Departing URI Basketball Seniors Are 71% of the Scoring — The Future Is Another Rebuild

Departing URI Basketball Seniors Are 71% of the Scoring — The Future Is Another Rebuild

As the season comes to an end, URI basketball will be saying goodbye to five seniors, four of whom are starters. They are losing the heart and soul of the team.

 

The seniors are:

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Sebastian Thomas – point guard from Providence, RI, and previously at the University of Albany who came back to play his final year at URI
Jaden House – scoring guard from Richmond, Virginia, previously with High Point University, who played for URI for two years.
David Green – power forward from Apopka, Florida, previously with Louisiana Tech and Hofstra University, who played for a year and a half.
Javonte Brown – Center from Toronto, Ontario, previously at Western Michigan, who played for URI for one year.
Quentin Diboundje – Guard from Montpellier, France, previously with East Carolina, who played for URI for one year.

 

Heart and soul of team leaving

These seniors accounted for 71% of the scoring, 63% of the assists, and 76% of their blocked shots.

The Rams are losing much more than scoring and other statistics. They are losing their team leadership.

 

David Green

In January last year, when David Grenn was cleared to play, coach Archie Miller said the team desperately needed a leader. He needed an alpha male who would be vocal and lead through words and deeds. Miller declared he had finally found the team’s top dog in David Green. Once Green started playing, you could see how the team galvanized around him. Green has been a stalwart on the court.

Green plays 28 minutes per game, averaging 14.7 PPG with 5.9 RPG. He shoots an impressive 44% on threes. Green is all over the A-10 leaders’ stat sheet. He is ranked 1st in three-point shooting, 10th (49%) in field goal percentage, 11th (82%) in free throw percentage, 14th in scoring, 19th in blocked shots, and 17th in rebounding.

 

Sebastian Thomas

This season, Green’s leadership has been augmented by the presence of Sebastian Thomas. The point guard immediately became the floor general. In basketball, there is a dynamic in which the ball finds the hands of the best player. Due to his position and this dynamic, the ball was in his hands most of the time, and he knew what to do with it.

Thomas is one of the best point guards in the A-10. He seldom comes out of games, playing 36 minutes per game. He is 4th in the A-10 in scoring at 17.4 PPG. 1st in assists (6 PG), 1st in steals (2.1 PG), and 5th in assists to turnover ratio. His clutch play down the stretch has won games.

 

Javonte Brown

The seven-foot Javonte Brown was a late and the last addition to the team. He is the rim protector and shot blocker the Rams needed. He works hard and takes pride in being a presence in the paint. Statistically, he is the best seven-footer URI has ever had. He scores 8.5 PPG with 6 rebounds PG. He is third in the A-10 in shooting percentage (66%) 4, fourth in the league in blocks (1.6 PG), and 16th in rebounding.

 

Jaden House

At times, Jaden House can be unstoppable when driving to the hoop. He has a fantastic spin move that defenders cannot figure out. When asked about his ability to drive, he said he sees angles. It is purely instinctive.

Occasionally, he gets out of control and has learned that you cannot take on every center in the Conference. He has learned to drive and dish out to players on the outside, which significantly enhances his game.

House is the consummate team player accepting his initial role of coming off the bench until he worked his way into the starting lineup. He averages 11 PPG, shooting 46% from the floor and 86% from the line. This performance puts him 11th in the Conference in free throw percentage and 18th in field goal percentage.

 

Quentin Diboundje

Quentin Diboundje comes off the bench and adds energy and intensity to the floor. Miller has called him the best athlete on the team. He went out with a shoulder injury and missed four games in the heart of conference play.  When he was out with the injury, Miller talked about how much the team missed and needed him. Unfortunately, his injury occurred around the time Tyonne Farrell left the team, and they needed him the most.

Diboundje is a good defender, averaging 14 minutes a game with 3.8 PPG, and shoots 74% from the line.

 

Revolving Door

Unlike in the past – meaning before unrestricted transfers and the portal, most seniors would have been with the team for three or four years. Today’s situation is mercenary, with money playing a big part in why a player chooses a school. You also don’t see players out in the community making appearances as much unless they are getting paid to do it.

 

Senior Day Saturday, March 8th, versus Fordham University

So, the situation has changed, but players are still swept up in the emotion of Senior Day. As they are led out to center court with their families, the certainty of their college careers ending fully sinks in, and for all but a few across the country, the reality that they will not make it to the NBA starts to take hold.

Shane Donaldson of the URI Athletic Department claims the team’s five seniors are expected to graduate this spring.

The Rams had another rebuild this year, adding 10 new players after last year’s rebuild when they added nine new players. At the beginning of the year Miller talked about this group being the most experienced and senior group he has had. This was intentional, and he was optimistic about the result an experienced team would bring this season. The Rams are currently 17-12 and 6-11 in Conference play. It has not been the type of season Miller had hoped.

 

Recruiting experienced players

In the new era of college basketball, seeking juniors and seniors from the portal is a common and growing strategy. Coaches are letting players earn their experience elsewhere before they recruit and pay them to join their program as upperclassmen. The URI active roster for 2024-25 included only one freshman - who has left the program.

Another strategy to get a more seasoned player, which Miller is using, is to convince freshmen to redshirt for a year and develop under his system and program. The Rams currently have three redshirt players – Damone King, Moek Icke, and Always Wright who can join the active roster next year.

 

Constant rebuilding

The new paradigm brings with it the need to rebuild every year. These five seniors will be gone, and an unknown number of players will leave via the portal. Next year, we will be looking at a whole new team.

It will be interesting to see how the fan base will react to this constant year-after-year turnover. With diminished ties and connections to the players, will interest fall off? Will ticket sales shrink, media viewership decline, and alumni financial support of the athletic program suffer?

Winning will supersede all of this. It all comes down to winning games, and now, sadly, that is driven by NIL money. You need enough NIL money to buy a good team. The question is, can URI basketball generate the level of NIL support needed to have a successful program getting to the top of the A-10?

So far, the answer has been no. Miller’s three-year conference record is 17-36.