Rhode Island Basketball: Breaking down the Rams’ struggles
By Dave Ascoli
The Intensity Factor
This is a new one that popped up over the weekend, and it has reared it’s head a few other times this season too. Hustle, effort, intensity, whatever you want to call it. Rhody needs it, especially this season, where the Atlantic 10 is pretty evenly balanced across the board. It could be diving for loose balls or making the extra effort on the rebound or moving with purpose and pace on defense. Rhode Island needs all of the above — and for all 40 minutes.
To be clear, this isn’t a glaring issue. In fact, URI’s defense has been quite good this season. They’re a top-60 team on that side of the ball, per KenPom, and they have certainly locked up their fair share of opponents this season. But when it slips, and they give up, say, 84 points…it’s noticeable.
Coach Cox calls it playing “Rhode Island basketball”. Strong ‘D’ is the culture in Kingston, and that looks to be the tradition moving forward.
Rotation Changes?
When a team is struggling, starting lineup changes are always on the table. Here’s what David Cox had to say about that on Tuesday.
Cox on potential Wednesday lineup changes -- 'Possibly. I'm going to figure it out with the staff. We'll talk. We're going to come out with the five guys who I think give us the best chance to start the game the right way.'
— Bill Koch (@BillKoch25) January 15, 2019
The old adage says it doesn’t matter who starts… only who finishes. And that’s usually the case, but things may be different with this year’s URI squad. Because when the Rams get off to a hot start — as they did against Richmond — the floodgates open. If guys start to see shots falling, it’s contagious. So it makes sense to get the best five on the floor from the jump.
So who will that be? It stands to reason that Jeff Dowtin and Cyril Langevine might be the only two locks to stay in the rotation. Christion Thompson’s zero points in 24 minutes have a lot of Rhody fans eyeing him as a possibility to sub out. Russell and freshman Jermaine Harris have also had their struggles, although they both have such big-time potential that it would be hard to justify moving them to the bench. They’re also both vital parts of the URI offense.
If — and it’s still an if — Cox makes a move, the best guess is it will be freshman Tyrese Martin in for Thompson. Or he could stick with the same five and just make schematic changes. It’s not like Rhode Island hasn’t had success with that group, even if it’s been intermittent.