URI Men's Basketball Season Preview
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URI Men's Basketball Season Preview
This season, third year head coach Dan Hurley returns a solid mix of veterans and youth to his roster, including Bob Cousy Award nominee E.C. Matthews and last years co-captains Gilvydas Biruta and T.J. Buchanan.
Guards
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTSophomore E.C. Matthews will lead the Rams back court and scoring this season after having a great freshman year. At the close of last season, Matthews was named A10 Co-Rookie of the Year and was named Rookie of the Week, seven times throughout the season. The 6'5" Matthews averaged 15.3 points and 4.4 rebounds per game for the Rams last season and since January of 2014, he has had seven games where he has scored at least 20 points.
On the defensive side of the ball, E.C. Matthews was pretty good last season, averaging just under one steal and one block per game. This year, he will be in the starting line up for a full season and will look to improve on both his offensive and defensive numbers.
Next to Matthews will be Senior guard T.J. Buchanan who last season was the first man off the bench for the Rams. In that role, the 6'4" Buchanon averaged career high's in scoring, field goal percentage and assists. In just over 25 minutes per game, Buchanan averaged just under six points per game and had a field goal percentage of 65 for the season. Buchanan will look to add to those numbers this season.
Biggie Minnis, a 6'3" junior, will be the third guard in the rotation for the Rams this season. Minnis is looking forward to having a full season of health this year after missing eight games last year with a hip pointer. Minnis appeared in 21 games last season for the Rams and started in 11 games. He averaged just under five points per game and shot over 50% from the floor.
One of the players to watch for off the bench is 6'3" freshman Jared Terrell who is ranked as one of of the top prospects in America. In high school, at Brewster Academy, Terrell averaged 14.5 points and five rebounds per game.
Forwards
At the forward position, the Rams will be led by 6'8" Senior Gilvydas Biruta who is coming off a year where he was one of the team captains and averaged just over 10 points per game and shot 67% from the floor. Biruta was also a force on the boards pulling down an average of seven rebounds per game for the Rams. URI will look for him to take the next step this year as he helps lead the Rams through the season.
Jordan Hare did not play a game last season for the Rams but has retained three years of eligibility. Hare is 6'10 sophomore who in his freshman year blocked 49 shots, which ranks third most in University of Rhode Island history. Hare will be a major defensive force for the Rams this season if he can stay healthy and should also help on the offensive side of the ball as well, his field goal percentage freshman year was just under 60% from floor.
For a further look at the Rams roster, click here.
The Schedule
The Rams open the season with three straight home games before playing in the Orlando Classic where they challenge themselves will visit Kansas in the first round and Tennessee or Santa Clara in the second round. All Orlando Classic games will be broadcast on ESPN or ESPNU.
Click here for a further look at the Rams schedule.
The Rhode Island Rams open up their season on Friday night.
URI Rams 2014-2015 Projected Starting Lineup
Guard- E.C. Matthews
Sophomore E.C. Matthews will lead the Rams back court and scoring this season after having a great freshman year. The 6'5" Matthews averaged 15.3 points and 4.4 rebounds per game for the Rams last season and since January of 2014, he has had seven games where he has scored at least 20 points.
Matthews was named to the Bob Cousy Award watch list earlier in the preseason, signifying that he is already one of the best guards in the country.
Guard- Jared Terrell
One of the players to watch for off the bench is 6'3" freshman Jared Terrell who is ranked as one of of the top prospects in America. In high school, at Brewster Academy, Terrell averaged 14.5 points and five rebounds per game. Terell chose URI over several other high level D-I schools, including the rival Providence Friars.
Guard- Biggie Minnis
Biggie Minnis, a 6'3" junior, will be the third guard in the rotation for the Rams this season. Minnis appeared in 21 games last season for the Rams and started in 11 games. He missed eight games due to injury.
In the games he played, Minnis averaged just under five points per game and shot over 50% from the floor. If he can stay healthy, the Rams will be looking forward to more of that.
Forward- Gilvydas Biruta
6'8" Senior Gilvydas Biruta is coming off a year where he was one of the team captains and averaged just over 10 points per game and shot 67% from the floor. Biruta was also a force on the boards pulling down an average of seven rebounds per game for Rhode Island.
URI will look for him to take the next step this year as he helps lead the Rams through the season.
Forward- Hassan Martin
Sophomore Forward Hassan Martin was a first year presence for the Rams last season. The Staten Island bred big man averaged over 6 points and 5 rebounds per game in his freshman season, while also adding 2.5 blocks per game. Along with Biruta, Martin anchor a Rams defense that looks very promising.
The Rams could be in very good shape this season if Martin is able to take big steps towards improving his offensive game.
6th man- T.J. Buchanan
Senior guard T.J. Buchanan was the first man off the bench for the Rams last season. In that role, the 6'4" Buchanan averaged just under six points per game and had a field goal percentage of 65 for the season. Buchanan will look to add to those numbers in the same role this season.
Buchanan will also bring some much needed veteran leadership off the bench.
