Our local teams' reversals of fortune took hard work and hustle. Here's how they did it.

Thinking out loud … while wondering if a plateau would be the highest form of flattery …

This is why we love college sports. Things can change at a moment's notice.

All it takes is a play, a basket, a score, a dink, a doink, a bleep, a block, a turnover, a hit, a goal, a point — a win — to get you going in the right direction toward where fortunes can reverse themselves. Momentum swells, often just from the cheer of the crowd and the frenetic music from the band.

But it also takes a lot of patience before ol’ Mo sometimes swings your way. And, unfortunately, many fans don’t often have that these days, in this day and age of immediate gratification. Win now — or you stink.

We also often forget — the other teams play hard, too.

But poor play can change quickly. Love me some momentum. It does take effort, though. Smahts. Knowledge, too. Hustle. URI’s hoop resurgence of late is testament to that. A 3-0 start in Atlantic-10 play, after a less-than-stellar nonconference schedule, is Example A.

Yes, they stubbed a big toe at St. Bonaventure. Ever been to Olean, N.Y.? You might stub your toe, too. David Green’s play has been a major difference-maker. And the Rams face Archie Miller’s former team, Dayton, this weekend.

A month ago, with the team at 5-7, would you have thunk this could happen?

∎Example B stands for Bryant. A 3-0 start at the top of America East with a game at Albany this weekend, which features former Hendricken and URI guard Sebastian Thomas. Thomas was the league Player of the Week last week, scoring 30 points for the Great Danes in a win over Binghamton.

The Bulldogs rank No. 2 nationally in blocks at 6.6 per game. Sherif Gross-Bullock is averaging 28 points per game over his past five games.

They must be buttah, ‘cause they’re on a roll.

∎And at Rhode Island College, a shout-out to the Anchorwomen hoops team — ranked No. 3 nationally in NCAA Division III and 17-0 on the season.

∎Ninth-ranked PC men's hockey got run over by Boston College last weekend up at Kelley Rink, then turned around and beat the top-ranked Eagles at Schneider the next night — earning a split with the current No. 1 team in the country. Shouldn’t that make them No. 2, at least?

∎ICYMI, the 30-year anniversary of Providence’s first Big East title team was celebrated last Saturday at the AMP. Seriously, it’s been 30 years since Michael, Michael (Smith) motorcycle? Peanut Butter and Jam? Dickey Simpkins? Rob Phelps, Franklin Western, Abdul Abdullah, Troy Brown? Whoa.

It also marked the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the last PC baseball team, which went out in style with a Big East title of its own — forever defending conference champs on campus. I still hear from alumni and former players who hope the sport can find its way back.

∎The current basketball Friars are still trying to find their way back, post-Bryce Hopkins, who had his ACL surgery this week. But a big step was taken Wednesday night in Chicago. Patience will still be required here — it is very much a work in progress.

∎There are those who follow it much more closely than I do but it appears the Friars hit it "big" this week on the international recruiting trail, getting a verbal from a 6-foot-9-inch, rim-protecting, Nigerian center-forward, and enrolling a 7-foot-2-inch center from Vanuatu.

Yep, had to look up Vanuatu on a map — South Pacific. Then to an Arizona junior college. Anton Bonke will practice with the team this semester and will be eligible to play next fall. Love the name.

The other guy, Erhunmwunse Oswin — still working on that name. “Big O,” anyone?

∎Here’s what’s impressive: The UConn men's team hits the top of the AP poll, at No. 1 for the first time since 2009 this week — without 7-foot-2-inch center Donovan “Kong” Clingan in their lineup, out with a foot injury. And now he’s playing again.

∎Around the Big East, St. John’s was without head coach Rick Pitino (out with COVID) in their cross-state-rivalry matchup with first-place Seton Hall Tuesday night. Thought the Seton Hall students near the Johnnies’ bench, all with surgical masks on, provided a nice, if overly cautious, touch.

And those Pirates continue to roll. Nine straight home wins against the Red Storm, in first place, 13-5 overall for a team picked ninth. Dumb coaches. Shaheen Holloway has to be the early front-runner for Big East Coach of the Year. Maybe national, too.

Preseason favorite Marquette has already lost as many games as it lost all of last season in conference play. But Cumberland’s Tyler Kolek, the Big East preseason player of the year, got his team back on track with a home win against Villanova.

∎"This Week in the Big East (TWITBE)," Episode 2, for this week features Marquette’s Shaka Smart, Big East senior associate commish for men’s hoop Dan Leibovitz and New York college insider Adam Zagoria on the latest around the league. Kevin McNamara joins me on Westwood One, on Sirius XM, on local radio stations and online at BigEast.com every week.

