Reflections of a Friar Fan: Rick Barnes to the Rescue

The 1987-88 season was pretty much a disaster for the Friars. Coming off a Final Four the year prior, head coach Rick Pitino left for the New York Knicks in the summer and was replaced by one of his assistants, Gordy Chiesa. It turned out to be a disaster. Providence finished with an 11-18 record, despite having a pair of future NBA players on the roster. Sophomore center Marty Conlon left the team midway through the season, and there were rumblings that several other players were strongly considering doing the same at season’s end.

Read More — Reflections of a Friar Fan: The Pitino Era

The Friar administration decided to cut their losses and fired Chiesa when the season was over. 

The hiring of the next coach was going to be one of the most important decisions in program history. Whatever momentum PC gained coming off the Final Four was totally gone, and the program was once again spiraling downward. If they did not bring in the right coach this downward spiral could very well be permanent. 

Following the coaching search, the Friars brought in Rick Barnes from George Mason University, partly based on the recommendation of Pitino. This was a risky decision, as Barnes only had one year's head coaching experience at George Mason.

Barnes first job was to repair the damage left over from last year's team. He convinced all the major returnees (Eric Murdock, Abdul Shamsid-Deen, Matt Palazzi, Carlton Screen and Daryl Wright) to stay with the program. Just as importantly, he convinced Conlon to return to the squad. In addition, Barnes brought in freshman Marques Bragg who would be a key part of the Friars the next few seasons.

When the season began the Friars started out on fire, winning their first thirteen games, including victories over UConn, Boston College, URI, and St. John's. After losing the next two games to Villanova and third ranked Georgetown, PC won four of their next six Big East contests before sliding at the end of the season, losing five straight (four to nationally ranked teams) to close out the regular season.

Sophomore Eric Murdock led the team in scoring, averaging 16.2 points per game. He was supported by Conlon (14.3 ppg), Palazzi (13.0 ppg), and Screen (11.5 ppg). Conlon led the Friars in rebounding at 7.2 rebounds per game.

PC finished with an 18-9 regular season record, and unfortunately, lost to the fifth ranked Syracuse Orangemen in the first round of the Big East Tournament by a score of 79-76.

Providence trailed by 12 with under five minutes left before mounting a furious comeback after Barnes picked up his first technical of the season. PC got to within one with 45 seconds remaining, but couldn’t get over the hump against a Syracuse team that improved to 26-6 with the win.

The Friars were then selected as a twelve seed in  the NCAA Tournament where they faced the University of Virginia in the Southeast region. In a wild game, PC lost to Virginia, 100-97. Conlon led the Friars in scoring with 21 points, while Palazzi added 19.

Leading into the game, Barnes made it known how unhappy he was that Providence drew a 12 seed. From the Washington Post just prior to the game:

“…Providence Coach Rick Barnes, has spent much of the past three days complaining about his team's No. 12 seeding in the Southeast regional. Thus, when the Friars and fifth-seeded Cavaliers take the court for their 8:07 p.m. showdown Thursday in Nashville, there will be a pair of bemused and somewhat irritated clubs staring at one another. Barnes' assaults on the draw sheet have been the game's leading story line since the first-year Friars coach laid his eyes on the brackets Sunday night. Barnes, who spent last season as George Mason's head coach, said he feels this contest is of at least second-round caliber -- and he certainly hasn't been shy about letting anyone in on his views.”

Virginia then had a favorable matchup in the second round, after Middle Tennessee State bounced fourth seed Florida State. After UVA won in the second round, the Cavaliers took out top seeded Oklahoma in the Sweet 16 before falling to eventual national champion Michigan in the Elite Eight.

Providence may have lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, but Barnes' mission as the first year head coach of the Friars was accomplished. PC was no longer on a downward spiral, and once again showed signs again of being relevant in the Big East Conference.

More importantly, Barnes had only begun to scratch the surface as a recruiter...