Friarblog

The Day: Dunn just 31 points shy of becoming NL’s career scoring leader

The game will be livestreamed by The Day tonight at 7PM, so check back here to watch.

It might happen again tonight at Norwich Free Academy in honor of Dunn’s latest bout with history.

Dunn is 31 points shy of breaking Tyson Wheeler’s career scoring record, which has stood since 1994.

“It would be an honor,” Dunn said Thursday. “I’ve met Tyson a few times. A really good person.”

ZagsBlog: Lavin Takes On Negative Recruiting

Surely Ed Cooley is busy trying to sell Providence, and not focusing on the health of Lavin (considering they are going after the exact same players).

“There’s an example, kind of proof in the pudding, whether I had cancer or not, it’s still such an attractive situation. We’re still able to sign top prospects and move our program forward.”Naturally in recruiting he’s going to hear from all the other schools, speculation, innuendo and rumors, so my inclination is to take that head on and just lay it out. We were able to convince Jamal that this was a great situation in spite of the fact that I’m currently recuperating from prostate cancer.

Lavin, 47, plans to sign five or six players from the Class of 2012 and has targeted decommits JaKarr Sampson and Ricardo Gathers, as well as forwards Chris Obekpa and Orlando Sanchez.

Friar Basketball: Point Guards Rule in Pitt’s Win over PC

The loss at Pittsburgh was troubling, but they are a solid team with their PG back, and hey, road games are pretty tough. The defense is starting to show some signs of regression/fatigue though.

Providence’s defense is springing leaks of late. After Marquette managed to shoot 9-11 from three point range, the Panthers connected on 11-20 and were a +24 from beyond the arc on the night. There’s no way Providence is digging out of a hole like that, no matter how easily they might have been able to score versus Pitt.

As was the case throughout the game against Marquette, Pittsburgh hurt PC early in transition, but that carried over into the halfcourt set as the game wore on, as Woodall routinely picked apart the Friars’ defense that let up 86 points a game after seeing Marquette hang 79 on them at home.

A week ago Providence was a top six defensive field goal percentage team in the Big East, but the past two games have been setbacks defensively.

Cox Sports Online: Providence College Likes New Hampton’s Jeremy Miller

The Friars offered a 2015 big man. Hopefully we can all hop in our flying cars and check him out at the Dunk.

A reclassified freshman, Miller has already attracted his fair share of high-major attention, and it is easy to see why as the young big man has a world of physical tools and natural basketball skill. His frame is long and agile, he runs and jumps with ease, and he has a soft touch that extends all the way out to the three-point line.

Given three plus years to develop at a program like New Hampton and Miller has a chance to be the latest New England prospect to contend for a high national ranking.

The Cowl: That’s Our Boy

The best part of this article? The “Marshon” reference in the subtitle. I honestly still can’t get used to MarShon.

At the end of his junior season, few scouts, if any, believed that Brooks would be able to excel as a professional, let alone be drafted in the first round. But during his final season in a Friars uniform, the long, lanky guard from Georgia elevated his game to a new level, becoming one of the nation’s elite scorers and catching the eyes of NBA scouts, one of which was New Jersey Nets General Manager Billy King.
Coming into the shortened, post-lockout season, the Nets were in desperate need of scoring. To fill this void, they acquired Brooks in a trade from the Boston Celtics on the night of the draft; so far, the Nets have gotten exactly what they were looking for.

ESPN: Rookie Watch: Biggest surprises (Insider)

Looks like he’s going to be a game time decision for tonight’s game as he deals with the sore Achilles.

MarShon Brooks, Nets
(Drafted No. 25; current rookie rank: No. 4)
Any time a rookie performs as well as Brooks has, it’s a surprise, even if he was the top pick in the draft. But what Brooks is doing as a late first-round pick is stunning.

Brooks’ scoring talent was obvious in college, but teams weren’t sure how it would transfer to the NBA since he’d be playing second fiddle to Deron Williams after playing like Jimmer Fredette at Providence (he had the ball in his hands all the time and could do whatever he wanted). But Brooks has proved to be many things for the Nets — an excellent weapon playing off of Williams, a great shot-creator on his own, a terrific finisher in the paint and as a midrange shooter, and a good 3-point specialist. Not only that, but he’s rebounding and defending his position like a veteran.

If he maintains this level of play, Brooks becomes a long-term solution as a starting shooting guard in the NBA. He’s a strong contender for rookie of the year honors and he looks like he can be the leading scorer of his team in the next few years. Right now, it looks like the Celtics will live to regret not drafting him and trading the pick to the Nets.

Coast 2 Coast Hoops: Chris Obekpa Talks About His Game

What do you think has improved most in your game since the season started?

Chris: I still play my game. People say I don’t have great offense but I don’t want to argue. I’m on a team with many scorers so I don’t battle for points, I do what I have to do and play great defense. Even if I score 0 points, It doesn’t matter as long as we got the win and I contributed to it. I also do a lot of rebounding. It’s the little things that add up to great results.