Rhode Island

State of '08: The Three-Program States

Shawn Siegel — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 08:47:27 -0700

What is the top D1 basketball program in each state.. and which program is the worst? While there's not much competition in Hawaii.. there are great debates to be had in loaded regions like California, North Carolina, and Texas. The State of '08 is a state by state ranking based mostly on recent success (the last five years) mixed in with subjective factors such as conference prestige, historical success, and overall program direction.

Up today: The four 3-program states.. followed by individual state articles. Note that 8 states have either one or no teams (Alaska). For more info, check out the State of '08 introduction.

THREE PROGRAM STATES

ARIZONA - Is the gap closing between one and two?..

Arizona - Last year was one of the more disappointing seasons in Wildcat history.. and it only looks to get worse with Bayless going pro and Jennings taking a year abroad in Italy. Still, down years for Arizona are good years for almost any other program, and their RPI of 38th still dominated ASU's RPI of 83.

Arizona State - Herb Sendek is leading a resurgent ASU program that actually finished ahead of Arizona in the conference standings (9-9 to 8-10). Still, ASU was coming off a couple seasons in which they were arguably no better than Northern Arizona.

Northern Arizona - Had this ranking been done last summer, NAU would have given ASU a run for its money. In 06 & 07, NAU dominated the Sun Devils in the computer polls. Despite coming off another solid 19-win season, the Lumberjacks still have to be considered the third fiddle in the Sun State, though #1 in terms of quality of their Mascot.

IDAHO - The Gem State is void of any basketball gems.

Boise State - From 2005 to 2008, the Broncos RPI has improved each season, from 201st to 87th. The improvement culminated in a 24-win season and a surprising trip to the NCAA Tournament. For the standards of Idaho, that's pretty heady stuff.

Idaho State - Despite being in a lesser conference than Idaho (the Big Sky), the Bengals have still managed more success over the last handful of years. In fact, ISU has beaten their in-state rival the last four seasons,

Idaho - One of the saddest programs in the country, Idaho would be more competitive again NAIA competition. Despite an RPI of 299, it was actually Idaho's best season in a couple years as they won 5 games in the WAC.

KANSAS - Putting the Rock in Chalk since 1898..

Kansas - National champions. One of the all-time great programs.. not much to say here.

Kansas State* - Before Bob Huggins came along, KSU was the Nebraska of its state.. always hovering around 110 or so in the RPI, never horrendous but never good. Huggins lured some big names to Manhattan, and though he's long gone, the momentum has carried into the Frank Martin era. While K-State has been better than WSU the last two seasons, it was just their first tournament win in 20 years.

Wichita State* - Mark Turgeon did a great job turning a dormant program back into a winner. WSU won at least 20 games in 04-05-06, and made the Sweet Sixteen in the last of those good seasons. But Turgeon is now at Texas A&M, and it remains to be seen what Gregg Marshall can do in Wichita. Though an improvement over last season's dismal 11-win, 199 RPI season is a lock.. anything more than .500 in the MVC would be overachieving.

* These two programs have had very similar success in the past 5 years. KSU's average RPI is 85.4 to 87.8 for WSU, while WSU has averaged 18 wins to 17 for KSU. But K-State gets an edge for being in a tougher conference, with more respect on the recruiting trail, and for having more historical success.

RHODE ISLAND - The Lamar Odom State

Providence - Since making the Big Dance in 2004, Providence has been going in the wrong direction and Tim Welsh finally lost his job after a promising start. Still, four postseason trips in 7 8** years still takes the cake in Rhode Island.

Rhode Island - URI topped Providence in ~~wins~~ RPI*** for the first time since 1999 thanks to the solid play of Will Daniels and Jimmy Baron. The 21 win season was a nice accomplishment considering the Rams won just 6 games as recently as 2005.

Brown - Perennially, one of the worst teams out there.. Brown is coming off its best season since about the time I was in kindergarten. 19 wins and an 11-3 Ivy record is impressive, but it will take an epic run to move them out of last on this list.