∎Happy birthday, Ernie D! North Providence’s own Ernie DiGregorio turned 73 last week. But there may not be a player alive today who can zing a behind-the-back pass to Kevin Stacom like he did in the 1973 Final Four.

∎My buddy, “Big E,” says he’s at the age where he has to make a noise when he bends over. It’s the law.

∎Super Bowl I, when it wasn’t even called the Super Bowl, was 57 years ago this week. Not to make you feel old or anything. Just sayin’.

Green Bay did whip the Kansas City Chiefs in that largely forgettable game, but my lasting impression (as a young, young man) is from a photo of KC quarterback Len Dawson in the locker room at halftime, puffing on a lung-dart with a bottle of Fresca at his feet. Old school. My kinda guy.

∎Feeling old, Part II: The movie, “Varsity Blues,” debuted 25 years ago this week. The Patriots could have used Mox, Tweeder and Billy Bob this season, don’t ya think?

∎Feeling old, Part III: Darth Vader, aka James Earl Jones, aka Terence Mann in “Field of Dreams,” turned 93 last week.

∎X post of the Week I, from @JimMcMahon: “Who was the starting quarterback for your team when you first started watching?”

Great question, Jim. I’ll start — it wasn’t you. But it was Don Meredith of the Dallas Cowboys and James Street, father of ex-big league pitcher Huston Street, at the University of Texas. He went 20-0 as a starter. Got my attention.

What about you? Any Y.A. Tittle, Norm Snead, Mike Taliaferro, Babe Parilli or Jim Plunkett fans?

∎The biggest NFL news this week — besides a guy named Belichick leaving New England — was the Peacock playoff game, aired exclusively by the NBC streaming service. You had to fork over an additional $5.99 to watch Miami and Kansas City, above and beyond what many of you already pay to the network for cable and/or streaming.

A record 23 million viewers did just that, no matter how much you feel like you’ve been held up for ransom by television and the NFL. Pro football is your daddy.

Not for nothin’, but I’ll bet Peacock also set the record for most subscriptions canceled on Monday morning.

∎Think Taylor Swift will get booed in Buffalo this week? Must-see TV, if only for the reaction from the Bills’ Mafia. And it’s not on Peacock.

∎By the way, did you know the president of NBC Sports, and Peacock, is a former Friars basketball player? Say hello and send your comments to Rick Cordella, PC Class of 1999, and a member of the ’97 Elite Eight Friars.

∎X post of the Week II, from @Patriots — quoting Robert Kraft: “They were both the best at their professions and we were lucky to have them together for two decades.”

∎And if you’re not sure of the two people to which RKK is referring, please check yourself into the everyday world next chance you get.

Mr. Kraft did what we said he should — make the move to Jerod Mayo right away if he was going to move at all. Mayo is personable. Likeable. He has players’ respect because he knows players today are “different” than 20 years ago. But it’s fair to ask if he’s ready to be a head coach.

From first-round draft pick in 2008 to 15th head coach in franchise history in ’24. Street cred, he has. But it’s also fair to ask, as the youngest head coach in the NFL (one month younger than the Rams’ Sean McVay), who will be running this show at Gillette?

Mayo can run a press conference. Big change there, but what did he really “say?” And if Mr. Kraft is “Thunder,” as he was referred, who’s “Lightning,” and can they sign him?

∎Belichick’s sons reportedly have been offered the opportunity to return to the New England staff. Probably depends upon what Dad decides to do, am I right?

∎Ex-Patriots quarterbacks coach Jedd Fisch is moving from Arizona to Washington as the Huskies’ new head coach, not even two weeks after UW lost the national title to Michigan — and then lost coach Kalen DeBoer to Alabama.

∎“Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” — Ferris Bueller

∎Today’s sobering thought: University of Texas soph-to-be quarterback Arch Manning’s NIL money is more than 49ers' QB Brock Purdy’s annual NFL salary. Stay in college as long as you can, kid.

∎NESN’s Tom Caron asked on social media this week: If the Red Sox had told you in 2020 that they were entering a five-year rebuild, would you feel better about things right now?

Hell-to-the-no. An organization with some of the highest ticket prices in the sport should never be an also-ran. But here we are.

Sell the Sox, Mr. Henry. And Mr. Werner, please choose your words, um, better. “Full throttle?” What happened to “Let’s have a cheer?”

Interested in having your questions on Rhode Island sports (and yes, that includes the Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics) answered in a somewhat timely fashion? Think out loud and send your questions, comments and local stories to jrbroadcaster@gmail.com. We’ll share mailbag comments/Facebook posts/threads right here! Join me on Twitter/X, @JRbroadcaster…on Facebook, www.facebook.com/john.rooke, and on Instagram and Threads @JRbroadcaster.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Our local teams' reversals of fortune took hard work and hustle