Delroy James is willing to make a prediction about what his URI basketball team will do this winter.
No, it is not about how many games the Rams will win, or where the team will finish in the Atlantic 10. The Rhody forward is talking about the team?s playing style.
The Rams have pressed extensively, both full and half court, as they have won six of their first seven games. They are likely to use it again Thursday night when they host Northeastern (2-4) at 7 at the Ryan Center. And, James thinks, they are likely to continue to use it all season.
?Last year was our first year trying it. Toward the end of the year we backed off it,? James pointed out. ?I don?t think that?s going to happen this year.?
All teams try to establish an identity, and it is clear that this version of Rhody basketball will live and die with its pressure defense.
The team does not have the pure offensive weapons it has had the last several years. But it has so much team speed, so much quickness, that it is using its defense to dictate the tempo of games and to give it points before the opposing team can set up.
?It?s trying to utilize what we have,? said Rhody coach Jim Baron. ?We have athletes who can get up and down the court. We?re trying to take advantage of that.?
?They speed you up. They force you into quick decisions and expose bad ball handlers, so you have to be on alert at all times,? said Northeastern coach Bill Coen of the URI pressure.
Coen, a longtime Al Skinner assistant at both URI and Boston College, has another good team. The Huskies won 19 games last year and return four starters. They again are among the favorites in the Colonial Athletic Association, the league that also features VCU, the only team to beat URI this year.
Coen is not thrilled about facing the URI press.
?You can?t be causal with the ball. You have to stay out of traps, keep your head up and keep good spacing,? he said.
Teams that can handle the pressure can score easily off it. Some URI fans seem unhappy at times that the Rams give up so many easy baskets. But it is a product of the style. The quicker the game, the better it is for URI. The Rams are getting burned on occasion. But more often, they are burning opponents with their pressure.
Having opponents figure out how to attack the press is a challenge, since URI changes it constantly. The system has been modified. Last year, it had more zone principles. This year, it starts out as more man-to-man, but then has one of the forwards, often James and at other times Lamonte Ulmer, coming over to trap and double-team the ball. At times, it is full court. At other times, it is half court. It depends on how the Rhody defenders read what is happening.
?Sometimes he (Baron) wants me to (attack) right away, sometimes he doesn?t,? Jones said of the press.
?We spoke to other coaches, watched other teams and we put together a system that we feel works for us,? Baron said. ?It?s helps us a lot so far.?
Everyone gets involved. Entering the Northeastern game, URI is averaging 10.4 steals, 19th-best among the 347 Division I teams. The Rams are forcing 18.6 turnovers, 29th in the country. Their steals-to-turnover ratio is 73-89, 0.82, 11th-best in the nation.
Oh yes, the points off the defense have helped the Rams average 81.3 points, 25th in the country. Individually, Delroy James, Marquis Jones, Keith Cothran and Stevie Mejia all are in the top 100 in the country in steals-to-turnovers or assists-to-turnovers.
The press will have to remain effective, because the Rams expect a major test from Northeastern. The Huskies? 2-4 record is deceiving in the sense that every game the team has played has been decided in the final minute, all by six points or less.
?It?s been like Groundhog Day,? Coen said. ?Every game it?s come down to one possession, or one shot, or one free throw. The games we?ve won are the ones where we?ve made the play. The games we?ve lost are the ones where we haven?t. It?s been exciting for the fans, not so much for the coaches.?
?We?re looking at all these close games as an opportunity to learn about ourselves,? Coen said. ?We?re a work in progress, like so many teams still trying to figure out how we can win games. Hopefully, all these close games will help us get better and pay off in the long run.?
?Their record doesn?t tell how good a team they are,? Baron said of the Huskies. ?They?ve got a lot of veterans. They?ve had success.?
Northeastern would love a game in the 60s. URI obviously would love a game in the 80s. It will be a clash of styles, which will happen often all winter in URI contests.
No, it is not about how many games the Rams will win, or where the team will finish in the Atlantic 10. The Rhody forward is talking about the team?s playing style.
The Rams have pressed extensively, both full and half court, as they have won six of their first seven games. They are likely to use it again Thursday night when they host Northeastern (2-4) at 7 at the Ryan Center. And, James thinks, they are likely to continue to use it all season.
?Last year was our first year trying it. Toward the end of the year we backed off it,? James pointed out. ?I don?t think that?s going to happen this year.?
All teams try to establish an identity, and it is clear that this version of Rhody basketball will live and die with its pressure defense.
The team does not have the pure offensive weapons it has had the last several years. But it has so much team speed, so much quickness, that it is using its defense to dictate the tempo of games and to give it points before the opposing team can set up.
?It?s trying to utilize what we have,? said Rhody coach Jim Baron. ?We have athletes who can get up and down the court. We?re trying to take advantage of that.?
?They speed you up. They force you into quick decisions and expose bad ball handlers, so you have to be on alert at all times,? said Northeastern coach Bill Coen of the URI pressure.
Coen, a longtime Al Skinner assistant at both URI and Boston College, has another good team. The Huskies won 19 games last year and return four starters. They again are among the favorites in the Colonial Athletic Association, the league that also features VCU, the only team to beat URI this year.
Coen is not thrilled about facing the URI press.
?You can?t be causal with the ball. You have to stay out of traps, keep your head up and keep good spacing,? he said.
Teams that can handle the pressure can score easily off it. Some URI fans seem unhappy at times that the Rams give up so many easy baskets. But it is a product of the style. The quicker the game, the better it is for URI. The Rams are getting burned on occasion. But more often, they are burning opponents with their pressure.
Having opponents figure out how to attack the press is a challenge, since URI changes it constantly. The system has been modified. Last year, it had more zone principles. This year, it starts out as more man-to-man, but then has one of the forwards, often James and at other times Lamonte Ulmer, coming over to trap and double-team the ball. At times, it is full court. At other times, it is half court. It depends on how the Rhody defenders read what is happening.
?Sometimes he (Baron) wants me to (attack) right away, sometimes he doesn?t,? Jones said of the press.
?We spoke to other coaches, watched other teams and we put together a system that we feel works for us,? Baron said. ?It?s helps us a lot so far.?
Everyone gets involved. Entering the Northeastern game, URI is averaging 10.4 steals, 19th-best among the 347 Division I teams. The Rams are forcing 18.6 turnovers, 29th in the country. Their steals-to-turnover ratio is 73-89, 0.82, 11th-best in the nation.
Oh yes, the points off the defense have helped the Rams average 81.3 points, 25th in the country. Individually, Delroy James, Marquis Jones, Keith Cothran and Stevie Mejia all are in the top 100 in the country in steals-to-turnovers or assists-to-turnovers.
The press will have to remain effective, because the Rams expect a major test from Northeastern. The Huskies? 2-4 record is deceiving in the sense that every game the team has played has been decided in the final minute, all by six points or less.
?It?s been like Groundhog Day,? Coen said. ?Every game it?s come down to one possession, or one shot, or one free throw. The games we?ve won are the ones where we?ve made the play. The games we?ve lost are the ones where we haven?t. It?s been exciting for the fans, not so much for the coaches.?
?We?re looking at all these close games as an opportunity to learn about ourselves,? Coen said. ?We?re a work in progress, like so many teams still trying to figure out how we can win games. Hopefully, all these close games will help us get better and pay off in the long run.?
?Their record doesn?t tell how good a team they are,? Baron said of the Huskies. ?They?ve got a lot of veterans. They?ve had success.?
Northeastern would love a game in the 60s. URI obviously would love a game in the 80s. It will be a clash of styles, which will happen often all winter in URI contests.
