Rhode Island Post Game Thread

[Tenspro2002]

Men's Basketball vs Connecticut on 10/14/2024 - Box Score - University of Rhode Island

The official box score of Men's Basketball vs Connecticut on 10/14/2024

gorhody.com

Only examining the box score, my takeaways are:

• Seems like a lot of games last year that were closer at halftime and then we blow them out in the second half
• Seems like better D in the second half, though we were called for a ton of fouls
• 29 assists on 41 field goals for us is ludicrous
• The centers look...about what you'd expect. Johnson efficient on few attempts, but 1 rebound and 4 fouls isn't going to cut it. Reed pretty inefficient, but a better floor game (10 boards, 0 fouls, 3 assists). Glad to see few turnovers for either.
• Not much movement on the Mahaney vs. Ball for the starting SG slot -- both with excellent games.
• Hard to complain about 9 assists to 2 turnover for Diarra as starting PG. Hope his shooting is more like last year than the year before.
• Pretty clear that Nowell is the low man on the totem pole. I thought he'd be in line for more minutes, but looks like that Ball, Mahaney, and even Ross are ahead of him on the depth chart. I expect Ross will get squeezed out of significant minutes and the rest will be our 8 man rotation.

 

[NewBlood]

Samson's rebounding and foul rate are major concerns, he has his deficiencies as a player but he's also the best lob threat in the country.

My starting lineup has always been Mahaney, Ball, McNeeley, Karaban, Reed.

We're more athletic with Hass and Samson starting but I still like the change of pace with them coming off the bench. Hass being a bulldog and Samson catching lobs. What we lose in athleticism and defense with that starting 5 we gain in offense. I don't think teams can keep up with the offense that lineup would bring. Our depth is insane though, basically all these guys would be starting anywhere else.

I agree with this. Having Hass and Samson off the bench is a different wave of speed and intensity. Mahaney feels more like a traditional point, Hass is a bulldog who can break down the opposing starting guards (especially with fresher legs).

 

[RichZ]

Reed looked a lot better in the 2nd half. Early on, he looked lost. the longer he was in, the better he played.

 

[Ricker]

Just a tidbit. We played a couple possessions with NONE of our listed guards on the court. No Diarra, No Ball, No Mahaney, and No Nowell. Hurley is very purposeful on what he does and considered this scrimmage as important time to the point that he was saying he even wanted Tom Moore to negotiate allowing the coaches to stop the game at times to instruct players. I wonder if there is a particular circumstance he has in mind to prepare for

 

[elmcityboy]

fun game! the second half was dominant and gave me the feeling of the '24 and '23 teams at times.

did i play poker with any boneyarders afterwards? fun table with a maniacal "VIP" donating 5 or 6 straight buy-ins over about two hours. i was the younger guy in seat 3 with the vintage uconn crewneck who kept raking in chips.

 

[Bazz2014]

More than the 23 and 24 squads, definitely think the live exhibition format was great/needed for this team. Lots of new pieces finding their way together, nice to let them get some of those jitters out in front of a live crowd.

Agree with many here that the only “concerns” were interior D/rebounding, but a good deal of that cleaned up with halftime adjustments, and it was clear that a lot of it was more so miscues (who’s crashing vs who’s leaking out, switching vs hedging on screens, etc) that you’d expect from a new roster figuring out roles and how to gel. The fact that they were able to make such a dent in those issues at halftime alone makes me feel like a lot of that will be straightened out in the next 3 weeks.

Feel like individual performances have already been covered so a few tidbits from being there live. AK was very vocal as a leader, loved to see it. At one point in the first half, Tarris had missed a shot badly and you could tell he was a little out of sorts. Alex went straight to him at the next dead ball and pumped him up. No criticism just reminded him to be strong, told him “you got this.”

Aidan was also very vocal which was great, always quick to jump into the huddle and talk through breakdowns in the D. I’m also in the group that likes him off the bench with Stewart and Ross - think the latter two can cover some of Aidan’s deficiencies on D and having a veteran who can call his own number / make a play with that group is really needed. I actually loved that group playing together. Think the starter vs bench stuff is going to feel superfluous after a while, and it’s going to be a little more like the 23 team where combos of players (e.g, Joey and Clingan) are put out there because of the way they compliment each other.

Good lord, do we have shooting. AK, LM, AM, JR and SB are all major threats from downtown. We also know that Hass and Stewart can hold their own there as well… and hello Ahmad Nowell! There was not a single moment (including garbage time) when we had less than 3 snipers on the floor. And when you throw in that most of those guys can also then create their own shot off the bounce… I pity opposing coaches trying to figure out defensive assignments and scheme.

TLDR: they looked as good as any team contending for a NC could look in mid October. The “concerns” all play to Danny’s stengths as a coach and I fully believe we’ll see a lot of it cleaned up in short order.

