2021-22 Schedule (top post is current)

[theblueram]

Doesn’t matter if I think it’s a good decision or not, I don’t see a URI basketball coach getting fired off a 20 win season, regardless of the quality of the wins. I think there’s a chance Cox and company turn it around, probably because I tend to be blindly optimistic in the off-season, but I find it frustrating that pretty much nothing came from the momentum the program had when he inherited it. A lot of people were very loud about how the previous coach had the skill set to rebuild the program but not to elevate it and that Cox was the guy for that. Now Dave has to do a little bit of both when most people thought we were past that. The program is nowhere near rock bottom like it was, but they’ve definitely dug a hole for themselves. If they can fix it, all will be forgiven.

Therein lies the problem. You fire a coach who goes 20-11 and doesn't make the NCAAT, the next coach knows the bar. You extend a coach who goes 20-11 and doesn't make the NCAAT, you have Jim Baron as your coach.

Let's see JB was here for 11 seasons and no NCAAT.

Cox is only entering his 4th, 2020 A10T/ NCAAT cancelled, 2021 a "Covid" season. 21-22 we could see much improvement with a strong roster going forward.

Bad comparison at this time.

Covid season? No one played in the NCAAT last year?

[Jersey77]

Therein lies the problem. You fire a coach who goes 20-11 and doesn't make the NCAAT, the next coach knows the bar. You extend a coach who goes 20-11 and doesn't make the NCAAT, you have Jim Baron as your coach.

Let's see JB was here for 11 seasons and no NCAAT.

Cox is only entering his 4th, 2020 A10T/ NCAAT cancelled, 2021 a "Covid" season. 21-22 we could see much improvement with a strong roster going forward.

Bad comparison at this time.

Covid season? No one played in the NCAAT last year?

It wasn't a typical season and we all know the circumstances, even the NCAA was aware of that. I guess you were unaware.

Regardless this will still only be his 4th season.

[steveystuds06]

Jersey, if we were still a tournament team in 2020 before the NCAA got canceled, Cox would have been praised for that like he was all season before we played ourselves out of a bid. If we landed a bid last season, would we not be praising Cox? Of course, we would.

I 100% agree that he should have a shot to prove himself this season, but I think you forget all the coaching mistakes we witnessed last year. Covid has nothing to do with how he handles rotations, timeouts, and scouting games...

[Jersey77]

Jersey, if we were still a tournament team in 2020 before the NCAA got canceled, Cox would have been praised for that like he was all season before we played ourselves out of a bid. If we landed a bid last season, would we not be praising Cox? Of course, we would.

I 100% agree that he should have a shot to prove himself this season, but I think you forget all the coaching mistakes we witnessed last year. Covid has nothing to do with how he handles rotations, timeouts, and scouting games...

Stevey I get it, and believe me many times I have been critical.

I think that was the main reason for the Bozeman hire because of his HC experience on and off the court.
Cox obviously has much respect for him and he should help in his growth as a HC.

[steveystuds06]

I agree I think Bozeman is a great hire.

[ramster]

Let's see JB was here for 11 seasons and no NCAAT.

Cox is only entering his 4th, 2020 A10T/ NCAAT cancelled, 2021 a "Covid" season. 21-22 we could see much improvement with a strong roster going forward.

Bad comparison at this time.

Covid season? No one played in the NCAAT last year?

It wasn't a typical season and we all know the circumstances, even the NCAA was aware of that. I guess you were unaware.

Regardless this will still only be his 4th season.

77,
Are you saying that David Cox gets a pass because last year was a Covid year? So if there had been no Covid URI and David Cox would have had a better chance at a BID? Both Mitchells, Martin, Carey and Betrand - 5 Transfers - got waivers last season likely BECAUSE of Covid, otherwise most if not all of the 5 transfers would have sat out the season. That helped URI, didn't hurt. That was an advantage having 5 Transfers-in-waiting whereas most teams did not have close to 5. URI was fortunate knowing Long, Martin and Toppin left the program.

[theblueram]

Covid season? No one played in the NCAAT last year?

It wasn't a typical season and we all know the circumstances, even the NCAA was aware of that. I guess you were unaware.

Regardless this will still only be his 4th season.

77,
Are you saying that David Cox gets a pass because last year was a Covid year? So if there had been no Covid URI and David Cox would have had a better chance at a BID? Both Mitchells, Martin, Carey and Betrand - 5 Transfers - got waivers last season likely BECAUSE of Covid, otherwise most if not all of the 5 transfers would have sat out the season. That helped URI, didn't hurt. That was an advantage having 5 Transfers-in-waiting whereas most teams did not have close to 5. URI was fortunate knowing Long, Martin and Toppin left the program.

Will love to see the spin 77 puts on this one.

[Jersey77]

Covid season? No one played in the NCAAT last year?

It wasn't a typical season and we all know the circumstances, even the NCAA was aware of that. I guess you were unaware.

Regardless this will still only be his 4th season.

77,
Are you saying that David Cox gets a pass because last year was a Covid year? So if there had been no Covid URI and David Cox would have had a better chance at a BID? Both Mitchells, Martin, Carey and Betrand - 5 Transfers - got waivers last season likely BECAUSE of Covid, otherwise most if not all of the 5 transfers would have sat out the season. That helped URI, didn't hurt. That was an advantage having 5 Transfers-in-waiting whereas most teams did not have close to 5. URI was fortunate knowing Long, Martin and Toppin left the program.

Last season I didn't expect an NCAAT anyway and there wasn't huge expectations.
Of course getting the transfers eligible was a plus and we did underachieve.
I am sure the coaches and players also felt that way and will maybe play with a chip on their shoulder this season.

I don't give Cox a complete pass but it was difficult year.
I think he did make plenty of mistakes but there were also issues out of his control.
I am sure lack of practice time didn't help with all the new players, also losing Makhi and having Fatts playing injured all season was a problem.

It appears I am in the minority, but I still feel optimistic about this team and staff going forward.
If we don't see any improvement and this program gets stuck in neutral, I agree that changes will be necessary.

I am just not yet ready to throw in the towel and feel we still have a good foundation to build on.

[theblueram]

This year is the tell all. We have a soft serve schedule, both OOC and In Conference. I’m looking for 25 wins. Even that prob won’t get us any at large looks. That’s how bad a schedule we have.

[ace]

It wasn't a typical season and we all know the circumstances, even the NCAA was aware of that. I guess you were unaware.

Regardless this will still only be his 4th season.

77,
Are you saying that David Cox gets a pass because last year was a Covid year? So if there had been no Covid URI and David Cox would have had a better chance at a BID? Both Mitchells, Martin, Carey and Betrand - 5 Transfers - got waivers last season likely BECAUSE of Covid, otherwise most if not all of the 5 transfers would have sat out the season. That helped URI, didn't hurt. That was an advantage having 5 Transfers-in-waiting whereas most teams did not have close to 5. URI was fortunate knowing Long, Martin and Toppin left the program.

Last season I didn't expect an NCAAT anyway and there wasn't huge expectations.
Of course getting the transfers eligible was a plus and we did underachieve.
I am sure the coaches and players also felt that way and will maybe play with a chip on their shoulder this season.

I don't give Cox a complete pass but it was difficult year.
I think he did make plenty of mistakes but there were also issues out of his control.
I am sure lack of practice time didn't help with all the new players, also losing Makhi and having Fatts playing injured all season was a problem.

It appears I am in the minority, but I still feel optimistic about this team and staff going forward.
If we don't see any improvement and this program gets stuck in neutral, I agree that changes will be necessary.

