Friar Basketball Newsletter: Who wins if the 2020 Friars play the 2022 group? A Closer Look at Drew Fielder, LaDontae Henton on the 2013-14 Podcast Series, Previewing Sean Miller at Xavier, and More
Late last week, Nate Watson asked his Instagram followers who would win in a seven-game series between the 2019-20 Friars and the 2021-22 team. Well, we took this question to heart, with a deep dive into the two teams in an effort to make our best guess as to which team would have won had they matched up in March. This article includes a statistical comparison of the two teams on both sides of the ball, and thoughts from myself, Craig Leighton, and Billy Ricci. We had a lot of fun with this one, and hope our readers enjoy it.
This week’s newsletter includes a portion of our conversation with LaDontae Henton for the upcoming podcast series on the 2013-14 Friars. In this clip, Henton talks about hitting the shot that ultimately sealed the Big East Tournament championship against Creighton. The podcast series is scheduled to be released in October on the Friar Podcast.
Later this month, Providence will host one of the more intriguing big men in the class of 2023 in Drew Fielder. The skilled Fielder missed most of last high school season due to a back injury, but the Boise native caught the eye of the Friar staff (and so many others) by playing with high energy and flashing an offensive game with developed back-to-the-basket moves and range well beyond the 3-point arc while playing on the Under Armour circuit. Craig Leighton has a Closer Look article on Fielder for subscribers.
We continue to preview Big East schools, and this week we take a look at Xavier, who is giving Sean Miller a second chance after he was fired by Arizona in 2021. Miller has a solid returning core, and landed a trio of four star recruits in the class of 2023 over the past two weeks. We also have video of UTEP-to-Xavier transfer Souley Boum from when UTEP played Kansas last season. Boum, who averaged nearly 20 points per game last season, will look to add scoring punch to the Xavier backcourt.
Our latest “Season in Review” article on the 2021-22 Friars takes a look back at a sterling performance at DePaul, a rare off night at Marquette, and Watson dominating the second half of a comeback win against St. John’s. This article includes highlights from the DePaul and St. John’s victories.
Finally, Craig Leighton wrote about how the late Bill Russell became a mentor to former Providence big man Jim Hadnot while starring for the Boston Celtics in the 1960s.
Thanks, as always, for reading! We hope you enjoy this week’s edition.