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| INSIDE THE NUMBERS |
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2000-01 record: 8-20;
4-12 in A-10
(Tied 5th/East)
Postseason: None. Last NCAA appearance was in 1999.
RETURNING LEADERS
Points: Hellenga 9.1
Rebs: Hellenga 3.9
Assists: Smith 3.8
FG: Adingono 38.9%
3pt: Adingono 39.1%
FT: Hellenga 80.0%
01-02 Stats:
Rhode Island | A-10
KEY LOSSES
Troy Wiley | 14.1 ppg
Dinno Daniels 8.3 ppg
Marcus Evans | 4.9 ppg
PROJECTED STARTERS
G | Howard Smith | Senior
G | B. Woodward | Senior
F | Dustin Hellenga | Soph
F | L. Adingono | Junior
C | Chris Holm | Fresh
Player to Watch
Dustin Hellenga
Sophomore Forward
Baron's first recruit started 22 games last year as a freshman.
DATE TO REMEMBER
This Big Five meeting with Villanova in the Palestra will give LaSalle its first look at one of the better freshman classes in the Big East, the Wildcats' grouping of Jason Fraser, Curtis Sumpter, Randy Foye and Allan Ray.
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RHODE ISLAND RAMS
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Dadgum, Rhode Island won't be pretty this season. Sorry, Rams fans, but the truth is what it is, and the truth in your neck of the woods is that this season should be every bit as long as the past two (combined victories: 15). But then, there's another truth here: Second-year coach Jim Baron, dealt a more difficult hand than he ever imagined last year when he arrived to find his best two players (Zach Marbury, Tavorris Bell) had left the program, already has landed the first building block for the future. His name is Chris Holm, and he's a 6-10, 240-pound freshman from Utah who should give the Rams four solid years. Elsewhere, the terrain is rocky. The best returning player probably is 6-4 sophomore Dustin Hellenga (9.1 ppg), an undersized, overachieving forward who, if he had the talent to match his heart, would be in the NBA right now. A more talented player is 6-2 senior Brian Woodward (8.9 ppg), but knee surgery a few years ago has taken the potentially brilliant edge off his game.
TOUGH ENOUGH..............................
Baron built a consistent winner at St. Bonaventure, and if he could do it there, he can do it at Rhode Island. The addition of Holm, all the way from Utah, shows Baron can attract talent to Rhode Island. He needs a few more players like that, and soon, though.
TOUGH ENOUGH?..............................
Somebody has to score on this team, and as soon as we figure out who it will be, we'll get back to you. The Rams were rocked by the offseason departure of leading scorer Troy Wiley (14.1 ppg), who entered the NBA draft but wasn't selected. They also lost point guard Dinno Daniels (8.3 ppg, 4.6 apg) and 6-9, 250-pound enforcer Marcus Evans (4.9 ppg, 3.1 rpg). The top candidate to lead in scoring this season is Hellenga, with Holm the No. 1 rebounder.
BOTTOM LINE..............................
The Rams won seven games in 2000-01 and eight games in 2001-02, but winning nine this season might be a stretch. Unless Holm is even better than expected, and Woodward is back to his pre-injury explosiveness, and Hellenga doubles his scoring output, the Rams are in trouble.
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