Thinking out loud … while wondering whatever happened to Chris Terreri.
— The rush of warm air coming from South County in Rhode Island might have been the collective sigh of relief over Dan Hurley’s decision this week to remain at URI with a contract extension. It is very good news, but the issue doesn’t completely go away. Should the Rams’ season next year meet or exceed expectations — and they very well could be THE favorite in the Atlantic 10 — we’ll be dancing this Rhody two-step again at this same time, next year.
The fact is, no contract is unbreakable. If the coach wants to go someplace else, he’ll go. That’s true for any coach, anywhere. In the meantime, let’s try to enjoy what could be a memorable ride. And Hurley gets to enjoy a potential million-dollar-per-year salary, if he’s still in Kingston in 2017. With this state in the kind of “state” it’s in, did anyone think we’d see this happen anytime soon? Welcome to big-time, big-money college basketball, Rhody.
— The Rams apparently picked up fifth-year transfer shooting guard Four McGlynn, formerly of Vermont and Towson, as an addition to next year’s team. URI struggled to score much of the time, and McGlynn’s presence should open things up. Now a big man would open things up even more.
— Rick Barnes got a raw deal from Texas. Hard to argue against that. After 17 years, 16 NCAA appearances and more than 400 wins, he was shown the door. Body of work means very, very little, and “What have you done lately?” carries more weight than it should. I understand the “why,” but I don’t like it. UT is a powerful, big-moneyed institution whose higher-ups appear to only value loyalty when it suits them or when it pays them to be loyal, and as an alumnus that does not make me happy. Barnes (and Tom Penders before him) turned Texas from a basketball afterthought into a program where the hardwood actually matters. The way Texas handled the dismissal of both Barnes and football coach Mack Brown a year ago isn’t honorable. It wasn’t disgraceful. It was simply sad the school felt the need to have it happen at all. Welcome to Austin, Shaka Smart.
— One more thing on this — the top TWO basketball coaches in Texas history both have Rhode Island ties. Barnes (formerly at Providence) and Penders (formerly at URI). What does that say about basketball, in general, around here?
— Cradle of coaches, part XVII: Former Friar Billy Donovan signed an extension with the University of Florida this week, keeping him under contract in Gainesville through at least 2020. But talk persists he’s looking at jumping to the NBA. He’s only won two national titles, so why not? Sometimes though, the grass isn’t always greener around the corner.
— His performance in the NCAA loss to Dayton certainly hurt, but Kris Dunn’s being snubbed from all three Associated Press All-America teams only tells me the writers/voters never really saw him play. If/when Dunn decides to stick around, the full-court press on his abilities should be applied by the school, by the conference and by Fox Sports 1. Dunn did make the honorable mention list with teammate LaDontae Henton. More fuel for his fire?
— Maybe I’m missing something, but Brown’s Brazilian big man, 6-foot-9 Rafael Maia, wants to play a fifth year someplace else and is looking to transfer. He really shouldn’t have to look too far. There’s a need for experience, rebounding and general toughness across town on Smith Hill, and those are traits he certainly can provide. At last word, at least three ACC programs have offered him a spot.
— Don’t know why this dawned on me now, but two coaches with PC ties are at Dayton. Former Tim Welsh assistant Allen Griffin, the former Syracuse star guard, is an assistant on Archie Miller’s staff for the men’s team that beat Providence two weeks ago, and former PC women’s head coach Jim Jabir led the Dayton women’s team into the Elite Eight — where the Flyers were pummeled by UConn. But then again, everyone gets pummeled by UConn.
— Speaking of UConn, men’s coach Kevin Ollie isn’t traveling to the Final Four in Indianapolis, a byproduct of the fallout over Indiana’s new “religious freedom” law that has been the subject of much controversy. Connecticut governor Dannel Malloy issued a ban on state spending to travel to Indiana, and the school is abiding by the ban. Fortunately, the Indiana legislature has had a change of heart on the language of the law, which was the right step to take. The women’s Final Four is scheduled for Indianapolis in 2016, and rumblings of a boycott, led by the Huskies’ powerful program, have begun.
— I think I’d like to start a search firm. I’m looking for partners. It might be the easiest money ever made. DePaul (re)hires basketball coach Dave Leitao — who left the program for Virginia in 2005 — with the help of a search firm? Who’s next? The ghost of Ray Meyer?
— Chris Mullin’s hiring at St. John’s had to happen. Where else would the Red Storm have turned? I’m of the opinion that sometimes having legacy players hovering over your program — like Mullin has done for years — can also work against you. These players stay in the limelight, the boosters remember them well, good feelings remain all around. Until you ask them to coach. Mullin, for all of his basketball acumen, has never coached. And now you’re asking him to lead the Red Storm to the top of the Big East, and back to relevancy in New York? Last I checked, this ain’t 1985, McFly. He’ll need to recruit, recruit and recruit the city to keep his flux capacitor fluxing.
