Rhode Island
After disappointing season ends, what’s next for Rhode Island basketball?
NEW YORK — Tuesday night sealed a somewhat sobering reality for the University of Rhode Island.
A defeat against Saint Louis in the Atlantic 10 tournament confirmed what’s been known for the better part of four months. The Rams will be left out of the NCAA Tournament for the sixth straight season. They’ve reached just two of the last 25 editions of the event.
That’s an extended period of struggle. And the architect who crafted that pair of runs is about to bid for a second straight national championship. Dan Hurley is currently an outlier on a list of five coaches that dates back to Jim Harrick.
“The season was a disappointment,” URI coach Archie Miller said. “Whether the record speaks to any improvement, it was a disappointment.
“We had enough talent in the room, but we couldn’t overachieve. Very difficult time all year trying to jell. Very difficult time all year long with the inexperience.”
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Previous runs to March Madness in Kingston were sparked by the growth and development of a core group together. How far away is URI from that next successful nucleus? Is it possible for a modern version of the Rams to construct such a thing given the changes across the sport’s landscape?
Those are more troubling – and more nuanced – questions.
URI won three more games overall and one more in league play in Miller’s second season. The Rams sought to improve one of their worst offenses in the KenPom.com era and did so – they climbed nearly 150 spots and almost an adjusted 10 points per 100 possessions compared to 2022-23. That progress didn’t extend to the defensive end, and it was there where URI was exposed culturally.
“We needed to get better players,” Miller said. “We needed to get some shooting. We did that. But we didn’t have an edge about us. We didn’t have a toughness about us. We didn’t have a system down defensively.
“We’ve got to get back to doing that. We need some experience with that.”
That requires continuity and personal investment. The Rams put 10 new players in uniform in 2023-24 – seven of them appeared in this 74-71 defeat at Barclays Center. How well and how quickly could they have been expected to mesh together? How willing were they to sacrifice for a program that was a new home for most of them?
That’s the increasingly difficult calculus for Miller to solve in this era of the transfer portal and of name, image and likeness rights. You could imagine a rotation going forward with leading returning scorers David Green and Jaden House, freshman duo Cam Estevez and David Fuchs, incoming first-year players Ben Hammond and Tyonne Farrell, improvements elsewhere on the roster and strategic additions from the outside. Theoretically, with the right sort of mental steel, that cohesive lineup would be enough to compete most nights.
“Togetherness, toughness – all of those things that go into winning – were very hard for our group,” Miller said. “I think that’s something that’s probably more important going forward than adding more players. We need to get a group to believe in what we do, and we have to work really hard to establish that group.”
All URI would have to do from there is ward off other programs from enticing its talent. Bigger stages, greater immediate financial opportunities and the promises of more – it could prove difficult for a potential newcomer to look at a half-empty Ryan Center, enjoy a standout season between the lines and avoid thinking he couldn’t do better elsewhere.
“It’s very difficult to go into a season where no one knows the guys on your roster,” Miller said. “We need to bring back a significant portion of this roster that’s about the right things, and we need our fans to start to grow with them a little bit.
“We need our place to start to understand who they are. They’ve seen them play. That’s the first step in really trying to get to that next step – having that continuity. Whatever that number is, it’s important.”
Miller and his staff publicly shouldered their portion of the blame throughout the season. Regardless of how much more freedom players might enjoy in 2023-24, the largest share of the responsibility and financial resources stops with the adults. The Rams enter this critical offseason without the late start that preceded Miller’s first year or the scrambling to fill larger holes that defined the second. It’s time to find some solutions before the problems become even greater.
“That all comes back to me,” Miller said. “As you look at how things are going right now, you do need some returning players. You do need to have some guys who have played together. You won’t have so much teaching to do.