I am just not yet ready to throw in the towel and feel we still have a good foundation to build on.

Where you lose me is throwing away almost everything from last season. The team probably had more run together than any other team in the country. They didn’t miss a single practice or game, no disruptions at all once everyone was back. Other teams, depending on local regs, had things like 10-14 days of no team practice in the middle of a season. That’s a lack of practice time. Second, the staff holds some responsibility for having to add all those new guys all at once. They showed deficits in recruitment and development that you can’t just excuse by saying, “well everyone has transfers!” If they’ve fixed their approach to the roster issues, then it was a tough but valuable learning experience. If they haven’t, they’re in trouble moving forward. I’m optimistic because I find sports to be an incredibly low stakes thing in that way… if I’m optimistic and wrong, I’ve lost nothing.

[Jersey77]

77,
Are you saying that David Cox gets a pass because last year was a Covid year? So if there had been no Covid URI and David Cox would have had a better chance at a BID? Both Mitchells, Martin, Carey and Betrand - 5 Transfers - got waivers last season likely BECAUSE of Covid, otherwise most if not all of the 5 transfers would have sat out the season. That helped URI, didn't hurt. That was an advantage having 5 Transfers-in-waiting whereas most teams did not have close to 5. URI was fortunate knowing Long, Martin and Toppin left the program.

Last season I didn't expect an NCAAT anyway and there wasn't huge expectations.
Of course getting the transfers eligible was a plus and we did underachieve.
I am sure the coaches and players also felt that way and will maybe play with a chip on their shoulder this season.

I don't give Cox a complete pass but it was difficult year.
I think he did make plenty of mistakes but there were also issues out of his control.
I am sure lack of practice time didn't help with all the new players, also losing Makhi and having Fatts playing injured all season was a problem.

It appears I am in the minority, but I still feel optimistic about this team and staff going forward.
If we don't see any improvement and this program gets stuck in neutral, I agree that changes will be necessary.

I am just not yet ready to throw in the towel and feel we still have a good foundation to build on.

Where you lose me is throwing away almost everything from last season. The team probably had more run together than any other team in the country. They didn’t miss a single practice or game, no disruptions at all once everyone was back. Other teams, depending on local regs, had things like 10-14 days of no team practice in the middle of a season. That’s a lack of practice time. Second, the staff holds some responsibility for having to add all those new guys all at once. They showed deficits in recruitment and development that you can’t just excuse by saying, “well everyone has transfers!” If they’ve fixed their approach to the roster issues, then it was a tough but valuable learning experience. If they haven’t, they’re in trouble moving forward. I’m optimistic because I find sports to be an incredibly low stakes thing in that way… if I’m optimistic and wrong, I’ve lost nothing.

I never said I excuse Cox for all the deficiencies we saw in the team last season.

Yes we have seen a large roster turnover the past couple of seasons and that was a concern, although much of it was out of his control.
But I was very impressed at how he was able to construct our current roster and I am excited about our young players.

Sorry, but I look at last year as being an anomaly rather than the norm and I expect a much better performance from our team moving forward.

[reef]

20-11 or 19-12 will be the true test to see what Thorr does , 18 wins or fewer going to be tough for him to extend , 21 wins or more and probably a small extension as its tough to have a coach going into the last year of a contract

[ramster]

Last season I didn't expect an NCAAT anyway and there wasn't huge expectations.
Of course getting the transfers eligible was a plus and we did underachieve.
I am sure the coaches and players also felt that way and will maybe play with a chip on their shoulder this season.

I don't give Cox a complete pass but it was difficult year.
I think he did make plenty of mistakes but there were also issues out of his control.
I am sure lack of practice time didn't help with all the new players, also losing Makhi and having Fatts playing injured all season was a problem.

It appears I am in the minority, but I still feel optimistic about this team and staff going forward.
If we don't see any improvement and this program gets stuck in neutral, I agree that changes will be necessary.

I am just not yet ready to throw in the towel and feel we still have a good foundation to build on.

Where you lose me is throwing away almost everything from last season. The team probably had more run together than any other team in the country. They didn’t miss a single practice or game, no disruptions at all once everyone was back. Other teams, depending on local regs, had things like 10-14 days of no team practice in the middle of a season. That’s a lack of practice time. Second, the staff holds some responsibility for having to add all those new guys all at once. They showed deficits in recruitment and development that you can’t just excuse by saying, “well everyone has transfers!” If they’ve fixed their approach to the roster issues, then it was a tough but valuable learning experience. If they haven’t, they’re in trouble moving forward. I’m optimistic because I find sports to be an incredibly low stakes thing in that way… if I’m optimistic and wrong, I’ve lost nothing.

I never said I excuse Cox for all the deficiencies we saw in the team last season.

Yes we have seen a large roster turnover the past couple of seasons and that was a concern, although much of it was out of his control.
But I was very impressed at how he was able to construct our current roster and I am excited about our young players.

Sorry, but I look at last year as being an anomaly rather than the norm and I expect a much better performance from our team moving forward.

The Team Roster is all under the control of the Head Coach. Roster quality is not only about recruiting but also about player retention. Losing 2 starters last season in Tyrese Martin and Jacob Toppin was disastrous. 40% of the Starting Line Up for last season was lost unexpectedly.

As for last season URI was picked preseason Coaches Poll 6th but finished a horrible 10th
VCU was picked preseason 9th but then achieved an NCAA Bid along with St Bonaventure. I am sure VCU and St Bonaventure Players, Coaches and Fans don't look at last year "as an anomaly rather than the norm" and neither would you if URI had made the NCAA Tournament like VCU did.

Regardless this is a make or break year for this Coaching Staff. No Pay Increase and no Contract Extension says it all. NCAA or Bust in 2021-2022.

[Jersey77]

Where you lose me is throwing away almost everything from last season. The team probably had more run together than any other team in the country. They didn’t miss a single practice or game, no disruptions at all once everyone was back. Other teams, depending on local regs, had things like 10-14 days of no team practice in the middle of a season. That’s a lack of practice time. Second, the staff holds some responsibility for having to add all those new guys all at once. They showed deficits in recruitment and development that you can’t just excuse by saying, “well everyone has transfers!” If they’ve fixed their approach to the roster issues, then it was a tough but valuable learning experience. If they haven’t, they’re in trouble moving forward. I’m optimistic because I find sports to be an incredibly low stakes thing in that way… if I’m optimistic and wrong, I’ve lost nothing.

I never said I excuse Cox for all the deficiencies we saw in the team last season.

Yes we have seen a large roster turnover the past couple of seasons and that was a concern, although much of it was out of his control.
But I was very impressed at how he was able to construct our current roster and I am excited about our young players.

Sorry, but I look at last year as being an anomaly rather than the norm and I expect a much better performance from our team moving forward.

The Team Roster is all under the control of the Head Coach. Roster quality is not only about recruiting but also about player retention. Losing 2 starters last season in Tyrese Martin and Jacob Toppin was disastrous. 40% of the Starting Line Up for last season was lost unexpectedly.

As for last season URI was picked preseason Coaches Poll 6th but finished a horrible 10th
VCU was picked preseason 9th but then achieved an NCAA Bid along with St Bonaventure. I am sure VCU and St Bonaventure Players, Coaches and Fans don't look at last year "as an anomaly rather than the norm" and neither would you if URI had made the NCAA Tournament like VCU did.

Regardless this is a make or break year for this Coaching Staff. No Pay Increase and no Contract Extension says it all. NCAA or Bust in 2021-2022.

