This game was essentially three games in one. The first half was back and forth, with both teams dealing with a slow start that may have been induced by the clock malfunctioning at Madison Square Garden (more on that later). The first twenty minutes were relatively ugly basketball where the defenses on both ends reigned supreme.
The first fifteen minutes of the second half was a different game in its entirety, with St. John’s flexing its depth, athleticism, and physicality to build out a healthy double digit lead against Providence. This was the St. John’s team that has you pondering a potential Final Four type run. They are deep and have star power in Richmond, Luis, and Ejifor. Not many teams nationwide are going to have a three headed monster like that trio.
Then, there was the chaos of the final 4-5 minutes, where Providence stormed back with a barrage of three’s to tie the game up. The final outcome was brutal for Friar fans, as Kadary Richmond hit a mid-range jumper with 3 seconds remaining to win the game. Bensley Joseph’s half court prayer missed, and the Friars walk away from another game against St. John’s in heartbreaking fashion. If you recall, it was an Ejifor tip-in at the AMP that secured the victory for the Johnnies. This time it was the mercenary transfer Richmond that put the final nail in the coffin.
We’ll break down the game below and highlight some key takeaways.
Providence is a flawed team, no question. Injuries and roster misevaluation are the root cause of that. These players haven’t quit on the season though, and I genuinely commend them for that. Lesser teams would have mailed it in a few weeks ago.
More below.
Jabri Abdur-Rahim’s Career Afternoon – It is a shame that JAR’s explosive performance transpired in a loss. The light bulb has come on for Jabri, as he is averaging 17.3 points in his last 3 games. His eight three’s were the most in a Providence uniform since the great Donnie McGrath. Jabri carried the team in this game, in which offense was tough to come by for the Friars. You can tell he is playing confident and free, not just in the way he is shooting the ball, but the way in which he is carrying himself on the court, attacking the glass with a swagger, and communicating. Jabri comes across as mild-mannered, but he seemingly was having words with every St. John’s player.
Jabri’s emergence, while probably too late in the season, is sorely needed as Ryan Mela has hit the freshman wall. The scout is out on Mela offensively in that teams are daring him to shoot. The concerning trend is that he isn’t even looking to shoot, so he becomes borderline unplayable. Prior to the scout becoming known on him, Mela had the ability to take his man off the dribble and finish at the rim. Now, teams are giving him 2-3 feet and inviting a shot attempt. Until Mela knocks down that shot with consistency, it may be time to swap Mela with JAR in the starting line-up.
Jabri has been up and down all season, but it seems like his best basketball is now in front of him, and that is a very welcome development for Providence.
Turnovers, Turnovers, Turnovers – It’s been a theme for English’s Friar squads in his two years at the helm that his squads just don’t take care of the basketball. Yesterday was no different, as they turned the ball over 20 times. Providence desperately needs to add a true point guard on the roster via the transfer portal this offseason, as well as add a point guard in the 2026 high school class. Joseph and Pierre are more scoring guards than true points, but they weren’t necessarily the issue yesterday. Everybody on the Friar roster was giving the ball away.
With 20 turnovers, it is no surprise that St. John’s had a 15+ point lead for the duration of the second half. I don’t want to throw cold water on the insane comeback at the end because that counts too, but you can’t let the last 4-5 minutes cloud your judgment on a horrific second half. Providence, even without a true point guard, needs to prioritize taking care of the basketball.
Frontcourt Remains an Issue – The frontcourt continues to be a work in progress, and I’m putting that kindly. Oswin was a non-factor yesterday, as he was in foul trouble all game. With him only playing 14 minutes because of the aforementioned foul trouble, Essandoko and DeLaurier got the bulk of the remaining minutes, and it wasn’t necessarily pretty.
Essandoko will give you spurts of high level offensive basketball with his post touches, but more often than not, it is his inability to secure a rebound in traffic, commit a lazy foul, and laissez faire approach to guarding his opposing 5 man that jump out to you. Being there in person, it is comical just how many rebounds touch his hands and slip through his grasp that led to a second chance opportunity for St. John’s.
At this stage in his career, you cannot trust him to play mistake free basketball. The turnover at game’s end to Ejifor was absolutely brutal and a result of lackadaisical play. Why is he dribbling the basketball at the top of the 3 point line in the final 2 minutes? Great question.
