Rhode Island building off tournament appearance
KINGSTON — Most Rhode Islanders are content spending their summer on the beach, soaking up the sun and taking time away from work.
Don’t count coach Dan Hurley and his URI basketball team amongst that bunch. The Rams will spend most of July at the Ryan Center practicing, before taking a trip to the Bahamas in the second week of August to play against international competition.
“It’s so much fun to get back out on the court, especially with these guys,” Hurley said Thursday after URI’s second of 10 summer practices. “You have 11 guys back, so it’s not like you’re losing your mind trying to teach them things they have no idea about. Eleven guys have a good grasp of it and Fatts [Russell] is a quick learner. It’s going to be hard to keep him off the court, honestly.”
Russell is the only true freshman joining the team, and what the guard lacks in size – he’s listed at 5-foot-10, and looked to be a few inches shorter than Jarvis Garrett – he more than makes up for in pure basketball ability.
“It’s so much fun to get back out on the court, especially with these guys.” – URI’s Dan Hurley
Russell had the presence of a veteran point guard leading the Rams up the court on Thursday, pulling up and hitting transition jump shots when he wasn’t dropping dimes to his cutting teammates.
The other newcomer is Ryan Preston, a 6-foot-7 lefty who will help bolster a frontcourt that will have to recover from the loss of Hassan Martin and Kuran Iverson. Preston brings athleticism and a crisplooking jumper to the table.
“It’s big for both of them,” Hurley said, of the 10 extra summer practices helping the two newcomers “Fatts is an extremely fast learner, so it’s probably not as important for him as it is for Ryan. He’s coming from a junior college, and there’s things we have to coach him up on. Our philosophies and being in the right spots so he can use his athletic ability and strength.”
Preston is walking into an good situation, joining an NCAA Tournament team that returns the bulk of its roster, but still has plenty of minutes to dole out in the frontcourt.
The situation in the backcourt is the polar opposite, with a logjam of experienced guards all making rock-solid cases for major playing time next season.
“We’re studying a lot of Villanova,” replied Hurley when asked if he would consider rolling out any fourguard lineups next season. “We have like-sized perimeter guards that they’ve been able to be pretty effective within their system. Those 6foot-5 guards around one interior player. You have to put your best players on the court.
“With the way the rules are being changed in terms of freedom of movement, and no hand-checking, they’re trying to open up the game. The game is becoming more perimeter-oriented. It suits us. When you have the collection of guards we have you have to find minutes for them.”
URI was missing one player from Thursday session, as guard Christion Thompson didn’t participate because he appeared to be nursing a knee injury that has plagued him during his collegiate career. E.C. Matthews looked explosive in his limited action on the court, but spent most of the session either working independently or sitting out entirely.
“We’re just keeping him out of the live stuff,” Hurley said. “This is a trip where we probably won’t use him much, if at all. We want to develop these frontcourt guys. His health is the best it’s been since [before he tore his ACL].”
All of URI’s frontcourt players had chances to prove themselves on Thursday, whether it was in 5-on-5 action or in 1-on-1 post-up drills. Preston, Andre Berry, Mike Layssard, Mike Tertsea and
Cyril Langevine were all involved in spirited competition throughout the two-hour session.
“Layssard and Andre are probably in better shape right now than they were to start last season,”
Hurley said. “These guys are in good shape. Both guys are in the mix. Particularly Andre right now is really grasping the opportunity [the most]. He sees minutes, whereas last year he looked and saw these guys ahead of him and it discouraged him. It probably affected the way he prepared.”
“We’re hoping he can give us what Earl [Watson] gave us,” two years ago, continued Hurley. “Minutes off the bench. He has some unique skills he’s been working on. He’s a good perimeter shooter and passer, so we’re going to try to use him in some interesting ways.”
Rhody will continue to integrate their new players and figure out their frontcourt, with eight sessions left available to them before they take off for the Bahamas. Their trip will run from
August 7th-13th, and will feature two scrimmages against the Bahamian National Team.
“We’ll get hopefully some good competition,” Hurley said. “The 10 practices and the chance to bond obviously [are very important]. First trip with a couple new guys. You’re getting to know each other that way and it’s a cultural experience. Chance to do some community service while we’re out there, swim with the dolphins, stuff like that.”