Ramster yes the coach owns the roster. But players move on, and many of the talented ones go to where they think they have a better opportunity to get to the next level. This year there was close to 1800 players in the portal and they all left for a variety of reasons.

Time will tell how good of a job Cox did in constructing this team.

I wouldn't begin to compare Cox to Schmidt, Rhoades, or any of the top A10 coaches at this point, we know he isn't there yet.

I still don't agree with you that Thorr will release him if we don't get to the NCAAT this season.

[ramster]

I never said I excuse Cox for all the deficiencies we saw in the team last season.

Yes we have seen a large roster turnover the past couple of seasons and that was a concern, although much of it was out of his control.
But I was very impressed at how he was able to construct our current roster and I am excited about our young players.

Sorry, but I look at last year as being an anomaly rather than the norm and I expect a much better performance from our team moving forward.

The Team Roster is all under the control of the Head Coach. Roster quality is not only about recruiting but also about player retention. Losing 2 starters last season in Tyrese Martin and Jacob Toppin was disastrous. 40% of the Starting Line Up for last season was lost unexpectedly.

As for last season URI was picked preseason Coaches Poll 6th but finished a horrible 10th
VCU was picked preseason 9th but then achieved an NCAA Bid along with St Bonaventure. I am sure VCU and St Bonaventure Players, Coaches and Fans don't look at last year "as an anomaly rather than the norm" and neither would you if URI had made the NCAA Tournament like VCU did.

Regardless this is a make or break year for this Coaching Staff. No Pay Increase and no Contract Extension says it all. NCAA or Bust in 2021-2022.

Ramster yes the coach owns the roster. But players move on, and many of the talented ones go to where they think they have a better opportunity to get to the next level. This year there was close to 1800 players in the portal and they all left for a variety of reasons.

Time will tell how good of a job Cox did in constructing this team.

I wouldn't begin to compare Cox to Schmidt, Rhoades, or any of the top A10 coaches at this point, we know he isn't there yet.

I still don't agree with you that Thorr will release him if we don't get to the NCAAT this season.

Yes. 1800 transferred. We got 1.
Time will tell and the story already has 3 years to it. This will be the 4th.

I’m not comparing Cox to any other Coach. My point is to show that teams that did better than expected like VCU preseason poll ranked 9th but finished 2nd and got a coveted NCAA bid don’t look to ignore last season. In fact they overcame obstacles and overachieved. URI women’s team overcame obstacles and overachieved plus recruited great this offseason.

Teams struggling predicted to finish 6th but finished a miserable 10-15 for 10th place seem more apt to want to not count the past season. No surprise. Human nature.

This is year 4 of 5. No pay increase, no extension. Tammi now makes the same base pay as David after only 2 years. It’s all about performance.

Hopefully this years team does great with Sheppard, Leggett, El-Amin, Mitchell Brothers, Walker and others plus Bozeman and a staff under year 4 pressure to succeed. NCAA is possible with this group to grab 1st or 2nd place in the A10. But if the finish out of the running I think you are overly optimistic that URI will keep the status quo with the HC and my guess is he knows that.

[Blue Man]

Doesn’t matter if I think it’s a good decision or not, I don’t see a URI basketball coach getting fired off a 20 win season, regardless of the quality of the wins. I think there’s a chance Cox and company turn it around, probably because I tend to be blindly optimistic in the off-season, but I find it frustrating that pretty much nothing came from the momentum the program had when he inherited it. A lot of people were very loud about how the previous coach had the skill set to rebuild the program but not to elevate it and that Cox was the guy for that. Now Dave has to do a little bit of both when most people thought we were past that. The program is nowhere near rock bottom like it was, but they’ve definitely dug a hole for themselves. If they can fix it, all will be forgiven.

Therein lies the problem. You fire a coach who goes 20-11 and doesn't make the NCAAT, the next coach knows the bar. You extend a coach who goes 20-11 and doesn't make the NCAAT, you have Jim Baron as your coach.

Let's see JB was here for 11 seasons and no NCAAT.

Cox is only entering his 4th, 2020 A10T/ NCAAT cancelled, 2021 a "Covid" season. 21-22 we could see much improvement with a strong roster going forward.

Bad comparison at this time.

Can we stop with the lowering of the bar/revisionist history?

Baron inherited a dead program, like Hurley. Cox inherited a turnkey program with its best recruiting class, potentially program best point guard, best national visibility, scheduling, and the expectations that came with.

The bar was low for Baron - get us back to respectability in the first 4 years, get everyone to stop laughing at us after the Jerry D fiasco - he did that. That’s why he stayed longer. He made us competitive, and despite his in game shortcomings - we did improve over those years.

The bar for Cox was different - it had to be. He got a full cupboard, new facilities, top recruiting class, and coming off of 2 NCAA appearances. The bar was to keep the momentum. He has not, we have regressed.

When you are given a rebuild, the bar is different. This was not a rebuild.

[Jersey77]

First of all Blueman my expectations are the same as most fans. I want us to compete for titles every season.

Even though our program was on the rise when Cox came in the cupboards weren't full. Losing 4 senior starters and almost all our scoring, didn't leave us with an NCAAT team that following season. Yes, we did have Jeff, a very young Fatts, and Cyril (who had his offensive limitations) but that wasn't enough for a title run in 2018-2019.
Enough already with the recruiting class, many times they don't pan out as was the case with that one.
It is how Cox was able to fill in since, is what should really count and time will tell on that.

Regardless I feel that our best opportunity to make it to the NCAAT in the near future is with our current staff and roster.
I don't think starting a complete rebuild at this time will get us there any sooner. IMO

[Rhody Guy]

Let's see JB was here for 11 seasons and no NCAAT.

Cox is only entering his 4th, 2020 A10T/ NCAAT cancelled, 2021 a "Covid" season. 21-22 we could see much improvement with a strong roster going forward.

Bad comparison at this time.

Covid season? No one played in the NCAAT last year?

It wasn't a typical season and we all know the circumstances, even the NCAA was aware of that. I guess you were unaware.

Regardless this will still only be his 4th season.

I don't buy into that narrative about getting a pass because of a Covid season. Everyone played with the same circumstances. Some performed and some didn't. No excuses!

[Blue Man]

First of all Blueman my expectations are the same as most fans. I want us to compete for titles every season.

Even though our program was on the rise when Cox came in the cupboards weren't full. Losing 4 senior starters and almost all our scoring, didn't leave us with an NCAAT team that following season. Yes, we did have Jeff, a very young Fatts, and Cyril (who had his offensive limitations) but that wasn't enough for a title run in 2018-2019.
Enough already with the recruiting class, many times they don't pan out as was the case with that one.
It is how Cox was able to fill in since, is what should really count and time will tell on that.

Regardless I feel that our best opportunity to make it to the NCAAT in the near future is with our current staff and roster.
I don't think starting a complete rebuild at this time will get us there any sooner. IMO

On the rise? Back to back appearances, A-10 tourney and regular season championships is a risen, established program.

Losing players to graduation is not an empty cupboard. You had an elite PG, a stalwart defensive presence in the paint, a streaky fireball scorer, and a top recruiting class. You should be set up for success in the near-future, even if not that first season.

Jeff Dowtin was the best point guard in the A-10 as a sophomore. He was one of the top 25 PG's in the country as a sophomore. THE COACH CHANGED HIS POSITION. If you use him properly, that team is perfectly capable of making the NCAA's in the A-10. There's certainly enough talent there.

