The narrative has seemingly flipped from one offseason to another. Heading into the 2023-2024 season, the talk track was around Corey Floyd Jr. having a “coming out party” of sorts in his redshirt sophomore year. Highlight plays like the finish over Andre Jackson in the Big East Tournament and explosive dunks throughout the season led to many thinking he’d be a cog in the starting rotation. We were guilty of buying all the Corey Floyd Jr. shares, exemplified by the player preview article below:
Physically, he fits the bill of everything you want in a Big East guard. A 6’4, 210lb muscled up guard, he has the physicality that is reminiscent of the old-school Big East guards on top of a leaping ability that most collegiate players don’t possess (see the finish in transition against Kentucky in the NCAA tournament). With English taking the helm at Providence, the Providence faithful saw the wide open offense English wanted to implement and pointed to his 41.9% from 3 in his first year at Providence as the path to unlocking Floyd’s endless potential. The stars were seemingly aligning.
What many ignored (myself guilty) was the small sample size of threes taken in his first year at Providence and how that would translate in an expanded role. He went from 31 attempts in his first year at Providence to 81 in his second year, an increase in attempts that showed his three point percentage dramatically dip from 41.9% to 24.7%. I think Floyd’s true three point percentage is probably somewhere right in the middle of those two numbers, for what it is worth.
What nobody else has really talked about is how this was the third collegiate head coach in three years for Floyd Jr. heading into last year (four if you want to count high school). Not everybody can be Devin Carter and assimilate without any growing pains to a new system, new coach, etc. Heck, look at the offensive struggles Hopkins was having before the injury. This year being Floyd’s first offseason of consistency in four years should hopefully do wonders for Floyd’s development.
I think people are jumping off the bandwagon due to the inconsistency that Floyd Jr. played with last year. I understand the sentiments and (somewhat) get it, but at the same time I don’t think it’s overly fair to Floyd. You could see that Floyd Jr. was overthinking way too much last year. He’d blow by his defender and then hesitate in the paint, pivoting two or three times and putting himself in no man’s land. How many times did we see that last year?
This goes back to my point on three college head coaches in three years. Stylistically, English couldn’t be more dissimilar than Cooley in him wanting his players to primarily shoot 3’s and lay-ups. Cooley was fine with the mid range shot. It seemed like Floyd Jr. was never decisive with his actions because of hesitancy in how he was supposed to attack offensively.
If Floyd can play with the aggressiveness he displayed at Butler last year, this Providence team will vastly benefit. There were too many games last year where you could visibly see the confidence leaving Floyd’s body. I’m no body language expert, but I remember being at the Nova game in Philly and seeing a frustrated, searching for answers type player. Shoulders slumped, head down. It was actually really difficult to watch as somebody who roots for Floyd the person just as much as Floyd the basketball player. You felt for the kid because he was clearly going through “it”.
Simply put, Floyd needs to play through his errors and not let one mistake affect the rest of his game. The snowball effect happened way too many times last year for Floyd, where an early mistake compounded into him being a complete non-factor.
The Butler game, one of his best performances, shows he has All-Conference ability. He just can’t let the doubt continue to creep in if there is a turnover, string of missed shots, etc. I’m hopeful that was his biggest focus this offseason.
In terms of scheme, I’m hoping that English utilizes Floyd more in posting up smaller guards and getting him to play downhill. Not many guards can match his size and strength, and I think it is doing a disservice to Floyd to have him be a spot up shooter. You can put a defender in hell trying to iso defend Floyd on the low block.
Despite the ups and downs from last year, he is going through the normal growing pains of a young player in the Big East. This year will be telling, and people need to remember he still has two more years of eligibility (including this upcoming year). He is on a normal path of role player as an underclassman and key starter as a veteran. His playing time increased from 9.6 minutes as a freshman to 23.3 minutes as a sophomore. Due to English improving the depth of the roster, I’d expect Floyd to play 17-20 minutes this year. The book isn’t done being written on Floyd, and I’m cautiously optimistic about the next two chapters.
Me personally, I’m not worried about the drop in three point and free throw percentage. That is natural once you go from a bit player to a key player in the rotation. What I want most to see is a confident Floyd who carries himself with the swagger of knowing he is one of the more physically gifted guards in the Big East. If he can maintain a consistency to his confidence, that will mean he’s grown leaps and bounds from where he was last year.
