Welcome to big rhody guy. Like everyone I am becoming exceedingly upset at the current state of our Rhode Island Rams. I have been mulling over the idea of starting a fan blog for a while now. I opened up the laptop and got typing around the time Hason Ward took advantage of a bad rotation and put Antwan Walker on a poster. I have no idea what format this site will eventually take. I was hoping that writing about URI basketball could be a fun thing for me to do with some free time, connect with other Rhody fans and create a more concrete outlet for me to talk hoops. As a first post I wanted to just brain dump some thoughts on URI’s 6 game losing streak.
Lack of Consistent Effort
URI is not good enough to roll the ball out and expect to win. There have been at least two games, GW and UMass, where it was clear from the start that Rhody thought they were a better team and that would result in a win. After getting up by 15 points in the first half against GW, URI expected to roll to victory from there. The second half was all GW on both ends of the court. URI stopped moving the ball on offense and GW was able to scratch and claw their way back into the game, and then eventually outlasted URI in the second half rock fight. Against UMass Rhody just never felt fully engaged. They allowed a regional rival to come into the Ryan Center, bomb away to the tune of 40% from deep and dominate the flow of the game outside of a quick 16-2 burst early in the first half. Coupled with a loss to eternal cellar dweller Fordham it’s clear that URI can’t just show up and expect to beat anyone in the A-10.
On Court Discipline
The turnovers are absolutely killing this team. In conference play the Rams are turning it over 14 times a game. They still somehow are coming out positive in the turnover battle considering they force 15.1 a game. These two huge numbers are unfortunately offsetting each other. For a team that struggles in the half court offense you need to create advantages in other areas of the game. Rhody has not been able to capitalize on their stingy defense after giving the ball away as often as they take it. The guard play has been very disappointing in all aspects of the game but the turnover count especially sticks out. Ishmael Legget, one of the few bright spots from last year, was most often described as a “solid all around player.” He’s coughing the ball up 2.2 times a game. Senior leaders and combo guards Jeremy Sheppard and Ish El-Amin are not doing a good job protecting the ball either. While the times they take the ball up the court and turn it over in transition are frustrating to watch, the 2.1 and 1.8 turnovers a game from Makhi and Makhel Mitchell are not all that surprising considering their usage rate(more on this later). The turnovers have been especially frustrating at key points in the game. Jeremy Sheppard slips and falls to turn the ball over with 7 seconds left down 1 against GW. Down 2 against Richmond, El-Amin coughs it up with a little over 2 minutes remaining and URI does not score the remainder of the game outside of a meaningless free throw with 20 seconds left down 8. Finally against Fordham you scratch and claw all the way back to tie the game with 3 minutes left, and Sebastian Thomas slips and falls, surrendering a fast break layup to put Fordham up 4. This does not even cover the string of technical fouls the Mitchell twins have racked up or Jalen Carey disengaging for a full half of basketball on the bench. It feels like the culture established by Dan Hurley has completely evaporated.
Shooting
51.4% from the line in conference play. And they’ve taken the 3rd most free throw attempts in the conference during this span. Hack a Mitchell twin has been in full effect and it should be the only strategy opponents use for the rest of the season. The twins are shooting 40% from the line in conference play on 84 attempts. Neither twin has the distinction of being the worst free throw shooter on the team though, as point guard of the future Sebastion Thomas has shot 26% from the stripe on the year. The free throws have been killer especially in some of these closer games. Some better free throw shooting against GW or UMass could have gone a long way towards avoiding an upset. The shooting from deep has been brutal as well but at least Rhody is not in love with the three as they take the least in the conference. Shooting is a problem I put squarely on the shoulders of the players. There’s no way they are not taking extra shots in practice. It’s a matter of settling down and not allowing misses to compound into more misses. If the players on the team simply can’t shoot then there needs to be a different approach to recruiting moving forward.
Rotation
The rotation has been a mess all year. I think things would be better if the players who were supposed to be good were playing up to expectations. The guard play has been brutal, the big man rotation does not allow for any wiggle room and it does not seem like there are any answers coming. Antwan Walker deserves more minutes as an energy guy that defends the wing and down low. I think you have to start staggering the twins' minutes. It would limit your terrible free throw shooting on the court at a time. Have Makhi join the second unit and take the majority of the shots while sharing the court with Malik Martin, Jalen Carey and Sebastion Thomas. The twins can share the court for quick bursts at a time to utilize their great chemistry in the high-low game, which I think is more effective as a change of pace approach, as opposed to the main offense. Fans are clamoring for more Carey and Thomas minutes but it’s tough to say how much they’ve earned them. Thomas can’t shoot and really struggled against the VCU press this week and we all know all about the ups and downs of Jalen Carey. Guys just have to play better. Senior leaders Sheppard and El-Amin have not taken over at any point. Ish legget seems to have regressed. The twins are not good enough to carry a team for 40 minutes and outside of Antwan Walker there’s a clear reason the other guys are bench players.
What is going to happen to David Cox
With only one year left on David Cox’s contract it is decision time for URI athletic director Thorr Bjorn. A college coach cannot go out on the recruiting trail and expect to be successful in a lame duck season. It’s also bound to hurt the retention of current players in the transfer portal. There are no signs that I can discern that point to things turning around this year. To this point David Cox’s teams have finished 9th, 3rd and 10th in the Atlantic 10. Cox’s overall record in the A-10 is now down to 32-31 with a very good chance to finish below .500 overall in conference by years end. Cox has always been a great recruiter and his players love him, Fatts Russel, Cyril Langevine and Jeff Dowtin all likely would have transferred had another coach been named in 2018, but URI cannot afford an extended run of mediocrity. The interest in the program will dissipate, the donors will close up the check book and all of a sudden you’re not an attractive job to potential coaches. Do we trust Cox for another year with this same roster? Or do we cut bait and go full rebuild? Bjorn certainly will have a tough decision but it’s one that needs to be made at season's end.