 

[Umami Zen]

Just a tidbit. We played a couple possessions with NONE of our listed guards on the court. No Diarra, No Ball, No Mahaney, and No Nowell. Hurley is very purposeful on what he does and considered this scrimmage as important time to the point that he was saying he even wanted Tom Moore to negotiate allowing the coaches to stop the game at times to instruct players. I wonder if there is a particular circumstance he has in mind to prepare for

BTW.. Subtle change in AK's floor game. Noticed he was holding onto the ball a little longer and in space. I'm sure the feedback from NBA as far as being more proactive as a shot creator and initiating the offense when the opportunity presents itself had/has an influence. The fact that Dan Hurley is encouraging that is certainly helping him with his ball skills.

Still a team first guy with high BBIQ- Just found it as a subtle change from previous seasons for him.

 

[nomar]

I am definitely concerned about post defense and I think we're going to see Singare play a bit due to foul trouble of the first 2 guys. But other than that, wow. That was some 2nd half.

At 1-3 we're about as deep as the Mariana Trench.

 

[JerseyAlum]

Assuming stew is 6th man then youre saying that Ross is coming off the bench before all of Reed/Mahaney/Nowell?

Situationally maybe - what if AK picks up fouls early vs Diarra. I mean if all being even and no starter is needing to come out, the rotation is bigger in the front court than the back. Maheney was especially good shooting last night. Liam struggled a little on D but hey, first game.

 

[Scrutineer]

I had a good time at the game. Quiet crowd until second half. Hurley made some halftime adjustments and team turned up defensive intensity in 2nd half.
First half I felt like we played as if we thought Clingan was back there, guards going right by.
Loved seeing Solo get the nod, I was at MSG when he played so well vs.NC.
Mahaney is gonna be popular, stories of his demise were wrong.
How many schools is this for Javante Brown? He looked good in first half and is still a Redshirt Jr.

Brown: 1 year at UConn but only 2 games so likely a redshirt; then 2 years at Texas A&M and 1 year at Western Michigan.
This has to be his last year.

 

[bendm]

Situationally maybe - what if AK picks up fouls early vs Diarra. I mean if all being even and no starter is needing to come out, the rotation is bigger in the front court than the back. Maheney was especially good shooting last night. Liam struggled a little on D but hey, first game.

let's see. if AK picks up 2 quickies then Stew would come in. so If Liam also picked up 2 quickies then sure it would make sense for Ross to sub in at SF before Mahaney. but i'm still not calling ross the "7th man" if that happens once or twice over the course of the season.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

I am definitely concerned about post defense and I think we're going to see Singare play a bit due to foul trouble of the first 2 guys. But other than that, wow. That was some 2nd half.

At 1-3 we're about as deep as the Mariana Trench.

Would’ve liked to see Ahmad get a bit more run. Get downhill a little bit and use his strength. But agreed, the 2nd half was great.

 

[Drame]

I like the idea of our starters going toe to toe and then our second team coming in and being defensive wreckers. Ross, Stewart, Nowell, Mahaney, Reed, and Abraham can pressure and lock down the perimeter.

 

[Scrutineer]

I really enjoyed reading all the great observations and analysis. No need for me to rehash many of the individual performances which were well described.

Samson definitely struggled on the defense end. Found himself pushed to far under the basket, and far too often out of rebounding position when trying to contest or block shots.

Now I don't think he needs to rack up a lot of rebounds, but like last season's bigs, whoever is at the 5 and 4 just needs to block out and let the 3s, 2s and 1s come in and clean up the defensive glass. Last season Newton, Cam, Castle and even Diarra would swoop down on snatch their share of rebounds. (Hum...I wonder if it's worth the staff digging up some tape on Dennis Rodman for Sampson to study to improve his D and rebounding. Their probably around the same size and level of athleticism.)

UConn is not going to be an eye popping big's rebounding team, but we need Samson, Reed and whoever is playing the 4 to keep the other teams bigs from collapsing the pocket around the basket to keep our team rebounding from giving up many second chance opportunities.

The other observation was I'd like to see them maintain their motion offense longer. They seemed to bail out a tad early with players trying to take their man off the dribble and/or drive into traffic a tad too soon with a lot of time on the shot clock. Most of the roster are new to their roles, and some new to the system, so it will take time, which is completely understandable.

It's so early in the season, and team oriented stuff (multi-action motion offense, team defense/rebounding) will simple improve as the season goes on, where they will be a title contender by the end of the BE regular season, if not sooner.

IIt's great to be a Husky fan.

Rodman was 6'7" and 210 pounds, averaging 7.3 points and 13.1 rebounds.
It was all about positioning and deter, he knew where to be.

 

[nomar]

Would’ve liked to see Ahmad get a bit more run. Get downhill a little bit and use his strength. But agreed, the 2nd half was great.

Abraham too. I'm sure Dan Hurley had his reasons for holding him out until garbage time but it would have been have nice to see him play more in a meaningless blowout.

 

[80shusky]

It was fun to watch! I'm ready for the season to start.
They will have to make adjustments on D and rebounding in the post. I think the first half showed some weakness there but they cleaned it up some in the 2nd half. It shows you the effect Clingan had on the team when you have two decent D1 centers look pedestrian compared to what you are used to.
Other than that offensively they were great. Ball is going to be big trouble. Ross was a revelation. McNeeley is going to be very good. Mahaney can definitely shoot it. Diarra was steady running the team. Singare even had a nice few minutes. Deep team with a bunch of shooters who can space the floor.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

Abraham too. I'm sure Dan Hurley had his reasons for holding him out until garbage time but it would have been have nice to see him play more in a meaningless blowout.

