Reacting to Michael Layssard's Departure From URI
On this blog, I have been preaching for multiple seasons how excited I have been to see the direction that Rhody MBB has taken on the recruiting trail in recent history. Specifically, everyone has watched the coaching staff secure the commitments of high IQ players like Jeff Dowtin and big men with raw talent like Cyril Langevine, Michael Tertsea, and Michael Layssard. Unfortunately, Michael Layssard's time in Kingston, RI was mostly spent sitting on the Rams' bench or playing in garbage time of games.
In my eyes, Layssard had the potential to be an even better version of Andre Berry, which I had been preaching since the start of his career at Rhode Island. If you keep in mind the past recruiting history of both players and their similar physique, the belief was very realistic. There was no mistake behind Florida, Texas A&M, Memphis, Tulsa, and New Mexico State all offering the Louisiana native during his high school years. All the while, SMU, Wake Forest, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma all kept a close eye on the big man.
Statistically, nothing from his career stands out due to the extremely limited playing time that he had. Nevertheless, there were instances where you could see the potential from the 6'8 power forward. Coming out of high school, he displayed the ability to be an adept jump shooter, even from the perimeter. If his development had gone to plan, he would have been the exact type of player that Dan Hurley could have utilized against Duke in their most recent matchup (Marvin Bagley and Wendell Carter Jr. absolutely torched URI in the paint in the second round of the 2018 NCAA tournament).
I am fine if I am the only one but I will miss Michael Layssard being a Ram and everyone can now only be able to wonder about what could have been.
