Here and There in Friartown
Craig Leighton's 'Here and There in Friartown' highlights some of the latest happenings during a special time in Providence basketball history
News, notes, and opinions on Friar Basketball while waiting anxiously awaiting the start of the postseason.
Many Friar fans have asked me through the years what was it like in the 1970s when PC was on top of the basketball world in the East. Well, this is it. All I’ve been greeted with of late is people asking, “How about those Friars?” PC is all over the news in the sports world, and it’s a credit to what Ed Cooley, Bob Driscoll, and everyone at Providence has built. The Dunk has never been more alive. Slowly but surely, the nation's media has recognized what a special team this is. Rhode Island has Friar fever and it is time to enjoy it.
One way in which the Friars truly have been the luckiest team in America? Finding Al Durham and Justin Minaya on the transfer market last spring. Durham left Indiana after Archie Miller was let go, while Minaya was looking for a new opportunity after four years at South Carolina. Cooley found two players with not only the skill sets PC needed, but the personalities to match. Durham became an instant leader in Friartown, and Minaya seems happy to do so many of the things that don’t show up in the box score. It’s amazing the impact both have made in just one year. They are beloved Friars already.
I can't remember the last time the Friars had a team whose players complemented each other so well.
Every once in a while we all need a reminder to never give up on a player. Example 1: Jared Bynum. Example 2: Ed Croswell. Bynum has turned into one of the best players, not only on Providence, but the entire Big East this season, while Croswell has served as the perfect backup to Nate Watson. It’s a testament to Croswell that the Friars don’t skip a beat when he enters the game. Croswell has come as advertised as an offensive rebounder, but he is also a craftier finisher around the bucket now that he’s playing with more lift.
I am so happy for AJ Reeves, a player Kevin and I spent a lot of time following and talking about well before he ever committed to Providence. AJ has always seemed like such an affable, likable kid, and he is a testament to his parents, as well as Mass Rivals coaches Tom Nelson and Vin Pastore for what a loyal teammate and great representative he has been of PC.
Kudos to the PC students, who have transformed the Dunk from a tough place to play to maybe the toughest place in the country this season. And they did this with the smallest student enrollment of any major college in the country. That crowd was a lot to handle for a Creighton team on the younger side.
When Ed Cooley came to PC he said he was going to build the program brick by brick. Well, he added a few big ones this year. The recruiting ramifications (both high school and transfer players) should be huge after Providence has been a college basketball headliner for months.
And yes, expect PC to be big players in the transfer market going forward. Age and experience are the name of the game in college basketball for the foreseeable future.
If I were Cooley, I’d give some serious thought to resting Durham for the Villanova game on Tuesday. This is assuming two fulls weeks of rest could potentially be enough to make a difference health-wise in the postseason.
Right now, I think PC is a third seed and will probably be no worse than a fourth seed in the NCAA Tournament, which means that in all likelihood PC will play a mid-major team in the first round. Good luck to any mid-major center trying to cover Nate Watson. Watson has feasted on mid-majors this season, including against a very good Vermont team.
Ed Cooley may be the American Dream, but today he is also the Prince of Providence, the King of Friartown… AND The National Coach of the Year!