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Rhode Island Basketball: 5 potential head coaching candidates for Rams

By Dave Ascoli

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 19: Head coach David Cox of the Rhode Island Rams looks on during a college basketball game against the George Washington Colonials at the Smith Center on February 19, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 19: Head coach David Cox of the Rhode Island Rams looks on during a college basketball game against the George Washington Colonials at the Smith Center on February 19, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /
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Jared Grasso Bryant Bulldogs (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
Jared Grasso Bryant Bulldogs (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

1. Jared Grasso

Age: 41
Head Coaching Experience: Bryant (2018-present)
NCAA Tournament History: 2022 TBD (automatic berth)

Let’s start out with the guy who is on virtually every list, blog, and tweet. And given that he coaches 45 minutes up the road from URI, it makes sense. Grasso is in his fourth season with the Bulldogs, and he has them in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history.

In addition to seeing him mentioned hand-in-hand with the URI opening, folks are also mentioning Grasso in the same sentence as Dan Hurley. Which makes sense superficially. Both started off in the NEC, and both inherited programs that were really close to rock bottom and rebuilt them into contenders.

Wagner was 5-26 (3-15) the year before Hurley arrived. He got them to 25-6 (15-3). Grasso flipped a 3-28 (2-16) team into a 22-9 (16-2) squad this season. Add in the fact that they’re both intense and demonstrative on the sidelines and it’s not hard to see why pundits make the connection.

But there are a few stark differences, ones that may give Rhode Island some pause. First, Grasso’s style is very much run-and-gun. The Bulldogs played at the seventh-fastest pace in the country this season, which accounted for their insane point totals. But it came at the expense of defensive efficiency, which ranked at 218th in the nation, per KenPom.

On the flip-side, Hurley was very much a defensive-minded coach, and his teams — whether it’s Wagner or URI or UConn — have always locked down. The A-10 has a defense-first mindset for the most part. Would Grasso’s coaching skill set play well in the league? Or would he struggle with the transition? Those will definitely be some things for Rhode Island to consider if they do end up checking in with Grasso.

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