If you listen to our latest podcast, you’ll likely label me an alarmist and pessimist. That’s fine. I’ve been called worse.
There was plenty of good, namely Oswin showing he will be a key cog in the rotation and Bensley Joseph looking like a potential All-Conference candidate. Layer on the incredible defensive effort, and you see where Providence can hang its hat early in the season while we await the return of potential All-American Bryce Hopkins.
Leading up to the game, I expressed some concerns and a lot of my hesitances were realized in game 1. Below, I revisit what I was looking forward to seeing in Game 1 and what Friar fans learned about Providence after the first game.
Health of the Roster
The more level-headed fans, like my founding partner Mike, chalked up the subpar effort to a multitude of players being rusty and returning to live action after not practicing too much. His point is incredibly valid.
Pierre, Barron, and Jabri Abdur Rahim were coming off a variety of injuries. Fernandez was playing live basketball for the first time in over a year. It showed with some turnovers, assignment misses, etc.
The silver lining is that each game moving forward, they will get closer to being in game shape and you’d expect all of their respective performances to improve.
We may have seen the worst game from the Friars all season, and it came in a win. We can all breathe a sigh of relief.
Defensive Efforts
I stand by my statement that this team will be a top defensive team nationally and stand by that. Providence held CCSU to 55 points, 31% from the floor, and 0% from 3.
With the offensive firepower of Hopkins missing, Providence needs to lean on winning through defense first until they find their footing on offense.
If there is one area of concern, it’s the big man guarding the pick and roll. CCSU didn’t capitalize like they should have, but the looks were there. They need to clean that up a bit before it bites them.
Three Point Shooting
I was extremely hesitant on calling this team an elite three point shooting team due to the struggles from deep last year, and last night didn’t ease my concerns. Beyond Bensley Joseph going 50% from deep, which does matter, the rest of the squad went 14% at 3-22 shooting.
For the silver lining, I point back to the first topic on shaking off the rust and getting back into playing form. Pierre and JAR went 2-8. I’d expect them to be closer to 35% on the season. Last night was an outlier in a bad way for them.
Corey Floyd Jr – Breakout?
Corey didn’t break out offensively like we needed him to, but overall he played a solid game. He was more aggressive on offense, but it didn’t translate to production on 2-9 from the floor. Corey was probably the best player last night on getting to the rim, but, like last year, he missed a few bunnies that he just can’t miss. He went 0-4 from deep, and I’d personally like to see him playing downhill more than shooting from the perimeter. That’s his game, in my opinion.
Corey secured a few rebounds and hit the floor countless times, which you love to see. If he can play strong defense consistently, finish more efficiently around the rim, and be at least a threat from the perimeter, he can become a 3rd or 4th scoring option on this Friar squad.
He didn’t do enough to cement his spot in the starting line-up, but he will absolutely be a leader in minutes played all season.
Transfers & Their Roles
Bensley Joseph. What else can you say that hasn’t been said? In his first game as a Friar, he willed this team to a victory, even when in foul trouble for most of the game. He’s the consummate floor general and leader on the court. It may be hyperbolic to say, but I think he’ll be THE leader on this team. Even when Hopkins returns.
Wesley Cardet had a slow start, but picked it up in the second half. He was another one who struggled shooting, and I think his skillset mirrors Floyd Jr. of being a downhill playmaker. He was hesitant to be more assertive on the offensive end, and I’m hopeful he hunts for looks a bit more because Providence doesn’t appear to have a guy outside of Joseph who can find his own shot. We need him to be that guy. Devin Carter isn’t walking through that door.
Christ Essandoko had a rough game. I’ve made this point enough and won’t beat the dead horse any longer. He is an enormous figure, and I want to see him settle into the paint and impose his will there. He has nice footwork, but the footwork seemed to wane as the game progressed due to conditioning. We don’t need him shooting more than one three a game. I’m hoping Essandoko can work himself physically into being able to play 20-25 minutes a game, but last night caused me to potentially reassess his impact this year.
Jabri Abdur Rahim is a guy that seems to know his role. He is probably going to be a Jalen Lindsey type that makes his mark from deep. I said it above, but I expect him to be more efficient from deep moving forward. Expecting him to be a slasher is probably not fair at this point.
This leads me to Bonke. Given the struggles of Essandoko and inexperience of Oswin, I thought it would have been wise to give Bonke 5-10 minutes so that Essandoko and Oswin can recharge on the bench. I’m hoping we see him added to the rotation in the next game.
Summary
We will see a lot about this team in Game 2, and some of these takes may age like sour milk. I’m excited about this potential of this team, and they need to stay undefeated until BHop returns.
Enjoy the ride, Friartown. We’ve been waiting all offseason for this.
Also, we have a new saying for the 2024-2025 season. #TheDuck has arrived.
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