State of '08: The 7 Two-Program States Delaware, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, West Virginia

State of '08: The Introduction

Will Daniels Joins Bulls Summer League Team

Press Release — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 12:13:52 -0700

KINGSTON, R.I. -- Will Daniels is set to play with the Chicago Bulls in the 2008 Orlando Pro Summer League at the RDV Sportsplex from July 7-11.

"The Bulls are a well-known organization and I'm excited for this opportunity," Daniels said. "I'm looking forward to getting on the floor, competing, and playing the best basketball I can."

The 15-game event will feature squads from the Bulls, host Orlando Magic, Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat, New Jersey Nets, and Seattle Sonics. Three of the top four picks from the 2008 NBA Draft are expected to participate - Derrick Rose (Chicago), Michael Beasley (Miami), and Russell Westbrook (Seattle).

Chicago will finalize their Summer League roster in a mini-camp, held July 3-6 at the Berto Center - the Bulls' practice facility in Deerfield, Ill.

Daniels is coming off a stellar senior season for the Rams, averaging 18.6 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, becoming the first URI player since Tyson Wheeler (1996-97, 1997-98) and just the third URI player all-time to earn First Team All-A-10 honors in consecutive seasons.

The Poughkeepsie, N.Y. finished his career with 1,678 points and 662 rebounds and was named the Rhode Island Men's Division I Co-Player of the Year, after helping lead the Rams to a 21-12 overall record and a berth in the National Invitation Tournament. Daniels also landed a spot on the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-District I First Team as well as the United States Basketball Writers Association All-District team and was a national finalist for the prestigious Naismith Award - named in honor of Dr. James Naismith, founder of the game of basketball, and awarded annually to the National Player of the Year - as well as the Lowe's Men's Basketball Senior CLASS Award, which is presented each year to the outstanding senior NCAA Division I Student-Athlete of the Year.

Will Daniels: NBA Draft Profile

Jeff Fox — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 10:37:46 -0700

Will Daniels

(no stars)

College: Rhode Island

Class: Senior

Position: PF

Height: 6’8”

Weight: 225lbs

Accolades: Second Team High-Major All-American – CHN (08), First Team All-A-10 (08), First Team All-A-10 (07).

Scouting Report: Big-time scoring forward.

Strengths: Very solid frame. Big-time scorer. Good rebounder. Has three-point range on his jumper. Huge wingspan. Very athletic. Great elevation on his jumper. Strong finisher – gets lots of “and ones”. Experienced – averaged over 28 minutes/game his last three years in college.

Weaknesses: Stuck between positions in the NBA – not big enough for the post – doesn’t have wing player skills. Awkward form on his jump shot. More turnovers than assists for his collegiate career. Didn’t play in a “power conference”

Projected 2008 Draft Range: Mid second round pick to undrafted.

Consensus: If Daniels can prove he can play small forward in the NBA, he may have a chance to stick in the League.

Stats: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=22551

CHN's Six-Star Ranking System

= Superstar/All-NBA Potential

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0 stars = Life in the Minor Leagues

More 2008 NBA Draft Profiles

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Today's Game Predictions: NIT & Play-In Game

Shawn Siegel — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 10:47:49 -0700

Mount St. Mary's (18-14) vs Coppin State (16-20)

7:30 PM ESPN

For an amazingly in-depth preview of these two teams.. check out Raphielle Johnson's Opening Round preview. He somehow knows more about these teams than I could ever know. But what I do know is that although Coppin State has won 12 of 13 games, the MEAC is awful (though not nearly as bad as the SWAC), and thus the Mount is the safe pick.

Prediction: Mount St. Mary's

Maryland (18-14) at Minnesota (20-13)

9:30 PM ESPN

Because NIT games are not on neutral courts, the spreads on most of the games are rather large. But this game has a relatively tight 3 point spread thanks to the perception that Maryland and the ACC are better than Minnesota and the Big Ten. Also helping Maryland's cause is that they've had some success away from College Park, beating UNC, BC, Wake Forest amongst others. But I think more important than records, is simply how much these teams want the win. Maryland collapsed late in the season (losing 5 of 6), while Minnesota showed some renewed heart in the Big Ten tournament.