— Good for Ricky Ledo, signing a second 10-day deal with the New York Knicks. He’s getting some playing time, too, on a pretty bad team. And if he had stayed in school, who knows — he might (still) be playing on a pretty good college team. Or at the very least, be getting a regular run as another team’s top pick. Just sayin’.
— A VERY early look at next season in the Big East: Villanova stays at the top, basically replacing Darrun Hilliard with freshman phenom-to-be Jalen Brunson (son of former Massachusetts high school star Rick Brunson) in the lineup. A little bit of a depth hit, though, with Dylan Ennis transferring out. Georgetown, despite losing D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera to the NBA Draft (adding new freshmen big men to a powerful sophomore class), should be next, with Butler (NC State transfer Tyler Lewis replaces Alex Barlow) and PC (with Dunn) following. Remarkably, that’s how this season finished.
Xavier and Marquette are close behind, with MU making the leap from the bottom with its heralded, national top-five freshman class. Seton Hall should not be seventh in this mix with its returnees, including Sterling Gibbs and Rookie of the Year Angel Delgado, but where else do the Pirates go? Creighton, DePaul and St. John’s round it out. And there’s no way St. John’s, in Chris Mullin’s first year as a coach, finishes last. The conference could be deeper, and stronger from top to bottom, than it was this year. You heard it here, first.
But can anyone win in March? Again, that will be a major point of contention for all Big East teams, until they prove they can.
— Of the eight officials chosen to govern the national semifinals and championship game in Indianapolis, four of them have direct ties to the Big East. One is the City of Providence’s own Mike Stephens. You didn’t see him work any PC games this year, however, because of his residency — too much of a potential conflict of interest. Strange, but don’t you think the BEST refs would know better than to cut the home team some kind of an advantage?
— Not for nuthin’, but if you’ve somehow lost count at home, that’s TWO NCAA Final Fours that little Providence College has sent teams to in the past academic year. Soccer and now hockey. Someone start the investigation.
— The Providence Hockey Friars have jumped back in their DeLorean, it seems, to earn their Frozen Four berth at TD Garden. In 1985, Chris Terreri was a hot goaltender that very nearly backstopped his team to a national title in a 2-1 loss to RPI. In 2015, Jon Gillies will try to do the same. His coach, Nate Leaman, said earlier this week, “Elite goaltenders know how to win.” That’s always been a mantra for successful hockey teams — ride the backstop to the finish line.
I remember thinking when this team began its journey back in October that perhaps Leaman had bitten off more than his team could chew with a tough, early road schedule. After the Friars flew past Miami and beat up Denver in the regional, it appears the method to his madness — toughening up his team — has paid off to this point, at the very least.
— ICYMI, the Providence regional outdrew the other sites (Manchester, N.H., South Bend, Ind., and Fargo, N.D.) in attendance for the NCAA Tournament, not terribly surprising since the decision was made to keep Providence in Providence at the Dunk with Brown serving as the host school. Even better news is that future hockey regional hosting bids are in the works, so says Dunk GM Larry Lepore. Next year, the closest regional will be in Worcester at the DCU Center.
— My annual bout with Wrestlemania was another success this year, thanks to my longtime friend and former radio producer Mike Campagna, who manages to keep up my interest in the squared ring with an annual get-together surrounding the event. It takes me the full year to recover from the burger creations he presents (this year: chili, cheese, jalapenos, bacon, French Fries and onion rings, with Lipitor optional), and the show itself? The WWE certainly can put on an act for everyone inside — and outside — of its demographic sphere of influence.
— We really didn’t need the Globe’s Dan Shaughnessy to get into another hissing match with David Ortiz, did we? While the merits (or lack thereof) of reporters and columnists making themselves part of a story can be debated, the first thing I thought of when I read the Ortiz op-ed on Derek Jeter‘s website (The Players’ Tribune) was, methinks Papi protests too much, especially when it comes to professing his innocence surrounding PED use.
Is Ortiz a Hall of Famer? Yes. Should players in the PED era of baseball be given the same consideration for the Hall as players in other eras? Yes. Discuss amongst yourselves and get back to me.
— Christian Vazquez is going to have Tommy John surgery on his throwing elbow. Honestly, isn’t that a real rarity for a catcher? It tells me a couple of things — that Vazquez’s throwing motion had to be flawed, somehow, to put that kind of torque working against his elbow ligaments. And two, it tells me that someone in the Red Sox organization should have seen this flawed delivery before now. If they were really looking at him, instead of just watching him play.
