“The shot heard around the world,” an Atlantic 10 championship, and several NCAA appearances are among the milestones in the rich history of URI men’s basketball.
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Ernie Calverley |
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When enjoying games in the modern-day Ryan Center, it is difficult to remember that the Rams’ first home court was Lippitt Hall. Although considered state-of-the-art for its time, Lippitt had no seats; fans stood along the sidelines and at the end baselines.
As the game became more sophisticated and the campus buzzed with team spirit, the team outgrew its home. Yet, the Rams waited 29 years before moving to the brand-new Rodman Hall in 1928. Combination armory and gymnasium, Rodman had 1,400 seats and was the venue where legendary coach Frank Keaney turned URI into a national powerhouse.
Keaney revolutionized the sport with his trademark fast break offense—an up tempo play characterized by quick passes and short ball possessions that resulted in high-scoring games. This style confounded opponents more familiar with a slower pace. “Other teams were better but weren’t used to the fast break. We caught them off guard,” says Bob Shea ’46, one of Keaney’s stars.
Few teams kept pace, allowing Rhode Island State College to surpass the national scoring average by nearly 40 points—Keaney’s teams were called the “two-points-per-minute Rams.” In 1940, sports information director Bill Mokray ’29 even penned a media booklet of the same name.
Keaney did his part to garner national attention in the 1940s by leading four teams to the NIT—the era’s premier tournament. Among those post-season games, the most notable was the 1946 contest at Madison Square Garden. Ernie Calverley’s 62-foot shot thrown at the buzzer forced the game into overtime. Dubbed ”the shot heard ‘round the world” in headlines across America, that play was Calverley’s crowning glory and a benchmark of Keaney’s coaching career—one that impacted scores of players.
Known as “Menty” for his creative teaching and coaching methods, Keaney retired in 1948 after 28 years of active coaching and a 401-124 record.
Dramatic changes defined the post-Keaney era. Keaney Gymnasium opened in 1953, and Calverley returned in 1957 to coach after playing professionally with the Providence Steamrollers. Though successful as a player, at first Calverley experienced losses as a coach. His first team won four games, finishing last in the conference. Undeterred, he improved and guided the Rams to the 1961 conference championship, earning URI’s first-ever NCAA tournament bid.
Calverley’s resolve and reputation were inspirational. “Each kid emulated him,” says Don Kaull ’67, who played second guard. “He was a player’s coach with patience.”Athletes responded well to this style, producing winning seasons and a second NCAA appearance. Calverley, who compiled a 139-114 record during 10 years, is URI’s second most winning coach after Keaney.
Although successive coaches amassed fewer wins, 1960s and ‘70s teams continued to astound the fans. Former URI sports information director and announcer Jim Norman ’57 (the “Voice of the Rams”) points to two unforgettable games. “I remember the triple overtime games. The first ever played at Keaney was in 1974 against archrival UConn. Under Coach Jack Kraft, URI won 80-70. Two years later URI lost to UMass, 94-93.”
Beyond these exciting matchups, Kraft led his 1977-1978 team to a victory described occasionally as poetic justice. The Rams topped intrastate rival Providence College in a play-off game, capturing an automatic NCAA bid. The win brought URI back to the “big dance” for the first time in 12 years.
The URI-PC rivalry is intense, and Norman explains the background. “PC became the darling before URI in the modern era. Coaches Gavett and Mullaney were winning big. URI wasn’t winning, and the state adopted PC almost as a professional team.”
The heightened emotions are stronger among the fans than the athletes, as the Friars and Rams typically play together in summer leagues. Nonetheless, all teams, including the Rams, love fan support. Having played during URI’s glory days in the 1940s, Bob Shea remembers the cheers. “My fondest memories are the students at Rodman sitting in the balcony with their feet hanging over the sides.”
Fan support also extends beyond the sidelines. URI Athletic Hall of Famer Al Clegg ’57 helped found the Fast Break Club. Members raise money to help pay for equipment and auxiliary staff positions.
Whether courtside or organizing booster clubs, URI fans are loyal. Grace Woodward, wife of the late Bill Woodward, who chronicled the Rams’ history in Runnin’ Rams - University of Rhode Island Basketball, calls the Ram faithful “good fans who enjoy a good game.”Although sometimes, even season ticket holder Woodward experiences conflict. At last season’s URI-Maine game, she was torn between the Rams and her son’s team. “It was his first game as head coach. I wanted to see him win, but either way, I couldn’t lose.”
Also averse to loss, Coach Tom Penders led his mid-‘80s teams to unprecedented wins. In 1988 the Rams reached the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA tournament for the first time. In storybook fashion, URI defeated heavily favored Missouri and Syracuse. The Rams’ next opponent was the top-seeded Duke. Despite its national ranking, Duke prevailed by only one point, an outcome which hauntingly mirrored the finale of the URI-Duke contest 10 years earlier in the NCAA tournament.
The 1988 season thrust URI into the national spotlight again and remains the highlight of Jim Norman’s career as sports information director. “We made the Sweet Sixteen, and for the first time a Ram, Tom Garrick, appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated. I also secured a live interview for Garrick on Good Morning America.” Tom Garrick ’88, now head coach of URI’s women’s basketball team, also remembers that thrilling night. “There was nothing like it. I watch that tape annually before my season to teach some of the plays.”
Given the success of the ‘90s teams, the tape undoubtedly was often used for training. Under Coaches Al Skinner and Jim Harrick, the Rams received six post-season bids, including four NCAA tournament invitations. During that decade Tyson Wheeler and Cuttino Mobley became household names. Each is an all-time leading scorer; together, they brought the Rams to new heights. Forming one of America’s strongest backcourts, they led the 1997-1998 team to the Elite Eight. In its version of an encore performance, the following year’s team led by Lamar Odom captured URI’s only Atlantic 10 title.
The millennium ushered in a brand-new look. In 2000, URI broke ground for the Ryan Center and welcomed coach Jim Baron in 2001. Focused on both academics and athletic victories, Baron is equally proud of his graduation rates and his back-to-back 20-win seasons.
In these first months of the 2005-2006 season, it’s impossible to predict the team’s record in the regular season. Still, one thing is certain—in the next 100 seasons, fans will enjoy some of the most thrilling moments in college basketball.
Go Rhody!
By Maria Caliri, ’86, M.B.A. ’92