Yeah, Stew and Ross got a ton of run, which was good, but Abraham could’ve spelled more, especially when there was no doubt. Even spell AK a little there.

 

[Waquoit]

Reed looked a lot better in the 2nd half. Early on, he looked lost. the longer he was in, the better he played.

Thank goodness! During the first half I'm thinking "I dunno..."

 

[3rdbass]

Rodman was 6'7" and 210 pounds, averaging 7.3 points and 13.1 rebounds.
It was all about positioning and deter, he knew where to be.

He was also a great athlete. That doesn't hurt.

 

[Scrutineer]

Did Abraham get in the game at all? I don't remember seeing him. Maybe with Singare?

Four minutes, one foul, one block.

 

[Scrutineer]

He was also a great athlete. That doesn't hurt.

Yes, but so is Samson. I was writing determination but only deter showed up. Rodman was relentless and determined and knew the angles. Johnson doesn't have the experience Rodman had and may not be relentness enough to get position and do whatever he needs to do to block out and get the rebounds.

 

[Scrutineer]

Just a tidbit. We played a couple possessions with NONE of our listed guards on the court. No Diarra, No Ball, No Mahaney, and No Nowell. Hurley is very purposeful on what he does and considered this scrimmage as important time to the point that he was saying he even wanted Tom Moore to negotiate allowing the coaches to stop the game at times to instruct players. I wonder if there is a particular circumstance he has in mind to prepare for

Duke in the Final Four with all their size?

 

[businesslawyer]

Not counting guys from Duke and UK which always have multiple 5*s coming off the bench, there have been 24 Freshmen lotto picks over the last 5 Years and 0 came off the bench.

What are the numbers with two time defending champions? My point being, that saying Indiana would never not start a Frosh lottery pick really isn’t relevant to us. But since you excluded the two schools that have the most freshman lottery picks, you’ve already decided the answer before you asked the question

 

[Tenspro2002]

1 reb from Samson even after putting on 20 lbs is very concerning but I love that Reed grabbed 10. If Samson starts I think it has to be a 20/20 timeshare give or take based on foul trouble or we’re gonna get killed on the defensive glass

It's not a weight/strength thing, it's an instincts thing and Johnson, bluntly, doesn't have them. It was a bit unrealistic to expect him to take a leap in that area in a few months.

 

[Scrutineer]

So many good observations already posted on this game.

One thing that stood out to me was how excited, upbeat and positive the vibes were from the bench. When players came off the floor it looked like the last minute of the NC game with all the smiles and high fives. Maybe it's because so many got to play meaningful minutes but more likely the culture Dan Hurley has developed.

Also, to reiterate on rebounding and defense, it was so obvious tonight how much DC controlled the games last year when you see how clogged the lane was when Rhody was on offense in the first half. It often looked like all five of their players were in the lane and our guards had a lot of fouls they wouldn't have had last year because they didn't have to reach in against guys who got around them on their drives to the basket with DC there to block or alter the shots.

 

[runner11]

Warms my heart to see all the Solo love. Welcome to the bandwagon people!

As we all see though Mahaney is great too. Solo just looked like that good of a player which is impressive because they looked like the best two on the team tonight.

Maybe I’m misremembering but I thought the controversial take was “ Solo is a point guard” and not “Solo is good” - there was more off-season buzz with him than anybody else.

I think we also see why we are trying to land both Adams and Mullins.

 

[Tenspro2002]

I said in the summer Solo Ball would be starting. Too much raw talent.

He has plenty of raw talent. The question is whether that talent can operate within a Dan Hurley team system. It didn't last year. Last night looked pretty good.

 

[Tenspro2002]

It won’t be as good. The defense in the tournament was epic. This team doesn’t have that defensive ceiling. It probably doesn’t have the ceiling of the 2023 team either.

That said, it should be good enough for the offense to carry UConn most of the time. Remember UConn won each game in the tournament the last two years by double digits. There is wiggle room.

We're going to have to win more games this year like last year's game in the BET against St. John's. Fortunately, we appear capable.

 

[superjohn]

Maybe I’m misremembering but I thought the controversial take was “ Solo is a point guard” and not “Solo is good” - there was more off-season buzz with him than anybody else.

I think we also see why we are trying to land both Adams and Mullins.

Yep, he's making that up. I've been incredibly high on Solo as have many/most boneyarders we just don't agree with HuskyWarrior that he should be our point guard.

 

[superjohn]

We're going to have to win more games this year like last year's game in the BET against St. John's. Fortunately, we appear capable.

It's going to be our best offensive team, best shooting team, and deepest team yet. Won't have the same lockdown abilities with Clingan and Castle gone. Won't have the two headed Sanogo Clingan monster. This team will win as an offensive juggernaut and the defense and rebounding will get better as they get more comfortable.