Prediction: Minnesota

Rhode Island (21-11) at Creighton (21-10)

10:00 PM ESPNU

These seem like the most evenly matched teams in the NIT's opening round, but of course home-court makes Creighton a healthy 7 point favorite. The Bluejays played two A10 teams earlier in the year, knocking off St. Joseph's at home and losing in Cincy to Xavier. Those games suggest that Creighton has enough talent to beat a URI team that blew their chance to make the Big Dance, losing 7 of 8 games.. many of which went down to the wire. Against the spread, I actually like URI who has better individual talent, but the Rams struggle to win close games.

Prediction: Creighton

Previous Game of the Night (Predictions, 100-59)

March 15th - Kansas vs Texas (2-1)

March 14th - St. Joseph's vs Temple (1-2)

March 13th - Ohio State vs Michigan State (2-1)

March 12th - Arizona State at USC (2-1)

March 12th - Syracuse vs Villanova (2-1)

March 11th - IUPUI at Oral Roberts (3-0)

March 10th - Gonzaga at San Diego (1-2)

March 9th - Florida at Kentucky (1-2)

March 8th - UNC at Duke (2-1)

March 5th - Tennessee at Florida (2-1)

March 4th - UNLV at New Mexico (3-0)

March 3rd - Texas Tech at Kansas (3-0)

March 2nd - Clemson at Maryland (1-2)

2008 NIT Capsule: Rhode Island

Joel Welser — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 07:10:59 -0700

Rhode Island

Atlantic 10 (21-11, 7-9)

Seed: #6

RPI: 79

Big Wins: 11/18 vs UAB (74-69), 12/8 at Syracuse (91-89), 2/2 Datyon (82-70)

Bad Losses: 11/21 at Boston College (72-76), 1/17 at Saint Louis (61-68), 2/27 at George Washington (68-85)

Coach: Jim Baron

Probable Starters:

Parfait Bitee, Senior, Guard, 12.0 ppg, 4.8 apg

Jimmy Baron, Junior, Guard, 14.3 ppg, 2.0 apg

Kahiem Seawright, Junior, Forward, 9.3 ppg, 8.3 rpg

Will Daniels, Senior, Forward, 18.7 ppg, 6.7 rpg

Jason Francis, Junior, Forward, 2.6 ppg, 2.0 rpg

Key Roleplayers:

Keith Cothran, Sophomore, Guard, 7.6 ppg, 2.0 apg

Lamonte Ulmer, Sophomore, Forward, 7.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg

Joe Mbang, Senior, Forward, 6.3 ppg, 4.1 rpg

Why They Can Surprise:

Rhode Island has a couple of solid scorers in guard Jimmy Baron and forward Will Daniels. Baron, the coach’s son, spends most of his time on the perimeter. He knocks down over three shots per game from beyond the arc and averages 14.3 points per game. He is getting a little better at mixing up his game and getting to the basket, but there is still room to improve in that department.

Up front Will Daniels will do a majority of the scoring. The 6-8, 225 pound forward will play facing the basket most of the time and he can step outside and hit the long ball relatively consistently. Daniels averages nearly 19 points per game and can score a lot of buckets in a hurry. The rest of the frontcourt might not be as explosive as Daniels, but Kahiem Seawright, Keith Cothran, Lamonte Ulmer and Joe Mbang have the ability to hit double digits in the scoring department on any given night.

Why They Can Disappoint:

With a high scoring offense comes turnover problems and the Rams commit about 14 a game. That is not horrible, but Rhode Island will have to try and keep that number down as much as possible if they want to make a run in the tournament. They will also need to take advantage of every opportunity they have and that includes hitting free-throws. The team shoots under 70 percent from the charity stripe. Baron is great from the line and hits over 91 percent of his attempts, but the entire group of forwards are in the 60 percent range and that might not be good enough in March.

