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Rhode Island basketball alums to reunite this summer; what will bring them back together

bill koch, the providence journal
·3 min read

This summer will offer a flashback to a special era in University of Rhode Island men’s basketball.

Several alumni members of the Rams are set to reunite on the floor. They announced a formal entry on Friday into The Basketball Tournament, a single-elimination event that promises a winner’s share of at least $1 million.

https://twitter.com/thetournament/status/1659589955214008320?s=20

The Rhody Way will compete at the Syracuse regional from July 24-28, with the survivor advancing to Philadelphia the following week. Two more days of games Aug. 2-3 will eventually see a winner crowned, the 10th in a unique format that was founded in 2014.

Jarvis Garrett, left, and E.C. Matthews share a laugh before an NCAA Tournament game in March 2018. The former URI teammates will be back together again this summer when they play for The Rhody Way team.
Jarvis Garrett, left, and E.C. Matthews share a laugh before an NCAA Tournament game in March 2018. The former URI teammates will be back together again this summer when they play for The Rhody Way team.

Jarvis Garrett, Kuran Iverson, EC Matthews, Xavier Munford, Cyril Langevine, Four McGlynn, Fatts Russell and Earl Watson are on the roster. Each player was recruited to Kingston during Dan Hurley’s six seasons on the sideline. URI captured its second Atlantic 10 Tournament title in 2017 and followed with a first conference regular-season crown in 2018.

“The family back together,” Garrett tweeted from his personal account.

Two former undergraduate managers with the Rams are serving as team executives and assembling the roster. Jerrell Coleman eventually ascended to director of player development under David Cox. Owen Sammarone followed Hurley to Connecticut as a graduate assistant before entering private business.

More: https://twitter.com/RealWorldRell/status/1659615192727076875?s=20

https://twitter.com/RealWorldRell/status/1659615192727076875?s=20

Garrett (Croatia), Matthews (Spain), Munford (Israel), Langevine (Italy), McGlynn (Slovakia), Russell (Turkey) and Watson (Portugal) all played their most recent professional seasons overseas. Iverson is signed with the Ball Hogs and runs with the Big 3, the 3-on-3 league based in Los Angeles and founded by rapper Ice Cube in 2017. Munford has previous time in the NBA, playing 14 games with Memphis in 2015-16 and four with Milwaukee in 2017-18.

URI alumnus Fatts Russell will be among the players on The Rhody Way team this summer.
URI alumnus Fatts Russell will be among the players on The Rhody Way team this summer.

Garrett, Matthews, Langevine, Russell and Iverson were all key pieces with that pair of March Madness teams. URI downed Creighton in its first trip and Oklahoma in its second. The Rams fell to Oregon in 2017 and Duke in 2018 — the Ducks eventually reached the Final Four while the Blue Devils featured eight future NBA players.

Matthews remains third on the school’s all-time scoring list at 1,899 points. Russell, Langevine and Munford — in just two seasons — also reached the career 1,000-point mark. Russell is the program's all-time steals leader and sixth in assists while Langevine is fifth all-time in rebounds.

URI has been individually represented in the event before — Delroy James was the most prominent contributor in previous fields. He continues to play professionally in Colombia and captained Americana for Autism in the 2022 edition of TBT. James sought to raise awareness on behalf of his son, Jaylen, and other children who have been diagnosed with the developmental disorder.

The Rams could be open to future roster additions in the coming weeks. Coleman has been in contact with Jimmy Baron and Billy Baron, who is still playing overseas in Italy. Hassan Martin and Jared Terrell — if interested and available — would represent two more obvious candidates coming off professional seasons in Serbia and Israel, respectively.

Team entries largely featuring former college teammates have won each of the last four editions of the winner-take-all event, including last year’s title game in Dayton, Ohio. Carmen’s Crew (Ohio State), Golden Eagles (Marquette), Boeheim’s Army (Syracuse) and Blue Collar U (Buffalo) captured the crown from 2019-22. Matthews linked up with a host of former Bulls to help down James, who scored eight points and played 23 minutes, in the 2022 championship game at UD Arena.

Games will be aired on ESPN both via cable and streaming platforms. Eight different cities will play hosts to the 64-team field. Future roster changes and team entries could be announced in the coming weeks and months.

bkoch@providencejournal.com  

On Twitter: @BillKoch25 

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: URI alums to reunite for a summer tournament