Everything he needs to work on is between his ears, in my opinion. The growing pains as a young player will hopefully pay dividends this year as a lot of the mistakes are eliminated, and he is more decisive and confident on the court.
My stance on Floyd heading into this year is this: people unnecessarily jumped off the bandwagon. He is going through the normal growth process of a player in the Big East. He may never be a first team All-Big East player, but his experience will win Providence a game or two this year. He’s a massive asset to this Friar program, and I think too many fans wrote him off too early. He plays tough defense, hustles his tail off, rebounds well, and is a plus athlete.
You cannot have too many upperclassmen players with multiple years of experience in the Big East. Floyd is that, and I can’t wait to see him play when the weight of the world and high expectations are no longer on his shoulders. I’m a huge Corey Floyd Jr. fan as a player and person, and he deserves to have a ton of success. He represents the school of Providence well, and we should be proud to call him a Friar.
Lastly…he was f****** fouled.
Perspective from Floyd Family Member Konflicted
I think if Kim uses him in multiple phases this year, Corey will have a breakout season. What I mean by “multiple phases” is, use him in all areas of the floor and not just as a defensive stopper.
For instance, if Kim posts Corey up against smaller guards, I think Corey will dominate them with his brute strength and athleticism. I know he’s spent the off season working on his foot work around the basket and if they post him up, he could be a problem for their opponents.
I would love to see more ISO’s and pin downs for Corey (and Barron) too. His ball handling has improved and he’s a Sherman tank going down hill. Moreover, I hope that Corey is allowed to explore more scoring from the mid range. That’s where he thrived in high school but ever since he has been in college, he has been relegated to being a 3 and D type guy. That is not really his game.
Corey really needs to be able to crash the boards on both sides of the floor once the ball is shot because he is a voracious rebounder. Overall, Corey needs to be in attack mode on offense and let that ball fly this year. I think he’s paid his dues at PC going into his third year and should be afforded every consideration to break out. He’s going to do the dirty work and be a defensive stopper for them, but I believe he’s has the potential to be so much more than that.
In addition, I’ve spoken to my nephew at length this summer and I can tell he’s matured a lot. He learned some valuable lessons about himself and the game throughout that period. What I loved about the way he handled that last year is, he never stopped competing on D, even when his offense wasn’t there. A lot of other kids playing at such a highly, pressurized level would have folded, but he kept grinding and decided he was going to contribute in other ways to the team until his shot started clicking.
I truly believe having the opportunity to play alongside DC for two seasons was great for him personally and his development too because DC epitomizes what hard work and determination looks like and he was a good mentor for Corey too. The jump DC made from his second to this third year is unbelievable and I really love that kid’s fight and heart. I’m hoping DC’s influence rubbed off on my nephew for this year.
Lastly, most importantly, Corey just has to not give a shit and just hoop. Whether he is 10 for 10 or 1 for 10, he can’t get in his head about it as it affects his game. That’s what I love about Rich Barron. Rich doesn’t give a shit and when he is open, he’s letting that thing fly! That’s my kind of guy and mentality, and I love kids who don’t sweat missing shots. Amnesia is the best condition to have if you are going to be a shooter.
Before I finish, the one thing I am going to acknowledge is, Kim gave Corey every opportunity to play and shine last year, and I am very thankful to him for that. The moment was HUGE last season for him and I think he needed some time to adjust to playing the minutes that was afforded to him. I really think my nephew played well but he did struggle from the field, which takes away from the totality of his game from a fans perspective. I told him, all he can ask for this season is for a FRESH opportunity. The rest is up to him. I truly believe that his struggles last season will set him up for success this season. I pray that he breaks out this year too. One step at a time but I am absolutely positive that he will get there before he graduates from PC and I believe in Kim English and his staff.
Season Ticket Holder Opinions
Pete, Class of 2011: CFJ: I might regret saying this, but I am cautiously optimistic that CFJ can give this Friars team some meaningful minutes. Let me also start by saying I love the kid as a person and teammate and member of the Friar community regardless of what his stat line has said or will say. He’s a great kid. I also think he has the physical tools to be an every night starter in the BE. Will he start on this team? No. Do I think he can earn 12-14 mins a game? Probably. If he can somehow get his confidence back, watch out. His biggest obstacle has been between his ears. He’s got good size, very athletic, great rebounder and has great vision on the break. I think last year he was overthinking more often than just playing. Would love to see him put it together. Don’t forget, he’s only 20 even though he’s in this like 8th year of college (joke).
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