The Friars wrapped up their preseason in style on Saturday at the AMP with a 101-73 rout over Georgia Tech. PC had five players in double-figures scoring with Miles Byrd leading the way with 19 points. While these games don’t count it is certainly fair for Friartown to be very excited to embark on their 100th season of basketball.
In two exhibitions against ACC opponents the Friars outscored the opposition 188 to 137 and didn’t trail for a single second. Here our reactions from the performance on Saturday.
Byrd Continues Strong Play
As we suspected when the Friars landed Miles Byrd out of San Diego State his offense is blossoming under Bryan Hodgson’s system. The defense we knew coming in was going to be good and it showed today with six rebounds, three steals, and two blocks. However, he is taking his offensive game to another level. He finished with a team high 19 points and seems to be fully buying into the playing style coach Hodgson wants. He seems primed to have a first-team All- Big East caliver season ahead.
Backcourt is in Good Hands
Gavin Hightower shined in this one with a 16 point and five assist performance. Some may be ready to appoint him the starting point guard. While he is certainly playing like a PG1, his experience in Coach Hodgson’s system at USF has really shown and appears to have given him a head start. He knows what the coaches expect, and he seems very comfortable in running the show.
Malik Mack didn’t have that luxury and that also shows, but it wasn’t like he was a slouch in this one either. Mack added nine points, five assists and only committed one turnover. The two guards combined for 24 points and a 10/3 assist to turnover ratio. It also should be noted that PC was still without Ryan Sabol and Devin Vanterpool.
The Friars backcourt will certainly be a strength this year, it appears, and Providence is lucky to be able to turn to both Mack AND Hightower.
Second Half Adjustments
In the first half of the game the Friars were a little sloppy with the basketball and didn’t exhibit the advantage in rebounding, especially the offensive glass, that they showed against Pittsburgh. They had 10 turnovers and were only even on the offensive glass in the first half.
It must’ve been mentioned during halftime because the Friars would finish with only 13 giveaways and hold a +6 advantage on the offensive glass (+15 overall). Defensively it did seem like they let go of the rope a little bit allowing the Yellow Jackets to score 45 points in the second half and didn’t quite have the perimeter defense we have seen in the prior 60 minutes of basketball. It makes sense though when the Friars were holding a big lead throughout the second half.
Injury Concerns?
Sabol and Vanterpool didn’t play again. Sabol appears to be closer to ready to play, while we are still in wait and see with Devin. There is over a week until the season opener, so we’ll see if these two will be available against Maine.
High Scoring Affair
Totaling 101 points on only 10 made three’s is a really positive sign for yours truly. It shows that Hodgson’s system isn’t overly reliant on the three ball, and that production can come from various forms of offense.
The free throws dramatically improved from the Pitt game too, totaling 19 makes on 24 attempts. I tried to find any room for improvement from the Pitt game (it was a tall task), and this was one. This is another positive development in the offense.
Big Man Rotation
Bannarbie played the most minutes out of the trio of bigs, playing over 18 minutes while Page and Aletan played 15 and 9, respectively. Bannarbie was the high scorer out of the 3, totaling 11 points. It seems this was a gem of an “analytics find” by Hodgson, as he was by no means a star studded portal land. In two scrimmage games, he’s shown his worth, and his grit is going to make him a fan favorite alongside Hightower. These two seem to be picture perfect for Friartown and its blue collar fanbase.
The Italian Stallion
Leonardo Marangon has been one of the pleasant surprises for me this preseason. I thought he’d be a quality defender who came off the bench to provide defensive stability and maybe some offensive punch in spurts. My read appears to be off, and I’m thrilled about that. He started the game off hot making a couple of 3’s and absolutely looks comfortable at a high major college basketball level. He finished with 14 points on 4 made three’s and broke out a new celebration that will be a hit across Federal Hill and all of Rhode Island. Another fabulous find by the PC staff.
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