DeLaurier has been a good story for his hustle plays and effort, but he is about two years away from being a starting caliber Big East frontcourt player. He was bullied all game, and his lack of size and strength was all too apparent. The strip by Richmond where he pulled the ball right out of Eli’s hands under the hoop was particularly concerning. I think he is a good teammate and plays hard, but he isn’t a Big East player just yet.
Which leads me to my next question – Where is Bonke? I have trouble watching Essandoko and DeLaurier and think that Bonke couldn’t give you better minutes. Yes, I am aware he is raw. But it is not as if Essandoko and DeLaurier were giving you stellar minutes yesterday. Bonke needed to play if for nothing else than to change the dynamics. This was the second game in a row where the frontcourt behind Oswin has failed the team, and I’m curious why Bonke isn’t a guy you turn to just to see if you can switch things up and find a spark.
The last thing I’ll state is that Oswin needs to stop giving away fouls on the offensive end. He is young and will learn, but he probably sets about 5 illegal screens a game, and only one of them get called. You can set your watch to him getting one a game, but that needs to stop because Providence needs him on the court. The frontcourt behind him just isn’t Big East level, and that has been one of the most disappointing aspects of this entire season.
Shot Clock Issues – I want to quickly address this. The game started out terribly, with the shot clock operator not doing his job. I was locked in to the start of the game, but apparently PC started their first possession with 26 seconds instead of 30? How?
The second possession was peculiar. I was watching thinking there was going to be another shot clock violation, but then it appeared the shot clock seemingly gained 15 extra seconds out of thin air. Providence ended up scoring to make the game 3-2, but the refs waved off the bucket because it should have been a shot clock violation. While that may be true by the rule book (I’m not sure), you cannot claim the players should have known the seconds on the “true” shot clock in their head even if the clock inadvertently reset. All players stare at the shot clock throughout the possession. Whatever the rule is, the refs should have owned that mistake and awarded Providence two points.
It isn’t lost on me that Providence lost by 2, had two possessions stolen from them, and one bucket removed. It’s been that kind of season for the Friars.
There’s no defending those two opening possessions. It was reffing malpractice and should be addressed by an apology by the Big East Conference.
https://twitter.com/bocallday/status/1885737398488748326?s=46&t=jxSpiAPB3PvC74snCH-rvQ
Friar Fanbase Continues to be Elite – Wins matter more than fan attendance, but I was so impressed yesterday with the contingency of Providence fans that invaded the Garden. At times during the game, you felt like you were at the AMP. The Providence fanbase is truly elite. The fact that they continue to show up in droves when Providence is a .500 squad is a ringing endorsement of the fanbase.
English made a comment a few games ago about the appreciation for the Providence fanbase, and this was just another example of the loyalty of the Friar faithful. This school has a fanbase they should be proud of.
Appreciation – Lastly, it was an absolute pleasure meeting so many people yesterday at the game for the first time. Your words of appreciation for the content Mike and I put out mean more than you can imagine, and I just want to say thank you. This thing Mike and I are doing will keep on rolling, with the best yet to come. Thanks, guys.
BOC- You are totally spot on with your analysis of the St. John’s game. My problem is with English. Why didn’t he go ballistic over the shot clock reversal of the 2 points we earned?
So what if the refs would have T’ed him up! It might have resulted in an ignition of the players and loyal fans who traveled to see them play in the Garden. He is too complacent with lousy ref calls for my liking. As Joe Hasset said in his X post (I am paraphrasing here) : we get screwed out of 2 points then lose by two points. Not that I condone it but Bobby Knight would have thrown a chair accross the court on that call! RIP Bobby, you were tough but you sure got results! Go Friars!
Alfred, agree to both your assessment that the post game review was spot on and calling out Kim for once again accepting a bad call from the refs. You mentioned Bobby Knight, I offer Rick Pitino if the situation had been reversed not to mention the Ogre from UConn. I think we may have beaten to death reviewing Kim’s substitution patterns. This late in the season, he’s not going to change. He wants a deep bench by hook or by crook. Problem is the bench is not that good. We have also beaten to death Kim’s lack of a cogent strategy late in the games. The defense offered by the friars on the last play of the game was pitiful. Pierre offered little effort while getting screened and Oswin was lost in space. Since it’s getting too late to think any of their faults will change, I believe it will be the fans at the AMP that will provide the mojo to bring this team to a .500 record in the BE.