Who To Watch:

Parfait Bitee is in charge of keeping the up-tempo offense under control. He averages 4.8 assists per game and just 2.4 turnovers. That is not bad at all considering how fast the Rams run their offense. Bitee is not a pure distributor however and he will hit the outside shot with amazing consistency. Bitee hits two long balls per game and shoots over 51 percent from beyond the arc. That would rank among the best in the nation if he took a few more attempts.

By the Numbers:

Scoring Offense: 80.8 (13^th in nation, 3^rd in conference)

Scoring Defense: 74.4 (286, 12)

Field-Goal Percentage: 47.1 (40, 4)

Field-Goal Defense: 54.5 (152, 9)

Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 7.4 (94, 6)

Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 38.0 (53, 4)

Free-Throw Percentage: 69.5 (151, 9)

Rebound Margin: 2.5 (95, 4)

Assists Per Game: 14.9 (75, 6)

Turnovers Per Game: 14.1 (144, 8)

Joel’s Bracket Says: Second Round loss to Florida

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Team of the Day: Rhode Island

Raphielle Johnson — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 07:58:23 -0800

Rhode Island 20-9 (6-8 Atlantic 10) Computer numbers (courtesy of kenpom.com): RPI 66, SOS 104 I know that most readers would like the "Team of the Day" to focus on the positive, and teams like Houston, UAB and Kentucky did get important wins last night. However, when's the last time you've seen a team at this juncture of the season go from relatively safe to just about no hope of getting into the NCAA Tournament in the span of two weeks? That's what Rhody may have sealed last night in their 85-68 loss at George Washington, following three straight home losses (Xavier, UMass and St. Joseph's) that would have bolstered their resume. Now the Rams need to win their last two regular season games (@ La Salle, Charlotte) as well as make a run in the Atlantic 10 Tournament to have a shot at an at-large bid. The door isn't locked yet, but it's rapidly closing. On the clock: Arizona State. The Sun Devils, who have already beaten Arizona and Stanford on their home floor, welcome UCLA tonight in a game that could add some serious beef to their tournament resume.

Games of the Night: Rhode Island at Dayton

Shawn Siegel — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 05:03:18 -0800

Games of the Night

A companion to our daily Three Stars of the Day, we present the top three Games of the Night.

#20 Rhode Island (14-1) at #22 Dayton (12-1)

7:00 PM CSTV

The best game of the day features a pair of Top 25 teams contending for the Atlantic 10 title. This is truly the year of the A10 with three ranked teams (including Xavier), and another (UMASS) in the running for a tournament bid. Unfortunately, the game is on CSTV so this gem will go unnoticed by most of the country.

Prediction: Dayton

#15 Mississippi (13-0) at #9 Tennessee (12-1)

8:00 PM FullCourt

Going by the rankings, this is the night's premier game, but a) Tennessee is heavily favored by Vegas, and b) I still don't respect Mississippi's perfect record. It will be interesting to see if Chris Lofton can get his season turned around now that conference play has started. His shooting has been dismal so far, but you figure he's do for a breakout game soon.

Prediction: Tennessee

#24 Arizona (10-4) at Arizona State (12-2)

9:30 PM

The Wildcats are actually ranked in the Coaches Poll (I don't know why), so there is a ranked team in tonight's third game. But the hotter team as of late has been Arizona State, who has slowly been building a base of votes in both polls. If Jerryd Bayless was playing, you'd give a substantial edge to the Wildcats, but he's questionable, and my guess is that he won't be in action. Still, I'll take the Wildcats coming off of a disappointing home loss.

