URI Basketball Uses AI for Advanced Talent Assessment

Published Date : 6/9/2025 

University of Rhode Island men's basketball coach Archie Miller is embracing AI technology to enhance player evaluation and recruitment, thanks to a URI alum's innovative platform. 

Saturday, September 06, 2025

University of Rhode Island men's basketball coach Archie Miller is at the forefront of utilizing AI-powered technology to support the basketball program, and a URI alum is helping to make it happen.

AI technology is everywhere, and marketers love the term, with even routine, static computer programs being referred to as “AI.” The application URI is using claims to be robust, deeply technical, data-rich, with independent program learning, and is a highly advanced artificial intelligence application.

A URI Alum is behind this

Roby Luna graduated from URI in 2000 with a BS in MIS (Management Information Systems). He is the President and one of the founders of Aretec, Inc., which is a technology company that provides data science, cloud services, and AI-powered solutions to government agencies and commercial clients. It specializes in using data to improve decision-making.

That is what Luna does for a living. Here is what he does for fun. Luna is also a co-founder of Slam Sports AI. He and others have applied their expertise in mining, analyzing, and presenting data to support decision-making to the field of college basketball.

Miller’s comments on the value of the AI platform

When asked about their AI initiative and Luna, Coach Miller said, “The technology created by Slam Sports offers a cutting-edge tool for player-performance evaluation. On and off the court, the game is moving faster than ever. When you find a tool that can speed up various evaluation needs, it helps us become more efficient in all of our work.”

Miller continued, “As an alum, Roby Luna has a clear affinity for URI. When he presented the potential uses of Slam Sport, being a part of this pilot program made sense. His understanding of data analytics and how it could benefit the basketball program made this a very useful tool.”

How does it work?

Slam Sports harvests videos of college basketball players and uses a proprietary AI software platform that “reads” and analyzes video to produce individual scouting reports on players. Coaches no longer have to spend hours and hours watching films to develop an assessment of a prospect. Instead, they receive a detailed and customized data-driven report on every prospect they are interested in.

This time-saving service is incredibly valuable in the era of the Transfer Portal, where a team may be looking at 100 players and has a short time to make decisions.

The data analysis and report on each player includes several items, including:

Foot speed

Athleticism

Acceleration

Passing accuracy

Decision making

Shooting from different distances

Movement without the ball

Off-ball defense

Transition from offense to defense

Transition from defense to offense

Reaction to missed shots

And more

The report on a player also includes “Sentiment Analysis.” Under this heading, factors such as body language, the player's reaction when they are beaten on defense, their reaction when taken out of a game, a player’s mannerisms after a coach talks with them, how a player behaves on the bench, and other physical responses to activities on the court.

Wait, there is more

The player analysis and reports are not simply based on the athlete’s general performance. The analysis is based on a customized platform of Miller’s specific preferences for each aspect of playing basketball.

After lengthy discussions with Miller, Slam Sports creates a digital agent – an avatar, if you will, which represents Miller’s thesis for every component of playing basketball. A player’s performance is analyzed against Miller’s digital agent.

The software program that completes this task is high-level AI as it self-learns, refining its program and evolving as it analyzes players against the avatar.

Example of the AI platform in use

During this transfer period, URI was looking for a big man. They were aware of a center that played overseas. Traveling overseas to see a player firsthand is not something URI is going to do. Traditionally, coaches would review game films. However, a player’s performance is highly dependent on the talent level they are playing against, which can sometimes be difficult to determine when only watching film.

Slam Sports ran the player’s game film through their program and within minutes produced an analysis. The report revealed that the player’s foot speed and athleticism were insufficient to be competitive in the A-10, and his decision-making was suspect. URI moved off this player, saving time and avoiding the waste of NIL money and a roster spot.

Recruiting from the portal

This year, 2,700 college basketball players entered the transfer portal. That is an enormous number of players to look at and analyze. The first step for a basketball program is to identify the players it has the potential to recruit. The coaching staff then focuses on a selected group of players. If last year, URI focused on 100 to 200 players with the AI tool, they can look at twice as many and do it quickly.

Slam Sports also provides the service of identifying players whom URI may have overlooked. In harvesting their player data, Slam Sports may find a qualified player that URI did not have on its list to explore.

URI player evaluations

The AI analytics tool is also being used to evaluate current URI players for the purpose of player development. Basketball practices are videotaped and, along with game footage, are run through the AI program. Coaches and players receive detailed reports, which are used to identify specific areas for improvement that will be tracked throughout the year.

Scouting opponents

Slam Sports has been collecting videos of players on the teams URI will be competing against this year. These videos, along with current game videos, will be used to analyze opponents, producing a data-rich but consumable scouting report prior to every game.

More about Luna

Luna provides Slam Sports AI services to URI at no cost. It’s his way of giving back to the University he loves and feels indebted to. Luna’s parents immigrated to the United States from the Dominican Republic when he was a young boy. He grew up in Providence, attending Central High School.

He was a gifted athlete with dreams of playing in Major League Baseball. However, he lost his singular focus on this goal and succumbed to distractions. So, it was off to the U.S. Army after high school.

After his time in the armed services, URI’s Talent Development Program, which is designed to give students from underperforming high schools or with disadvantaged backgrounds the opportunity to attend URI, became aware of Luna and accepted him into the program.

In talking about the Talent Development Program, Luna said, “I was ill-prepared for the rigors of college. But my advisor at the time, Sharon Forleo, was instrumental in helping me to stay the course. I am forever grateful to her for helping me push forward and try to achieve my dream of making a dent in the universe.”

Luna further said, “I will forever bleed Rhody blue.” In addition to these latest efforts with the basketball team, Luna serves on the URI Board of Trustees and Chairs the Committee on Institutional Risk and Compliance.

What’s next

Luna believes his AI program and analysis system are capable of providing real-time in-game analysis. The first five minutes of a game are generally a time when teams are feeling each other out, and coaches are evaluating how their game strategy is working. Although Slam Sports does not currently have the functionality, Luna envisions that in the near future, after the first five minutes of a game, the coaching staff will be given a detailed analysis of the game generated by its AI platform.

Real or magic

So, is this all real, or is it magic? Was Luna the lucky one who was walking across the Quad and found the pouch of magic dust some wizard left behind? Or has this all happened due to the intersection of hard work, perseverance, and the award-winning Talent Development Program at URI?

You will need to decide. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS): 

Q: What is Slam Sports AI?

A: Slam Sports AI is a proprietary AI software platform that analyzes video footage of college basketball players to produce detailed scouting reports. It helps coaches evaluate player performance and make informed decisions.

Q: Who is Roby Luna?

A: Roby Luna is a URI alum who graduated in 2000 with a BS in MIS. He is the President and co-founder of Aretec, Inc., and co-founder of Slam Sports AI. He provides AI services to URI's basketball program.

Q: How does Slam Sports AI help with player evaluation?

A: Slam Sports AI analyzes video footage of players, generating reports on various aspects like foot speed, athleticism, passing accuracy, and decision-making. It also includes sentiment analysis to evaluate a player's behavior and reactions.

Q: What is the impact of AI on recruiting from the transfer portal?

A: AI helps coaches efficiently evaluate a large number of players in the transfer portal by providing detailed reports, saving time and ensuring better-informed decisions.

Q: How does Slam Sports AI benefit current URI players?

A: The AI analytics tool is used to evaluate current URI players for player development. It identifies specific areas for improvement and tracks progress throughout the year. 

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