6 seasons was:

• Addressed the academic issues that were worse then he thought coming into the position

• Recruited top ranked players including EC Mathews, Hassan Martin, Jared Terrell, Cyril Langevine, Jeff Dowtin plus recruited transfers Stanford Robinson and Kuran Iverson.

• EC Mathews became #3 and Jared Terrell #7 All Time Scorers at URI

• Cyril Langevine #5 and Hassan Martin #7 All Time Rebounders at URI

• Hassan Martin #2 and Cyril Langevine #5 All Time Shot Blockers at URI

• !st NCAA Appearance since 1999 in 2017 defeating Creighton. Included 1st NCAA win since March 20, 1998

• 2nd NCAA Appearance since 1999 in 2018 defeating Oklahoma

• Hired and developed Effective Staff for Assistant Coaching, Strength Building and Academic Counseling

• Upgraded facilities including laying the foundation for a future Practice Facility - stressed the importance of having such a facility

• Developed his replacement in David Cox versus needing to go outside

• Kept talented players from transferring out of the program

All of his success did not come in the last 1.2 years as you seem to indicate. He build a solid foundation from which the NCAA Tournament Results were the result.

I would say it was about 2-5 morons on here calling Hurley Baron 2.0. It was the same handful of people who just posted about it a lot.

Hurley changed the culture here when it badly needed it, he just needed the talent. The rebuild was bad enough that you figure to add a year for what he had to dig out of. He couldn't even take a chance on recruiting talented guys with potential academic issues because our APR situation was so terrible.

Although in his year 3, he did get a top 4 NIT seed and won a game with a team led by sophomores.

His year 4 would've been a breakthrough if his 2 star players didn't miss the year with injuries.

The problem most of us are having is that Cox was given the talent, and the culture. He was given a built program with an established "bar" of championships and NCAA appearances. It's fair that some of us start to get a little impatient when in year 3 of a non-rebuild, we haven't seen a win against a ranked team, or seen a team that was going to the NCAA tournament.

The year 1 team at a MINIMUM should've gone to the NIT. They didn't. The year 2 team would have - but that's not really the "bar' we were told to expect, especially with 2 all conference seniors on the roster.

Anyone calling what Cox was given a rebuild is being intentionally obtuse or is someone who's opinion should be discarded.

David Cox was hired to PREVENT a rebuild.

Continuity. Jeff. Cyril. Fatts. Highest ranked recruiting class ever. Brand recognition. Nationally televised games.

Why anyone is still arguing this "rebuild" point is absurd.

A rebuild is what we will need if we go another 2 years without an NCAA appearance.

Perhaps there is a greater learning lesson there -- On Feb 15, 2017, URI lost to Fordham to drop to 16-9, 8-5 in conference. They then won their next 8 games in a row to win the auto-bid. 7 games in a row with an A10 Championship loss would have brought them to 23-10, 13-5, would have still put them into a tournament play-in game. That team nearly made the second weekend of the tournament. They obviously had to get red hot to be in that position, but they pulled it off, and that was the start of the legend that would become DH. If URI lost to Davidson in the A10 semis, the team doesn't make the tournament, which may have had a impact on the next season, which changes many things for Hurley, URI, etc.

Obviously both coaches had different expectations, and that was Danny Hurley Year 5 versus the current David Cox Year 3, but does Cox deserve to at least let the season play out, before there are such bold proclamations made about what he can and cannot do as the coach at URI? And Blue, I'm not specifically calling you out, just in general. Seems to be a lot of talk if DC is the right man for the job. If the team wins their next 12 in a row, goes to 15-5, 12-1 in conference, looking solid for the tournament, people will be singing a different tune. Should fans be careful of such sweeping generalizations on his long-term future?

Of course. It would be like stopping the 2017 super bowl in the 3rd quarter because the Falcon's lead seemed insurmountable.

If URI goes on a 2017 run, yes, obviously he's the right man for the job and he'll have pushed the right buttons that haven't been pushed thus far.

