Friar Basketball Newsletter: It’s Big East Tournament Week!
It’s Big East Tournament Week and the Providence Friars will head to Madison Square Garden as the number one seed in the tourney. Following a regular season in which they finished 24-4 on the year, and 14-3 in conference play, all eyes will be on Ed Cooley and his Friars.
We have some exciting content for you to enjoy heading into the week, and will provide coverage throughout the entirety of the Big East Tournament.
Billy Ricci and I were fortunate enough to be joined by Providence Athletic Director Bob Driscoll in the latest episode of The Friar Podcast. In our conversation we touch on a variety of topics, including what this season has meant to him as he prepares to wrap up his 21-year career at PC, his bond with Ed Cooley, what makes this group special, and the difficult conversations that took place following the disappointment of last season. Bob also reflected on his tenure at PC, spoke of why he believes Steve Napolillo is an ideal fit to be his successor, as well as sharing some of his favorite memories of his time at PC.
I also had the opportunity to catch up with 2022 point guard commit Jayden Pierre. Pierre and his Long Island Lutheran team are playing in a big-time postseason tournament in the DMV area this week. In this feature article you can read about Pierre’s developing relationship with fellow 2022 PC commits Quante Berry and Christ Essandoko, how he has bonded with Al Durham, why Ed Cooley stood out during his recruitment, and a lot more about Pierre as both a player and person. I really think Pierre has star potential.
Another in-depth feature you may enjoy this week, “The Uninvited: How Providence’s Run to the Big East’s One Seed Has Been Filled With Questions, Asterisks, Discredit, and Doubt”, documents how PC continues to answer its critics who have waited for the bottom to fall out all season. This is a long-form article with thoughts from coaches, players, administrators, and local media members that tackles why a team that should be one of the true feel-good stories in the country this year has encountered more criticism than one would expect.
In our News and Notes column this week we look into a number of topics ranging from Nate Watson and Jared Bynum being named to the All Big East Team to how Providence is on the verge of setting highs in a variety of offensive categories under Ed Cooley, to the rare club that Noah Horchler finds himself in as we enter postseason play. This article also includes the latest team shot chart, as well as the numbers behind AJ Reeves’ recent scoring tear – and where he has done the most damage from this year. If you’d be interested in reading more about how PC is faring in the pick and roll this year, how they are scoring on a points per possession basis (as opposed to previous seasons under Cooley) and how PC stacks up against the rest of the country in advanced metrics, this article is for you.
Lastly, if you want to take a look back at Providence’s back-and-forth contest with Villanova last week, we have the game condensed to nine minutes, as well as 15 takeaways from another great game against the Wildcats. Here’s hoping the two meet again in the Big East championship.
The next couple of weeks have the potential to be some of the most memorable in Friar basketball history. Is it Thursday yet?