While the Rams find themselves in pillow fight position in the A-10 there are definitely some positive takeaways from the 2 game homestand. I feel better about the team than I did a week ago. I still don’t feel good, but I am happy to judge the team's progress based on the bar they have set for themselves to this point in the season. Here are 3 up and 3 down from the home stand.
1 Up- Effort
The rams showed up for both games which is an improvement. Efforts to the caliber of these two games will result in wins against inferior opponents moving forward. In their Saturday win over Davidson the Rams dominated the Cats on the boards to the tune of a 46-28 advantage. It was a slow day at the office for anyone not named Foster Loyer on the Davidson side as the rest of their free flowing offense struggled to get into a rhythm against the Rams defense. In the second half against Dayton the Rams managed to claw their way back into a game after going down double digits. There were times Rhody could have rolled over and died but declined to do so, a consistent effort makes the team more watchable which I don’t think is anything to dismiss this season.
2 Up-Jalen Carey
His stats don’t jump off the page in either game but I like what I am seeing from Carey right now. He’s knocking down his three point attempts(over 50% on the year) and did not turn the ball over in either game during this stretch. He has also cemented himself as the primary guard coming off the bench, getting more minutes than Sebastion Thomas in either game. Those flashes that display his 4 star recruit talent are continuing to shine through. If he can continue to take care of the ball, and maybe find himself in some additional 3 point shooting looks, Carey should be pressuring on the top 3 guards for minutes.
3 Up- team Shooting
The numbers look great(All things considered) right now. During the home stand, the Rams shot 44%(11-25) from deep and 81%(30-37) from the free throw line!! The 3 point numbers are skewed by the Davidson game but even against Dayton the Rams managed to knock down a respectable amount of their threes. Free throw shooting iced the Davidson game down the stretch, which was a tremendous sight for sore eyes. This team is capable of hitting their shots and it turns out makes are as contagious as misses. If Rhody can keep up this pace I like their chances in close games and they should be looking to open up the offense more from deep.
1 Down- Ish El-Amin
When it was announced Ish was transferring to Rhode Island I thought he was the missing piece. An all conference performer in the MAC Ish was heralded as a key transfer target, expected to replace Fatts Russel in the starting lineup and fill a senior leadership role. Ish has seen his minutes fall to only 17 a game during the homestand and 21 minutes a game in conference play. His shooting numbers are there, but he’s obviously out of favor with coach David Cox. If this is the case, start Jalen Carey and let Ish run the second unit and be their primary scoring threat.
2 Down- Competing on Conference in the Future
Dayton is the youngest team in the country and just swept it’s season series with URI. With Elijiah Weaver (20 minutes per game) being the only upperclassman on the roster Dayton is absolutely loaded moving forward. It’s crazy because Dayton looked like the more experienced team in both wins. Whether it was clutch shooting down the stretch, taking care of the ball on offense or upping their intensity when the time called for it, Dayton consistently had the answers. In the world of mid-major conferences and the transfer portal era, teams are never guaranteed to stay the same for long, but the prospect of playing Malachi Smith and DaRon Holmes for 3 more years is one that should scare Rams fans.
3 Down- Chance to get back to .500 in conference play
I was riding high after the Davidson win and I fired off this tweet,
In hindsight that was probably a little presumptuous. Sitting at 4-8 with 5 games remaining in conference (plus a potential make up game with George Mason) Rhody Would need to win out to finish above .500 on the year. Games against St. Bonaventure and St. Louis pretty much have that dream dead on arrival. I would expect wins against GW, Duquesne and St. Joes but that is far from a guarantee with this team. A 7-10 conference record is probably the most likely scenario but I could see it going as poorly as 5-12 which would land URI firmly in the pillow fight at the A-10 championship.
Rhody travels to the nation's capital to face GW Saturday evening at 6 PM on ESPN+