An inside look to men's basketball's best start in 15 years

Photo Courtesy of Shane Donaldson

With around half a minute left on the game clock at the MassMutual Center on Saturday night, senior guard Sebastian Thomas controlled the ball on the left wing for the Rams.

Rhode Island and Temple at that point were knotted at 79, with multiple lead changes in a back and forth affair through the first 39 minutes. As the shot clock ticked slowly towards zero, Thomas heaved up a shot and the outstretched hand of a defender collided with his wrist. The shot fell and a crowd that sported more Keaney Blue than Cherry Red erupted.

That moment was not new to Thomas, as the guard sunk a similar attempt on Dec. 7 to separate the Rams from the Friars in a statement win for Rhode Island. The Rams ended up finishing the job against the Owls and won the neutral site clash 85-79, moving their record to 11-1 to finish their 2024 non-conference slate.

In the Archie Miller era, success of this magnitude was a stranger to the Rhode Island men’s basketball team. The Rams went 4-8 to start the 2022-23 season and 7-7 to begin the 2023-24 campaign. However, now seven weeks into the 2024-25 schedule, the Rams are seemingly turning a corner under the guidance of the 2017 Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year.

This 11-1 start is the best one for the Rams in 15 years, dating back to a Jim Baron led squad that began the 2009-10 season 14-1. With 2024 now nearing a close and Atlantic 10 play just around the corner on New Years Eve, here are the main contributors to the Rams’ best start in over a decade.

The Sebastian Thomas Affect:

The second that news broke in the spring that Rhode Island scored Sebastian Thomas back in the transfer portal, it was evident that the Rams had found the point guard that they were missing.

Thomas, a Providence native, attended Rhode Island as a David Cox recruit from 2021 to 2023. However, the point guard joined the mass exodus of seven players to enter the transfer portal after his sophomore season, which doubled as the first under Miller.

After residing at Albany in the American East for his junior season in 2023-24, Thomas broke out of his cocoon, transforming into a pure offensive threat. Thomas averaged 20 points per game on the year, claiming the conference scoring title, while five assists per game and shooting 41.8% from the field.

Since his homecoming, Thomas has shined for the Rams. Serving as the nucleus for the offense, the senior is averaging 17.6 points per game while leading the A-10 with seven assists per game.

A Full Season of David Green:

After sitting out the first half of the 2023-24 season due to NCAA transfer eligibility rules, David Green has proved that playing a season from its inauguration could make him even better. 

Even with just a half season, Green carved out a role for himself last season on the Rams. The forward led Rhody in points per game (14.3) and sparked the Rams on a four-game winning streak upon his arrival.

This season, Green has improved in a variety of statistical categories, most notably moving his points per game up to 16.3, his rebounds per game are up 2.2 and he is shooting 87.2% from the free throw line compared to a 65.9% rate in his first season in Kingston.

Second Half Efficiency:

In their latest win over Temple, the Rams trailed the Owls by one point at halftime. After the break, the Rams executed a mammoth 21-4 run to open up the second half. However the advantage did not last long, as Temple ended up taking the lead with 5:36 left in the game. 

Last season, the game more than likely would have stayed in Temple’s control, and the Rams would have dropped their second game of the season. However, this year’s squad seems to have a sense of composure in late game moments.

Rhode Island then proceeded to lead the rest of the game 16-11, and win the second half, a trend that has remained consistent throughout this season. In 2023-24, Rhode Island only led their opponents in the second half 31.2% of games. In 2024-25 though, Rhody has risen above their foes 83.3% of the time, helping them to win games which they trailed at half four times.

The Rams sat with a halftime deficit against Holy Cross (-4), Yale (-1), Providence (-7) and Temple (-1), winning all games by at least five points. If this maturity in tight situations remains consistent throughout the rest of the season, Rhody could be a team to look out for in Washington D.C. come March.