“Hopefully at some point the players can start teaching the new guys – whoever they are.”
bkoch@providencejournal.com
On X: @BillKoch25
Rhode Island
Bodycam footage shows moments police respond to Pawtucket shooting
Police bodycam footage shows the moments officers arrived to the scene of a deadly mass shooting in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
The shooting on Feb. 16 at the Dennis M. Lynch Arena killed Rhonda Dorgan and Aidan Dorgan, the ex-wife and son of the shooter, who died by suicide.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live at 988lifeline.org. You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional support.
Gerald Dorgan, Rhonda’s father, died from his injuries this week. His wife, Linda Dorgan, and family friend Thomas Geruso remain hospitalized.
Around five minutes after the first officer arrives, he beings helping paramedics with a man who identifies himself as Aidan. Twelve minutes in, Aidan Dorgan is transported to the hospital, where he would later die from his injuries.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline by calling 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), visiting www.thehotline.org or texting LOVEIS to 22522.
For the last 10 minutes of the footage, the officer then begins helping paramedics transport the other three gunshot victims.
The video ends with police prepping witness interviews.
The shooting rocked the Pawtucket community. Chris Librizzi, head coach of the Blackstone Valley Schools hockey team impacted by the shooting, said the players and coaching staff “are devastated over the events that took place at Lynch Arena on Monday and intimately affected one of our teammates.”
As authorities continue investigating the shooting in Pawtucket, three patients remain in critical condition.
“We will lean on each other and support one another, as we have always done as a team,” he added.
Pawtucket police said two handguns were found at the scene after the shooting, a Sig Sauer P226 and Glock. Other weapons have been seized at the suspect’s storage unit in Maine.
Investigators continue reviewing all video evidence from before, during and after the shooting, including surveillance footage from the Dennis M. Lynch Arena, police body-worn camera footage and other records — a high school sports livestream captured the shooting from a distance — police said.
Rhode Island
Man killed in RI shooting; suspect involved in Mass. car crash that killed 2 others
A man has died after a shooting in Cranston, Rhode Island, and investigators say a suspect was later involved in a car crash in Swansea, Massachusetts, that killed two other people.
The shooting victim was found Thursday on Legion Way, shot multiple times in the chest, Cranston police told NBC affiliate WJAR-TV. He was taken to Rhode Island Hospital where he later died. His name has not been released.
The suspect initially fled on foot, setting off a shelter-in-place order while investigators searched the area.
Police said Friday that investigators identified a suspect vehicle, which was later spotted by Massachusetts State Police. A trooper followed the car down Route 6 and Interstate 195, but stopped when it crossed back into Rhode Island. The car was later involved in a crash on Route 136 in Swansea, Mass.
Swansea police say that crash on Route 136 (James Reynolds Road) resulted in the deaths of two other people.
According to the Swansea Police Department, two officers saw a white Infinity G37 speed past them around 12:18 a.m. Friday on Route 6, otherwise known as Grand Army of the Republic Highway. Moments later, officers observed that the vehicle had crashed into the side of a blue Subaru Ascent that had been traveling southbound on Route 136.
Both vehicles sustained catastrophic damage, police said.
The vehicle that was struck was fully engulfed in flames. First responders and bystanders tried to extinguish the fire, but both occupants — a man and a woman — were pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Their names have not been released.
The 28-year-old Infinity driver, who struck the victims’ Subaru, was taken to Rhode Island Hospital with serious injuries and later into custody by Cranston Police. They have not been publicly identified at this time.
Swansea police said they are aware that the Infinity was the subject of a police pursuit, and know the driver was wanted in connection to the Rhode Island homicide investigation. While Swansea police had been alerted to be on the lookout for the suspect’s vehicle, however, they say they were not involved in the pursuit and were not pursuing the vehicle at the time of the deadly crash.
The crash in Swansea is under investigation by Massachusetts authorities, including state police and the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office. Meanwhile, Cranston police said they would give an update on their investigation around 1 p.m.
