Rhody MBB's Reasons for Hope in the 2018-2019 Season
The following points are the reasons why Rhody MBB fans should be hopeful about what their favorite college basketball team can accomplish during the 2018-2019 season.
1. URI has had great success with incoming freshmen in the past handful of seasons.
In recent history, the likes of Jared Terrell, Jarvis Garrett, Jeff Dowtin, and Daron Russell have all come in and contributed immensely in their freshman seasons. This track record bodes well for the four incoming freshmen and their important roles.
2. The veterans have a lot of knowledge to teach the incoming freshmen, as well as the inexperienced players.
Jeff Dowtin, Daron Russell, and Christion Thompson can teach Tyrese Martin and Omar Silverio a lot as guards. Meanwhile, Cyril Langevine can get all of the young big men up to speed.
3. There are plenty of lineup possibilities at David Cox's disposal.
Unlike last season, David Cox arguably has more versatility throughout his current roster and that is a positive attribute of this team. In addition, Dan Hurley's inability to go way from his four and five guard lineups lead to URI's demise against Duke in the second round of the 2018 NCAA tournament. The additions of Dana Tate and Jermaine Harris offers brand new possibilities to Rhody MBB's lineups this season and there should rarely be more than three URI guards on the floor at the same time.
4. Playing home games have a new definition for Rhode Island MBB.
After the recent success that the men's basketball program has had, URI expects to have a great crowd on hand for all of their home games (as well as road and neutral site games). Under Dan Hurley, the Rams were consistently successful at home and I expect that success to continue under David Cox. One of the greatest benefits for incoming freshmen and other young basketball players is a terrific home crowd and that is what the Ryan Center is projected to produce this season.
5. This year's iteration of Rhody MBB has a winning swagger about them.
Unlike in past seasons, where E.C. Matthews' confidence constantly came into question and players like Andre Berry sometimes looked like they were out to lunch, the new look Rams have a totally different attitude. From the commitments of the original five-man recruiting class of 2018, players like Dana Tate were calling themselves the new "Fab Five". Tate, Jermaine Harris, and Tyrese Martin have all made it very clear that they are here to continue to build on Rhode Island's recent success. All the while, Daron Russell is never short on confidence and Jeff Dowtin and Cyril Langevine have constantly echoed the fact that they want to keep attaining championships with their new head coach.
