A Close Look in at Cyril Langevine - Rhode Island's Monster "Man-Child"
Hailing from Guyana and having played for Mike Rice's basketball team at The Patrick School in New Jersey, many college basketball experts spoke about Cyril Langevine being the most underrated recruit of URI's impressive 4-man recruiting class of 2016. After his play in the Jordan Brand Classic regional game that included 11 points, he caught some attention nationwide. Though that was the case, no Rhode Island basketball fan could be certain that Langevine would even make it into Dan Hurley's 2016-2017 rotation. Following summer workouts, everyone heard about the fact that Cyril Langevine differentiated himself from the 4-man recruiting class and that earned himself minutes off the bench. Good choice and well played, Dan Hurley. It may not always be the prettiest sight but this kid knows how to rebound, defend, and hustle. He is simply a double-double waiting to happen, every single time that he steps on to the court.
In the first three games of the season, no Rams fan could still make a judgement on the freshman since the ranked team did nothing but dominate against mediocre competition. The level of competition quickly escalated when URI traveled to Mohegan Sun for the HOF Tip-Off tournament and they would have to face a Cincinnati Bearcats team that was well-coached and ranked 24th in the nation. In the first half of the major showdown, Mick Cronin's squad showed why they were a constant force in the American Athletic Conference, racing out to a 29-17 lead. On the other side of the contest, Rhode Island had nothing to rave about besides an alley oop from Jarvis Garrett to Cyril Langevine that made it on to SportsCenter's top 10 plays.
With the preseason 2nd team all-Atlantic 10 selection Hassan Martin in foul trouble all night, someone else was forced to step up if the Rams intended on winning the game. The unsung and unexpected hero of the day wound up being Cyril Langevine. No play was more important for the school from Kingston, RI then when Langevine grabbed an offensive rebound and got fouled by Gary Clark after a missed layup from E.C. Matthews at the 5:19 mark. The energy provided by the freshman was infectious as his fellow freshmen, Jeff Dowtin, Michael Layssard, and Michael Tertsea all jumped off the bench to congratulate him for his effort and Langevine received a warm exchange from Kuran Iverson. Also, miss assistant coach Reynolds-Dean flexed his muscles as if to give the crowd a reminder of what just occurred and top everything off, coach Dan Hurley screamed at the 6'8 PF, "YOU'RE A MAN-CHILD! YOU'RE A MAN-CHILD!" This momentum swing again put URI in control of this battle, with neither team wanting to give up an inch. If you were ever wondering why Langevine is referred to as a "man-child", I just solved your mystery.
Time and again, he excels on the court based strictly on his high motor. His hustle and clear desire to win drives everything that he does on the court. All of the rebounds, blocks, and loose balls that gets to come as a result of him simply outhustling his opposition. For instance, in the Atlantic 10 championship game, on a missed free throw by Jarvis Garrett, Langevine managed to push VCU's Jordan Burgess straight out of the lane, before recollecting himself, outrunning Doug Brooks to the ball, and scoring on a wide open layup. VCU is a team that is built on defense, rebounding, and hustle; yet on this particular play, Cyril Langevine embarrassed VCU by doing each one of those things better than his competition. The big rebound and score pushed Rhode Island's lead to 8 points, with the Rams in midnight navy going up 57-49 and 7:53 remaining in the game. Also, I cannot fail to mention that after this particular play the whole bench stood up to clap their hands and Dan Hurley ran up and down the sideline, clapping his hands and getting the Rhode Island faithful pumped up. On another occasion, this was just Hurley's "man-child" excelling once more.
I am not sure how or why but Langevine is not scared of any of the big moments that typically freshman would crumble in. First off, I was genuinely impressed by his performance against Cincinnati at the Mohegan Sun Arena. Then, the power forward provided quality minutes over the course of the majority of Rhode Island's games in conference play. Next, in the games that mattered the most, Mike Rice's former pupil did not allow the stage to affect his play in the Atlantic 10 tournament, on his way to the Atlantic 10 championship. Following that accomplishment, Langevine played strong defense and rebounded well in 10 minutes during Rhode Island's first-round victory over Creighton in the NCAA tournament. Finally, Langevine provided 9 points and 9 rebounds in 22 massive minutes against Oregon in the second round, with Hassan Martin struggling physically and on the bench because of foul trouble.
For anyone who is worried about Hassan Martin's graduation, don't be. Cyril Langevine is going to be patrolling the paint for the next three years and expect him to dominate.
