It's Time... Finally! What to watch for on opening night when Providence kicks off the Kim English Era versus Columbia
Finally, we’re here.
The Kim English Era officially gets underway in Providence on Monday night (Nov. 6 at 7pm at the Amica Mutual Pavilion) against a Columbia team looking to work its way out of the Ivy League cellar this season.
The Lions began a rebuild in what, sadly, feels like an antiquated manner last season by giving their underclassmen massive playing time. All four of their freshmen played at least 18 minutes a game, while sophomore Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa served as their best player (13.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 88% at the free throw line, 37% from 3).
Providence will be heavily favored in this matchup (Columbia finished 7-22 last year, and 2-12 in the Ivy League), but the Friars were sweating it out a bit against the Lions at the AMP last November.
PC won, 78-64, but was outscored in the paint, and held just a 40-36 scoring advantage in the second half. Columbia played 39 of their 69 defensive half court possessions in zone, and Providence’s starters couldn’t hit a thing from deep to draw them out of it. Jared Bynum and Noah Locke combined to shoot 5-18, while Bryce Hopkins finished with seven points, seven rebounds, and six assists, and Ed Croswell was the anchor inside with 13.
Rubio De La Rosa finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds, and three assists.
“If those two didn’t bring the energy they did, maybe we’d have a different story.”
That was Ed Cooley on reserve guards Jayden Pierre and Alyn Breed following last season’s matchup with Columbia. Pierre provided a huge lift by making 3-3 from beyond the arc and finishing with 13 points, while Breed scored nine.
Cooley mentioned his team’s energy (or lack thereof) numerous times following the win, as Providence was really searching for an identity at that point.
On Monday, we will see English’s brand in Friartown for the first time, and the AMP will be buzzing. Gone are starters in Bynum, Locke, and Croswell from a season ago, but PC returns a pair of All Big East honorees in juniors Bryce Hopkins and Devin Carter. Hopkins is one of the best forwards in the country, while Carter is a ferocious defender who should see a spike in his offensive production this year.
Here are a few things to look for in the opener:
1. A clear pecking order atop Providence’s rotation
The Friars limped through an awkward November in 2022. Bynum and Croswell were holdovers from a Sweet 16 team the year prior — and critical pieces from that group. Bynum was a 2nd Team All Big East performer, while Croswell injected life into the Friars whenever he stepped onto the court.
Hopkins became a star last season at Providence, but his true ascension began in December. By the first of January, it became apparent that Hopkins was PC’s most dominant player.
This season, there is a clear pecking order atop the rotation. Hopkins and Carter are the leaders. George Mason transfer Josh Oduro is a two-time All Atlantic 10 performer, who led the league in scoring in his first season under English. He was wearing a boot over the past month, but assuming health, Oduro feels like the next surest thing for PC.
Things get more interesting from there.
2. How do roster spots four through nine pan out?
Sophomore Jayden Pierre has consistently received rave reviews from both the coaching staff and teammates over the past seven months. The New Jersey native is a pass-first point guard, but one capable of ripping off three or four straight shots. Pierre figures to see significant minutes after waiting his turn behind Bynum last year. He simply has to be ready for the Friars from the start of the season.
Garwey Dual can play either guard spot. English is counting on both the freshman and Pierre to give him enough at the most important position in the game. More on Dual in a moment…
Dating back to last spring, English and his staff have had to deal with unexpected roster attrition that has chipped away at the team’s depth. Alyn Breed would have been entering his senior year at PC, as a guard who played important minutes dating back to his freshman season. Instead, he left the program after an alleged off-court incident in which charges were later dismissed.
English brought in sophomore guard Justyn Fernandez, a 6’5 athlete with accuracy beyond the 3-point arc, but he had surgery on his knee in the spring and will redshirt this year.
Massive transfer center Will McNair Jr. left the program in September (three months after joining it) and is now with Kansas State.
Those were three significant hits to the team’s depth, but English still has versatile options at the off-guard and wing spots, plus a big man with plenty to prove.
Davonte “Ticket” Gaines has the trust of English. The 6’7 forward can swing between the two, three, and four spots, is an above-average defender and rebounder, and hit threes at a good clip the past two seasons at George Mason (40% in 2022 and 36% last year). English was an assistant at Tennessee during Gaines’ first two seasons of college basketball there, and he welcomed him at both Mason and now Providence once he took over as head coach. English has a high level of trust in Gaines, and the staff loves the lefty’s competitive spirit.
Seemingly everyone around the program is excited about the potential of sophomore Corey Floyd Jr. — a legacy Friar from New Jersey who is a physical force at 6’4, 225 pounds. He can stretch the floor from beyond the arc and finish well above the rim. English said Floyd could see some time at point guard in spurts, but Floyd is versatile and strong enough that his new head coach thinks he could also guard some power forwards in today’s game.
With Hopkins, Carter, and Oduro the constants, we will see how English incorporates Pierre, Floyd, Gaines, and Dual around them.
Providence will hope to see a jump from 6’11 redshirt sophomore Rafael Castro. Castro had a solid offseason, and a fast start this week could set the tone for a far more productive year. Castro played behind a pair of graduate centers last season after redshirting in 2021-22, but he has all sorts of opportunities available in his third year with the program.
The Friars have a trio of freshmen who looked like longer term development prospects prior to some of the roster attrition. Keep an eye on 6’5 Rich Barron out of Chicago — a powerhouse of a wing with range.
3. The young Lions