Look for the Friars to get back on track this afternoon in Chicago. I think Kadeem Batts and LaDontae Henton will have strong days with Cleveland Melvin sitting out again because a of violation of team rules. The key for PC will be to not get into a hole early and the best way to do that is shoot better than 18%.
The line opened at PC -3.5 and has since moved to PC -5. My numbers (numbers don’t include home court and similar intangibles) have PC as about an 8 point favorite.
Here are a couple of good previews to check out ahead of the game tonight which can be seen on Cox TV in RI, streaming online at Friars All-Access ($) or heard WEEI 850 AM
Providence: Not to be overly harsh, but it felt like the undermanned Friars were due for a mild regression. They were dreadful in the first half of a 61-50 loss at Marquette, which isn’t the sort of defeat that should damage Providence but will remind Ed Cooley’s team that it isn’t likely to sleepwalk past most of its remaining opponents.
On Tuesday night, Isaiah Briscoe announced that he is adding Providence and Gonzaga to his list which already includes Arizona, Baylor, UConn, Florida, Florida State, Indiana, Miami, Michigan, Ohio State, Pitt, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Syracuse, UCLA, UVA. Did the list give away that this kid is a special talent? He’s currently ranked as the 20th best player in the entire class of 2015 and the 7th best Shooting Guard in the class by ESPN and Briscoe is ranked 17th overall in the class by Rivals. He does have good enough ball skills to play PG at the next level but his primary value is as a scorer. Eric Bossi of Rivals called him “one of the most explosive scorers in the class of 2015.” Briscoe is listed at 6’3 and 200 lbs and ESPN says he “is physically ahead of his peers…already cut and powerful.” It’s interesting that PC is making a run for Briscoe since they are putting their full court press on 2015 SG Donovan Mitchell but a talent like Briscoe is a talent you can’t pass up on. Based on the quotes from Craig Belhumeur’s article, Briscoe doesn’t exactly seem that warm on PC.
Speaking of Craig’s article, the other PC recruit in that game on Wednesday night at St. Peter’s was 2014 PG Tarin Smith. I’ll continue to beat the drum for PC officially offering this kid. Hall of Fame coach, Bob Hurley, said that Smith is #1 in his class and has already been admitted to Penn and Princeton. In watching Smith play on SNY in the SNY Invitational last weekend, I came away thinking that he would be a great depth/prospect recruit to go along with Kris Dunn and maybe another guard or two that PC would look to bring in for the 2014 class.
Jalen Adams (2015) received an offer from Kansas this week after they watched him play at the Hoophall Classic in Springfield. In a recent Scout.com article, Adams said of the offer “I love it and [I’m] pumped that they are recruiting me and I want to get up there and check it out.” When asked which schools were recruiting him the hardest, Adams listed Uconn, Minnesota, Kansas and Creighton. It seems pretty clear PC is putting all their 2015 eggs in the Donovan Mitchell basket at the moment.
PC continues to be on the prowl for 2014 guards and a new name appeared this week in the form of a Canadian point guard – Kadeem Smithen
More on the 2014 guard front, PC watched Floridian combo guard Richard Lee who seems to have more interest than offers at the moment but the interest is from Northwestern, Alabama, George Mason, Murray State and Virginia Tech. He seems like the kind of guy who could solidify his status as the Spring goes on and teams become more desperate for the services of mid-high major type guards.
PC was out watching 2015 Shooting Guard Arkel Ager-Lamar of St. Joseph’s HS (Trumbull, CT) along with UConn. He transferred to St. Joe’s from Shaker Heights, Ohio and was only recently cleared to practice and play with the Cadets. The 6’6 wing plays his AAU ball with Expressions Elite. Ager-Lamar visited PC unofficially on October 23rd and has interest from a few other Big East programs including St. John’s and Creighton. He also attended UConn’s Midnight Madness the week before visiting PC ahead of theirs.
In other news, JaQuan Lyle is taking an official visit to Oregon this weekend. I wonder if he’ll discuss PC with Joe Young and Brandon Austin?
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