SOUTH KINGSTOWN — It is easy for anyone who attends a URI basketball practice to pick up on Jim Baron’s focus for this season.

Certain words come up constantly. Two words, in particular, are heard early and often. Rebounding is one. Defense is the other.

In some ways, that is nothing new. Baron will tell anyone who asks that those two areas have been his focus throughout his coaching career, two facets he takes pride in having his team do well.

Entering the preseason opener Friday night against Concordia of Montreal at 7 at the Ryan Center, Baron is working to get his team to help its offensive numbers by improving its defensive and rebounding numbers.

For those who have seen the Rams play in the last two years, though, it is a change. As all Rhody fans know, the big story the last two seasons has been how Baron has opened the throttle on offense and had his team running and gunning, to the point where URI led the Atlantic 10 in scoring last season at 79.3 points per game.

URI expects to contend for that honor this winter, too. It would like to score that many points again. Baron wants the Rams to run at every opportunity.

Still, as is obvious at practice, the coach is emphasizing the need to improve defense and rebounding.

“We’ve lost so much scoring in the last two years. We don’t know where the points are going to come from this year,” Baron said. “We have guys who can score. We want to be consistent. You hope the veterans will step up and lead the way. But you can’t be sure until you get out there.”

Defense and rebounding, though, can be more predictable. The players simply have to work at it.

The coach wants to see his team get itself extra points through its defense and board work.

“If you want to run, you have to rebound,” Baron said. The good news for him is that this edition of the Rams has the athleticism to excel on defense and under the boards.

“This is probably the most athletic team since I’ve been here,” Baron said. “We’ve got speed.”

The Rams have not only speed, but size as well. Baron said he would probably start his veterans against Concordia, which means seven-footer Will Martell will work in the middle, 6-7 Delroy James and 6-6 Lamonte Ulmer at the forwards and 6-3 Keith Cothran and 6-1 Marquis Jones at the guards. That unit is every bit as quick, perhaps a bit more so than the team that usually started last winter. There is every reason to believe it could be better defensively than the recent Rhody squads. And it is taller, giving it reason to rebound better, too.

Baron has expressed satisfaction with the way his team has worked at practice thus far, but he is happy to be playing a game.

“We can get some quality playing time now and see how everyone does in a game atmosphere,” he said. “Everyone’s jockeying for position. We’ll see how it all evolves.”

Concordia has lost its first two games on its United States tour badly, 88-55 to Bryant last Friday, and to Vermont, 92-46, on Sunday.