— I’m not surprised Shane Victorino is the starter in right field, and you shouldn’t be either. John Farrell is very much like Terry Francona was in regarding himself as a “players’ manager,” and frankly, I like the fact he supports his vets. But let’s see how long he supports them when the scuffling starts — and it will. That’ll be the true measure of the manager, whether or not he falls on his sword for guys who aren’t producing.
— We’re in that “netherworld” time of the year with college hoop closing out, baseball not yet up to real speed and football slow to get off the mat before cranking it up again come draft time. Is it just me, or has anyone else asked out loud, “When does the NFL schedule come out? Today?”
— Look for an announcement to come from the ABA East Region champ Providence Sky Chiefs on hosting the inaugural BENRUS Pro Basketball Cup, which will be held April 11-12 at Johnson & Wales University.
— I can’t decide, really, whether the Celtics‘ late-season run at the playoffs is one of the most brilliant, entertaining things I’ve seen in some time, or one of the dumbest things I’ve seen in a while. I tend to think it’s a byproduct of a weak-kneed Eastern Conference, but hey, they’ve made me watch them play. A little.
— An “oops” moment for the Celtics‘ Kelly Olynyk when he let the cat out of the injury bag on his friend, Bruins defenseman Doug Hamilton: “I remember two days ago, I was texting Dougie Hamilton, and he told me he broke his ribs and he’s trying to come back before the playoffs, and I was like, man, I can’t sit out, he’s gonna rip me. All those hockey guys would have killed me, so I had to do it.” Umm, Kelly? Bruins coach Claude Julien had only said Hamilton would be out indefinitely, without disclosing his injury. Oh.
— Olynyk was responding to his desire to get back on the floor himself, after a nasty pregame collision Wednesday night with teammate Shavlik Randolph left him with a big-time shiner. Guts before vanity — and a little hockey tough-guy guilt thrown in. Love it.
— Trying not to get too interested here, but with Bruins forward Brett Connolly returning from his broken finger mishap after arriving via trade from Tampa, shouldn’t the depth help an area that has been a bit of a challenge this season? From the wing, especially on the offensive end?
— My buddy Statbeast was telling me the other day he’s constantly challenged when it comes to doing the laundry at home. Last weekend he decided to wash his sweatshirt, and just seconds after stepping into the laundry room, he shouted out to Mrs. Statbeast, “What settings do I use on the washing machine?” She replied, “It depends, what does it say on your shirt?” Statbeast yelled back, “Providence College!” I thought that was brilliant. Mrs. Statbeast immediately took over the laundry duties.
— In case you don’t recall, it was Warwick’s Chris Terreri who very nearly took Providence to the national title on the ice in 1985. Terreri was a double MVP — in the Hockey East Tournament after beating Boston College at the then-Providence Civic Center, and again in the Frozen Four, even though the Friars lost to RPI in the championship game. He still holds the Frozen Four record for most saves in a single game, with an incredible 62 stops against BC in a triple-OT win in ’85. Terreri was drafted by the New Jersey Devils (and former PC coach Lou Lamoriello) in 1983 and went on to a 12-year career with the Devils, followed by stops in San Jose, Chicago and New York. He also was a part of two Stanley Cup winners, in ’95 and again in 2000. Turning to coaching in 2001, Terreri currently is the goaltending coach for the Devils.
— Paul writes from Canada via Facebook on what the Patriots should do with the final pick of the first round in this month’s NFL draft: “What to do with the No. 32 pick? If there’s a quality corner, take him. If not, trade it — ideally to someone sucky, for a mid-round pick and a 2016 first-rounder in the hope of getting a high pick next year.” Paul, I’m not sure you’ll get anyone “sucky” enough to go for your proposal, but sure, cornerback is a priority. I don’t think the Patriots will find what they’re looking for there at 32, so my guess is they’ll look to the offensive or defensive line at that spot — if they don’t trade out of it. That part of your proposal, I’ll go along with.
— Interested in having your questions on local Rhode Island sports (and yes, that includes the Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics) answered in a somewhat timely fashion? Send ‘em to me! It’s your chance to “think out loud,” so send your questions, comments and local stories to jrooke@weei.com. We’ll share mailbag comments/Facebook posts/tweets right here! Follow me on Twitter, @JRbroadcaster, and on Facebook, www.facebook.com/john.rooke.
— Don’t forget to join Scott Cordischi and me on Providence’s 103.7 FM every Saturday from 7-9 a.m. for Southern New England Sports Saturday! Call in at 401-737-1287 or text us at 37937.
