URI Men’s Basketball 2013-14 Season Preview
Tuesday, November 05, 2013
2013-13 Recap
The 2012-13 season was a year of transition for the University of Rhode Island Men’s Basketball program. New Head Coach Dan Hurley arrived in Kingston with a major shortage of scholarship players, and the young Rams were outmatched and outmanned by many opponents in their 8-21 campaign.
Xavier Munford was one of the few bright spots last season for Rhody as the junior transfer guard averaged a team-high 17.4 points per game, 2nd in the Atlantic 10. Sophomore Point Guard Mike Powell joined Munford in the backcourt and the duo each averaged over 35 minutes per game, putting them in the Top 4 in the conference in usage.GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST
Munford will be asked to shoulder a big scoring load again as the lone senior of this year’s team, but with 4 transfer additions and some talented freshmen coming in, URI is hoping to be more balanced and versatile scoring the basketball. The Rams also have more depth than a year ago, so Powell and Munford should be a little fresher and more energized late in games than a year ago.
Key Departures
Ryan Brooks, Graduation
Jordan Hare, Sophomore, Leave of Absence
Nikola Malesevic, Graduation
Andre Malone, Graduation
Key Arrivals
Gilvudas Biruta, Junior Transfer from Rutgers
Hassan Martin, Freshman, Staten Island, New York
E.C. Matthews, Freshman, Romulus, Michigan
Biggie Minnis, Sophomore Transfer from Texas Tech
Ifeanyi Onyekaba, Sophomore, Ineligible Last Season
Jarelle Reischel, Sophomore Transfer from Rice
Team Preview
Guards: E.C. Matthews, Biggie Minnis, Xavier Munford, Mike Powell
The Rams have a deep group of guards that will be a focal point as the team looks to pick up the pace and return to their “Runnin’ Rams” style of play this season. Powell and Munford started the preseason game at the 1 and 2 and will be leaned upon by Hurley as his two most experienced returning players from a year ago. Matthews was a consensus Top 100 recruit and figures to grow into a key role as a combo guard as the season progresses. Minnis transferred to URI from Texas Tech and had to sit out the 2012 season. His role should continue to grow as he shakes off the rust and tries to regain the form that led him to play in 28 games (starting 5) for the Red Raiders as a freshman in 2011.
Wings: T.J. Buchanan, Jarelle Reischel, Hassan Martin
This trio is all about versatility and they’re the versatile chess pieces Hurley has at his disposal to play matchup-ball against other teams. The junior Buchanan is probably the best perimeter defender on the roster, capable of guarding 1-3 despite only being 6’3” tall (his wingspan is ridiculous). Reischel started at Small Forward in the exhibition game but saw some time as the Power Forward in small-ball packages and hauled in 9 rebounds. Martin was used primarily in the post but has the athleticism to step out on the wing if needed. At 6’7” and 210 pounds, Martin still has room to fill out his frame a bit but he had 14 points and was impressive getting to the rim against Southern Connecticut.
Bigs: Mike Aaman, Gilvudas Biruta, Ifeanyi Onyekaba
This unit lost their best shot-blocker when Jordan Hare left the team for personal reasons, but if the Rams big guys stay healthy they’ve got 3 solid contributors right here. Biruta is a crown jewel transfer from Rutgers, and the junior figures to be a double-double threat on a nightly basis in Kingston. Onyekaba started alongside Biruta in the exhibition game and has the body to be a physical force down low at 6’8” and 240 pounds. Aaman is a fan favorite for his hard-nosed style of play and relentlessness inside. He brings his lunch pail to work with him on both ends of the floor and is an instant energy boost off the bench.
Conference Outlook
The Atlantic 10 Conference received a major shakeup last year with the arrivals of Virginia Commonwealth and Butler, but this year even more overhaul has the conference looking different once again. Butler, Charlotte, Xavier, and Temple are out, and George Mason is in, putting the conference at 13 teams for 2013.
VCU was tabbed as the preseason favorite by the coaches, followed by defending champion St. Louis at #2. URI was picked 9th by the coaches, who also selected Munford as preseason 2nd Team All-Conference (for a complete look at the coaches’ picks, click here.)
Rhody certainly isn’t expected to be one of the best teams in the A-10 and after posting a 3-13 record in conference play a year ago it’s not much of a surprise. The A-10 is coming off an incredible season a year ago that saw 5 teams earn bids to “The Dance” and win their 1st round game (the A-10 finished with a 7-5 record for the tournament.) Sending 5 teams back to the Round of 32 seems unrealistic (especially without Temple or Butler) but this is still a Top 10 conference and should send multiple teams to March Madness.
Schedule
URI’s non-conference schedule is in flux thanks to the NIT Season Tipoff Tournament. The Rams will definitely be playing Metro State in Tucson, Arizona on November 18th, but after that things get tricky. They’ll play November 19th and then 2 more games the following week as part of the tournament.
In local rivalry games, URI hosts Providence on December 5th and plays at Brown on January 2nd. The other big game to watch is at LSU on January 4th. That game wraps up non-conference play for Rhody and gives the team a chance to show what it can do against a “power conference” team.
In conference play, URI plays Dayton, UMass, and Fordham twice and the rest of the conference once in the 16 game A-10 schedule (the team does play George Mason in a non-conference game scheduled before GMU joined the A-10.) Based off where those teams were picked in the preseason poll (UMass 4th, Dayton 7th, Fordham 11th) that’s a pretty balanced conference schedule.
For a look at the full schedule, including times, TV/Radio coverage, and venues, click here.
And if you haven’t seen the new Ryan Center court design, check that out here!