The argument in the Baron 2.0 thread, started by a poster who rarely posts here any more anyway, was between those who could see a positive trend of improvement with concrete examples, versus people who had blind faith that negativity would win out.

The argument taking place now is people blindly saying "we'll get there so stop being negative" versus people asking for some sort of concrete example of how we're "getting there" instead of just blind hope.

For some reason, this board has become a place where a few people cannot tolerate visceral, emotional reactions by basketball fans (short for fanatic) in the midst of something.

Some posters have too personal a connection to individuals and think it's an affront to those people personally if you dare question their performance.

Thankfully no one on here has the ability to make hiring/firing calls, and no one would do that mid season. That's why this place is a great sounding board for like-minded fanatics, to save our significant others and families from the endless bitching that all of us would carry on throughout the season.

[PCFriars]

You’re a good dude Blueman. When we are able to get to games again and our series renews, you’ve got a beer on me. I like your passion and would enjoy meeting in person and talking hoops.

[rambone 78]

I'm not one who is advocating that we fire DC today, or even at the end of this season if things don't improve.

However I am concerned that the trend lines are going in the wrong direction ever since the last part of last season.

A poor end to last season, coupled with the transferring out of several players, had a lot of us questioning the direction of the program.

Then things started looking up with the recruiting successes that followed. Optimism abounded.

Now here we are, with poor game performances along with many questionable coaching decisions so far this season.

Other than a few stretches of play [the last 4 minutes against SH, for example] and some good individual play [Leggett for example], the team and coaching has shown no improvement overall.

Some here, like Blueman just said, think that things will get better. Will they?

We need to see it and soon....or else patience will be in very short supply. It's getting late early, so the saying goes.

If we don't dance by the end of next season, it's time to start over....again.

I will add, that I would love to see DC succeed here.....but I have my doubts about it. URI BB and it's fan base can not wait forever.

[Jersey77]

I'm not one who is advocating that we fire DC today, or even at the end of this season if things don't improve.

However I am concerned that the trend lines are going in the wrong direction ever since the last part of last season.

A poor end to last season, coupled with the transferring out of several players, had a lot of us questioning the direction of the program.

Then things started looking up with the recruiting successes that followed. Optimism abounded.

Now here we are, with poor game performances along with many questionable coaching decisions so far this season.

Other than a few stretches of play [the last 4 minutes against SH, for example] and some good individual play [Leggett for example], the team and coaching has shown no improvement overall.

Some here, like Blueman just said, think that things will get better. Will they?

We need to see it and soon....or else patience will be in very short supply.

If we don't dance by the end of next season, it's time to start over....again.

Don't agree, Cox will be given a minimum of 5 years unless the bottom falls out or he gets into trouble. He will probably get an extension after this season and Thorr will not fire him the following year. He will be given the opportunity to see it through with this group until they graduate. IMO

Cox's first year here was not an NCAAT team, we would of had to jump several upper tier A10 teams better than us. Last year we had a disappointing stretch run and finished 21-9 and since there was not a post season who knows what could of happened. This current year is not normal, very chaotic, filled with disruptions.

However, I am optimistic about next year. This team would of developed a chemistry and maybe find an "IDENTITY". Also our main competition and top teams in the A10 from this year, will have graduated most of their starters and leading scorers (unless they decide to return). We lose Fatts and possibly Jeremy, but we have the pieces to fill in and should be fine.

[bigappleram]

It’s odd that people are surprised we are inconsistent. There are coaching related things I’m concerned about but I’m not surprised we have looked very good at times and very bad at times. Continuity is 1 of the biggest factors for success in conference like the A10 and we sorely lacked that with all the new faces.

[theblueram]

Why are we so inconsistent? Could it be we turned over the entire team in year 3?

[bigappleram]

yes of course that is why, and not a great thing but question for the board...do we think the first team would have significantly better results after 8 games than the second?

What could have been:
Fatts
Sheppard
Tyrese
Walker
Harris

Bench: Toppin, Tate, Long, Johnson, Ish

What is:
Fatts
Sheppard
Malik
Walker
Mitchell

Bench: Mitchell, Betrand, Harris, Carey, Johnson

[section(105)]

.......for me, a push.....although I think Jacob would have been a starter in the scenario you offered.....

