Solid effort by Rams, but not good enough
Tuesday, November 09, 2010
You can look at this game one of two ways.
By all means, Rhode Island deserves credit for taking the fifth-ranked Pittsburgh Panthers to the wire last night on their home court, which has been a House of Horrors for visitors through the years (Pittsburgh entered last night with a 75-1 record against non-conference opponents at the Peterson Events Center).
Conversely, this is the kind of game URI might look back at toward the end of the season as a missed opportunity if it fails again in its bid to quality for the NCAAs. Other than winning the Atlantic 10 Tournament in March, Rhode Island’s only shot at earning a trip to the Big Dance is to dominate within its own conference, load up its non-conference schedule with solid competition and steal a game or two against ranked opponents to beef up its RPI ranking.
Last night was the first of two big opportunities for the Rams (they’ll play at ninth-ranked Florida in January), and the reality is they failed despite a valiant effort in a hostile environment. Rhode Island led by as many as eight points in the opening half, but fell apart down the stretch and succumbed to Pittsburgh’s superior size and athleticism in an 83-75 season-opening loss.
What’s clear from the start is the Rams will live and die by the 3-pointer this year – they attempted 39 last night, accounting for more than half their field-goal attempts – unless they find a way to develop a sophisticated half-court offense.
One of head coach Jim Baron’s biggest pitfalls in his nine years at the helm is the fact his teams have relied heavily on their athleticism to create offense in transition, which is fine if you rebound and defend. Last night, the Rams couldn’t do either, particularly on the break. The Panthers dominated in transition and in the paint, creating high-percentage shots that limited Rhode Island’s opportunities to run the floor.
Unable to play at their pace, the Rams had to slow it down and operate out of their half-court set, which primarily resulted in swingman Delroy James dribbling for 17 seconds and hoisting a 3-pointer from well beyond the arc. The Rams lack in basic offensive fundamentals, such as moving without the ball or setting screens along the baseline or at the top of the key to create open jump shots.
As long as they shoot well, they’ll have a chance, which they did last night despite their inability to stop Pittsburgh under the basket or on the break. The Rams actually pulled to within three points with 1:01 remaining, but sophomore Akeem Richmond missed a long three from the top of the key and Brad Wanamaker hit a pair of free throws on Pittsburgh’s ensuing possession to ice the game.
The good news is the A-10 appears to lack a dominant force. Xavier lost one of its top players, Jamel McLean, to a broken eye socket, and also lost its top 3-point shooter, Brad Redford, to a torn knee ligament. St. Louis is entering the season without its leading scorer from last year, Kwamian Mitchell, and its starting center, Willis Reed, both of whom were removed from the program due to allegations of sexual assault. The conference is up for grabs this season and the Rams are one of several teams with a chance to make an impact.
One of the positives that stood out from last night, aside from James scoring 17 of his 20 points in the second half, was the performance of junior college transfer Daniel West, who finished with four points and 10 assists in his regular-season debut. Senior Marquis Jones is expected to run the point this year, but West could become the focal point of the offense by the end of the season if he develops at a reasonable pace.
As they have in years past, the Rams still lack size. Seven-foot senior center Will Martel is their most dominant presence in the paint, but there’s not much help on the bench, as evident last night when Martel sat out most of the second half with foul trouble. Orion Outerbridge is skipping the first semester to concentrate on his studies and if the injury 6-foot-9 freshman forward Levan Shengalia suffered last night is serious, the Rams will have to rely on senior Ben Eaves (6-7) and sophomore Ryan Brooks (6-8) to fill the void until 7-3 freshman Blake Vedder shows he can provide quality minutes.
Until that day comes, we’ll see more games like the one we watched last night in ESPN’s college basketball opener – lots of long-range shooting and a high-paced, up-tempo style that could be Rhode Island’s downfall against opponents with more size and athleticism.
Pushing the fifth-ranked team in the country to the brink is nothing to scoff at if you’re a young, inexperienced team with low expectations. The truth is the Rams have high hopes this year; they’ve won 89 games over the past four seasons – more than any four-year stretch in school history – and they have their sights set on the NCAAs. Unless they learn to close out winnable games against quality opponents, the only place they’ll be dancing in March is at the NIT.
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