What I Need to See From Rhode Island MBB Moving Forward
In the first week of December 2018, pretty much everyone in the college basketball world is counting Rhode Island men's basketball out. As a person that roots for the underestimated protagonists in several situations, I am not opposed to this narrative. If David Cox and his coaching staff can get their players to make the proper changes on a consistent basis, they can surprise everyone for the remainder of the current college basketball season.
1. Ball movement and set plays
Much too similar to the offensive sets of Dan Hurley's early years as head coach, the Rhode Island men's basketball team finds themselves standing around too much. Often times, the basketball will stick in the hands of Fatts Russell or Jeff Dowtin and then they will throw up a last second shot before the shot clock expires. In the future, this recurring trend can no longer be the case. At this point, I am much more okay with continuously watching Cyril Langevine and Jermaine Harris isolate their defenders and take them to school in the post.
Additionally, aside from random and LAZY pick and rolls, the team needs to make sure that they set hard screens and then make a calculated decision immediately after. For the majority of the season, the pick and rolls that I have witnessed have all had little to no effectiveness and it will frequently look like the players are just going through the motions of a practice. Ultimately, someone within the coaching staff needs to do their homework and create or copy a bunch of new offensive plays and sets.
2. Better shot selection (still)
When I watched Tyrese Martin miss a wide-open three pointer that would have cut the Providence lead to four points when URI was rallying back, I was upset with the miss but I had no problem with the shot selection. With a capable outside shooter like Martin, it is hard to argue against a wide-open jump shot on the baseline. Throughout the most recent loss, all of Rhode Island's fans witnessed shots that were simply not falling because of unlucky bounces but there were quite a few that were contested shots that should have been bypassed.
I do not think that I need to write more than once that Fatts Russell's shot selection has continued to be mediocre (at best) throughout this season. It is no secret that I have been a big supporter of Russell (since his high school days) and his older brother due to the effort that they bring to the basketball court but something needs to change quickly. My personal recommendation is to either have Jeff Dowtin go back to running the point or for David Cox to specifically tell Russell to focus more on being a facilitator and distributor within the offense. During last Saturday's contest, Rhode Island had some positive plays on offense when Fatts focused on getting his teammates the ball.
3. More hustle/better defensive decision-making
By and large, I saw more effort exerted by the Rams in the Dunkin Donuts Center when they fell to the Friars and it was a positive sign. With that said, I still saw Providence College players getting to more loose balls than they should have been allowed to. Even if it does not cause an outright change in possession, David Cox's players need to cause more tie-ups and jump balls. Additionally, an overcommitment to opposing players that drive the lane or bad defensive rotations have led to wide open putbacks and offensive rebounds for the opposition in many games.
Before returning to the Ryan Center for a game vs. Middle Tennessee, URI has this weekend's tune-up game at Holy Cross, a game vs. a hungry West Virginia team at the Mohegan Sun Arena, and then the Diamond Head Classic in Hawaii. Buckle up Rhode Island MBB fans, December 2018 will be telling for the young Rams.
