Rams’ Strengths Are Evident in Season Opener
SOUTH KINGSTON, R.I. – Rhode Island clearly has a lot of parts, and that was evident in Friday night’s 90-63 win over Florida Atlantic. It didn’t start out picture-perfect by any means, but the Rams came alive early enough and well enough to make the game a blowout.
“We were too excited – we had to settle down in the locker room for the second half,” said sophomore guard Keith Cothran, who led the big bench uprising for the Rams by scoring 17 points.
Jimmy Baron will probably get the headlines as players go, but he certainly didn’t do it alone. Baron scored a career-high 30 points on 11-18 shooting, including 5-10 from behind the arc. When the Rams had some struggles in the first half, he was one of the only cogs they had offensively. In the second half, he just kept doing it, making one heady play after another.
Baron spent some of the off-season working out in Las Vegas, and it’s clear that his work is bearing some fruit. Watch him play, and one can see that he’s really worked at being more than just a shooter. He thoughtfully dribbles inside the arc to create for others, and has made some pull-up shots. In addition, he had three steals on Friday night, about which his father quipped, “is unbelievable for a Baron.”
And it was all in a day’s work for the junior guard, whose day started with a late night preparing for three exams on Friday.
“He’s really prepared himself,” said head coach Jim Baron. “He works very hard, and I’m not at all surprised because he puts a lot of time into it.”
Baron’s main help came from the bench, where the Rams had a 37-16 edge over the Owls. Besides Cothran’s 17 points, four assists and three steals, Joe Mbang had 12 and six rebounds and Lamonte Ulmer had eight on 4-4 shooting from the field.
Where the bench also came in is where the frontcourt starters did not. Will Daniels had some early foul trouble and struggled, finishing with seven points on 3-9 shooting, though he did grab eight rebounds. Kaheim Seawright had a tough night, as he couldn’t hang on to a rebound, pass or loose ball and likewise struggled with just four points and one rebound. But Mbang and Ulmer did the job in their place, as did the guards. It’s more evidence of how deep this team is and how a number of players can help them.
“I think our bench really came on and wore them down,” said Baron in a sentiment that was echoed by Florida Atlantic head coach Rex Walters. “We need to have that kind of depth. I think that’s going to be a big part of our basketball team, to have eight, nine, ten guys ready to go.”
Besides the Rams’ depth, their ability to run, especially off turnovers, was evident and a big reason they won. They scored 31 points off 25 Florida Atlantic turnovers, breaking it open with one basket after another off a turnover in the second half.
When he was on the court, Cothran caused a good number of those turnovers even though he had just three steals. He was a pest on the ball and showed his excellent feel for defending off the ball and made plays happen that way, often unforced.
“I think his greatest strength is that he just gets in the passing lanes and gets steals,” Jimmy Baron said of Cothran. “With him putting pressure on the ball, it makes things a lot easier on everyone else.”
Friday night showed a couple of the Rams’ strengths. If the Rams keep this up, they should certainly contend in the Atlantic 10, as many project them to. They certainly made that impression on the opposing head coach.
“I think they’re going to have a pretty good year,” said Walters.
