Rhode Island head coach Tammi Reiss wanted to assemble a Rams team which addressed deficiencies for a season ago, with the biggest focus on putting the ball through the basket.
The result? Three in-conference transfers and four freshmen newcomers that all have the ability to boost the Rams' offensive output.
“We struggled to do it, so we went out and found some players that could really dribble, pass and shoot at a very high level,” Reiss opened. “As a coach I feel we did the work as a staff and myself in the offseason to acquire the talent needed for an A-10 championship.”
The last time Rhode Island won a conference championship was in 2022-23, when Reiss brought in a trio of in-conference transfers in Madison Hattix-Covington, Tenin Magassa and Emma Squires.
Reiss has followed this formula once more with Brooklyn Gray (Saint Louis), Ta’Viyanna Habib (George Mason) and Valentina Ojeda (VCU).
“We love them as a coaching staff because we know what they can do in the league, they are very experienced and all three of them are grad transfers,” explained Reiss. “We did the same thing this year with three grad transfers -- all three at some point in time have torched us. I respect all three’s games, I love their leadership and offensively they gave us everything we were looking for.”
Here is a look at the Rams:
Coach- Tammi Reiss - 7th season
Last year- Rhody was 17-16 and 11-7 in A-10 play. The Rams defeated George Washington in the Atlantic 10 Championships but fell the next day to Saint Joseph’s.
They’ll miss- Harsimran “Honey” Kaur (12.2 ppg/7.7 rpg/83.3% FT), Sophie Phillips (9.5 ppg/70 3’s), Anaelle Dutat (7.9 ppg/7.9 rpg/40.1% FG/55 stls)
Impact returners- Ines Debroise (7.7 ppg/98 assts, preseason all-defensive team), Sophia Vital (6.7 ppg/129 assts), Palmire Mbu (4.7 ppg)
Newcomers of note- Brooklyn Gray (12.2 ppg/41.7% FG/47 stls at Saint Louis), Ta’Viyanna Habib (10.0 ppg//4.9 rpg at George Mason), Valentina Ojeda (7.9 ppg/49.7% FG VCU)
Reasons to be optimistic: Reiss was the first coach to reach out to Gray when she accounced her plans to enter the transfer portal.
The pair have always had a slight relationship, so when Reiss made a phone call, Gray knew she had to answer.
“Sometimes a player gives it to you so badly during the year that you just go through the handshake line and say ‘dang you can hoop,’” Reiss exclaimed. “I’ve always loved her game, her fire, her energy, she’s my type of player from afar. When she jumped in that transfer portal, you better believe that was my first call, to get her, her AAU coach, her mama, her auntie, whatever it took. Her first words to me were ‘coach I’m not transferring in the A-10.’ My first words were ‘just give us a chance.’”
Gray would give Rhode Island that very chance and has enjoyed how welcoming everyone has been throughout her entire process. The respect she has for Reiss has only grown and from the moment she went on her official visit, there was no doubt where she would spend her senior year.
“It’s funny that she brings up that I wasn’t going to stay (in the A-10), but I want to say she literally hit me at five in the morning and was the first coach to hit me,” detailed Gray. “We always had a relationship, so I’ve just got to talk to her. She ended up being everything I thought she was and more. I have a good support system around me and coaches that really believe in me and this team. I think we can do a lot of great things this year. I feel like I can accomplish what I want and we can accomplish what we need.
X Factor- Rhode Island has a history of post play success with Manu Tahane and Maye Toure. Now, according to Reiss, it is Palmire Mbu’s time.
Like Toure before her, Mbu has sat and learned, which combined with not playing for a year-and-a-half with an ankle injury, esentially experienced her first collegiate season last year.
“I compare her a lot to Maye Toure, who for two years sat behind our player of the year, Manu Tahane, and then suddenly her junior season everyone was saying ‘who is this player,” Reiss observed. “That’s going to be Palmire this year. She’s the next in line to take the torch from Manu and Maye. She’s an integral part, she’s very big and can play anywhere in the perimeter or on the post. Her versatility is key, but we’re expecting big things.”
Circle the date- Rhody hosts Albany, a WBIT participant a year ago, on Nov. 15. The Rams head to NC State on Nov. 23, a team which secured a Sweet 16 berth in the NCAA Tournament last season. Three days later, URI welcomes Princeton to the Ryan Center, another NCAA Tournament team.
Bottom line: Given Reiss did not have any Team USA obligations this summer, she instead spent her entire summer with the team, a first of the last three seasons.
That allowed her staff to hit the ground running in the transfer portal and feel 100% all in and in her own words, it made a world of difference.
“We had two summer sessions with the newcomers that stayed and really built relationships and spent time with them,” Reiss detailed. “This offseason has been key in the acquisition of talent and then in the ability to train it and build those relationships I know are going to pay dividends when we hit November and December.”