Rhode Island Basketball: 8-man rotation pivotal in Rams quality 2019-20 season

The team has had to lean heavily on familiar faces and Fatts Russell

Senior’s Jeff Dowtin and Cyril Langevine play such a major part. The first time I ever laid eyes on Jeff Dowtin was during a one-on-one drill heading into his freshman year where I witnessed him lock down future Minnesota Timberwolve, Jared Terrell.

To this day, Dowtin takes the court with that same approach and it shows in the stoic glare he carries on his face. While he hasn’t had to take a game over–more on that in a minute–his leadership and ability to take a game over if needed has tightened the offensive game for the Rams.

Should the story of the Rams ’19-20 season be defined, it starts-and-ends with one man; Fatts Russell.

If not for Dayton’s Obi Toppin, the 5’10” Fatts would likely be the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year. After a rough sophomore campaign, the Philly native has bounced back and is averaging 20.3 PPG, 4.5 APG, 3.4 RPG, and 3.0 SPG.

He became a hero in Kingston during his freshman year when he helped the Rams to the NCAA tournament as the plucky underdog, but he’s become immortal as a junior who might be the catalyst behind a tournament run.

There was a reason a pocket of Rhode Island Rams fans exhaled deeply when Fatts announced via Instagram he was remaining in Kingston after Hurley left for Storrs.

And we’re finally seeing why.