I have a problem with the "enough already with the recruiting class" line - as THAT WAS THE MAIN REASON EVERYONE SAID WE NEEDED TO HIRE COX. That, and the continuity/culture because we were an established championship program and we didn't want to upset that. Not for nothing, if he could've kept his most talented players believing in his leadership and program direction, we'd be in a significantly better place.

If the argument was: well we're losing all our talent anyway to graduation, so we're staring over - then why did we hire Dave Cox? Why not Pitino?

Cox's selling point was the continuity of a championship culture and our top ranked recruiting class. Period. So it's a load of BS to say those factors don't matter now that they haven't worked out. So yes, based on those factors and the talk of this "bar" set for the team, fans should be restless about the state of our listing program.

These sentences:

"Regardless I feel that our best opportunity to make it to the NCAAT in the near future is with our current staff and roster.
I don't think starting a complete rebuild at this time will get us there any sooner."

That's how you get a Baron scenario. But at least you're admitting that we've gone from championship contender when Hurley left, to complete rebuild if/when Cox leaves.

[rhodylaw]

1. I don’t think Cox has done a great job so far; 2. I think the best shot we have at a tournament appearance in the next few years is if he turns it around.

I’m giving the chance this year to prove it.

[Rhody74]

1. I don’t think Cox has done a great job so far; 2. I think the best shot we have at a tournament appearance in the next few years is if he turns it around.

I’m giving the chance this year to prove it.

No question. This is a make or break year for Cox.

[Jersey77]

First of all Blueman my expectations are the same as most fans. I want us to compete for titles every season.

Even though our program was on the rise when Cox came in the cupboards weren't full. Losing 4 senior starters and almost all our scoring, didn't leave us with an NCAAT team that following season. Yes, we did have Jeff, a very young Fatts, and Cyril (who had his offensive limitations) but that wasn't enough for a title run in 2018-2019.
Enough already with the recruiting class, many times they don't pan out as was the case with that one.
It is how Cox was able to fill in since, is what should really count and time will tell on that.

Regardless I feel that our best opportunity to make it to the NCAAT in the near future is with our current staff and roster.
I don't think starting a complete rebuild at this time will get us there any sooner. IMO

On the rise? Back to back appearances, A-10 tourney and regular season championships is a risen, established program.

Losing players to graduation is not an empty cupboard. You had an elite PG, a stalwart defensive presence in the paint, a streaky fireball scorer, and a top recruiting class. You should be set up for success in the near-future, even if not that first season.

Jeff Dowtin was the best point guard in the A-10 as a sophomore. He was one of the top 25 PG's in the country as a sophomore. THE COACH CHANGED HIS POSITION. If you use him properly, that team is perfectly capable of making the NCAA's in the A-10. There's certainly enough talent there.

I have a problem with the "enough already with the recruiting class" line - as THAT WAS THE MAIN REASON EVERYONE SAID WE NEEDED TO HIRE COX. That, and the continuity/culture because we were an established championship program and we didn't want to upset that. Not for nothing, if he could've kept his most talented players believing in his leadership and program direction, we'd be in a significantly better place.

If the argument was: well we're losing all our talent anyway to graduation, so we're staring over - then why did we hire Dave Cox? Why not Pitino?

Cox's selling point was the continuity of a championship culture and our top ranked recruiting class. Period. So it's a load of BS to say those factors don't matter now that they haven't worked out. So yes, based on those factors and the talk of this "bar" set for the team, fans should be restless about the state of our listing program.

These sentences:

"Regardless I feel that our best opportunity to make it to the NCAAT in the near future is with our current staff and roster.
I don't think starting a complete rebuild at this time will get us there any sooner."

That's how you get a Baron scenario. But at least you're admitting that we've gone from championship contender when Hurley left, to complete rebuild if/when Cox leaves.

At the time Thorr made what he thought was the best decision in promoting Cox to HC, and I agreed.
Yes you try and keep the continuity with Jeff, Cyril, and Fatts, and all ended up graduating from here.

I don't think Cox has been given enough time yet, but no one expects his leash to be as long as JB's was.

I think this discussion should probably move on from this thread 21-22 Schedule, we really got off track.

[Rhodyram]

What good are the 20+ wins if the NET is in the 80s?

[RhowdyRam02]

Doesn’t matter if I think it’s a good decision or not, I don’t see a URI basketball coach getting fired off a 20 win season, regardless of the quality of the wins. I think there’s a chance Cox and company turn it around, probably because I tend to be blindly optimistic in the off-season, but I find it frustrating that pretty much nothing came from the momentum the program had when he inherited it. A lot of people were very loud about how the previous coach had the skill set to rebuild the program but not to elevate it and that Cox was the guy for that. Now Dave has to do a little bit of both when most people thought we were past that. The program is nowhere near rock bottom like it was, but they’ve definitely dug a hole for themselves. If they can fix it, all will be forgiven.

Therein lies the problem. You fire a coach who goes 20-11 and doesn't make the NCAAT, the next coach knows the bar. You extend a coach who goes 20-11 and doesn't make the NCAAT, you have Jim Baron as your coach.

Let's see JB was here for 11 seasons and no NCAAT.

Cox is only entering his 4th, 2020 A10T/ NCAAT cancelled, 2021 a "Covid" season. 21-22 we could see much improvement with a strong roster going forward.

Bad comparison at this time.

Jim Baron was 17-15 in an Atlantic 10 that got 3 and 4 bids his 2nd and 3rd seasons here. David Cox is 20-15 in those same years in a 2 bid league this past season. Baron did that bringing the program back from Jerry D, Cox did that with a turnkey program. If it's a bad comparison at this time it's because Cox hasn't shown that he's even up to Jim Baron's caliber yet, to say nothing of being capable of bringing us to the tournament

[Jersey77]

Therein lies the problem. You fire a coach who goes 20-11 and doesn't make the NCAAT, the next coach knows the bar. You extend a coach who goes 20-11 and doesn't make the NCAAT, you have Jim Baron as your coach.

Let's see JB was here for 11 seasons and no NCAAT.

Cox is only entering his 4th, 2020 A10T/ NCAAT cancelled, 2021 a "Covid" season. 21-22 we could see much improvement with a strong roster going forward.

Bad comparison at this time.

Jim Baron was 17-15 in an Atlantic 10 that got 3 and 4 bids his 2nd and 3rd seasons here. David Cox is 20-15 in those same years in a 2 bid league this past season. Baron did that bringing the program back from Jerry D, Cox did that with a turnkey program. If it's a bad comparison at this time it's because Cox hasn't shown that he's even up to Jim Baron's caliber yet, to say nothing of being capable of bringing us to the tournament

First of all JB was 20-27 (A10 record) his first 3 years at URI and 22-26 (A10 record) his last 3 years at URI.
David Cox was 29-24 (A10) his only 3 seasons.
In addition JB had 14 years of HC experience including 9 years as HC of the Bonnies in the A10 with 1 NCAA appearance prior to being hired.
On the other hand Cox had 0 years experience as a HC, so why the comparison.

[Jersey77]

What good are the 20+ wins if the NET is in the 80s?

What difference does it make, If you were thinking NCAAT this season, be prepared for a disappointment.

If by some chance Cox does get us there, that will exceed my realistic expectations for 21-22.

[sevegny7]

Let's see JB was here for 11 seasons and no NCAAT.

Cox is only entering his 4th, 2020 A10T/ NCAAT cancelled, 2021 a "Covid" season. 21-22 we could see much improvement with a strong roster going forward.

Bad comparison at this time.

