Providence game thread
- Thread starter mjmaherjr
- Start date
Wonder what Nuri is thinking this morning. He should eat his heart out. That was one happy bunch of kids out there. Great to see Rico Hines up and coaching in this one. Dunlap tends to hide in the corner but he obviously knows what he's doing. Wouldn't be surprised if this one expedited Lavin's return somewhat. One thing a friend pointed out was that none of the coaches were out there for warmups and the players were pretty much making it up as they went along. Last year they looked like a well drilled, prepared team. Last night they looked downright blase before the festivities. I'd have bet against them until the tipoff. Unfortunately without depth players build up some big stats (see Omar Cook) and the NBA comes calling. I suspect Lavin will need quite a few recruits next year.but if they turn out like these guys that's fine.
Coaster1955
Member
Another "welcome to the BE, Ed Cooley" moment was in the 2nd half, where, on a fast-break, Stith appeared to over-throw pass to Harrison (I think) on the wing, and ball went out of bounds. During the ensuing timeout, SJU assistants asked refs about it. Refs talked it over, and agreed it was tipped by a Prov player, and rfeversed the call. When play resumed, it was SJU ball. Except no one bothered to tell Cooley. He stood on the sidelines with hands upraised, as it to say "what the heck just happened?" It was priceless.
Ha! Good for you. I was thinking the very same thing but being way over on the other side, I don't think Cooley would have heard me yell.
Last night was a rather shocking welcome to Cooley to Big East play.
Interesting identification of turning points in the game (sorry. lost the Providence publication reference for the source on this store computer):
1. PC fumbles away the start: The last thing the Friars wanted to do was give a young team confidence and energy early, but that's just what they did in turning the ball over four times in the opening two minutes. The result? A 9-2 St. John's edge, but more importantly an increased level of confidence for a team of freshmen who had to be wondering how much different a Big East contest would feel.
The hot start led to St. John's playing loose and shooting with renewed confidence from three (four players on the worst three point shooting team in the league hit at least two from distance), while the rattled Friars were left to play catch-up all night.
2. Failing to close the half: Once trailing 19-6, Providence had hung around and gotten it to 26-16 with seven minutes to play in the first half. After such a horrible start, closing to with six at the intermission would have given PC the momentum back heading into the locker room.
St. John's wouldn't have it. They scored 11 of the game's next 15 points, pushing their lead to 17 with just over four minutes to go. Providence was never in it from there.
3. Slow out of the gates: After surrendering a whopping 47 first half points, Providence trailed by 16 at the half. Vincent Council tried to spark an early run, scoring the first two baskets of the second half to cut the lead to 12, yet the Red Storm countered with a 7-1 run to push the lead back to 17 points.
1. PC fumbles away the start: The last thing the Friars wanted to do was give a young team confidence and energy early, but that's just what they did in turning the ball over four times in the opening two minutes. The result? A 9-2 St. John's edge, but more importantly an increased level of confidence for a team of freshmen who had to be wondering how much different a Big East contest would feel.
The hot start led to St. John's playing loose and shooting with renewed confidence from three (four players on the worst three point shooting team in the league hit at least two from distance), while the rattled Friars were left to play catch-up all night.
2. Failing to close the half: Once trailing 19-6, Providence had hung around and gotten it to 26-16 with seven minutes to play in the first half. After such a horrible start, closing to with six at the intermission would have given PC the momentum back heading into the locker room.
St. John's wouldn't have it. They scored 11 of the game's next 15 points, pushing their lead to 17 with just over four minutes to go. Providence was never in it from there.
3. Slow out of the gates: After surrendering a whopping 47 first half points, Providence trailed by 16 at the half. Vincent Council tried to spark an early run, scoring the first two baskets of the second half to cut the lead to 12, yet the Red Storm countered with a 7-1 run to push the lead back to 17 points.
JackofVirginia
Active member
The gym had to be scolding hot; Cooley looked as if he was in a sauna.
The only disturbing stat of the night was the fact that DP did not have a single rebound. I know he may be a tad undersized and I doubt the staff expected him to start this season but he must get 4-5 boards a game if we are to be competitive in BE play.
Love the fact that our freshman pg had 12 points and went 2 of 3 from deep, with 2 assists and 2 steals against 3 turnovers. Far better than the 11.9 points per game Nuri was averaging with few assists and far too many turnovers.
Love the fact that our freshman pg had 12 points and went 2 of 3 from deep, with 2 assists and 2 steals against 3 turnovers. Far better than the 11.9 points per game Nuri was averaging with few assists and far too many turnovers.
Agreed and I do love his intensity but for the team to be successful he needs to get a few boards.
No backlash at all CR, in 9 games averaging almost 30 minutes a game he had 26 assists, with 9 coming in the UMBC game, leaving 17 assists over the 8 other games ( average of 2.12 assists per game ) with 37 turnovers in those 9 games. I was sick when I read that Nuri quit the team but I love how PG is rising to the challenge. Furthermore the team chemistry does appear to be better.
Chemistry appears much better with Greene and Harrison sharing the backcourt and Stith filling in important minutes. I actually like the combo of Greene and Harrison a lot. Both athletic slashers and both can score. Lindsey is gone, yet Harrison earns 7 assists last game. Chemistry appears a lot better overall. Don't know if it's because Lindsey isn't in the lineup, but I'm fins with what we are running with now. Having both our guards capable of making outside shots certainly causes more problems for defenses.
Yes, and we have not had this kind of offensive firepower in years (maybe since Barkley, Artest et al).