Prediction: Arizona

Previous Game of the Night (Predictions)

January 8th - Florida at Alabama (2-1)

January 7th - Robert Morris at Boston College (1-2)

January 6th - North Carolina at Clemson (2-1)

January 5th - Western Kentucky at South Alabama (3-0)

January 4th - American at Brown (0-3)

January 3rd - UCLA at Stanford (3-0)

January 2nd - Houston at UMASS (2-1)

Daily Dribble: High-Major Power Ranking

Shawn Siegel — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 10:38:49 -0800

Following yesterday's Mid-Major Top 50, I'm back with a complete 66-team ranking of the “High-Majors”. This includes the A10, CAA, CUSA, MVC, MWC, and WAC. I’m not suggesting that the A10 might not be better than the Big Ten this year, or that a league like the Horizon isn’t better than the WAC (which is real bad right now), or anything like that.. I use these grouping year to year simply for ease and consistency.

1. Memphis 12-0 (CUSA)(1)

2. Dayton 12-1 (A10)(8)

3. Xavier 11-3 (A10)(2)

4. Rhode Island 14-1 (A10)(3)

5. UMASS 11-2 (A10)(12)

6. BYU 11-3 (MWC)(4)

7. Drake 9-1 (MVC)(18)

8. UNLV 10-3 (MWC)(10)

9. San Diego State 9-3 (MWC)(5)

10. George Mason 9-4 (CAA)(7)

11. Houston 11-2 (CUSA)(9)

12. New Mexico 13-2 (MWC)(20)

13. Duquesne 10-3 (A10)(14)

14. Boise State 9-3 (WAC)(29)

15. Illinois State 9-3 (MVC)(33)

16. Nevada 7-5 (WAC)(34)

17. UAB 10-5 (CUSA)(21)

18. VCU 8-4 (CAA)(13)

19. Creighton 8-3 (MVC)(11)

20. Charlotte 8-4 (A10)(24)

21. Utah 8-4 (MWC)(27)

22. St Joseph’s 7-4 (A10)(62)

23. Southern Illinois 6-7 (MVC)(6)

24. James Madison 9-3 (CAA)(16)

25. Tulane 9-4 (CUSA)(49)

26. Saint Louis 8-5 (A10)(39)

27. UTEP 9-3 (CUSA)(42)

28. Northern Iowa 9-3 (MVC)(17)

29. Temple 6-6 (A10)(26)

30. Indiana State 6-5 (MVC)(45)

31. Utah State 10-5 (WAC)(36)

32. Old Dominion 7-7 (CAA)(30)

33. Bradley 7-7 (MVC)(19)

34. Missouri State 7-6 (MVC)(28)

35. Central Florida 7-6 (CUSA)(40)

36. Drexel 8-6 (CAA)(22)

37. UNCW 8-6 (CAA)(25)

38. Richmond 7-6 (A10)(51)

39. Fresno State 7-6 (WAC)(32)

40. East Carolina 3-6 (CUSA)(52)

41. Wichita St 7-6 (MVC)(23)

42. New Mexico State 6-9 (WAC)(38)

43. Tulsa 7-4 (CUSA)(56)

44. Fordham 5-6 (A10)(41)

45. TCU 7-5 (MWC)(50)

46. Air Force 6-5 (MWC)(44)

47. George Washington 4-6 (A10)(35)

48. Southern Miss 4-5 (CUSA)(47)

49. Colorado State 5-7 (MWC)(37)

50. San Jose State 6-6 (WAC)(46)

51. Marshall 5-4 (CUSA)(219)

52. Wyoming 4-6 (MWC)(54)

53. La Salle 3-7 (A10)(53)

54. Delaware 5-7 (CAA)(65)

55. Towson 5-7 (CAA)(60)

56. St Bonaventure 5-8 (A10)(55)

57. Georgia State 4-8 (CAA)(59)

58. Northeastern 4-8 (CAA)(31)

59. Evansville 4-7 (MVC)(62)

60. Rice 3-9 (CUSA)(63)

61. SMU 4-6 (CUSA)(57)

62. Hawaii 4-9 (WAC)(58)

63. Hofstra 2-9 (CAA)(43)

64. Idaho 2-9 (WAC)(64)

65. William & Mary 2-8 (CAA)(66)

66. Louisiana Tech 3-10 (WAC)(61)

* Previous ranking in parantheses

* Records only include games against D1 teams.

