When taking in the Big East Media Day, Mike had an astute comment, “This media day and the uncertainty around rosters, college basketball, and lawsuits gave the day a very weird vibe.” I couldn’t agree more. There was a dark and ominous cloud over a normally jubilant environment due to the state of college sports.
One only needs to look at the fact that none of the players with eligibility questions were named to the pre-season all conference team. Are you telling me that Quinn Ellis, Dink Pate, and Luigi Suigo aren’t all conference players? Cmon now.
There is just so much confusion on who will be eligible, who will be ineligible, and what happens if a player sues to become temporarily eligible only to be later ruled ineligible (see the Texas Tech Thomas Castellano ruling that made a player who has ALREADY played college football this season be named ineligible as of yesterday). It’s chaos in college sports, and the NCAA is a rudderless ship guiding college sports and these universities into the iceberg with reckless abandon.
It is not as if there is ample time to make a decision on these players. Preseason practice has already commenced, and a lot of these teams have exhibitions in a week or two. Time is of the essence, and the NCAA continues to reveal its utter incompetence.
So where does this all leave Providence? As of this writing, 3 of the 15 players on PC’s roster are not currently eligible to play. That’s 20% of the roster for you mathematically challenged. Those players are Dink Pate, Joseph Pinion, and Derek Simpson.
Pate is fighting for eligibility as a former professional playing in the G-League (who never played an NBA game and never played college basketball before) while Pinion and Simpson are arguing for the 5 for 5 ruling to attain a 5th year of eligibility. Maybe if Pate identified as a European who played 3 years in the Icelandic Super League this wouldn’t be an issue? The subjectivity of these rulings are a complete joke.
Regardless, Hodgson and staff have a job to do and must prepare for all outcomes. I’ve broken down below the best case and worst case scenarios for the Friars in terms of eligibility. It gives you a good sense of the ceiling and the floor for this team.
The refreshing thing is Hodgson has built a deep and talented roster, and the season doesn’t depend on these 3 becoming eligible. If they do become eligible, fantastic. If not, the fans will rally around the unfair nature of the NCAA and support the Friars with adversity hitting them.
Worst Case Scenario
Synopsis: All of Pate, Simpson, and Pinion are ruled ineligible. I personally can’t see this happening, but it would align with the Nerlens Noel, Ricky Ledo sagas of yesteryear where the blue bloods get a pass, and PC gets the short end of the legal stick.
Here is how I’d envision the starting line-up in this scenario:
PG: Malik Mack (Senior)
SG: Devin Vanterpool (Junior)
SF: Miles Byrd (5th Year Senior)
PF: Ryan Mela (Junior)
C: Arrinten Page (Senior)
Thoughts: Even with the 3 ineligible, this is a starting line-up that is old, experienced, and talented. The depth is there across the board at PG, Wings, and Frontcourt too. While I don’t think it can compete with Connecticut to be top of the Big East, it is a quality enough roster to be top half of the Big East. There are a few rosters in college basketball (namely St. John’s and LSU) where these eligibility decisions have major ramifications and torpedo the season. This would undoubtedly hurt PC, but it’s still a tournament roster even without the 3.
Best Case Scenario
Synopsis: The basketball gods favor the Friars and grant Pinion, Pate, and Simpson all eligible. I don’t see this happening but stranger things have happened.
Starting line-up projection
PG: Simpson
SG: Vanterpool
SF: Byrd
PF: Pate
C: Page
Thoughts: If Hodgson can pull a rabbit out of the hat and have this scenario play out, there absolutely should be conversations about Providence competing with UConn and St. John’s as the top program in the Big East. PC not only would be a tournament lock, but should be in contention for a Top 10-15 ranking nationally throughout the season.
The roster would add a first team A-10 point guard, a double digit scorer in the G-League (and former 5 star), and a player who broke the USF three pointers made in a single season record. All are game changers in their own right, and I could make the case for 2 of the 3 being All-Conference players by season’s end.
Summary
I don’t recommend holding your breath waiting on an NCAA decision. Even if a decision is made that negatively impacts PC, I’d expect the school to take legal action. Thus, this could be an ongoing saga that unfortunately drags into the season.
The silver lining is Providence has a squad that can compete for a tournament bid even without the three in question. With the three eligible, however, we can start to talk about this squad in a different light.
Go Friars!
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