Rhode Island
RI House speaker unveils housing bills for 2026. What to know
House Speaker Shekarchi unveils 2026 RI housing legislative package
House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi’s nine-bill package for 2026 seeks to cut red tape and relax rules on parking, dividing lots and staircases.
House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi is once again taking aim at the regulations he says are stifling new homebuilding.
The Warwick Democrat unveiled his sixth annual suite of housing legislation on Thursday, Feb. 26, a few weeks after announcing he would not be running for governor this year.
“We are still trying to play catch-up for all the years that Rhode Island was dead last in the country for new housing starts,” Shekarchi said. “While Rhode Island remains a relatively affordable option for people moving here from other states, our own residents are too often priced out of the neighborhoods they grew up in.”
The legislative text of the nine-bill housing package, and with it the specifics of how it would work, were not available for Thursday’s news conference.
But highlights of the package, according to summaries, include:
- Infill housing. Allow property owners to divide lots in single-family zoning districts, creating multiple dwellings instead of one, provided they have water and sewer service.
- Parking maximums. Put new limits on how much off-street parking communities require for new apartment buildings.
- Homeless Bill of Rights. Expand the state’s Homeless Bill of Rights to require 15-day notice to the occupants of encampments before local authorities clear them.
- Emergency shelters. Let communities build temporary shelters, such as the ECHO Village Pallet shelter in Providence, during a state of emergency.
- Stairs. Legalize the construction of four-story apartment buildings with a single staircase.
- Affordable housing taxes. Overhaul the tax system for income-restricted housing covered by the state’s “8 Law.”
Is land-use reform working?
Since Shekarchi was elected speaker in 2021, the General Assembly has passed dozens of bills he backed that tweaked state land-use statutes or streamlined the process for building.
How successful this approach has been is subject to debate.
Many local elected officials wary of development in their communities continue to rail against efforts to erode their power over construction.
Others in the growing Yes In My Back Yard movement see Rhode Island’s piecemeal approach as inadequate in comparison with the scale of the affordability problem and what other states are doing.
As evidence that his changes are making a difference, Shekarchi said Rhode Island saw a 70% increase in building permits in 2023 and a more modest increase in 2024. (Statistics for last year were not immediately available.)
Gov. Dan McKee’s 2030 plan calls for 15,000 new housing units built by that year.
Democratic primary challenger Helena Foulkes is slated to roll out her housing plan on Monday.
It is expected to include a millionaires tax to fund affordable housing, a revolving fund and target of 20,000 new homes.
What would the new laws do?
Letting property owners put multiple homes on a plot of land is one of the most direct ways that lawmakers can encourage the construction of more homes, but it is also one of the most controversial.
That’s especially true in areas zoned for large lots and single-family homes.
How far the new bill allowing lots to be subdivided in single-family zones goes is unclear. It is sponsored by Rep. Stephen Casey, D-Woonsocket.
Legislation setting maximum parking requirements for new developments, introduced by Rep. Joshua Giraldo, D-Central Falls, would apply to areas accessible by public transit.
Critics of off-street parking requirements say they make it harder to build new apartments and make the units that are built more expensive.
Shekarchi proposed the emergency shelter bill last year. It passed the House and died in the Senate.
It was the result of how long it took state officials to navigate Rhode Island’s building code and open the ECHO Village Pallet shelter in Providence.
The staircase bill, sponsored by Rep. June Speakman, a Warren Democrat and chair of the House’s home affordability study commission, follows a wave of cities and states relaxing rules on how many exits are required in new construction.
Currently, the state building code requires two stairways in buildings with more than three stories, and fire officials have opposed all efforts to change that.
Speakman’s bill would allow four-story buildings with a maximum of 16 units with a single staircase.
Supporters of single-stair buildings say they allow development of small sites that would otherwise sit vacant and allow family-sized units with more light and better ventilation.
A previous Rhode Island single-stair bill would have allowed six stories, but it died in committee.
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey signed an executive order in mid-February to study the idea.
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