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Wednesday, June 13
Updated: June 19, 3:04 PM ET
Team preview: Rhode Island Rams
ESPN.com
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The lowdown
2000-01 record: 7-23; 3-13 in A-10 (11th)
Final Ranking: NR
Postseason: None.
Three Questions for 2001-02
1. Will they have enough bodies? As of now, anyone is welcome to come out and play -- just to get enough for a scrimmage.
2. Can Jim Baron bring a winning mentality back to the program? Remember, this is a team that was in the '98 Elite Eight.
3. Who will play defense?
Three Key Facts
1. The Rams will go into the season with just four players off last year's squad after a rash of academic failures, transfers and early departures. A month after Jim Barron was hired as the new Rhode Island head coach, Tavorris Bell and Zach Marbury basically dropped out of school and went undrafted in the NBA draft; Andre Scott, a freshman and the program's only young big man, is academically ineligible for the fall semester and is almost certainly out for the whole season, while 6-8 junior Marcus Evans didn't fare much better in class and will miss at least the fall semester. Oh, and forward Lazare Adingono of Cameroon transferred to Xavier College -- an NAIA school in Louisiana.
2. The fallout of last year's debacle and this past springs lack of studying means plenty of PT for five new faces off the recruiting trail. Two freshman guards and two JC forwards mean just nine scholarship players in Barron's madien voyage on the Rhody bench.
3. Barron coached the Panamanian national team in the Pan-American Games in 1987.
Andy Katz's Scenarios
Best case: Baron should be enough to get the Rams out of last, but not by much, which means probably fifth in the East.
Worst case: Rams pick up where they left off last season and stumble along to another last-place finish in East.
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Key Players Returning
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Player
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Yr.
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Pos.
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Ht./Wt.
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Comment
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Marcus Evans*
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Sr.
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F
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6-9/250
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PTS: 4.3 | REB: 5.1 | AST: 0.4
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Andre Scott
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So.
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C
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6-9/225
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PTS: 4.0 | REB: 4.2 | AST: 0.5
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Howard Smith
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Jr.
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G
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6-0/175
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PTS: 4.4 | REB: 2.9 | AST: 3.5
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Brian Woodward
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Jr.
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G
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6-3/180
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PTS: 13.9 | REB: 4.9 | AST: 3.0
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* Academically ineligible for fall semester.
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Key Losses
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Player
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Pos.
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Ht./Wt.
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Comment
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Tavorris Bell
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F
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6-6/210
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PTS: 19.6 | REB: 5.7 | AST: 1.2
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Zach Marbury
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G
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6-3/185
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PTS: 16.9 | REB: 4.0 | AST: 2.6
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Dinno Daniels
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G
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6-0/210
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PTS: 11.6 | REB: 2.1 | AST: 3.3
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Leroy Womack
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F
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6-9/210
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PTS: 7.3 | REB: 5.6 | AST: 0.9
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Rhode Island Signings
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Player
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Pos.
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Ht.
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High School/College
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Troy Wiley
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F
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6-8
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Wilmington/Paris JC (Texas)
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Chazz Briggs
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F
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6-7
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Rochester/Wabash Valley JC (Ill.)
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Dustin Hellenga
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G
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6-3
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Centreville/Winchendon Prep (Va.)
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Jamal Wise
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F
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6-5
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Burtonsville/Paint Branch (Md.)
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Dawan Robinson
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G
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6-3
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Philadelphia/Martin Luther King, Mai Institute
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