There is no better way to get the train back on the tracks than having DePaul end up as the next opponent on your schedule. Providence is coming off a thrashing at the hands of Xavier 85-65, and there are not a lot of positive feelings around the current team right now. At 11-6 and 2-4 in conference, Providence has a long road ahead to potentially compete for an NCAA tournament birth. It starts Wednesday against the Blue Demons, who are currently 0-5 in conference.
Below, we highlight what Providence needs to do to secure a victory. More important, we highlight what steps we want to see the Friars take to feel confident about the trajectory of this team moving forward.
Garwey Has to Be Aggressive – The heralded freshman was a complete no-show against the Musketeers. It began to go downhill for the blue chipper early in the game, as Desmond Claude abused him on the defensive end using his physicality and strength. From there, Dual was a non-factor in the game, scoring 2 points with 1 rebound and 0 assists in 18 minutes of play.
Dual has the ability to get into the paint and finish around the rim. I’m not sure if its a lack of confidence (which appears to be a prevailing theme with this team) or a lack of a green light from English, but Dual needs to stop being so deferential to his teammates. This Providence team is dying for more people to become scoring options. At this point, the season can’t get much worse, so English needs to implore the freshman to hunt his shot.
More Time for Barron – It’s hard to find a silver lining in a 20 point blowout at home, but Barron was a positive in the game. He seems to make winning plays and knows how to play basketball the right way. In 11 minutes, he had 5 points on 2-3 from the floor and 1-2 from deep. To the point made above, not much is going right for the Friars, so they need to experiment and see if Barron can catch lightning in a bottle. For perspective, Corey Floyd Jr. and Garwey Dual played 45 minutes and scored the same amount of points as Barron. It’s not as if Floyd Jr. is giving them something that Barron can’t right now, so you have to give Barron a shot to earn more playing time. In his return home to Chicago, this could be the game he goes for double digits.
Emphasize Ball Pressure – DePaul averages 13.4 assists to 13.2 turnovers. This is a game where you need to apply consistent ball pressure and see if you can force a few errors that lead to easy buckets.
Get Oduro Going Early – I’ll shoot my shot here and say Josh leads the Friars in scoring in this one. DePaul doesn’t have a lot of size at the 5, and Oduro should be able to operate with ease in the frontcourt. It’s important to see a few go in early for him to take the pressure off Devin Carter. If he gets hot, doubles will come which will lead to wide open kick-outs.
Play with Joy – This is the old man in me, but this team needs to rediscover the joy of playing basketball. It’s tough in a 4 game losing streak, but just go out there and play. This is a long season, things can change at the drop of a hat, and they need to remember they are lucky to play on scholarship the game they love. They are also getting paid now, which adds an interesting layer to the dynamics of it all.
Prediction
BOC: I do not have a lot of faith in this team, but all is not lost. They can get right against the 3-13 Depaul Blue Demons and build off that before their next road game against Seton Hall. One game at a time at this juncture. Providence 71, DePaul 68.
So many things to break down right now with the Friars. On the physical end of things, when a team cannot match their opponents because of a lack of size, the game of basketball becomes very difficult. We can start there. Throw in the fact that, we don’t have a pure scorer on this team and that leads to prolong scoring droughts. Add in the fact that, our free throw shooting is abysmal as such, in close games down the stretch our chance of pulling out the game becomes almost zero. Strategically, Coach English has made the decision that, my players will play my offense (4 out 1 in or 5 out) and so, fit in period. It’s obvious that that offense does not have that type of players to be successful especially those recruited by the traitor with the exception of Carter. Let us not forget that Hop was really struggling away from the basket. On defense, we have small, quick and aggressive defenders but, very rarely press or pressure the ball. Why? It’s not like teams are having trouble scoring. In the end and at this time, our shooters are struggling because they know that, if they miss then, we have little chance of securing an offensive rebound and that’s pressure. A defense that plays with passion but not all out aggressiveness AKA Nolan Richardson 40 of Hell Defense with Arkansas. Lastly, we have a coach who hasn’t been able to adjust. Mindset goes only as far as talent to back that up…..
If we don’t win this game by at least 20 points plus I will not consider it as a real good indicator of what to expect for the rest of the season without Bryce Hopkins. I’m rather disheartened by what I’ve seen in the last four games. Truthfully, it’s up to English to light a fire and turn things around tonight. Go Friars!