Blue Dog

Last year was an anomaly of sorts for the 8th place (8-8, 14-14) Rams. They didn't win or lose 20 games, which had been their habit for the previous 11 seasons. So one could say the last 12 years have been a roller coaster for Rams fans, they've seen the Lamar Odom inspired heights and the Jerry D driven depths. In fact, after going to the Elite 8 in 99 they had a miserable 5-25 season in 2000. Now that's a dizzying plunge!

06 8-8, 14-14
05 4-12, 6-22
04 7-9, 20-14
03 10-6, 20-11
02 4-12, 8-20
01 3-13, 7-23
00 2-14, 5-25
99 10-6, 20-13
98 12-4, 25-9
97 12-4, 20-10
96 8-8, 20-14
95 2-14, 7-20

Rhody reminds me of UMass in a way. Both had great success, UMass under Calipari and URI under Harrick. Both coaches had a top player leave early (Camby and Odom), and then the coaches themselves left, with a cloud of suspicion hovering over their programs. However, UMass started into a slow decline whereas URI plummeted. And I think URI ended up with NCAA sanctions while UMass did not. Hopefully somebody can clarify this for me.

These are fairly loose parallels. UMass had far more success than URI did, and Harrick proved to be far sleazier than Calipari.

Anyhow, after Harrick left his assistant Jerry D. was given the controls and promptly drove it off the rails. He resigned at the end of the 00-01 season, and Rhody wooed Jim Baron away from the Bonnies to take the reigns. In his second season he won 20 games and his contract was extended through 2013. All looked well for Rhody hoops, especially when they won 20 games the next year (03-04), went to the NIT and won a game there.

However, since then things seem to have stalled in Kingston. 2 years ago, a team that was expected to be pretty strong was decimated by injuries and defections and finished 4-12 (6-22). The key injury was to potential POY Dawan Robinson, who broke his foot in a preseason game if I remember correctly. Coupled with some other injuries and the transfer of Dustin Hellenga it turned into a terrible year.

This past season was better, but if you read the Rhody message board I think it's fair to say that the natives are getting restless. Dawan came back but was not nearly the player he had been, and Jon Lucky quit the team. Fans grumble about the unexciting style of Baron ball, the lackluster record, falling attendance and the seven years remaining on the contract.

This is a big year for Baron and his Rams. The fans are tired of excuses and want wins. Dawan Robinson is gone but there is a lot of young talent, led by Will Daniels and Jim Baron Jr. I don't see them as a leading contender to win the league, but it would be nice to see Rhody start to approach the levels they achieved in the past, when they were one of the league's big hitters.

Take it away Rhody fans, this week is for you!

Previous teams of the week:

UMass http://www.basketballboards.net/foru...d.php?t=288924
Fordham http://www.basketballboards.net/for...ad.php?t=285820
St. Joes http://www.basketballboards.net/for...ad.php?t=283383
St. Louis http://www.basketballboards.net/for...ad.php?t=281122
LaSalle http://www.basketballboards.net/for...ad.php?t=279282
Charlotte http://www.basketballboards.net/for...ad.php?t=277833
GW http://www.basketballboards.net/for...ad.php?t=276011

RhodyMan

OK here's my thoughts:

this is probably the most raw talent Baron has had in Kingston, but it is also one of the youngest teams he has had. Their only two seniors, JR Moore and Darrel Harris will probably not combine for more than 6-7 ppg, but one will start at center anyways.

On paper, this is the best incoming class we've had, but you gotta wait til they hit the hardwood before we celebrate. this team has the potenial to succeed, but who knows what will happen. If they surpass .500 I will be surprised, not happy, but not angry. Then again, a .500 season will probably just buy Baron a free pass for a few more years of mediocrity.

Will Daniels, Kahiem Seawright and Jimmy Baron all need to step up productionand Jon Lucky has to bring stability to the point for the team to produce. the bench will be mostly freshmen so you cant count too much on them, but Im assuming one will step up and be a factor.

They have a very tough non con schedule, so my prediction is 1-2 games under .500

RF1

URI is a bit different than UMass as the Rams have had more sproradic success than UMass since they both joined the Eastern-8/A-10. UMass had real success only under Calipari (a great sustained run that URI has not matched) while Rhody won postseason games under four different coaches (Penders/Skinner/Harrick/Baron). URI went to the Sweet-16 in 1988 and Elite-8 in 1998. Rhode Island is 2nd in wins among all New England Division 1 programs behind only UConn. URI's track record however has been one of peaks and valleys. This past year of mediocrity was not the norm as the middle ground is not a place where Rams basketball typically dwells.

URI was penalized for the actions of Harrick with the loss of one scholarship for two seasons. This is the last year of that penalty and it was somehwat negated by the fact that Baron's son is not on scholarship but gets tuitition free as he is the son of a university employee. URI, unlike UMass, never had any NCAA appearances stricken from the records as its A-10 Championship and Elite-8 remain intact. The sanctions against UMass which resulted in the forfeiture of a Final-4 appearance seem harsher to me.