Jim Baron was 17-15 in an Atlantic 10 that got 3 and 4 bids his 2nd and 3rd seasons here. David Cox is 20-15 in those same years in a 2 bid league this past season. Baron did that bringing the program back from Jerry D, Cox did that with a turnkey program. If it's a bad comparison at this time it's because Cox hasn't shown that he's even up to Jim Baron's caliber yet, to say nothing of being capable of bringing us to the tournament

First of all JB was 20-27 (A10 record) his first 3 years at URI and 22-26 (A10 record) his last 3 years at URI.
David Cox was 29-24 (A10) his only 3 seasons.
In addition JB had 14 years of HC experience including 9 years as HC of the Bonnies in the A10 with 1 NCAA appearance prior to being hired.
On the other hand Cox had 0 years experience as a HC, so why the comparison.

It is not worth banging your head against the wall trying to talk some sense into the very delusional and consistently negative posters. The sky will always be falling in Rhody Nation no matter what anybody says in their minds. Even if you bring solid facts and arguments which you do they will not change their mind. They enjoy the feeling. I agree with you on these points. Funny the people that you are arguing with are the least knowledgeable fans of them all.

The type of fans to argue whether we should intentionally foul when we are up 2 points with seconds left on the clock type shit. If you realistically believe that you clearly do not know basketball and your opinion of the Rhody Program is less reliable then the Website " The Onion".

[Jersey77]

Jim Baron was 17-15 in an Atlantic 10 that got 3 and 4 bids his 2nd and 3rd seasons here. David Cox is 20-15 in those same years in a 2 bid league this past season. Baron did that bringing the program back from Jerry D, Cox did that with a turnkey program. If it's a bad comparison at this time it's because Cox hasn't shown that he's even up to Jim Baron's caliber yet, to say nothing of being capable of bringing us to the tournament

First of all JB was 20-27 (A10 record) his first 3 years at URI and 22-26 (A10 record) his last 3 years at URI.
David Cox was 29-24 (A10) his only 3 seasons.
In addition JB had 14 years of HC experience including 9 years as HC of the Bonnies in the A10 with 1 NCAA appearance prior to being hired.
On the other hand Cox had 0 years experience as a HC, so why the comparison.

It is not worth banging your head against the wall trying to talk some sense into the very delusional and consistently negative posters. The sky will always be falling in Rhody Nation no matter what anybody says in their minds. Even if you bring solid facts and arguments which you do they will not change their mind. They enjoy the feeling. I agree with you on these points. Funny the people that you are arguing with are the least knowledgeable fans of them all.

The type of fans to argue whether we should intentionally foul when we are up 2 points with seconds left on the clock type shit. If you realistically believe that you clearly do not know basketball and your opinion of the Rhody Program is less reliable then the Website " The Onion".

I was beginning to think that I was alone in thinking Cox needs more of a chance to prove himself.

I understand as fans we tend to be impatient but many times success runs in cycles.
Regardless of what many here think we are not a blueblood program where every year we can just reload.
As a good program in a mid-major conference it is extremely difficult to try and contend year after year, and it will keep getting tougher.
Even some of the most seasoned coaches, especially at our level, took quite a few years before they achieved that success and they continue to struggle every year to try and maintain it.

[steveystuds06]

Jim Baron was 17-15 in an Atlantic 10 that got 3 and 4 bids his 2nd and 3rd seasons here. David Cox is 20-15 in those same years in a 2 bid league this past season. Baron did that bringing the program back from Jerry D, Cox did that with a turnkey program. If it's a bad comparison at this time it's because Cox hasn't shown that he's even up to Jim Baron's caliber yet, to say nothing of being capable of bringing us to the tournament

First of all JB was 20-27 (A10 record) his first 3 years at URI and 22-26 (A10 record) his last 3 years at URI.
David Cox was 29-24 (A10) his only 3 seasons.
In addition JB had 14 years of HC experience including 9 years as HC of the Bonnies in the A10 with 1 NCAA appearance prior to being hired.
On the other hand Cox had 0 years experience as a HC, so why the comparison.

It is not worth banging your head against the wall trying to talk some sense into the very delusional and consistently negative posters. The sky will always be falling in Rhody Nation no matter what anybody says in their minds. Even if you bring solid facts and arguments which you do they will not change their mind. They enjoy the feeling. I agree with you on these points. Funny the people that you are arguing with are the least knowledgeable fans of them all.

The type of fans to argue whether we should intentionally foul when we are up 2 points with seconds left on the clock type shit. If you realistically believe that you clearly do not know basketball and your opinion of the Rhody Program is less reliable then the Website " The Onion".

Since you're such an expert, what did you see from Cox so far that gives you hope that he's a great HEAD coach?

Personally, I've seen some red flags. How he handled his rotations was questionable. We've already discussed the decision to take Jeff off the ball a million times.. Taking out the hot hand multiple times like Martin and Walker. Keeping players with foul trouble in the game in the 1st half. Allowing players like Carey to play over Ish even though our entire fan base knew it was the wrong move. We have a great shooter in Sheppard, but he only took 5 shots a game last season? Instead of running the offense through him more, we allowed Fatts to do whatever he wanted whenever he wanted while playing him as much as he can handle while he was hurt...

When you're playing with every single D1 player in the state of Rhode Island,, do you call a timeout every time you start to go on a nice run to kill all your momentum? That's what Cox does. If you know you're playing a team full of PC players who don't have David Duke, do you design your game plan to stop David Duke? That's what Cox did with Tre Mitchell...

I also have seen some great moments under Cox. I think he's a strong recruiter. The way we ended the season in year 1 was promising. I loved him drenched in sweat coaching his ass off when we upset VCU. That winning streak in year 2 when our team looked locked in on both ends of the court. Beating PC is always special.. Last season, the Seton Hall and VCU wins were some of the best basketball from our team in years. I know Cox is one of the top assistants in the country. He's amazing at it when he can focus on recruiting and being a mentor to our kids. Being the head coach is a different animal. I want him to do well, and he 100% deserves a shot next season, but I am not going to pretend I haven't witnessed what I have like some of the Cox can do not wrong people on here.

[eli#10]

I am cautiously optimistic about the upcoming season. A good college bball team needs real good guard play and I think we should have it next year and we should be pretty solid up front. The wild card here is with Cox' coaching which needs to improve a lot if we are to be a contender in the A-10. I think the addition of Todd B should be a big plus provided Cox listens to him. It is a make or break year for Cox. Let's go!!

[Jersey77]

First of all JB was 20-27 (A10 record) his first 3 years at URI and 22-26 (A10 record) his last 3 years at URI.
David Cox was 29-24 (A10) his only 3 seasons.
In addition JB had 14 years of HC experience including 9 years as HC of the Bonnies in the A10 with 1 NCAA appearance prior to being hired.
On the other hand Cox had 0 years experience as a HC, so why the comparison.

It is not worth banging your head against the wall trying to talk some sense into the very delusional and consistently negative posters. The sky will always be falling in Rhody Nation no matter what anybody says in their minds. Even if you bring solid facts and arguments which you do they will not change their mind. They enjoy the feeling. I agree with you on these points. Funny the people that you are arguing with are the least knowledgeable fans of them all.

The type of fans to argue whether we should intentionally foul when we are up 2 points with seconds left on the clock type shit. If you realistically believe that you clearly do not know basketball and your opinion of the Rhody Program is less reliable then the Website " The Onion".

Since you're such an expert, what did you see from Cox so far that gives you hope that he's a great HEAD coach?

