Folks, Andy Toole is at it again! The RMU head coach landed 2022 Guard TJ Wainright this week in the midst of earning a Horizon League road split at UIC and IUPUI.
Wainright, quoted as saying “I am so glad to have a place to call home next year” is a three start guard that will likely be able to walk in and contribute right away. Wainright will bring a tough, battle tested personality to Robert Morris from Montverde Academy in Florida, where he currently is spending a post-grad season. In Year 2 of the jump to a bigger, better league and Andy Toole is snagging himself a three-star recruit?
To mix in with the good news of the Wainright commit, RMU went on the road this week where it has seen its struggles. The Colonials made their first stop at UIC on Thursday night where it faced the first of two very winnable road tilts.
With UIC draining 5 of their first 8 shots from the field, Robert Morris turned to Kahliel Spear, who notched eight of RMU’s first 12 points. Justin Winston had a solid first half, complimenting Spear with 12 points in only 10 minutes of game action, with RMU shooting 14/30 from the field in the first 20 minutes. UIC hit 16 of their fist 36 attempts to head to the break with a 39-34 advantage, which didn’t at all feel too bad for the Colonials.
The story of the season for RMU has been “finishing” and they simply have not done enough of it. Yet again on Thursday, a winnable game got away from the Colonials down the stretch. Not being able to get a timely stop or bucket as the most frustrating occurrence, it has happened far too often this season as seen by the amount of competitive games they have been in. RMU was lead yet again by Spear in the 80-75 loss, with 23 points and 13 rebounds; another double-double.
Robert Morris moved to their afternoon tilt with IUPUI on Saturday, where again, they faced a very winnable game and honestly, a “had to have it” one. With the Jaguars still looking for their first Horizon League win, RMU had to step on the gas and remain on the gas for all 40 minutes.
With IUPUI only shooting a measly 34% for the first 20 minutes, Robert Morris was only able to grab a slim 28-27 lead. Not exactly how Toole pictured this one going, I assume, but the Colonials had a chance to grab the momentum in the 2nd half, but could they?
Outscoring the Jaguars, 38-22 for the final 20 minutes, RMU was able to earn a road split and will be headed back to the UPMC Events Center for a tough home stand. Facing Detroit Mercy on Wednesday followed by Oakland on Friday, Robert Morris has a chance to show the league this upward trend is legit. They got some fantastic recruiting news this week, let’s see if Toole and the Colonials can build off of this and keep the arrow point up as we inch closer to March.
