Hall of Fame
The 1997-98 men's basketball team put together the most successful postseason run in URI history by reaching the Elite 8. The 25 wins that season are the second most in school annals.Ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 for most of the season, Rhode Island earned the number eight seed in the MidWest region. Along the way, the Rams beat Murray State, Kansas and Valparaiso. The win over the Jayhawks is arguably the biggest in program history, as Kansas was ranked number two in the nation at the time. The backcourt tandem of Tyson Wheeler and Cuttino Mobley led a high-flying offense that was deadly from the outside. Wheeler, Mobley, Joshua King and Preston Murphy paved the way for a program record 258 3-point baskets, a mark that still stands today. The success of the team paved the way for the construction of the Ryan Center, the current home for Rhode Island basketball.
1998 Team/Staff
Players - #00 Tory Jefferson; #4 Andrew Wafula; #10 David Arigbabu; #12 Cuttino Mobley; #20 Maureico Gray; #21 Tyson Wheeler; #25 Joshua King; #32 Preston Murphy; #34 Antonio Reynolds Dean; #35 Luther Clay; #44 John Bennett
Coaches - Jim Harrick (head coach); Larry Farmer; Jerry DiGregorio; Tommy Penders
Student Managers - Brandi Daniel; Sarah Tuzinski
Athletic Trainer -Â Carlo Cantarella
