Corey Floyd Jr. Took a Big Step Forward This Week
On more than one occasion following Providence’s 70-65 victory over Villanova on Sunday, Ed Cooley referred to the game as “high level Big East basketball.”
It’s telling then that Cooley trusted freshman Corey Floyd Jr. to play critical second half minutes as the two teams took turns taking the lead down the stretch.
Floyd Jr. was a bit of a mystery man after transferring in from UConn last summer. He was considered a top 100 prospect coming out of famed Roselle Catholic in New Jersey, yet he chose to leave Connecticut before ever playing a minute there. He was part of a Peach Jam title winning team in 2021, but there wasn’t much tape of a senior year of high school that was significantly shortened by the pandemic.
Sitting out was part of the plan last year at UConn. Floyd Jr. enrolled early and was scheduled to take a redshirt year, yet even with Connecticut looking to fill gaps in its backcourt last spring (and Providence having already added Devin Carter, Noah Locke, Jayden Pierre, and Quante Berry), Floyd Jr. decided to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a Friar.
Minutes were sparse before Jared Bynum went down with an injury against (ironically) UConn on Jan. 4. Floyd played 11 minutes that night and hit a big 3-pointer late in the first half to help PC gain momentum heading into the break.
Providence beat #4 Connecticut on that night, and gained some serious momentum in the process.
Meanwhile, for Floyd the climb has been more slow and steady. He played 16 minutes at Marquette, and then made his biggest statement of the season with 12 points on 4-5 shooting from the field and 2-2 from distance versus Butler on Wednesday.
Floyd attacked the paint against Butler, and confidently pulled up for a semi-transition three.
Sunday at Villanova was an even bigger sign of the steps forward Floyd Jr. has taken over the past month.
He finished on a tough, short jumper in the first half, then knocked down a pair of clutch threes in the second in finishing with eight points on 3-5 shooting in 16 minutes.
All three of his buckets came when it was a one possession game.
In 11 conference games, Floyd Jr. is shooting 9-16 from the field and 5-10 from beyond the arc.
Ed Cooley and his staff have been more focused on the impact the 6’4, 210 pound Floyd Jr. can make defensively, however.
“We’ve seen a lot of development from him defensively. We’re talking (to him) about ‘Your offense will come. What this team needs from you is your physicality, your athleticism, and your confidence,’” Cooley said of Floyd, who turned just 19 earlier this month.
In Devin Carter, Alyn Breed, and Floyd Jr., Cooley has three three big guards that can get after opponents defensively. If Floyd can continue to hit from long distance with consistency he will play his way into even more consistent minutes.
“Corey is still one of the youngest players in the Big East. I’m proud of his perseverance and what he’s been able to do to help us win. He made some big, big plays today.”
Floyd was a critical part of a bench that held a 29-5 scoring advantage on Sunday.
“I think our bench is really starting to develop. Particularly in the last two games, we’ve had a lot of production coming off that (bench), not just in scoring, but defense, timely plays, free throws,” Cooley said. “That’s why I said it was a great, great team effort.”