Projo College Hoops

The URI Rams head coach took projo.com readers' questions from noon to 1 today. Among those in the audience was the coach's son, Jimmy Baron, from Turkey. Here is the full transcript:

Jim Baron: Hello everyone - just settling down at my desk and I look forward to chatting with you soon.

chapram: With all the athletism you have been bringing in to URI, the offence has been outstanding. However, it seems as though defense has been left by the wayside. What specific things are you doing this year to improve your defense?

Jim Baron: I'm not sure our defense has been by the wayside - we're still outscoring our opponents by 7 points last year. Defense has always been one of my trademarks as a coach and I think this year, with Marquis Jones - we have one of the best on-the-balll defenders in the league. There's no question we have to continue to focus on our defense - and focus on being more consistent with our positioning on the floor. Especially because we like to run and press the basketball. We constantly preach to the team that our offense is dependent on our defense. We can't score if we don't have the ball. Sometimes when you try to run and uptempo it, you leave yourself vulnerable from the defensive standpoint.

Sudden Sam: Coach, who would you say is the most improved player on this year's squad?

Jim Baron: Alright Sam, we have a couple of guys on the team who fit that category. Delroy James, even though he was a large part of our rotation as sixth man, has improved his game and his physique and decision-making on the floor. Lamonte Ulmer has made tremendous strides with his workouts - he added about 15 pounds of muscle and his bench press has gone up 70 pounds from last year to this year. Ben Eaves and Will Martelll are both guys who put in significant time working out over the summer and it has showed so far in our practices. Collectively, the entire team has stepped up and moved ahead of last year.

Rhody Fan: Why wasn't Orion Outerbridge redshirted last year and Martell the year before that? To the average fan, it looks like we wasted a year of elgibility for each player.

Jim Baron: Will Martell made a huge jump from his freshman to sophomore year, in every facet of the game. And we think Orion Outerbridge can do the same this year. Both guys were raw when they came on campus - they worked very hard on their game, worked very hard in the weightroom, and those gains are evident. Both guys made huge improvements. As for redshirting them, we want to have our best players available to us and in college basketball, anything can happen. We're looking forward to Will and O's progression this year.

MJ Danis: Coach. Over the years as players have graduated others have become more of a scoring option. Who will replace the scoring from Jimmy Baron and Kaheim Seawright?

Jim Baron: That's going to be an important question to answer. We've lost 31 points from last year's 79 points with Jimmy and Kah. Almost 3,000 career points there as well. But last year, Keith stepped up his game and was a double-figure scorer in the league. Delroy did as well. Who is the guy who will do that this year? My coaches and I want that answer too. And I think Lamonte Ulmer and Delroy James have that ability. We also need quality minutes from Ben Eaves and Marquis Jones - even though he's our playmaker.

matt: Coach, I understand URI was a possible last minute fill in for Isiah Thomas' team in an early season tournament. With a relatively young club why did you not pursue and early season or mid season tournament to get some extra games?

Jim Baron: We've done it the last few years with some in-season tournaments - last year with the Philly Hoop Group tournament - and strategically, you try to give yourself the best opportunity to play good teams and earn some good wins. We definitely do pursue those opportunities and are working on some exempt tournaments in the next few years. One thing with tournaments like the Philly Classic is that it limits your practice time - for 3-4 games, you're in scouting and workthrough modes, as well as the travel. Without a tournament this year, and with a young team, we gain more practice time which early on can be invaluable.

ukramfan: You mentioned John Calipari on media day - what was it about the way Coach Calipari ran his program that you admired or emulated?

Jim Baron: I have always had a very good relationship with Coach Calipari and have always admired the way that he gets his teams to play so hard, compete, and play together. He's an excellent coach, X's and O's, and he's told me that he really enjoyed watching Jimmy develop over his four years. I know he has a son who he hopes could possibly play for him one day.

URI Grad 00: Coach, speaking of Jimmy how is he doing in Turkey?

Jim Baron: It's been quite an adjustment for him. I think it's a good first step to work himself into the professional ranks. His team loves to shoot the basketball and push the tempo up the floor. But the challenges he has living in a foreign country for the first time, it's an adjustment. I had a chance to visit him in Turkey and came away very impressed with the way his organization, the coaches and players, and how they approach the game.

ryan: Coach Baron Akeem Richmond comes in as a bigtime scorer out of high school, with the lost of Jimmy ,you going to need scoring from Richmond. What will his role be? Is Richmond going to be call on to score, or is he going to sit like freshman in the past. And how has Richmond came along so far? Do you think he can score like he did in High school or has he shown the ability to be able to score in A10

Jim Baron: We've had some very good freshman for us in recent history - Keith Cothran and Lamonte Ulmer both made big impacts in their first year. For Akeem, his role is going to be to score the basketball. And I think we need Nikola Malesevic and Ryan Brooks to do the same. And they have the ability to do that. Like all freshmen who come to the Division I level, there are ups and down. Everything's going 100 mph for them - living away from home, in some cases in a new country, and the demands of doing their work in the classroom. But all of our freshman are adjusting well.

Tiger: Any World Series predictions after two games?

Jim Baron: Being from Brooklyn, I grew up a few boroughs over from the Bronx and have been a big Yankee fan my whole life. So I'm pulling for championship #27. There have been two good games so far - should be interesting when it gets to Philly. But I've spent some time with the great "Yankee Dan" on the field of the old Yankee Stadium.

