Jeff Goodman reported on the night of March 17th that the University of Rhode Island was hiring former Dayton and Indiana head coach Archie Miller as 21st coach in program history. Rhody Men's hoops had landed their white whale. Thanks to an unprecedented show of support from Thorr Bjorn and University president Marc Parlange the men's basketball program now finds itself in the upper echelon of the Atlantic 10 in terms of investment and hopes for the future.
Archie Miller Hire and Press Conference
Archie is a homerun hire for URI. After bringing A-10 counterpart Dayton to 4 straight NCAA tournaments Miller had a 4 year run at Indiana. While the Hoosiers never made the tournament under Miller(would have been a lock in the covid shortened year) the team was good in 3 out of his 4 years. I think Indiana and their boosters may have had a longer leash had there not been a notable former player available as an NBA assistant coach at the time in Mike Woodson. Miller has spoken on a number of platforms about how energized he has felt after a year away from coaching and you could see that at his introductory press conference.
Suit jacket aside, Archie and the administration at URI also crushed the press conference. Bjorn, Parlange and Governor Dan Mckee conveyed their excitement surrounding the hire and Miller laid out the vision for his program at Rhode Island. Hard, smart, tough, together. 4 simple words that sent a wave of excitement through the entire fanbase. A fact that probably goes to show just how far we have fallen the past few years but created an expectation to buy in on. You could also feel the excitement coming from Miller to be back in the game as his appreciation for the level of support offered by URI was stressed throughout the day. A 5 year deal worth 8.5 million and a commitment to upgrade every possible facet of the program will do that. Even if Miller were to be plucked away by a power 6 program in the next few years we will always have the financial improvements brought along by Miller. That should leave Rhody men's hoops in a much better place moving forward.
Players Entering the Portal
As of writing this piece 7 URI men's players had entered their name in the transfer portal at some point this offseason. I do not think that any of the players with their name currently in the portal have much chance of returning. The headliners from this group are the two Mitchel twins and graduate senior Antwan Walker. The twins posted identical instagram messages declaring for the NBA draft process while also entering the transfer portal. They cited a conversation with the incoming coach that determined they would both be better suited at another program. This seems like a pretty clear indicator that coach Archie Miller did not see a fit for the twins on his team. The most obvious rationale behind this decision would be a reluctance to play both twins at the same time. Shared playing time has been a priority for the pair and splitting minutes at the 5 would guarantee no greater than 20 minutes a game for one of the Mitchels. Most URI fans won’t be shedding a tear over the departure but I can say with certainty that if the twins did commit to splitting minutes at the center position no other team in the conference would be able to match the 40 minute production from that position. Maybe the twins playing at their best for URI was always a pipe dream but there is a huge level of talent that needs to be recouped at the big man position to make up for the loss.
Antwan Walker on the other hand is a player that should be missed by every Ram fan out there. Walker was a very strong option at the 4 during his time in Kingston especially as he added a somewhat consistent outside shot this past year. The analytics love Antwan Walker since he was able to put up some good numbers with a relatively low usage percentage. Outside of the numbers Walker was guaranteed to bring full effort and energy to the court even in the last two down years. I was screaming for more Walker minutes along with everyone else this year but I think he is best served in the Atlantic 10 as a high energy role player. After announcing his transfer to Bryant I think it is clear Walker was looking for extended playtime and a place where he would be guaranteed extensive touches. I will continue to root for Antwan, even if he is playing alongside Peter Kiss, and I think this Rams team will really miss his senior leadership next year.
Malik Martin and Ish Leggett Return
Two players so far have made the decision to return to URI after assessing their options in the transfer portal. Super Senior Malik Martin and 3rd year player Ish Leggett will be in the fold for Miller’s first year in Kingston. Martin brings toughness and a willingness to play out of position at the 4, even though he is more of a guard. There were plenty of games down the stretch where Martin was URI’s best player and I am hoping he can build off that momentum next year. Martin will be asked to fill a leadership role on this team and I think he is more than capable of motivating his peers to match his intensity on the court, especially on the defensive end. Ish Leggett regressed a bit in his sophomore year but there is hope in a new system and with a different batch of teammates he can tap back into the promise he showed as a freshman. Leggett originally projected as a quality combo guard, who could get to the rim, knock down an open 3 pointer and be tough on defense. That’s the type of player who should thrive under Archie Miller but only if he is playing up to potential. I think both of these players can flourish in a new system and are good gets for Miller. As bad as things were for the Rams in 21-22, starting completely over with a roster would have put us way behind the 8-ball.
Coaching Staff around Miller
Coach Archie Miller is expected to announce his staff tomorrow. So far we can say with some level of certainty that Austin Carroll and Duane Woodward will serve as 2 of the 3 assistant coaches for the Rams. Carroll will serve as the holdover from David Cox’s staff. I was/am hoping to see TJ Buchanan retained but that is simply a matter of nostalgia and enjoying having a young former player on the staff. TJ theoretically could return at a position lower than assistant coach but that would require accepting a demotion on paper. Carroll has a connection to Archie after working on his brother, Sean Miller’s staff for a time in Arizona so the holdover makes sense. Carroll also brought a visible level of energy to the bench these past two years so I am happy to see him extend his stay in Kingston. Woodward will be joining the Rams after working on Kevin WIllard's staff at Seton Hall. Woodward went to BC and brings some recruiting familiarity in the region to the staff. Hopefully we can see the expanded staff fund also trickle down to the support positions and Archie can secure a great strength coach and two other high quality support staffers.
Recruiting Interest
The Rams have been connected to a number of transfer players but have appeared to be pretty quiet on the high school front. At this point the team just needs bodies but there is plenty to be excited about in the portal. Some of the best names we are connected to are, Joe Toussaint from Iowa, Khristian Lander from Indiana, Sean Durugordon out of Mizzou and Femi Odukale from Pitt. Building a team entirely out of transfers can be a turbulent experience but you have to feel better about a new coach making a roster to compete in their first year in the new portal era. Joe Toussaint is the player that would get me the most excited on this list as I think there is a great chance he dominates a lower level of competition after struggling to land a consistent role for the Hawkeyes. As far as the high school circuit goes, let's hope that the assistant coaches can maintain some of their ties to recruits to keep us competitive in that arena.