Revelations: Rhody MBB Edition
Have you ever sat back and laughed about some of the strange facts in the recent history of Rhode Island MBB? If you have, great! If you have not, I will inform you of a few hilarious revelations that you may be unaware of.
1. E.C. Matthews said in a past interview that a big reason that he committed to URI was because they were the only school that recruited him as a point guard. At 0:40 in this video, Matthews recounts his relationship with Coach Hurley and their recruitment of him.
With the current landscape of Rhode Island MBB, Matthews will never start at point guard again for the team. Rhode Island's backcourt is stacked and at the point guard position, Jarvis Garrett and Jeff Dowtin are vying to start. Meanwhile, Daron Russell and Stanford Robinson can also see playing time at point guard, with Jared Terrell and Christion Thompson all able to bring the ball up when necessary.
2. Does everyone remember Jordan Hare? Just imagine the Rhode Island MBB roster from last year with Hare's services added in. The Rams were already a couple of minutes away from advancing to the Sweet 16 and a winnable matchup against the Michigan Wolverines without a player like Hare on the team. In his one season in Kingston, RI, the highly-touted Hare averaged 5.2 points, 4 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks while playing 19.6 minutes per game in his freshman season. When Hassan Martin was unable to contribute due to injury in the Round of 32 against Oregon, Hare could have provided that extra push that the Rams needed to get over the line.
3. I heard about a lot of hype revolving around Andre Berry's massive weight loss going into the 2016-2017 season and his expected contributions to the team. Ironically, Berry was more productive in all of the playing time that he received at the end of URI's disastrous 2015-2016 season (when he weighed more). Along his path of destruction in his sophomore season, Berry was the catalyst to the Rams pulling off a massive upset at UD Arena. Ultimately, in his junior season, Berry's spot in the frontcourt rotation was taken by an aggressive Cyril Langevine. Going forward, he will need to prove his worth again, given the addition of Ryan Preston and Michael Layssard and Michael Tertsea hungry for minutes of their own.
4. If Leroy Butts was never ruled academically ineligible, there is a considerable probability that Stanford Robinson would have never become a Rhode Island Ram. At the time, Butts, Christion Thompson, Nicola Akele, and Andre Berry filled four of Rhody MBB's scholarships headed into the 2015-2016 season. When the news came out that Butts would not be able to play in the 2015-2016 season due to his academics, the Rams pursued Robinson more aggressively and they have reaped the rewards ever since his commitment.