Personally, I've seen some red flags. How he handled his rotations was questionable. We've already discussed the decision to take Jeff off the ball a million times.. Taking out the hot hand multiple times like Martin and Walker. Keeping players with foul trouble in the game in the 1st half. Allowing players like Carey to play over Ish even though our entire fan base knew it was the wrong move. We have a great shooter in Sheppard, but he only took 5 shots a game last season? Instead of running the offense through him more, we allowed Fatts to do whatever he wanted whenever he wanted while playing him as much as he can handle while he was hurt...

When you're playing with every single D1 player in the state of Rhode Island,, do you call a timeout every time you start to go on a nice run to kill all your momentum? That's what Cox does. If you know you're playing a team full of PC players who don't have David Duke, do you design your game plan to stop David Duke? That's what Cox did with Tre Mitchell...

I also have seen some great moments under Cox. I think he's a strong recruiter. The way we ended the season in year 1 was promising. I loved him drenched in sweat coaching his ass off when we upset VCU. That winning streak in year 2 when our team looked locked in on both ends of the court. Last season, the Seton Hall and VCU wins were some of the best basketball from our team in years. I know Cox is one of the top assistants in the country. He's amazing at it when he can focus on recruiting and being a mentor to our kids. Being the head coach is a different animal. I want him to do well, and he 100% deserves a shot next season, but I am not going to pretend I haven't witnessed what I have like some of the Cox can do not wrong people on here.

Stevey, not sure who you directed the question to but I still have question marks regarding Cox as to whether he will be a successful HC let alone a great one.
I haven't witnessed many Cox can do no wrong people here, actually quite the opposite most posters here feel he can do no right.

[steveystuds06]

It is not worth banging your head against the wall trying to talk some sense into the very delusional and consistently negative posters. The sky will always be falling in Rhody Nation no matter what anybody says in their minds. Even if you bring solid facts and arguments which you do they will not change their mind. They enjoy the feeling. I agree with you on these points. Funny the people that you are arguing with are the least knowledgeable fans of them all.

The type of fans to argue whether we should intentionally foul when we are up 2 points with seconds left on the clock type shit. If you realistically believe that you clearly do not know basketball and your opinion of the Rhody Program is less reliable then the Website " The Onion".

Since you're such an expert, what did you see from Cox so far that gives you hope that he's a great HEAD coach?

Personally, I've seen some red flags. How he handled his rotations was questionable. We've already discussed the decision to take Jeff off the ball a million times.. Taking out the hot hand multiple times like Martin and Walker. Keeping players with foul trouble in the game in the 1st half. Allowing players like Carey to play over Ish even though our entire fan base knew it was the wrong move. We have a great shooter in Sheppard, but he only took 5 shots a game last season? Instead of running the offense through him more, we allowed Fatts to do whatever he wanted whenever he wanted while playing him as much as he can handle while he was hurt...

When you're playing with every single D1 player in the state of Rhode Island,, do you call a timeout every time you start to go on a nice run to kill all your momentum? That's what Cox does. If you know you're playing a team full of PC players who don't have David Duke, do you design your game plan to stop David Duke? That's what Cox did with Tre Mitchell...

I also have seen some great moments under Cox. I think he's a strong recruiter. The way we ended the season in year 1 was promising. I loved him drenched in sweat coaching his ass off when we upset VCU. That winning streak in year 2 when our team looked locked in on both ends of the court. Last season, the Seton Hall and VCU wins were some of the best basketball from our team in years. I know Cox is one of the top assistants in the country. He's amazing at it when he can focus on recruiting and being a mentor to our kids. Being the head coach is a different animal. I want him to do well, and he 100% deserves a shot next season, but I am not going to pretend I haven't witnessed what I have like some of the Cox can do not wrong people on here.

Stevey, not sure who you directed the question to but I still have question marks regarding Cox as to whether he will be a successful HC let alone a great one.
I haven't witnessed many Cox can do no wrong people here, actually quite the opposite most posters here feel he can do no right.

It wasn't at you, Jersey. It bugs me when certain people just come on here to name-call other posters. Calling people miserable human beings, unknowledgeable, delusional. Blah blah blah... You and I don't agree on everything, but we can actually debate it without getting personal. Yes, I agree that the board has become very negative, and it can get annoying. But, as I said in my previous post, we have seen moments where Cox can be great. Hopefully, last season was a fluke, and we see a big improvement.

[sevegny7]

Since you're such an expert, what did you see from Cox so far that gives you hope that he's a great HEAD coach?

Personally, I've seen some red flags. How he handled his rotations was questionable. We've already discussed the decision to take Jeff off the ball a million times.. Taking out the hot hand multiple times like Martin and Walker. Keeping players with foul trouble in the game in the 1st half. Allowing players like Carey to play over Ish even though our entire fan base knew it was the wrong move. We have a great shooter in Sheppard, but he only took 5 shots a game last season? Instead of running the offense through him more, we allowed Fatts to do whatever he wanted whenever he wanted while playing him as much as he can handle while he was hurt...

When you're playing with every single D1 player in the state of Rhode Island,, do you call a timeout every time you start to go on a nice run to kill all your momentum? That's what Cox does. If you know you're playing a team full of PC players who don't have David Duke, do you design your game plan to stop David Duke? That's what Cox did with Tre Mitchell...

I also have seen some great moments under Cox. I think he's a strong recruiter. The way we ended the season in year 1 was promising. I loved him drenched in sweat coaching his ass off when we upset VCU. That winning streak in year 2 when our team looked locked in on both ends of the court. Last season, the Seton Hall and VCU wins were some of the best basketball from our team in years. I know Cox is one of the top assistants in the country. He's amazing at it when he can focus on recruiting and being a mentor to our kids. Being the head coach is a different animal. I want him to do well, and he 100% deserves a shot next season, but I am not going to pretend I haven't witnessed what I have like some of the Cox can do not wrong people on here.

Stevey, not sure who you directed the question to but I still have question marks regarding Cox as to whether he will be a successful HC let alone a great one.
I haven't witnessed many Cox can do no wrong people here, actually quite the opposite most posters here feel he can do no right.

It wasn't at you, Jersey. It bugs me when certain people just come on here to name-call other posters. Calling people miserable human beings, unknowledgeable, delusional. Blah blah blah... You and I don't agree on everything, but we can actually debate it without getting personal. Yes, I agree that the board has become very negative, and it can get annoying. But, as I said in my previous post, we have seen moments where Cox can be great. Hopefully, last season was a fluke, and we see a big improvement.

When have I or anyone else said Cox can do no wrong? I have not seen that on this board. And yeah I am going to come on here and call people out for what they are being. Because the same 15 people spew the same non sense and negativity everyday no matter the topic. Such as this Schedule thread that has yet turned into a Cox sucks thread as did almost every other one. We get it you guys never wanted Cox to begin with so you guys held a grudge because you wanted Pitino.

Yes Cox has not been a great coach the first 3 years. But he also has made moves to try and improve. Hiring Bozeman is a great step in helping him improve on those areas you talk about. He also realized that first recruiting class outside of Tyrese Martin was not as good as everyone thought and ranked out of HS. He was able to reload very quickly and I think we have the potential to be pretty good this year Top 6 in A-10. I think next year has the potential for a NCAAT the most.

Cox has a lot of room for improvement. But for people to discount the effect the COVID year with a ton of new transfers and trying to develop chemistry with a completely new team had on last year. Like 77 says I give him a pass for last year. Also people make it seem like we are at Fordham level in this program when I think we are a lot closer then everyone on this board thinks. This program would take even longer to be more relevant if we fired Cox immediately and started a complete rebuild with a new Head coach. Then riding Cox for the next 2 years. If COX shows absolutely no improvement by the end of next year I would agree. But to act like he is the worst coach and worse then Baron is laughable.