Next up will be the BCS leagues.

Some weekly honors in the Northeast

Raphielle Johnson — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 20:59:03 -0800

Team of the Week: Rhode Island Results: Providence (W: 77-60), @ Syracuse (W: 91-89) These two key wins put the Rams at 10-1 on the season, and truth be told they should have been ranked in both polls this week. But for the critics who pointed to their schedule as a reason to overlook their start, here are two impressive "resume" wins. Jim Baron, who has to rank up there with some of the more underrated coaches in the country (in terms of the mainstream), took a chance last season by letting these Rams run. The end result there was a trip to the Atlantic 10 final, and more success has come this season. Guard Jimmy Baron and forward Will Daniels lead a solid group of offensive options, one that would make Frank Keaney and his "two points a minute" teams quite proud. Overlooked in the polls, but people had better keep tabs on the Runnin' Rams. Player of the Week: G/F Charron Fisher (Niagara) Stats: 36 pts, 8 rebounds against Rider (W: 89-77); 31 pts, 12 rebounds at Towson (L: 75-72) To be frank, Fisher, a senior from Pennsauken, NJ was a man among boys this past week. In their MAAC opener, Rider had no answer for his versatility. The same goes for Towson, but they were able to get the hard-fought win. Think being 230 pounds relegates Fisher to being an undersized banger inside? Well, he went 8-12 from behind the arc against Rider. Teams within the MAAC have known for a couple of seasons that they've got their hands full with Fisher. Let's see if St. John's is up to the challenge on Saturday. Surprising Score of the Week: Iona 92, Loyola (MD) 68 Iona, in their first season under Kevin Willard, was expected to be an improved team. Well, when you only win two games the previous season, there really isn't anywhere to go but up. But to drop this kind of beating on a team picked by many to contend for the MAAC title is an eye-opener. Four Gaels reached double figures, led by Dexter Gray's 18 off the bench, and Iona shot 59% from the field while limiting the Greyhounds to 32.7%. Besides Gerald Brown, who put up 31, not much went right for Loyola in a game that got out of hand in the first half (halftime score: 49-24). Loyola went the first 4:49 without a field goal, and then topped that with a 5:46 drought to start the second half. One question to think about: what if Loyola doesn't go 27-33 from the charity stripe? Ouch. This win along with their close loss at Siena two days later (81-76) shows that Coach Willard has this program headed in the right direction, despite their 2-7 record. Some other notes on teams in the Northeast: - St. Francis (NY) has been relying too much on the three point shot. Heading into their game at Columbia tonight, the Terriers were 64-for-202 from distance, good for 31.7%. All of last season, SFC attempted 440. With a player the caliber of forward Robert Hines, there should not be this many attempts from beyond the arc. But Hines isn't absolved of any guilt in this either. In 06-07, Hines attempted 106 three-pointers. Through ten games, he's already attempted 52...and made 15. Until the Terriers as a whole commit to attacking the basket, they will have a hard time ending their four-game losing skid. - LIU has replaced the scoring of James Williams by committee. Quite a few people, yours truly included, didn't expect much from the Blackbirds with the graduation of James Williams. But after a win tonight at New Hampshire, LIU is 6-3. Four Blackbirds are averaging at least 10.6 points per game, led by senior forward Kellen Allen at 12.1. Last season, Allen averaged a meager 4.4 points per game. While it's too early to expect LIU to contend for the NEC crown, the wide-open nature of the league combined with their early start means that we shouldn't rule this team out just yet. - Also, keep an eye on Maryland- Baltimore County. The Retrievers have gotten off to a good start this season, possessing a record of 7-2 heading into their game at Central Connecticut State tomorrow night. UMBC holds wins over the likes of Richmond, George Washington and Morgan State, and while that may not be an impressive list, keep in mind that they won twelve games all of last season. Four Retrievers average at least fourteen points per game, led by guard Brian Hodges (18.8 ppg). Also, it doesn’t hurt to shoot 44.4% as a team from behind the arc. It’ll be interesting to see if they average of 79.7 points per game holds up in America East play as well.