1 celtic: hello coach & good luck this year.lamont ulmer is a unique tallent.how do you see his role defined this year ?

Jim Baron: Lamonte is one of the leaders on this team. I think he had one of the best summers of any of the guys. He's gotten bigger and stronger and is going to be a very important part of this year's team. He's one of the best athletes in the league and has the ability to score and defend. He plays with a high motor when he's on the court.

Rhody Rams: Besides Cain and your son, what type of player are you looking to fill that last schlorship for next season?

Jim Baron: Because of NCAA rules, I can't comment specifically about recruits until we receive their NLI during the signing period. But overall for our recruiting, we're looking for size & strength, athleticism and scoring ability and players who can come in and make an immediate impact on the team.

RamFan: Dayton returns a lot of talent from a strong team last season. Are they the team to beat heading into the season? Where do you see URI stacking up against the A-10 competition?

Jim Baron: Last year's game versus Dayton was one of the most exciting games I've ever been a part of - and it ranks up there as one of the best in the history of the Ryan Center. Dayton's picked to win it and they have one of the best players in the A-10 and in the country in Chris Wright. Brian Gregory does a great job with their program and they should be one of the teams who will compete for the league title in Atlantic City.

URI Grad 00: Coach, what are your thoughts on the non-conference portion of your schedule?

Jim Baron: I think our non-conference schedule is one of our toughest and most challenging that we have faced in a while. We go on the road to face NCAA teams like VCU, Akron, and Boston College. We've got another NCAA team in Oklahoma State coming to Mohegan Sun. We go to Davidson and they won 27 games last year. Add in Northeastern and Holy Cross who were near the top of their leagues last year and opening at Brown and we feel we have a schedule that should prepare us for the A-10 season and beyond.

URIFAN: What advice would you give to any father who is planning to coach his son? Obviously this is something I plan to be doing in the very near future.

Jim Baron: It is one of the most unbelievable experiences that a father and a son can have. But I think there are a lot of challenges that go in it and surround the experience. Your son has to be passionate about being a great student-athlete. He has to want to be coached and challenged. You have to keep asking "what can I do to help you get better?" Along the way, the entire family has to be on-board with then entire situation. If you ever want to talk further about it, please reach out to me and I'd be happy to speak with you in further detail.

twisted3829: Jim, being a student and member of "the mob" what do you hope to see from the students here on campus this year?

Jim Baron: The Rhody Rally was tremendous and I commended Anthony Aiudi on the job that he and his staff did. Cathy Inglese - our new women's basketball coach - really enjoyed having our teams participate in such an exciting environment. We have one of the best student bodies in the country in terms of support for our team and I can't wait to have them loud and enthusiastic at the Ryan Center in just a few more weeks. And that carries over to Cathy's team and the programs she's building right now. We need all of our fans to get out and catch a women's basketball game this year. She and her staff are doing a great job and there is a lot of excitement surrounding URI women's hoops this year.

Crusader: Coach with the growing trend of many local kids moving from the high schools to prep schools, are you glad your sons stayed at their high schools and then moved to prep school after graduation.

Jim Baron: Both Cindy and myself felt it was very important for both Jimmy and Billy to get their full high school experience - especially at Bishop Hendricken. They made friends and have memories that will last a lifetime. For them to have four years and then advance to post-grad helps them with academics, with basketball and it helps them grow.

ukramfan: inal possession, five second on the clock, must win game - the one guy you have coached in your career who you want with the ball?

Jim Baron: Hard question to narrow it down to. At Notre Dame, I'd say John Paxson. From St. Francis Pa., Mike Iuzzolino was the guy. JR Bremer got the call when I was at Bonnies. As for URI, we've had a lot of buzzer-beaters here at the Ryan Center the few years. Dawan Robinson, Dustin Hellenga, Will Daniels, Jimmy Baron, Marquis Jones all made the game-winner for us. I'm hoping we can add a couple more names to that list with the guys we have from this year's team.

URI Grad 00: Coach, what are your thoughts on the new A-10 Championship format?

Jim Baron: I'm very excited for the tournament to be in Atlantic City and even with the new format, the goals of the program haven't changed - we want to be in that top 4 seeding and get a bye in the first round. It will be very important and exciting for the league to have the championship game on CBS national, right before the selection show.

Bill: How good do you think Keith Cothran can be this season?

Jim Baron: Keith being one of our senior leaders, I'm looking for him to lead us on the offensive and defensive ends, along with our other upperclassmen. He made a big jump from his sophomore to junior year and we're looking for him to continue to progress.

Jim Baron: Thanks everyone for joining in today - we have time for one more question.

alltime3ptking: Dad, although it was tough at times, I wouldn't trade the experience for anything! Love you and miss you and best of luck to you guys this season! You da man!

Jim Baron: Jimmy - I can't tell you how much we miss you - Mom, Billy, myself - as well as the guys on the team and everyone at URI. You have been an outstanding role model, a leader, and it was great spending a week over in Turkey with you as you prepare for your new adventure. Just know that you will always be loved, missed, and I can't be more proud of you - not only as one of my former players but also as my son. Go Mercin and Go Rams!

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