[sevegny7]

Stevey, not sure who you directed the question to but I still have question marks regarding Cox as to whether he will be a successful HC let alone a great one.
I haven't witnessed many Cox can do no wrong people here, actually quite the opposite most posters here feel he can do no right.

It wasn't at you, Jersey. It bugs me when certain people just come on here to name-call other posters. Calling people miserable human beings, unknowledgeable, delusional. Blah blah blah... You and I don't agree on everything, but we can actually debate it without getting personal. Yes, I agree that the board has become very negative, and it can get annoying. But, as I said in my previous post, we have seen moments where Cox can be great. Hopefully, last season was a fluke, and we see a big improvement.

When have I or anyone else said Cox can do no wrong? I have not seen that on this board. And yeah I am going to come on here and call people out for what they are being. Because the same 15 people spew the same non sense and negativity everyday no matter the topic. Such as this Schedule thread that has yet turned into a Cox sucks thread as did almost every other one. We get it you guys never wanted Cox to begin with so you guys held a grudge because you wanted Pitino.

Yes Cox has not been a great coach the first 3 years. But he also has made moves to try and improve. Hiring Bozeman is a great step in helping him improve on those areas you talk about. He also realized that first recruiting class outside of Tyrese Martin was not as good as everyone thought and ranked out of HS. He was able to reload very quickly and I think we have the potential to be pretty good this year Top 6 in A-10. I think next year has the potential for a NCAAT the most.

Cox has a lot of room for improvement. But for people to discount the effect the COVID year with a ton of new transfers and trying to develop chemistry with a completely new team had on last year. Like 77 says I give him a pass for last year. Also people make it seem like we are at Fordham level in this program when I think we are a lot closer then everyone on this board thinks. This program would take even longer to be more relevant if we fired Cox immediately and started a complete rebuild with a new Head coach. Then riding Cox for the next 2 years. If COX shows absolutely no improvement by the end of next year I would agree. But to act like he is the worst coach and worse then Baron is laughable.

Some people on this board act like we are Kentucky or Michigan or something like we can just reload year after year. Fire a new head coach and instantly within 2 years be this national contender.

The gap between the A-10 and Power 5 is getting bigger every year. And we support our program middle of the pack out of the A-10 and takes us 5 years to go from blueprints for a basketball facility to actually creating the facility. And half our diehard fans continue to shit all over our program and refuse to go to games after 2 years of being out the Ryan center because we had a couple down seasons. But yet we expect to dominate one of the tougher leagues to make the Tournament from every year or else.

The support of the program has to be alot more than what it is now if we expect to be a dominate force and make the Tournament every year.

[Blue Man]

Stevey, not sure who you directed the question to but I still have question marks regarding Cox as to whether he will be a successful HC let alone a great one.
I haven't witnessed many Cox can do no wrong people here, actually quite the opposite most posters here feel he can do no right.

It wasn't at you, Jersey. It bugs me when certain people just come on here to name-call other posters. Calling people miserable human beings, unknowledgeable, delusional. Blah blah blah... You and I don't agree on everything, but we can actually debate it without getting personal. Yes, I agree that the board has become very negative, and it can get annoying. But, as I said in my previous post, we have seen moments where Cox can be great. Hopefully, last season was a fluke, and we see a big improvement.

When have I or anyone else said Cox can do no wrong? I have not seen that on this board. And yeah I am going to come on here and call people out for what they are being. Because the same 15 people spew the same non sense and negativity everyday no matter the topic. Such as this Schedule thread that has yet turned into a Cox sucks thread as did almost every other one. We get it you guys never wanted Cox to begin with so you guys held a grudge because you wanted Pitino.

Yes Cox has not been a great coach the first 3 years. But he also has made moves to try and improve. Hiring Bozeman is a great step in helping him improve on those areas you talk about. He also realized that first recruiting class outside of Tyrese Martin was not as good as everyone thought and ranked out of HS. He was able to reload very quickly and I think we have the potential to be pretty good this year Top 6 in A-10. I think next year has the potential for a NCAAT the most.

Cox has a lot of room for improvement. But for people to discount the effect the COVID year with a ton of new transfers and trying to develop chemistry with a completely new team had on last year. Like 77 says I give him a pass for last year. Also people make it seem like we are at Fordham level in this program when I think we are a lot closer then everyone on this board thinks. This program would take even longer to be more relevant if we fired Cox immediately and started a complete rebuild with a new Head coach. Then riding Cox for the next 2 years. If COX shows absolutely no improvement by the end of next year I would agree. But to act like he is the worst coach and worse then Baron is laughable.

Ummmm put me in the camp of saying that Dave was the right hire. He was the right guy at the time. He deserved the shot. I thought (and said on this board, and to plenty of people) that Dave had the potential to outcoach others. I didn't think Hurley did, Hurley's teams would just outwork you and grind you to death, but I didn't think Hurley was going to outcoach anyone. I thought Dave would be able to adjust in ways Dan did not.

I think after 3 years and a clear regression in the program, I think it's OK to call it for what it is and dissect the flaws. This is a message board. Not a soft-speak marketing arm of the team that can only write flowery things.

I mean, when the laughable 2.0 thread came to be I was one of a minority of voices staunchly against it and in support of Hurley, and then I was dubbed a "sunshine boy" - so if we take out the revisionist history, maybe I've just always called it like I saw it and have no ulterior motives other than what's best for the program?

If you're looking to come and read positive puff pieces about a program in a 3 year free fall from a championship-caliber program to a potential total rebuild (which it seems everyone is in agreement that we would be in with a new coach), you should try gorhody.com.

On a message board you'll get fans who care about the team and who are emotionally invested in it's success. Color me surprised that people are complaining that the offseason message board for a sub .500 team with a 10th place finish in a 2 bid league, isn't full of positive affirmations.

[Jersey77]

It wasn't at you, Jersey. It bugs me when certain people just come on here to name-call other posters. Calling people miserable human beings, unknowledgeable, delusional. Blah blah blah... You and I don't agree on everything, but we can actually debate it without getting personal. Yes, I agree that the board has become very negative, and it can get annoying. But, as I said in my previous post, we have seen moments where Cox can be great. Hopefully, last season was a fluke, and we see a big improvement.

When have I or anyone else said Cox can do no wrong? I have not seen that on this board. And yeah I am going to come on here and call people out for what they are being. Because the same 15 people spew the same non sense and negativity everyday no matter the topic. Such as this Schedule thread that has yet turned into a Cox sucks thread as did almost every other one. We get it you guys never wanted Cox to begin with so you guys held a grudge because you wanted Pitino.

Yes Cox has not been a great coach the first 3 years. But he also has made moves to try and improve. Hiring Bozeman is a great step in helping him improve on those areas you talk about. He also realized that first recruiting class outside of Tyrese Martin was not as good as everyone thought and ranked out of HS. He was able to reload very quickly and I think we have the potential to be pretty good this year Top 6 in A-10. I think next year has the potential for a NCAAT the most.

Cox has a lot of room for improvement. But for people to discount the effect the COVID year with a ton of new transfers and trying to develop chemistry with a completely new team had on last year. Like 77 says I give him a pass for last year. Also people make it seem like we are at Fordham level in this program when I think we are a lot closer then everyone on this board thinks. This program would take even longer to be more relevant if we fired Cox immediately and started a complete rebuild with a new Head coach. Then riding Cox for the next 2 years. If COX shows absolutely no improvement by the end of next year I would agree. But to act like he is the worst coach and worse then Baron is laughable.