2007-08 Rhode Island Basketball Preview

Joel Welser — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 07:19:14 -0700

Rhode Island Rams

Overall Rank: #55

Conference Rank: #3 A-10

2006-07: 19-14, 10-6, 4^th (t)

2006-07 postseason: none

Rhode Island’s Jimmy Baron is one of the most underappreciated shooters in the nation. Baron connected on nearly 48 percent of his long balls and knocked down three per game. He is a smart player who will find his teammates as well. It is good to be a son of a coach, but Baron is the son of the coach. His father, Coach Jim Baron, instilled a more up-tempo style of play and that has greatly benefited his son. Parfait Bitee did a decent job running the point last year. The turnovers are high, but he will get to the basket quickly and find the shooters on the perimeter. Keith Cothran is expected to see more minutes after averaging 6.3 points per game last year. His versatility had a positive effect last year in an otherwise thin backcourt.

Who’s Out:

The Rams spent most of last season without Jamael Lynch, Jon Lucky and Frank Monge so their departures will have little effect on the team. Jonathan Cruz and Terence Grier, both of whom are transferring, averaged less than eight minutes per game. So is anybody leaving who will make a difference? Darrell Harris is as close as it gets. The center started 25 games last year and averaged 6.6 points and 3.7 rebounds. Those numbers are replaceable, but the seven-footer had a nice shooting touch and could handle the ball. The Rams will be hard pressed to find another seven-footer who could fit so well into their new offensive look.

Who’s In:

Depth was rarely an issue last year, but it will never be this season. At 6-9 and 280 pounds, junior college transfer Jason Francis will immediately provide a big body in the paint. When you add his toughness to his 280 pound frame, Francis is not a guy you want to see standing under the basket. Center Will Martell and forward Hakim McCullar will need some time before they find themselves in the regular rotation and, along with redshirt freshman Delroy James, will give Coach Baron plenty of options up front. Bitee is not a true point guard and the more minutes incoming freshman Marquis Jones can give his team, the better. Jones will be that pass-first point guard the team needs and it will be interesting to see how quickly he can make an impact. Jones can get to the basket and is a decent defender. As long as he adjusts to the level of play, Jones will see plenty of playing time.

Who to Watch:

The backcourt has some talent, but it is the frontcourt that has the depth. Will Daniels and Kahiem Seawright will return to their starting positions. Daniels led the team with 17.4 points per game and the 6-8 Hyde Park, New York product is looking for big things his senior year. He has the size and the strength to score in the paint, but it is his outside shooting ability that makes Daniels so dangerous. Seawright is coming off an impressive sophomore campaign that saw him average 11.2 points and a team high 7.5 rebounds. He will spend most of his time under the basket and has developed a nice one-two punch with the more versatile Daniels. Joe Mbang could start at the small forward spot if the team needs a bigger lineup. The 6-7 forward spent last year as the sixth man and helped out the team on so many levels. He is a solid shooter from anywhere on the floor and can use his size to help out on the glass. Lamonte Ulmer was down a ways on the depth chart during his freshman campaign, but when he was in the game, he did a good job. At 6-6, Ulmer is undersized for a power forward, but that did not stop him from scoring in the paint and grabbing some rebounds.

Final Projection:

Depth is important for Rhode Island with their high scoring offense. Everybody will get tired sooner or later and having all the talented newcomers will be extremely beneficial. Nobody is going to make it through the A-10 without their share of ups and downs, but Rhode Island will be near the top and not far away from a trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Projected Post-season Tournament: NIT

Projected Starting Five:

Parfait Bitee, Senior, Guard, 7.2 points per game

Jimmy Baron, Junior, Guard, 14.6 points per game

Joe Mbang, Senior, Forward, 8.4 points per game

Will Daniels, Senior, Forward, 17.4 points per game

Kahiem Seawright, Junior, Forward, 11.2 points per game

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