For those of you who began following this site once the regular season started, throughout last summer we had a series of videos that showed the games of Al Durham and Justin Minaya after they signed with Providence. The intent was to get Friar fans familiar with the play of the incoming transfers by showing video of their previous stints at Indiana and South Carolina.
I plan on doing the same throughout this spring and summer with PC’s latest signees.
Here’s the disclaimer I’ll add to each of these articles throughout the offseason: These videos are not meant to be purely highlights. They will certainly highlight what each of these players does well, but I will try to include every possession I watch to balance the excitement of a signing, while setting realistic expectations.
In other words, you’ll see the good, bad, and everything in-between.
At halftime, this didn’t have the look of a career night for young Noah Locke. His Florida Gators trailed Texas A&M by 13 at the break, and Locke headed to the locker room with seven points.
Then Locke came alive early in the second half, making three 3-pointers in a span of one minute to slice the Aggies’ advantage to 51-44. A fourth three 30 seconds just rimmed out.
This outburst kicked off a second half barrage from the Florida freshman, who scored 20 of his career-high 27 points over the final 20 minutes. In the process, Florida out-scored A&M 48-26 in the second half to take home an 81-72 victory.
Locke finished with 27 points on 9-18 shooting from the field and 7-13 from beyond the arc in a game that was played at a furious pace. If there was a 3-pointer open for just a second, the Gators were firing away. Florida shot 11-15 from three in the second half, with Locke and teammate KeVaughn Allen combining to make 10-12 from distance during that time.
“I was just shooting with confidence, shooting the way I shoot,” said Locke after the win. “Everything was falling for me. I was getting out in transition, trying to run as fast as I can to get me open shots and it was just falling for me.”
There were some familiar faces on this A&M team. The Aggies had knocked Providence out of the NCAA Tournament the season prior, but lost their interior presence when Robert Williams left for the NBA.
This 27 point night for Noah Locke marked his ninth consecutive game in double figures. He would be held to seven points the next night out against TCU before bouncing back with 22 versus Ole Miss.
Later that season, Florida would go on to upset seventh-seeded and 14th ranked Nevada in the first round of the NCAA Tournament (Locke scored five points off of the bench against a team led by Cody and Caleb Martin), before falling to Michigan in the second round. Locked scored eight points on 3-11 shooting versus the Wolverines, who were led by Jordan Poole’s 19 points.
Locke attempted a few floaters and mid-range shots versus A&M, but his offense relies heavily on catch and shoot opportunities, or pulling up off of one or two dribbles. He should see plenty of good looks next season playing alongside playmakers in Jared Bynum, Devin Carter, and Bryce Hopkins.
As a freshman, Noah Locke scored 20 of his career-high 27 points in the second half of a come-from-behind victory over Texas A&M