Tag Archives: Friars

#pcbb On: Providence’s Out of Conference Schedule for 2014-2015

It’s officially the offseason now. March Madness has come and gone. Connecticut is the national champion.

The focus for fans now turns heavily to recruiting, discussing potential starters/lineups for their team next season, how many minutes and points per game and rebounds per game, etc. a kid they have never seen play before will have and, finally, who they will be playing out of conference (OOC). For Providence, recruiting means filling out their remaining 2 spots for the 2014 class with a focus on 5th year transfers and junior college players who can contribute immediately next season. Potential starters/lineups likely can’t be determined for the Friars until they have another guard in hand for 2014 and at some point in the coming weeks, I’ll enter the fray on that discussion with my own thoughts on that topic. For now though, my focus is on the OOC schedule that PC has lined up for next season.

As I mentioned in my piece reviewing the Big East’s first season with the current configuration, one of the big keys for maintaining the strength of this updated version of the Big East is for teams to play a strong OOC schedule. The reality is that most years won’t provide the opportunity to play a top 25 ranked opponent every week like the prior version of this conference did many years. My guess is that most years there will be about 2-3 teams in the top 25 with the potential for a great year having 50% of the league ranked. The 2013-2014 season saw the Big East have an OOC strength of schedule ranked 7th in the country. They likely need to be top 5 every year in that category. Things are off to a solid start with Creighton reportedly having agreed to a home and home series with Oklahoma beginning in Omaha next season. Also, it was reported over the weekend that St. John’s and Duke will restart their series on January 31, 2015 at Madison Square Garden after a two year hiatus. The Johnnies also will head to the Carrier Dome this season to take on former conference rival Syracuse in December 2014.

providence live rpi stats after 2014
RPI Forecast

Continue reading #pcbb On: Providence’s Out of Conference Schedule for 2014-2015

#pcbb Links of the Day 4/21/14

Watch PC Lacrosse Online Streaming 12pm vs. Denver

Click here for the live stream via Cox on Campus. It’s Senior Day at PC as the Friars host #3 Denver:

http://info.coxsportsonline.com/cox-on-campus

#pcbb Weekly Recruiting Update 4/18/14

  • The Northeast Hoops Festival was played last weekend in Hanover, MA. ESPN’s Adam Finkelstein recapped the event and mentioned a few PC recruits that were there. On 2015 Cheick Diallo: “[the] combination of sheer size and talent is obviously staggering, but equally impressive is the…motor..as..[he] play[s] tremendously hard on both ends of the floor.” On 2015 Jarred Reuter: “This was as good as Brewster Academy and New England Playaz big man Jarred Reuter has looked in quite some time. He logged major minutes to showcase his improved conditioning, was as assertive as he’s ever been going to the rim and seems to be figuring out how to best utilize his wide and powerful frame to create space and cause mismatch problems.” On 2017 Makai Ashton-Langford: “recently reclassified Makai Ashton-Langford (Mass Rivals) solidified [himself] as [one] of the best point guard prospects the Northeast region has in the 2017 class.” On 2017 Tomas Murphy: “ew England Playaz forward Tomas Murphy wasn’t necessarily at his best after missing time during the high school season with injury, but there wasn’t another ninth-grader who made as many plays that translate to the next level, as he combined jump hooks over both shoulders with rhythm 3s.”
  • The So-Cal Hoop Review was played last weekend. ESPN’s Joel Francisco mentions some of the elite players in the field. PC recruit 2015 Bennie Boatwright is mentioned under the “Best Shooters” category by Francisco:

Bennie Boatwright 
2015, PF, 6-8, 210 pounds 

Boatwright is a gawky 4 who is still growing and could reach 6-10. His jump shot is smooth and his range is around 25 feet. He isn’t overly bouncy or quick and he struggles handling the ball against pressure. In addition, he needs to learn to affect the game more consistently in rebounding and defense. 

  • Paschal Chukwu will be playing in the Jordan Brand Classic Regional game today at 4:30pm at the Barclays Center. To see the full roster of players in this game, click here. There are a good amount of future Big East players that will play so if you are in the area, it might be worthwhile to skip out of work and head to the Barclays Center for this one.
  • Kyron Cartwright is expected to sign his National Letter of Intent with PC today.. The Spring signing period began on April 16th and goes through May 21st.
  • Devonte Graham has named his final 5 and PC made the cut. He has scheduled 3 visits already and he hasn’t been clear on whether he will take all 5 visits. It looks like NC State will be tough to beat but I’ll never count Ed Cooley out. The visits that are planned so far are to Kansas (April 18-19), N.C. State (April 20-21) and Virginia (April 25-26).

https://twitter.com/im_dat_kid_dtae/status/456243835048587265

 

Continue reading #pcbb Weekly Recruiting Update 4/18/14

#pcbb Links of the Day 4/18/14

#pcbb Links of the Day 4/12/14

#pcbb Weekly Recruiting Update 4/11/14

  • PC received some good recruiting news minutes after the final buzzer sounded in Dallas on the 2013-2014 season Monday night – Kyron Cartwright announced he was going to be a Friar next season. His commitment adds more depth to the point guard position for PC next season. Kris Dunn was the only point guard on the roster and coming off a second shoulder surgery it was crucial for Ed Cooley to have some insurance. To read more about Cartwright’s commitment and some quotes from him, click the links below.

2014 PG Kyron Cartwright Commits to Providence

Quotes from New 2014 PC Commit Kyron Cartwright

  • More interesting recruiting news came about on Tuesday this week when coveted 2014 point guard Devonte’ Graham announced on Twitter that he got a release from his National Letter of Intent to App State by new coach, Jim Fox. Graham is now officially one of the best available players left on the board in 2014 after having a break out year under Jason Smith at Brewster Academy. A number of high majors are involved and have already spoken to Graham since his release. Thursday night had Cooley joined by Nebraska’s Tim Miles and Virginia’s Tony Bennett at Brewster for a workout. Friday it will be Kansas’ Bill Self along with coaches from Cincinnati, Florida and Virginia Tech. Graham would be a great fit at PC because of his shooting and playmaking abilities but the competition is obviously stiff. Ed Cooley and Providence has a legit chance with Graham and will likely be one of the teams on his final list before deciding.

https://twitter.com/im_dat_kid_dtae/status/453971383832559616

Continue reading #pcbb Weekly Recruiting Update 4/11/14