The Friars will be back in action on Tuesday night when they host the Hampton Pirates and a few familiar faces. Former PC assistant coach Ivan Thomas is the man in charge at Hampton this season, and he brought with him Friar standout guard Kyron Cartwright and student manager Jack Manning to his coaching staff.
This certainly wont have the same feel as the last time a former coach visited the AMP and really the focus is on the Friars building off of their 27-point win over Stonehill, as they continue to gain on court cohesion. Here’s some of the things we are looking for out of the Friars in game number three.
Start Fast– We mentioned on the latest episode of the Providence Crier Podcast that in the first two games the Friars got off to slow starts. Against Central Connecticut the Friars were in the fight throughout and against Stonehill, although they won by 27, the Friars only led 19-18 with over nine minutes into the first half. I’d love for the Friars to get off to a fast start and then be able to cruise to victory from there. It is a weird tip time of 6:30pm that could possibly play into a fast start not happening due to a lack of crowd.
Take Care of the Ball– I’d like to pose a challenge to these Friars: can we play 40 minutes of basketball with 12 or less turnovers? Turnovers have been the Friars bugaboo so far this season, committing 15 against Central Connecticut and following that up with a 21-giveaway day against Stonehill.
The Friars really need to clean this up because they can get away with those numbers against NEC teams but it isnt going to cut it in the Battle4Atlantis or Big East play. Hampton has forced 34 turnovers and averaging 12.5 steals through two games, albeit I’ve never heard of the school they faced in their opener. It would be nice to see what this team can be capable of offensive if they take care of the basketball.
Will Another Transfer Have Another Big Game? – In the opener it was Miami transfer Bensley Joseph who shined with a game-high 21 points. In the second game Georgia grad transfer Jabri Abdur-Rahim went for a game-high 16 points. Which transfer will pop off tonight? Wesley Cardet had a strong first half for the Friars and chipped in 12 points. He could be primed to have a big game in this one. Christ Essandoko has had a so-so start to his Friar career, with turnovers being his biggest issue, but he could take advantage of an undersized Pirates squad and go for a double double in limited playing time.
Can Jayden Pierre Get Going?– Jayden Pierre dealt with some injuries late in the offseason and is off to a bit of a slow start this year. The junior lead guard is averaging 6.5 points, 1.5 assists and is shooting only 33% from the floor. For this team to reach its potential Jayden Pierre is going to play a big role. Hopefully it’s just a little rust due to nagging injuries, and he will return to form. Towards the end of the season Pierre showed what he could be in year 3 and would be a big boost to the team.
Rotation– The Friars had 11 players play at least 10 minutes in their last game. This was an expanded rotation from what we saw in the opener. Will Kim English and staff stick with a 11-man rotation? It will probably depend on the flow of the game, but it will be good to see these guys to continue to get significant minutes to see what we have once the schedule ramps up.
PREDICTIONS
Crier: Think the Friars show off the talent they have on this team. Friars will crack 80-points for the first time this season and win going away 84-61.
BOC: Crier and I are aligned. I have 82-61. I don’t have BHop returning in this one, but we may see him in the second half. That’s something to watch.