News and Notes: Breaking down Providence's big man rotation, Ed Croswell on the roll, Clifton Moore in the post, the Friars from the arc, Drew Fielder's recruitment, and more
1. One of the more underrated strengths of the 2021-22 Friars was their three point ability. On the surface, they were good, yet unspectacular from beyond the arc, shooting 34% (.344) as a team. But those numbers really spiked in Big East play.
Even with Al Durham shooting far below his career marks as he played through an injury (9-47, 19% in Big East games from 3), Providence shot nearly 38% (.378) as a team. The top four were terrific.
Jared Bynum shot 33-71 from three in Big East games, good for .465 shooting. AJ Reeves wasn’t far behind, making 30-71 (.423) and Noah Horchler was equally efficient (35-83, .422). Reeves made those 30 threes, despite playing in 12 of PC’s 17 conference games.
The biggest surprise was Justin Minaya’s 23-60 shooting from deep (.383), both because his 3-point numbers had dipped his final three years at South Carolina, and due to the fact that his improved stroke in conference play went somewhat overlooked.
2. If the season started tomorrow, my guess would be that Bryce Hopkins starts at the big forward spot, alongside Ed Croswell at the five. While La Salle transfer Clifton Moore is more than good enough to start in the Big East, and we saw the benefits of a big lineup last year, PC should have far more depth standing 6’4 and under than in the frontcourt.
It likely makes more sense to rotate Croswell and Moore, and go with the better matchup between the two down the stretch. Then you can ease redshirt freshman Rafael Castro back into the lineup (Castro essentially had his senior year of high school wiped away and sat last year), while the versatile Hopkins steps into the type of “four” role that Rodney Bullock and Alpha Diallo played under Ed Cooley. Hopkins has even more upside.