An Attendee's In-Depth Look at the Past and Current Scope of Rhode Island Basketball
First off, let's take a look at the origins of the Rams starting lineup. Their starting PG, Jarvis Garrett, from Milwaukee, WI was given a 2-star rating originally by ESPN's recruiting database. By the word of many experts, Garrett was only given a 2-star rating because he played basketball at Notre Dame Prep following his time in high school. In his first 2 seasons with the Rams, he has shown that he is far better than a mediocre 2 star random. Garrett possesses the ability to lead this team to the A10 regular season title and the A10 conference tournament title.
Next up we have Jared Terrell, the 79th best overall recruit and the 16th best shooting guard in the class of 2014 and the only ESPN Top 100 recruit that Dan Hurley has brought in besides E.C. Matthews (it was undocumented). With a scout grade of 83, the Weymouth, Massachusetts native made his decision to play for this Kingston-based team after complications with Oklahoma State and then picking URI over PC, BC, and Cincinnati. In big game after big game, no matter the opponent, Terrell has shown the ability to hit the big shot. #32 has proven his worth on both ends of the floor, with a hard-nosed offensive game that is balanced with tough defense. URI's starting SG tends to always be defending the opposition's best player; you can assume why.
Furthermore, it is time to discuss the man that has become synonymous with Rhode Island basketball under Dan Hurley. I have seen fellow students and URI fans nearly shed tears when this man tore his ACL in the 2015-2016 season. The man I am speaking of is none other than Elbert Clark Matthews, better known as "E.C.", from Romulus, Michigan. His commitment to URI on 9/22/2012 was monumental for Hurley's takeover of the Rhode Island basketball team. By picking Rhode Island over blatantly better programs like Iowa, Arizona, Creighton, Dayton, USC, Virginia Tech, and Xavier, he changed what URI was cooking with.
As a freshman and a sophomore, Matthews production was off the charts due to his uncanny ability to score at will. Following his sophomore season, NBA scouts were raving about him and he was bound for the NBA at the conclusion of his junior year. We all know what happened in his unfortunate junior year so there's no need to recount the injury. With that said, #0 has returned and based off the first 4 games or so of the season, he looked back to form, even with the cast he still wears around his right knee. I read in an article that E.C. prefers to play with the cast because it gives him added security. I think everyone is content with that thought, unless it is legitimately affecting his play.
Out of URI's 19 games, Matthews has had poor shooting performances (up to his expected standards) in about 8 or 9 of them. Besides good field goal percentages, it is obviously about the amount of points that #0 is contributing to Rhody's total every game. For instance, even though he shot an okay 44% from the field at Dayton, he only scored 13 points. URI has lost just once in games when E.C. has scored at least 20 points. If the Michigan native can consistently hit that 20 point mark every game, URI's potential is limitless.
I promise you that I am Rhody's star player's biggest critic. Whether a torn ACL or just a sprained knee happened, Matthews is the team's most important player (besides arguably Hassan Martin). 50% of a normal E.C. Matthews' production is more than most role players can bring to the table. For this reason, it is hard to watch Matthews continuous failures and shortcomings throughout the 2016-2017 season, which everyone is viewing as a crisis of confidence. When a basketball player possesses the abilities that E.C. has, they must utilize them with the utmost confidence. As disappointing as it is for me to insinuate this, without E.C. Matthews consistently leading the scoring column for URI with big numbers, the Rams will once again be left out of the NCAA tournament and disappoint their fans once more.
Moving to more positive thoughts, it is time to talk about Rhode Island's most adored player, #12 Hassan Martin. When someone asks about #12 on the Kingston campus, many URI students will talk exclusively about Hassan Martin. The Staten Island native has been the backbone of the Rams defense and frontcourt, especially beginning in his sophomore season. Though I have seen NBA scouts doubt how his game will transition to the next level, Hass has continued to consistently produce at the collegiate level. Offensively, he can hit hook shots from either hand and hit a mid-range jumper from nearly anywhere. If Martin's range extended to beyond the arc, he would be impossible to defend. Defensively, he is one of the best post defenders in the country. Currently, he sits in 2nd as URI's all-time leader in blocks and he ranks 10th all-time right now in the Atlantic 10's history of blocks. Also, on the glass, the URI starting power forward is a force to be reckoned with. Given Martin's continual production at the 4 spot, the Rams have no worries at his position when he is on the court but they need to make sure he is healthy enough to always be on the court. Without the services of their defensive leader, URI struggled late in losses at Houston and at Dayton.
Rounding out the starting five for the Rhody Rams is Kuran Iverson, a consensus five-star recruit coming out of high school graduation from Fishburne Military School. As the 33rd ranked overall recruit in the class of 2013, the hype surrounding Iverson was insane and many thought that he initially failed to live up to expectations. Due to a terrible situation with his coach, Josh Pastner, at Memphis University, he chose to transfer and luckily, he chose Rhode Island. Following the use of the NCAA hardship waiver, he was eligible to play for the Rams at the very beginning of the 2015-2016 season. While the grooming process began gradually, Iverson has shown his worth in this current 2016-2017 season. Namely against the Cincinnati Bearcats at Mohegan Sun, in his home state of Connecticut, Iverson made huge baskets and a key free throw and block to seal the game away to beat the #23 Bearcats. Kuran Iverson is best labeled as the X-factor for URI's ball club. When he is clicking on all cylinders, there is almost no team that the Rams cannot contend with.
Finally, we can look towards all the talent that Hurley has available to him on the bench. Their sixth man, Stanford Robinson, was the 99th overall recruit in the same class of 2013 as Iverson, Martin, and Matthews. He had star potential back then and still has the makings of a star now. After leaving the Hoosiers due to a lack of playing time, Robinson has gotten his opportunity at URI and he has relished the moment. Time and time again, Stan has locked down elite guards and scored craftily with his wild takes to the hoop. With his jumper still improving, he still has the capability of being an all-conference player and a key cog off the bench.
Other key players that Rhode Island's coach has used off the bench are Christion Thompson, Nicola Akele, Cyril Langevine, and Jeff Dowtin. Thompson and Dowtin are both capable defenders and possess the ability to orchestrate the offense when needed. Moreover, Akele is used as a direct substitution for Iverson and he focuses on micromanaging the fundamentals of the game on the court and never losing his team the game. While he has a very safe play-style, it is a very smart one for a team that has been turnover-ridden in the past. Cyril Langevine then comes off the bench as Hassan Martin's direct replacement and he has been magnificent, arguably URI's best bench player and their biggest revelation. Just like Martin, Langevine gets after it on the boards and lays down the hammer whenever possible. To finish out the bench, Andre Berry and Michael Layssard have played marginal minutes even though they can easily contribute in the Atlantic 10 conference and I believe they should play way more. Lastly, Michael Tertsea is redshirting this season.
After this full evaluation, I have but one question, WHY IS THIS TEAM NOT PROSPERING!? A 12-7 overall record and 4-3 conference record in the Atlantic 10 team is unacceptable for a roster with this amount of talent.
URI needs all of their coaches and players to be relentless the rest of their way in their pursuit of a NCAA tournament berth. As much criticism as I have had for Coach Dan Hurley, he is more than capable of getting this team to the NCAA tournament and making it into the second weekend. With this Saturday's Coaches vs Cancer game against an upstart Saint Bonaventure team, this needs to be the slogan that gets posted all over the locker room and in Hurley's office going forward;
