[providencefriars1Participant]

Providence Friars

 

Last year- 15-17 (4-14 conference)

Key losses- MarShon Brooks, Ray Hall, Duke Mondy, Dre Evans

Key additions- Kiwi Gardner, LaDontae Henton, Brice Kofane(redshirted 10-11)

Key returners- Vinny Council, Kadeem Batts, Gerard Coleman

 

PG- This is the only position that is set for PC, with Junior Vinny Council starting at the point and Freshman Kiwi Gardner as the backup. Council has decent size for a PG at 6’2’’ and is extremely quick and a terrific penetrator. He is also an above average outside shooter. But, his inconsistency and often erratic play makes him very turnover prone. His stats last year, 13.7ppg, 4.2rpg, 5.9apg, 3.3topg. Gardner is a tiny, 5’7’’ point guard who will probably be one of the first guys off the bench. Like Council he is extremely quick, but often plays out of control and commits too many turnovers. One potential problem is that new Coach Ed Cooley wants to slow the pace down a little bit to focus on defense, but Council and Gardner’s main skill is getting up and down in transition.

 

Wing players- The SG and SF position has the least depth out of all the positions for the Friars. After using three at once at all times last year they only have three on their entire roster this year. The most significant loss is obviously Marshon Brooks who averaged close to 25 points a game last year and all of the half court offense ran through him. Another huge loss is SG Duke Mondy who had two years of eligibility left, but was kicked out of school because of a mystery run in with the police. There have been many rumors on why he was removed, but the Providence Police department and PC have not released anything official regarding Mondy. He was their only spot shooter last year and came through with many clutch shots. Mondy was also their best defender and led the Big East in steals. Dre Evans was another 3pt specialist who is now transferring and was sparingly used last year. The 6’4’’ Gerard Coleman returns and will be one of the main scorers. The sophomore averaged 10ppg last year, but cannot shoot jumpshots or drive right. We will see pretty early if he addressed that in the offseason. He also has great defensive potential with his long wingspan. Sophomore Bryce Cotton is another interesting wing player. He is super athletic but struggles to shoot consistently. Cotton defends extremely well, but is only 6’0’’ which is pretty small for a 2 guard. Lastly on the wing is freshman LaDontae Henton. Henton has a man’s body at 6’6’’ 230 but struggles mightily in the half court because of his lack of ball handling and a reliable perimeter stroke. He like many Friar’s thrive in transition, but struggle in the halfcourt.

 

Bigs- Last year Providence mostly played with one big at a time, Kadeem Batts or Bilal Dixon, but this year they will need to use two. This position has tons of depth but the least amount of game experience. Batts, who is now a sophomore logged most of his time at the 5 last year and he will be their main post scoring threat once again this year. He has the ability to step out and hit the three ball as well, making him even more dangerous. His 6’9’’ 250 frame is also a plus. Junior Bilal Dixon took a step backward in his development last year, but he is a good rebounder. He has a hard time scoring and is a terrible jump shooter even though he will try to take 18 footers once or twice a game. Ron Giplaye will also get some minutes in the frontcourt. The sophomore is an excellent rebounder and is always hustling and active around the ball. Giplaye was often too much of a liability to play extended minutes last year since he is an atrocious offensive player and fouls at an alarming rate on defense. Like Henton he has a man’s body and should provide solid depth at the 4 and 5. Brice Kofane is another member of the Providence front court. Kofane redshirted last year and is rumored to be the fastest player on the team according to one article in the Providence Journal newpaper. He is a long athletic shot blocker but is pretty raw offensively. He should help them out immediately defensively though. And finally, sophomore Lee Goldsbrough. Goldsbrough is a 6’9 face up 4 whose best asset is his jumpshot. He struggled the most out of any player last year and many fans even ones who watch most of the games thought he was a walk-on. Hopefully he will be able to contribute this year. The only player that left from the frontcourt was Ray Hall who was used for his 7’0’’ 285 body in a reserve role last year.

 

Overview- Providence will struggle this year especially with the losses of Mondy and Brooks, but Ed Cooley is committed to turn this program around through defense. Council, Coleman, and Batts will be the best players this year, but if Cotton and Dixon step up they could make the NIT. Only having 10 players on scholarship will hurt, but there are no seniors on the roster which leaves three spots for 2012 recruits. Friar fans will be crossing their fingers for Ricardo Ledo to recommit but I doubt that will happen. I will predict a 14^th place finish in the Big East.

 

Projected lineup + Stats

 

PG V.Council   14.3ppg   3.4rpg   6.2apg

SG B.Cotton   7.8ppg   3.0rpg   1.2spg

SF G.Coleman   15.1ppg   3.7rpg   1.5spg

PF K.Batts   13.7ppg   6.8rpg   38%3ptfg

C B.Dixon   7.5ppg   8.7rpg   2.0bpg

 

B1 K.Gardner   5.4ppg   2.9apg   1spg

B2 R. Giplaye   3.2ppg   5.4rpg   1.5turnovers

B3 B. Kofane   4.1ppg   2.5rpg   2.2bpg

B4 L.Henton   1.9ppg   1.1rpg   0.5turnovers

B5 L.Goldsbrough   1.2ppg   0.3rpg   33%3ptfg

 

[providencefriars1Participant]

Ya I guess there’s not much to talk about with one of the worst teams in the Big East

[providencefriars1Participant]

Ya I guess there’s not much to talk about with one of the worst teams in the Big East

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