Dawan Robinson and Jamaal Wise were injured in preseason practice in the 2004/2005 season. With Dustin Hellenga leaving and Brian Woodward graduating, URI entered that season without the top four scorers from the year before. Other injuries (Lucky and Sullivan) also happened that year which crippled an already depleted squad. The result was a horrendous year.



You are quite right. The natives are restless. Jim Baron was not given a 10 year contract (seven seasons remaining with guaranteed yearly base of 225k) that pays near 500k annually for the results we are getting. We want real results on the court and not the endless coach-speak excuses we have been getting these last two years. Unfortunately, there is a big void with Robinson and Wise departing and I think it will be tough to replace their scoring. My guess is that medocirity will last a bit longer in Kingston as this season will be a struggle. Jim Baron will face a lot more pressure if that is the case. Baron probably has two years to get things into a higher gear. If there are another two years like the last two, look for the school to start exploring its coaching options. URI is already beginning to lose revenues as attendance has been down in years 3 and 4 of the Ryan Center (as compared to years 1 and 2). I predict that attendance will be off again this season and people are not really enthused about URI basketball. The program has not been winning, plays a less than exciting brand of ball, and Coach Baron lacks the PR/promotional skills that could possibly help things. Unless there are surprises, things could begin to get ugly in Kingston.

Blue Dog

Good posts guys.

My enduring memory from URI hoops is Lamar Odom hitting that 3 from well behind the line as time expired for the win. I just can't remember who it was against... was that to beat Temple to win the A10? It was something else!

And speaking of hitting, who can forget Brian Woodward sucker punching Justin Doellman in Kingston 3 years ago?

And I still hope someone posts that video of the Ram putting a life preserver on the Hawk... surely someone out there has it.

RF1

Odom's 3 point bomb broke a tie against Temple in Philly as time expired and enabled the Rams to win the 1999 A-10 Tourney and automatic bid to the NCAA. URI would not have gone to its 3rd straight NCAA had it not won this game. Xavier fans at the time cited this outcome as being the reason X didn't get an NCAA invite.

There have been many on the URI board that refer to the punch made by Woodward as the turning point for the recent slide of Rhody. URI had a very good record at the time (on track for NCAA consideration) and that game started a slide which saw the Rams falter down the stretch with a visit to the NIT. The next year was dreadful and last year was .500.

[/quote]

The Hawk had no sense of humor and would not pay along with the harmless gag. It was the Hawk that really elevated things and threw the punches which then turned it into an ugly incident. The Ram took the heat and was suspended while the Hawk got off scott free.

PVP

[/quote]

The Hawk had no sense of humor and would not pay along with the harmless gag. It was the Hawk that really elevated things and threw the punches which then turned it into an ugly incident. The Ram took the heat and was suspended while the Hawk got off scott free.[/quote]

Bottom line - Don't F**k with The Hawk. URI fans keep bringing this incident up. I can only assume its one of the Top 5 moments in the programs history. One note - The Hawk never stopped flappin' so the attempt to stop the Hawk was not successful.

VARhody

It was an inner tube and do believe the hawk stopped for a second when the tube went around its head.

this has to be classic mascot on mascot fight may one of the best of all times

I tried to uplaod the file but it is to large over 2.0 mb if anyone wants it I can email it to you just pm me

__________________
The ten year Plan
1988 sweet sixteen
1998 elite eight
2008 Baron has got to go

Blue Dog

This would be a great half time show at the A10 Tourney.

At the bell, the Hawk comes out flapping and one by one the other Mascots try to lasso him like in a rodeo. The clock stops when the flapping does.

Whoever gets it done the quickest wins.

Linda, are you listening?

Blue Dog

It's funny how these things work out, Rams had to play their way into the tourney and end up in the Elite 8. That was a really good team.

I had a vague recollection that that shot was a dagger in X's heart, just couldn't remember quite why. Thanks for the clarification.

bdance

One of my all-time favorite A10 teams was that 1988 URI team led by Tom Garrick. They battled the Mark Macon led Temple team in the A10 title game, losing a close one. Then both advanced further than any A10 team had up to that point, with URI going to the Sweet 16 and Temple going even deeper. UMass canned their HS coach at the end of that same season and hired a little known assistant from Pitt. 1988 was a very good year for the A10.

__________________
Ohio has given birth to 22 Astronauts. What is it about this State that makes people want to flee the Planet?

RF1

1999 was not URI's Elite-8 run. The 1997/1998 team, led by Tyson Wheeler and Cuttino Mobley, went to the NCAA Elite-8 beating #1 seed Kansas (with seniors Paul Pierce and Raef Lafrenz) along the way. This Ram team did not have Lamar Odom. It had a good regular season record and went to the tournament as an at large.

The 1998/1999 team had Lamar Odom (his only year-left early as a lottery pick), Preston Murphy, and Antonio Reynolds-Dean. It was in position for a possible NCAA at large bid before losing its last two regular season games to SBU and Fordham. It had to win the A-10 Tourney to get to the NCAA as it had 20 wins but double digit losses and less than stellar RPI rating.

RF1