Ummmm put me in the camp of saying that Dave was the right hire. He was the right guy at the time. He deserved the shot. I thought (and said on this board, and to plenty of people) that Dave had the potential to outcoach others. I didn't think Hurley did, Hurley's teams would just outwork you and grind you to death, but I didn't think Hurley was going to outcoach anyone. I thought Dave would be able to adjust in ways Dan did not.

I think after 3 years and a clear regression in the program, I think it's OK to call it for what it is and dissect the flaws. This is a message board. Not a soft-speak marketing arm of the team who that only write flowery things.

I mean, when the laughable 2.0 thread came to be I was one of a minority of voices staunchly against it and in support of Hurley, and then I was dubbed a "sunshine boy" - so if we take out the revisionist history, maybe I've just always called it like I saw it and have no ulterior motives other than what's best for the program?

If you're looking to come and read positive puff pieces about a program in a 3 year free fall from a championship-caliber program to a potential total rebuild (which it seems everyone is in agreement that we would be in with a new coach), you should try gorhody.com.

On a message board you'll get fans who care about the team and who are emotionally invested in it's success. Color me surprised that people are complaining that the offseason message board for a sub .500 team with a 10th place finish in a 2 bid league, isn't full of positive affirmations.

BlueMan, hopefully next year's off season this board will have a more positive spin.

[theblueram]

Only 31 games away. Let's see what we get.

[steviep123]

Would be good to know about what happened to the Seton Hall game.

Pushed back a year due to scheduling conflicts

Thanks. Glad they didn’t pull a Nevada

[Billyboy78]

It wasn't a typical season and we all know the circumstances, even the NCAA was aware of that. I guess you were unaware.

Regardless this will still only be his 4th season.

77,
Are you saying that David Cox gets a pass because last year was a Covid year? So if there had been no Covid URI and David Cox would have had a better chance at a BID? Both Mitchells, Martin, Carey and Betrand - 5 Transfers - got waivers last season likely BECAUSE of Covid, otherwise most if not all of the 5 transfers would have sat out the season. That helped URI, didn't hurt. That was an advantage having 5 Transfers-in-waiting whereas most teams did not have close to 5. URI was fortunate knowing Long, Martin and Toppin left the program.

Last season I didn't expect an NCAAT anyway and there wasn't huge expectations.
Of course getting the transfers eligible was a plus and we did underachieve.
I am sure the coaches and players also felt that way and will maybe play with a chip on their shoulder this season.

I don't give Cox a complete pass but it was difficult year.
I think he did make plenty of mistakes but there were also issues out of his control.
I am sure lack of practice time didn't help with all the new players, also losing Makhi and having Fatts playing injured all season was a problem.

It appears I am in the minority, but I still feel optimistic about this team and staff going forward.
If we don't see any improvement and this program gets stuck in neutral, I agree that changes will be necessary.

I am just not yet ready to throw in the towel and feel we still have a good foundation to build on.

That's the problem....expectations. When Hurley was here, the expectations grew every year. Since Cox has been the coach, the expectations seem to diminish every year. That's not a good trend in so many ways.

[Jersey77]

77,
Are you saying that David Cox gets a pass because last year was a Covid year? So if there had been no Covid URI and David Cox would have had a better chance at a BID? Both Mitchells, Martin, Carey and Betrand - 5 Transfers - got waivers last season likely BECAUSE of Covid, otherwise most if not all of the 5 transfers would have sat out the season. That helped URI, didn't hurt. That was an advantage having 5 Transfers-in-waiting whereas most teams did not have close to 5. URI was fortunate knowing Long, Martin and Toppin left the program.

Last season I didn't expect an NCAAT anyway and there wasn't huge expectations.
Of course getting the transfers eligible was a plus and we did underachieve.
I am sure the coaches and players also felt that way and will maybe play with a chip on their shoulder this season.

I don't give Cox a complete pass but it was difficult year.
I think he did make plenty of mistakes but there were also issues out of his control.
I am sure lack of practice time didn't help with all the new players, also losing Makhi and having Fatts playing injured all season was a problem.

It appears I am in the minority, but I still feel optimistic about this team and staff going forward.
If we don't see any improvement and this program gets stuck in neutral, I agree that changes will be necessary.

I am just not yet ready to throw in the towel and feel we still have a good foundation to build on.

That's the problem....expectations. When Hurley was here, the expectations grew every year. Since Cox has been the coach, the expectations seem to diminish every year. That's not a good trend in so many ways.

I am feeling enthusiastic about this season, as long as it isn't derailed by "Covid" .

Granted we may not overtake the top teams in the conference, but we should be very competitive.
Also looking past this season, I think we have a strong foundation for 22-23 and hopefully contend for the conference title.

[Jersey77]

As suspected it will continue to get much tougher to schedule games against P5 schools.

[ramster]

Yep
Football rules the roost more than ever

[ramster]

[Jersey77]

I guess this game is set now, should be a good match-up.

[Billyboy78]

Just read that the A10 schedule will be out within 2 weeks.

[RF1]

This site has the league schedules for each A-10 member as well as their OOC schedules (further down) in one handy place:

https://bracketeer.org/nonconference/atlantic-10


Worth noting that URI and GW play more true road OOC games (4) than all the other A-10 members as of now. Most teams play no more than 2 at most.

[RF1]

While URI's home OOC slate may not be great, it is probably still better than UConn's. The Huskies will play six home games, one true road game, and four neutral site games. The home OOC schedule is Central Ct State, Coppin State, LIU, Binghamton, MD-Eastern Shore, and Grambling State. Fortunately for their ticket sales, they have the Big East schedule to market.

Even closer to home, PC may not like playing Rhode Island teams but it seems to have no issue with playing opponents from Connecticut. The Friars played no state teams last season and will follow a recent trend where its only game versus an in state squad will be URI as it has not scheduled either Brown or Bryant for some years now. In contrast it will play three OOC games versus teams from CT as it hosts Fairfield, Sacred Heart, and Central Ct State. It additionally plays two Big East games versus UConn for a total of five games against Constitution State opponents with just one game against an Ocean State opponent. URI on the other hand will play all three RI based D1 schools meeting PC, Bryant, and Brown this season.

[Jersey77]

While URI's home OOC slate may not be great, it is probably still better than UConn's. The Huskies will play six home games, one true road game, and four neutral site games. The home OOC schedule is Central Ct State, Coppin State, LIU, Binghamton, MD-Eastern Shore, and Grambling State. Fortunately for their ticket sales, they have the Big East schedule to market.

Even closer to home, PC may not like playing Rhode Island teams but it seems to have no issue with playing opponents from Connecticut. The Friars played no state teams last season and will follow a recent trend where its only game versus an in state squad will be URI as it has not scheduled either Brown or Bryant for some years now. In contrast it will play three OOC games versus teams from CT as it hosts Fairfield, Sacred Heart, and Central Ct State. It additionally plays two Big East games versus UConn for a total of five games against Constitution State opponents with just one game against an Ocean State opponent. URI on the other hand will play all three RI based D1 schools meeting PC, Bryant, and Brown this season.

I don't think UConn is concerned about their ticket sales, there is much anticipation by their fans for this season.
After no attendance last year and the fact they are picked top 25 and pre-season #2 in the BE, the turnout will be good regardless of who they play.
Also the OOC schedule includes West Virginia, Bonnies, plus the very competitive Battle of Atlantis including Auburn, Mich. State or Loyola/Chicago and then either Ariz. State, Syracuse, VCU, and Baylor.

[ramster]

[Ramulous]

We are a “key” opponent!