Providence was once again shorthanded in this one, missing superb freshman Ryan Mela, transfer wing Wesley Cardet Jr., and the obvious in Bryce Hopkins, but they still scrapped and clawed their way to give themselves a chance to win on the road in Philadelphia. Unfortunately, the Friars came up short due to poor end of game play calling and execution and find themselves at 9-10 on the year.
It was admirable to see Providence and this roster held together by duct tape show fight despite being so undermanned, but the Friars seem to keep finding new ways to come up short and in the loser column.
We recap below some takeaways from the game and then take a more holistic view of what needs to be adjusted the rest of the way and in the offseason. A lot of the flaws in this roster and program that have materialized throughout the season again reared their ugly head in this game, and we objectively take a look at what can be done to remedy these issues.
True Point Guard Needed – With Jamier Jones and Jaylen Harrell coming in, I’d argue the biggest priority of the offseason (even above retaining Bryce Hopkins) is finding a true point guard for next year that can man the rock in late game situations. Jayden Pierre can be a dynamic scorer and is lightning quick, but Providence has simply been burnt too many times in end of game situations when he is tasked with running the offense in crunch time. Last night was no different, as he gave the game away twice, but was bailed out by an inadvertent whistle and Villanova player stepping out of bounds after intercepting his in-bounds pass that had no hope for success.
While Pierre was off last night (1-11 from floor), I put equal blame on English for not recognizing it wasn’t Pierre’s night. You bring in Bensley Joseph to be that grad transfer guard who steadies the ship and has the ball in the final game moments. Joseph was nowhere to be found, and that is on English. Joseph should be the one with the ball end of game, and it’s absolutely head scratching that he got zero opportunities to tie or win the game for the Friars.
Which brings me to my next point.
Veteran Bench Coach Needed – Of Providence’s ten losses, the Friars held the lead at half in 5 of those 10. Of the five, two of those leads were by double digits. There’s been a concerning pattern of coaches out coaching the Friars in the second half.
English is a young coach, and we expected growing pains. With that said, I think he needs to do an analysis of his assistants and get a true veteran in-game coach who can help him at halftime adjustments and countering whatever second half adjustments the opposition makes. I’m not sure if Felton was brought in to be that guy or if it is Tomlinson, but they need another coach to help out with in game strategy because PC has been caught on its heels too many times in the second half of games.
Build Around the Young Talent – Providence already has a core of players it can build around for 2025 and beyond. It is why patience is needed with English, despite frustration with how this season has gone.
The obvious are the freshman standouts in Mela and Oswin, who look to be well on their way to being All-Conference caliber players. To a lesser extent, Pierre and Floyd Jr. have shown improvements from last year and it’s vital to have those guys around next year. They’ll each be in their fourth active year of Big East basketball, and you absolutely don’t turn away that experience. Lastly, English needs to re-recruit Barron, DeLaurier, Fernandez and Bonke and sell them on more playing time.
The elephant in the room is Hopkins, and your guess is as good as mine as to if he suits up for Providence next year.
With all that laid out, Providence can have serious roster continuity going into next year, and that is absolutely a good thing. It would put this program in a precarious position to have to add another 3-4 transfer players alongside the 2 incoming freshman. Having 6 new faces year in and out isn’t the sign of a stable program.
The roster will be in an incredibly healthy place with or without Hopkins. Add 1-2 key transfers and have those guys buy into the culture in place. The foundation for a successful season is already in the building. Stay the course.
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