[bigappleram]

.......for me, a push.....although I think Jacob would have been a starter in the scenario you offered.....

I had Toppin in there originally, but I am pretty sure DC wouldn't have put a lineup out there with 1 guy that can handle the ball proficiently (Fatts). After considering that I think Shep would still have gotten the start and Toppin would have been 6th man.

I agree with the push statement on this year's team. IMO the second team has a higher ceiling than the first but whether they will realize that is entirely on DC.

[rambone 78]

People here who think Cox will get 6-7 years here without an NCAA tourney appearance are dreaming.

He might get a year or so extension, but the clock will be ticking loudly by next season.

At what point does Cox no longer get the benefit of the doubt? Or should get it?

I will stick to my opinion....he's got until the end of next season, extension or not.

The talent is here imo. Get it together.

[theblueram]

Talent is here. Get it together is right.

[Jersey77]

People here who think Cox will get 6-7 years here without an NCAA tourney appearance are dreaming.

He might get a year or so extension, but the clock will be ticking loudly by next season.

At what point does Cox no longer get the benefit of the doubt? Or should get it?

I will stick to my opinion....he's got until the end of next season, extension or not.

The talent is here imo. Get it together.

As I also previously responded, I think we have a great chance to go dancing next year barring any significant injuries and would be extremely disappointed if not. In case that doesn't happen, Cox's seat would be extremely warm. Regardless, for all the reasons I indicated earlier they would give him a 5th year.

Not trying to sway you 78' and we aren't far apart, but look at it his way;
.
Every new coach gets a pass their first year for obvious reasons, unless a blueblood program
Last year no post season appearances by anyone.
This year has been totally chaotic across the entire landscape, one of the biggest concerns is for the team to stay Covid free plus everything else they had to deal with.
So are you only going to give him 1 year under normal circumstances to make it to the NCAAT? Not even taking into consideration that you probably just gave him an extension the year before.

[Rhodymob05]

yes of course that is why, and not a great thing but question for the board...do we think the first team would have significantly better results after 8 games than the second?

What could have been:
Fatts
Sheppard
Tyrese
Walker
Harris

Bench: Toppin, Tate, Long, Johnson, Ish

What is:
Fatts
Sheppard
Malik
Walker
Mitchell

Bench: Mitchell, Betrand, Harris, Carey, Johnson

Chemistry is underrated, and that's what the first team would have, but I would still take the talent we have now.

[CaptainRon]

People here who think Cox will get 6-7 years here without an NCAA tourney appearance are dreaming.

He might get a year or so extension, but the clock will be ticking loudly by next season.

At what point does Cox no longer get the benefit of the doubt? Or should get it?

I will stick to my opinion....he's got until the end of next season, extension or not.

The talent is here imo. Get it together.

But isn’t he also responsible for bringing in the talent? That should be the hard part.

[Rhody72]

If DC had scheduled UNH, Yale and Northeastern instead of ASU, UWisc and WKY, we would have a Baron-era record, and many posters here would be heaping praise on our prospects, but would have little insight into identifying our prime time players. The teams we played are like a college Physics exam where the average grade is 35, but the best player/students are identified. DC needs to take them and build a rotation that will gel into a strong team. This is a rebuilding year where we didn't fall off a cliff.

[section(105)]

......what?.....

[Rhode_Island_Red]

As I also previously responded, I think we have a great chance to go dancing next year barring any significant injuries and would be extremely disappointed if not.

That all depends on which players get poached this off-season. We can no longer assume any roster continuity from season to season.

[Jersey77]

As I also previously responded, I think we have a great chance to go dancing next year barring any significant injuries and would be extremely disappointed if not.

That all depends on which players get poached this off-season. We can no longer assume any roster continuity from season to season.

Except for JH, the freshman, and possibly DJ (JUCO) who all can transfer without penalty, the roster should be fairly intact.