Spring Break
Preview: Men's basketball starts Monday
Evan Crawley
Issue date: 10/31/08 Section: Sports
10/31/08 - The University of Rhode Island men's basketball team was projected to finish ninth in the annual Atlantic 10 Preseason Poll, but that does not mean that head coach Jim Baron is not looking forward to the upcoming season.
"We'll take it one step at a time, I mean they picked us ninth, so we're going to have some growing pains with the freshman class as well as the sophomore class, but the big question is going to be replacing Parfait [Bitee] and a big time scorer like Will Daniels," Baron said.
"That being said, having the bodies that we have and the athletic abilities, I'm looking forward to it [the season]."
While it might be difficult to replace Daniels' scoring, Bitee's leadership or Joe Mbang's energy, indications seem to point to an even faster Rams team than last season, despite the lack of firepower.
The Rams welcome three freshmen to the team, speedy 5 feet 9 inches point guard Stevie Mejia, athletic 6 feet 9 inches big man Orion Outerbridge and 6 feet 5 inches guard Jamal Wilson.
University of Connecticut transfer Ben Eaves will also be eligible for this season's team after sitting out all of last year as a result of transfer rules.
"Their athletic ability is the one thing that I'm really looking forward to having them add to the equation that we have with the nucleus we have," Baron said of the fresh faces.
Sports fans might also wonder how last year's underclassmen sophomores Marquis Jones and Will Martell, as well as juniors Lamonte Ulmer, Keith Cothran and Delroy James, have progressed.
Baron has already noticed this year's team is tight knit, after only a few practices.
"I think that these guys are a lot closer for some reason, they just have been through a lot with getting to the championship game two years ago, going to the NIT last year, and they've had experience under their belt," Baron said.
The bulk of this experience comes from senior leaders Jimmy Baron and Kahiem Seawright, as well as senior Jason Francis, who will enter his second season with the Rams coming off of knee surgery.
After four seasons in Kingston, Baron and Seawright will be counted on to lead this relatively young Rams' squad.
"It's been incredible to see how they have developed into a solid tandem, a one-two punch," Baron said of the duo. "They're good leaders, they've worked really hard to prepare for this season, and that's been a big plus."
Rhody Nation will get its first glimpse of the new team Monday night when they host Concordia University in preseason action.
"We'll take it one step at a time, I mean they picked us ninth, so we're going to have some growing pains with the freshman class as well as the sophomore class, but the big question is going to be replacing Parfait [Bitee] and a big time scorer like Will Daniels," Baron said.
"That being said, having the bodies that we have and the athletic abilities, I'm looking forward to it [the season]."
While it might be difficult to replace Daniels' scoring, Bitee's leadership or Joe Mbang's energy, indications seem to point to an even faster Rams team than last season, despite the lack of firepower.
The Rams welcome three freshmen to the team, speedy 5 feet 9 inches point guard Stevie Mejia, athletic 6 feet 9 inches big man Orion Outerbridge and 6 feet 5 inches guard Jamal Wilson.
University of Connecticut transfer Ben Eaves will also be eligible for this season's team after sitting out all of last year as a result of transfer rules.
"Their athletic ability is the one thing that I'm really looking forward to having them add to the equation that we have with the nucleus we have," Baron said of the fresh faces.
Sports fans might also wonder how last year's underclassmen sophomores Marquis Jones and Will Martell, as well as juniors Lamonte Ulmer, Keith Cothran and Delroy James, have progressed.
Baron has already noticed this year's team is tight knit, after only a few practices.
"I think that these guys are a lot closer for some reason, they just have been through a lot with getting to the championship game two years ago, going to the NIT last year, and they've had experience under their belt," Baron said.
The bulk of this experience comes from senior leaders Jimmy Baron and Kahiem Seawright, as well as senior Jason Francis, who will enter his second season with the Rams coming off of knee surgery.
After four seasons in Kingston, Baron and Seawright will be counted on to lead this relatively young Rams' squad.
"It's been incredible to see how they have developed into a solid tandem, a one-two punch," Baron said of the duo. "They're good leaders, they've worked really hard to prepare for this season, and that's been a big plus."
Rhody Nation will get its first glimpse of the new team Monday night when they host Concordia University in preseason action.
