Friar Basketball Newsletter: #21 ranked Friars aim to return to the court this week, tracking Jayden Pierre during a big week, the current state of the Hoyas, and more
Despite not playing last week due to a Covid-19 related pause, Providence moved up two spots to #21 in this week’s AP poll. This marks the fifth straight week in which the Friars have been ranked in the top 25 by the Associated Press voters.
Providence’s games against Creighton and Connecticut were cancelled last week, as was this Tuesday’s game at Seton Hall. PC is scheduled to return to action on Thursday night at the Dunkin Donuts Center to take on a struggling Georgetown team.
This week I wrote about how the Hoyas were expected to be one of the programs the Big East leaned heavily on after the conference realigned prior to the 2013-14 season, but they have faltered since. Georgetown had a losing conference record just once from 2004 until the start of the “new” Big East, but they have had just one winning conference record since realignment. As a result, when Georgetown comes to town it feels like just another game now.
We also take a look at Providence’s COVID-19 related pause, and how it impacts PC from a scheduling perspective, as well as how fellow Big East teams have rebounded from similar pauses in their schedules this year.
With the Friars out of action, it was time to focus on the future of the program. Over the past week, that meant Friar Basketball directed its attention on 2022 point guard commit Jayden Pierre. Pierre and his Long Island Lutheran team took on Roselle Catholic out of New Jersey last week in a contest between two nationally ranked high school programs. Pierre and his LuHi team went down to the wire against a Roselle Catholic team with serious star power.
Long Island Lutheran also took part in the Hoophall Classic, which is the premiere high school event of the season. See how Pierre fared in both of these games here (free for everyone).
We also take a look at some of the noteworthy performances at the Hoophall Classic, for those of you interested in learning more about the players who will be the faces of college basketball, and eventually the NBA, in the near future.
Our weekly News and Notes column looks into which Big East teams and players are on the rise, where Al Durham ranks nationally in free throw attempts, Providence’s defensive stinginess in conference games, and much more.
Lastly, Ed Cooley made a number of media appearances over the past week and a half, ranging from Jon Rothstein to Jim Rome to Barstool Sports. Cooley also spoke in great detail about how his team is responding to the COVID pause on his Coach’s Show with John Rooke and Kevin McNamara. It’s well worth a listen.
Hopefully the Friars will return to the court this week — and get back to their winning ways. We’re looking forward to having games to dig into once again.