The Last Ride for The Captain – Providence Crier Player Preview: Corey Floyd Jr.

In a pre-portal world, Corey would be perceived the consummate senior who the fanbase applauds for his incremental positive progress year over year. A player who comes in raw as a freshman who consistently works on his traits, irons out his flaws, and becomes a well rounded upperclassman. This is what I grew up on watching college basketball!

Corey Floyd Jr. is a throwback in the truest sense. Floyd Jr. is never in the rumor mill for drama, locker room issues, or poor behavior. He keeps his head down, hones his craft, and tries to be the best version of himself. Corey deserves to go out on top in his last year as a Friar.

The issue is these days everybody wants instant gratification and the mere thought of allowing a player to slowly develop in college is heresy. Corey Floyd Jr. is an outlier in this modern college basketball era, and the Friars are going to be beneficiaries because of it.

Take a look at how Corey has improved his game each year of college as a Friar. I don’t think his growth is talked about enough, but that is probably because of his humble nature. See below:

Points: 2.6 freshman year, 4.8 sophomore year, 9.2 junior year

Rebounds: 1.2 freshman year, 3.0 sophomore year, 4.8 junior year

Assists: 0.4 freshman year, 1.2 sophomore year, 2.0 junior year

Is the projection to a 12 point, 5.5 rebounds, 3.5 assist season for the 5th year Floyd out of the realm of possibility? Based off the improvements year over year above, absolutely not.

We highlight below the keys to a successful season for Mr. Floyd.

Keys to a Successful Season

Corey shows he can adequately run the show as lead guard for the Friars, quelling a lot of preseason concerns for the Friar fanbase. Corey may never lead the Big East in assists/game, but he takes care of the ball and shows he is able to be the head man for this Friar squad
I hope that Floyd Jr. takes mid-range looks and floaters. I know English analytically likes 3’s and lay-ups, but you saw Floyd Jr. (and Cardet) instantly became more productive last year when they started to take those mid-range looks. I want to see him take those without second guessing his decision making (or being chastised for taking those). Stylistically, it would lead to a more difficult scout for the opposition too.
Floyd Jr. is known as the defensive stopper on the wing and the trio of Floyd Jr., Sellers, and Davis come to be known as the elite defensive perimeter in the Big East.
Avoiding the hesitancy in the paint when he beats his man. He has a quick first step and can finish at and above the rim. Picking up his dribble and pivoting a few times in the paint to find an open man negates any advantage he gains. No more of that, please.
Corey continues the trend of incrementally improving his stats across the board
Corey shows the title of Captain is warranted, leading this Friar team back to the NCAA tournament through his effort, intensity, and leading by example
Corey doesn’t try to do too much, knowing he has a plethora of weapons around him

Summary

For a player and person such as Corey, leading the Friars back to the Big Dance would be a fitting end to his collegiate career. Corey will go down as one of the more loyal Friars of all-time, turning down the chance to leave Providence several times to finish his career as a Friar.

In our interview with Corey this offseason, he spoke candidly about why he stayed in Providence, providing a glimpse into the man behind the #14 Jersey. When he says what a special place Friartown is, those aren’t hollow words meant to appease the fanbase. He means it. Take a listen if you haven’t heard our interview with him.

Providence is lucky to have somebody like Corey Floyd Jr. on its campus and in its community. Here’s to hoping the Friars can send Corey off on a high note.

Go Friars!