Tag Archives: Louisville

Links of the Day

#pcbb Links of the Day 8/8/14

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Recruiting News

2015 Guard Donovan Mitchell Commits to Louisville

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Well this one hurts. There really isn’t much else a coaching staff can do when recruiting a player. Ed Cooley followed Donovan Mitchell around like a shadow beginning in April 2012. When Mitchell broke his wrist last spring the Providence staff still sat and watched Mitchell’s team play while he sat on the bench in street clothes. These guys were serious about Donovan Mitchell and they were the first. Unfortunately they weren’t the last. Mitchell’s huge July this year led to a lot of attention both from the national recruiting media and some blue blood programs.

In the end it’s hard to blame Mitchell for choosing Louisville. They have had a lot of team success including a national championship in 2012 and have a recent history of developing NYC guards. Maybe we all weren’t listening when Mitchell repeatedly talked about wanting a big school or maybe we just wanted to believe he would change his mind and choose the tight knit family atmosphere that Ed Cooley and his staff have worked hard to develop. He told Scout.com’s Evan Daniels “I’m needed here and I love it.” Well he certainly was needed in Friartown but will be heading to Louisville next fall.

Check out Donovan Mitchell’s Friar Crystal Ball page here.

Follow me on Twitter @pcbb1917

Recruiting News

Donovan Mitchell Trims List to Final 5

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Donovan Mitchell initially said he would cut his list down further at the end of August from the 10 he tweeted out on July 31st.

He must have done a lot of thinking over the last few days because he has already cut the 10 down to 5.

https://twitter.com/spidadmitchell/status/496096893995200512

Mitchell is scheduled to take an unofficial visit to Villanova on August 4th followed by an official visit to Louisville August 7th-8th.

Perhaps this can be seen as good news for Providence fans as maybe the September decision is still in the cards. The sentiment in Friartown is that the longer it takes for Mitchell to decide, the worse it is for Providence’s chances. After having blown up during July some blue bloods got involved but Kansas and Indiana didn’t make the cut which surprises me. Mitchell spoke highly of Norm Roberts (Kansas) and mentioned he wanted to visit Indiana.

Of the schools in the final 5, Mitchell has visited or will have visited all 5 by August 8th so maybe a decision is closer than it appears.

Check out Donovan Mitchell’s Friar Crystal Ball page here.

Follow me on Twitter @pcbb1917

Recruiting News

Donovan Mitchell Cuts List

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Donovan Mitchell told Scout.com that he has cut his list to a top 10. He then tweeted that list:

https://twitter.com/spidadmitchell/status/494847100442918912

It shouldn’t be surprising to see Providence make the cut as Ed Cooley and his staff have been recruiting Mitchell as a priority recruit in 2015 for over a year and haven’t missed a single one of his AAU games over the last 2 years – even when he was injured. Scout.com’s Evan Daniels tweeted earlier in the week the Mitchell will visit Villanova on August 4th and Louisville on August 8th. Daniels also recently wrote: “No player improved his stock in July more than Wolfeboro (N.H.) Brewster Academy standout Donovan Mitchell.”

In a recent interview with Corey Evans of HoopsIntel.com, Mitchell had this to say about Providence: “Providence has been there for two years and it is very appealing. I just want to be able to enjoy the coaching staff, which I do with Coach Cooley. It is a great school for basketball and great school in general.” So there’s still hope in Friartown. Mitchell also told Evans that he will look to cut his list down from 10 to 5 at the end of August.

Continue reading Donovan Mitchell Cuts List →

Kadeem Batts, Player News

Kadeem Batts: As He Goes, So Goes Providence #pcbb

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This season has sort of been a microcosm of Kadeem Batts’ career. He has been up and down. When he is up, PC usually wins. When he is down, PC usually loses. The numbers bear it out.

This Season When Providence Wins
Points/game Rebounds/game FG %/game FT %/game
13.8 7.9 47% 80%
This Season When Providence Loses
Points/game Rebounds/game FG %/game FT %/game
7.5 6.8 24% 54%

Batts decided to return to Providence this year for his 5th year after receiving his Bachelor’s Degree in May 2013. Once that was confirmed, he and Bryce Cotton were immediately deemed to be the leaders for next year’s team. Cotton is more of a lead by example guy but Batts is more vocal and expressive. You can usually tell how he’s feeling by just looking at him.

This has served him well at times.

And not so well at others.

A pattern has emerged.

If Batts is involved and aggressive early in games, he usually plays well. If he isn’t involved and isn’t aggressive early, he tends to get down and it affects his play at both ends. One positive potential change in that pattern occurred on Saturday at DePaul. Batts was not looking good on the offensive end. He missed a few shots within 5 feet and couldn’t seem to get in a rhythm. In the past, this is the kind of thing that would have taken him totally out of the game and resulted in foul trouble and/or a lack of effort on the defensive end. And yet, Batts managed to contribute to the game in other ways. He grabbed 9 rebounds, blocked 2 shots and took a charge late in the game, all while only managing 4 points.

Hopefully that was a preview of a new and improved Kadeem Batts for this 2nd half of conference play stretch run that PC embarks on tonight.

Yesterday he tweeted:

PC fans, no matter if they get frustrated at his poor play at times in some games, are with Kadeem. We know that in order for this team to get to the ultimate goal of their first appearance in the NCAA tournament since the 2003-2004 season, Kadeem Batts needs to be more like the guy who had 27 and 10 against Louisville in 2012 and the guy who had 27 and 12 against Seton Hall in 2013 and the guy who had 14 and 17 against Butler 2 weeks ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsO7oTu1E4M

This is the last ride for Kadeem.  He knows it. He is motivated. In order for he and the Friars to get to the Dance, they need Kadeem to be aggressive and play like he did against St. John’s the first time. They need Kadeem to play like the Senior leader who is fighting for his legacy as a Providence Friar. They need Kadeem play like this: