So I was a little MIA for the final weekend of the BIG EAST regular season, and it appears I didn’t miss much.  From what I have been reading about the SHU game on Saturday night, it was a flat performance and a subdued atmosphere at the DUNK.  With the Friars finishing up at 4-14 in the BIG EAST, they get the #15 seed and the right to rematch Seton Hall on Tuesday night at 7PM at Madison Square Garden.  Let’s start to get back into the final week of PC basketball season with a few links.

BigEast.org: 2010 BIG EAST Tournament Bracket

2010 Tournament Bracket

FriarBasketball.net: Gerard Coleman wins MVP as his team wins NEPSAC Class B Championship!

We may have lost 10 games in a row and counting, but at least we have some good news from one of our incoming players.

Coleman wins the Class B title for the second time in two years and takes home the MVP in 2010 after a 20 point finale (15 in the first half).  This game was not vintage Gerard though, as Marianapolis played a zone, negating his slashing drives to the basket.  He struggled to get his outside shot going, scoring a majority of his points in transition.

Stub Hub: Looking for Tickets for PC-SHU?

You’ll probably pay around $20-25, and you’ll also get access to the 9PM game of Rutgers and Cincy.

Friars.com: Final Keno Davis Radio Show Of Season To Air Monday At P.J. Clarke’s

This is part of the BIG EAST fundraiser event at P.J. Clarkes (55th st. in NYC).  The minimum donation to attend the event is $500.

The final Keno Davis Radio Show of the season airs Monday, March 8 at 7:00 p.m. live from P.J. Clarke’s in New York City. Located at 205 E 55th Street, the show takes place on the eve of the 2010 BIG EAST Championship.

Projo: Awful finish leaves URI and PC down in the dumps

The other reason the Friars carried some disappointment into their practice Sunday night was the news that leading scorer and rebounder Jamine Peterson did not make any of the three all-league teams. Instead, he was one of three players who were tossed honorable mentions. Peterson certainly deserved more respect based on his statistics. He recorded eight double-doubles in Big East games and finished fourth in scoring (19 ppg.) and second in rebounding (10.0).

YouTube: PC-Pitt Finish

You may have noticed (like commenter Bob who called me a “joke” haha) that I didn’t post anything after the Pitt heartbreak.  Well, let’s just say that I couldn’t bring myself to post anything on Thursday night.  After a long 3-day weekend away from the computer, it was probably best I couldn’t watch or follow the SHU game (hence no updates for several days).

I know this hurts to watch, but someone posted the last play on YouTube, so here ya go.

FriarBasketball.net: Year 2 Blues

So we know this year has been a big pile of suck so far.  Do you remember that it was even WORSE in year 2 of Timmy Welsh?  I didn’t remember either, because I was a sophomore in Aquinas Hall studying the effects of Busch Lite amongst an entire floor of lunatics (2 SOUTH 4EVA!).  Well, things got better right after that horrendous 11-19 season.

A year later that team was in the tournament after shooting 44% from the field and 40% from 3 as a team, scoring an amazing 17 more points per game in conference play than they did a year before.  No one saw it coming.

Two freshman who couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn turned into reliable shooters as sophomores, two late signees from overseas helped, and John Linehan went from a 23% 3 point shooter in his last full season (played only 6 games the previous season) to a 44% shooter from 3 in the tournament year.

Go Friars: Wright’s Decision Opens Up Scholarship

With Kyle Wright opting to focus on graduating (good for him!), Keno and staff have a big decision coming up on what to do with that open schollie.

The most obvious option is to look to sign the best available player.  ESPN listed a few possibilities in their rumor section today including Kadeem Jack (an athletic 6′8″ power forward from Rice High School in NY), Jon Horford (a more skilled and versatile, but less athletic, 6′8″ forward from Grand Ledge High School in Michigan), and Joel “Air Jamaica” Wright (another forward and New York native with explosive athleticism who was previously committed to Fordham).

Friars.com: Keno Davis Radio Show Returns March 1 At The Abbey

Even though they changed the name to the Abbey when I was a senior at PC, it will always be “Gravity” in my heart.  You know what else is in my heart?  Over a thousand wings I consumed at 25 cent wing day at Gravity during my 4 years.  I still dream about those wings.

The Keno Davis Radio Show returns on Monday, March 1 at 7:00 p.m. live from The Abbey, located at 686 Admiral Street in Providence, R.I. The show will air live on 103.7 WEEI FM from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and will be hosted by the voice of the Friars John Rooke.

Jim Donaldson: Q&A as to Y PC plays no D

LETTERS! I see what you did there

Do they lack athleticism? Are they too slow? Not quick enough? Not big enough? Not strong enough?

Duke Mondy is on Twitter!

He joins Vincent Council as the only Friar players on there

In civ drawin pic’s lol!

That’s more than I ever did in CIV!

BIG EAST Highlight You Must See: Marquette OT Buzzer Beater Against St. John’s

Wow, guess the Johnnie’s really don’t want that 13th seed (or don’t want to play the 2PM BET game).

BigEast.org Mid-Year Report

If you do only one thing for me today, IT’S VOTE FOR VINCENT COUNCIL FOR ROOKIE OF THE YEAR!!  Obviously, we fans do not determine the eventual winner, but we gotta get word out now. If order is any indication of where they think the race currently stands, here it is

Lance Stephenson

Vincent Council

Brandon Triche

Maalik Wayns

Alex Oriakhi

Here is Vincent Council’s highlight video they show with the voting. They show him during the Marquette game, which was his best offensive output (and which helped him win BE Rookie of the Week). It’s a damn shame they didn’t put in any of his numerous no look / awesome dishes though. Note: give the vid a sec, it should eventually load (if you have Microsoft Silverlight)

We are even listed under upset of the year (vs. UConn). Don’t think that will hold up.

If the BIG EAST Tournament Started Today

HOLY SH*% WE’D PLAY ST. JOHN’S!  Problem is, the tournament starts after we might lose 6 or 7 more games, putting us further down the standings. However with the new format that they started last year, no teams in that first round would particularly scare me.

You Stay Classy, West Virginia

Good thing we are playing them at the DUNK.

With 12:40 remaining, [Darryl] Bryant collided with Pitt’s Ashton Gibbs near halfcourt and was called for traveling by Michael Stephens in front of the student section. The students responded with their juvenile chant aimed at Stephens and then followed that with juvenile behavior and threw T-shirts, plastic bottles and other debris onto the court.

Pitt assistant coach Tom Herrion was struck in the face below his left eye by what those on the Pitt bench said was a quarter. The officials had no choice but to call a technical on West Virginia this time.

National Prep School Invitational Preview

FriarBasketball.net has the lowdown of what players to keep an eye on for this big national tournament starting today.  Our future Friar Ron Giplaye will be playing, as well as many PC targets.

The University of Rhode Island will once again serve as host to one of the best prep tournaments in the country this weekend.  The four day tournament (February 4-7) features some of the top prep talent in the country and several Providence targets.

RICKY LEDO VIDEOS

One of those top players at the National Prep School Invitational is Rhode Island’s Ricky Ledo.  His buddy sent me over some new videos of the sophomore in action.   Ledo is currently ranked #22 overall by ESPN in the 2012 class, and is most likely high on Keno Davis’ list.

Rivals Providence Team Report

Nothing terribly exciting here, but a good catchup if you missed the last week

The Providence ship is taking on water.

The schedule isn’t helping.

Aye Aye Captain

Potential Impact of Providence’s 2010 Class

We know Gerard Coleman and Joseph Young are supposed to really really good.  But how much can we expect them to produce next year as freshman?

While Coleman and Young have put up huge scoring numbers at the prep and high school levels, scoring over 12.3 ppg next season would place either of them in the top 3 in the history of Providence basketball.  Only two freshman in PC history have scored over 13 ppg, Ryan Gomes in 2002 (13.8) and John Arzoomanian in 1945 (19.7).

Some guy named Cashmere torches Friars

The Truth About PC Basketball gives us a recap of the Cincinnati loss

Speaking of rebounding, Ray Hall snagged three boards. The Ostrogoth is coming back. It’s only a matter of time before he’s putting up a quadruple double while demonstrating the duality of his life by painting a watercolor portrait of Chewbacca.

Rivals.com Providence Team Report

Knowing that defense is important isn’t the issue. The team talks about it before and after every game, but once it takes the court it lets its offense do the talking instead.

When it does that, it gets games like the one over the weekend against the Bearcats. Providence made nine of its first 10 shots, but meanwhile Cincinnati was hitting its first six shots to stay in the game. It couldn’t shake the Bearcats, and when it cooled down, the home team took the lead.

2010 NCAA Men’s Basketball Rankings (Feb. 1)

Oh look, our GAUNTLET looks just that much harder with Villanova #2 and Syracuse #3.  Hooray!

Source: March Madness With 96 Teams ‘Done Deal’

This is an awful awful idea if it’s true.  Think we can see 12+ teams from the BIG EAST?  I’ve been wanting to see PC make the tournament again so badly, but this isn’t how I wanted to do it.

Sources at ESPN and inside the administration at a powerhouse NCAA basketball school told me today that the NCAA basketball tournament going to 96 teams is a “done deal.”

All I can think of is this:

NCAA Expands March Madness To Include 4,096 Teams @ Yahoo! Video

Keno vs Timmy Two Years In

I know some of you Friar fans have probably blocked out the last 10 seasons out of your head, but here is the inevitable comparison of Keno Davis and former coach Tim Welsh in terms of recruiting.  Ah, Primetime.

Shockingly, in hindsight, one of the most credible recruiting sources at the time, Hoop Scoop, ranked this class the 8th best in the country.

The results were less than stellar on the court and even worse off of it.  Failing to meet expectations, Wade and Murray did not contribute in year 1 and were gone after pummeling a classmate over a bar room (if you can call Prime Time a bar room) disagreement.  Jefferson showed flashes, but transferred, Jarrell-Wright did the same and the four hold overs: Mills, Augustin, Shabazz and Rogers helped savage the class by all playing critical roles on the 2001 NCAA Tournament team.

NBE BIG EAST Power Poll and Notebook

Providence at #14 now.  Hey, at least we are above DePaul and Rutgers.  Vincent Council also gets some props as their Freshman of the Week.

El Foldo Grande

I know some of you have also blocked out the events of Saturday night out.  Well, the Providence Scout game article was free this time, so check it out if you are interested to see what you are missing out on by not being a subscriber.

There isn’t a whole lot of value in dissecting how Providence failed to execute and pull out the win. Had USF’s last second three not gone down giving the Friars the win, many would have said that the team would have learned more from a painful loss. The reason for that is the sorry state of Providence’s defense.

Keno Davis Blog Post: The Second Half of the Season

A tad more positive spin on his thoughts on the team than in the press conference after the game.

Although we will be underdogs in both games I am looking forward to seeing our team respond from a tough loss. There is no better opportunity to come together and motivate ourselves than when we face adversity.  It is my belief that we will look back at the experiences from the beginning of this season, as a time that was necessary for us to have consistent success in the Big East for years to come

OT loss leaves PC hoopsters in a flux

I hate to beat this to a pulp, but here is another article that didn’t make the game recap that talks about the loss

Davis has instilled into his players a sense that the only way to win is by outscoring foes. Hinging on such a philosophy may hold such merit in summer leagues, but trading baskets and hoping at the end of 40 minutes that you’re the team with the most points on the scoreboard doesn’t appear a winning recipe, especially when you reside in the rough-and-rumble Big East.

Ricky Ledo Youtube Dunk

I’ve mentioned Ricky here a few times, but he is the best player in Rhode Island for the class of 2012, and high on Keno Davis’ recruiting list (most likely a long shot, but gotta go after the big boys!).

Check out this dunk uploaded by one of his buddies last week.  This kid is a sophomore?!

Council Commitment Looks Pretty Good Now

You think? Just joshing. Adam Finkelstein of the New England Recruiting Report talks about how Keno hit big with under the radar recruit Vincent Council.

It goes to show that recruiting is about more than just selling your school and your program to the highest ranked players, it’s about evaluating talent, finding the right fit for your system, and then developing the players you bring in…and with all that in mind there weren’t many commitments more important in the Big East last year than Vincent Council to Providence.

Gerard Coleman’s Journey to Providence: Part II

It’s seems that every day there is more and more good news coming from our future Friars.  FriarBasketball.net spoke with Gerard Coleman, and this will make you even more excited (if it’s possible).  According to the author on a messageboard, HE IS THE ANT-BREW!! If that doesn’t get you amped, nothing will!

“I had been to the campus two or three times before I visited again in June and I just got a really good vibe walking arond there.  Walking around campus, I could just see myself there,” Coleman told FriarBasketball.  “Keno Davis graduates 95% of his players, which was important to me.  One day the basketball is going to stop bouncing.”

Rhode Island 2012 Rankings Announced

Let’s hope lil’ Ricky still likes Providence!  With all the recruiting talent Keno is building up, will that be enough to lure Ledo away from the big time program?

The race for the top spot in Rhode Island’s class of 2012 isn’t a very close one, and neither is the race for number two, as Ricardo Ledo and Andrew Chrabascz have a firm grip on the top two spots respectively.

Bracket Junkie: Another year, another first projection

Yeah, so we are probably not going to appear in this, or any future projections for the rest of the season…but if you are a college basketball fan you must follow this.  Bracket Junkie was the 3rd most accurate bracket predictor last year.  Even ahead of an unnamed expert — Let’s call him Joe L. — no wait that’s too obvious, J. Lunardi.

This is our first projection of the season, as I like to wait until most teams have at least four conference games under their belts. It’s not until about now that you can really get a good gauge on a team. Everything up until now is primarily guesswork. Even so, there is a lot on this bracket that will look strange come March. The question is what.

Gov. Carcieri moves address to help PC, diss URI hoops

Um let’s see, PC-UCONN (with or without Calhoun), or URI-Dayton.  Yeah Governor, you made the right choice!

Rhode Island Gov. Don Carcieri has rescheduled his final State of the State address so he doesn’t have to go head-to-head with a Providence College basketball game. Instead, he’ll knock heads with URI’s basketball fans.

NBE Basketball Report’s BIG EAST Mid-Season Awards

Two Friars mentioned here, with Greedy being one of the 10 contenders for 2nd Team Honors, and VIncent Council on the All-Freshman team.

Jamine Peterson, Providence- Another huge surprise this season, he has come out of nowhere to average 17.8 ppg, 10.9 ppg, and 1.4 spg. His rebounding totals are even more impressive when you realize that he is only 6′6″.

Vincent Council, Providence- The point guard has made an immediate impact with the Friars with 8.3 ppg and 3.3 apg, plus 9 of 17 three pointers.

Also, it was good that our home loss to Iona was not considered the worst loss!  That honor would go to our friends at Notre Dame in losing to Loyola Marymount.

Friar Basketball: Talent Upgrade to Come

The incoming ‘10 class is compared to the infamous ‘03 class of Dwight Brewington, Gerald Brown, and Jeff Parmer.  Before you throw your computer out the window and run away yelling and screaming, the parallels are mainly based on talent alone, and do not include character problems.   Whew.

The Truth About PC Basketball: Notes and Predictions for the Friars in Twenty Ten

JEFF XAVIER IS NOT WALKING THROUGH THAT DOOR!

Rivals.com Providence Team Report

January At A Glance: The Friars have an opportunity to erase some of the sting of the early losses, thanks to a relatively light start to Big East play. The team’s first game against a ranked Big East opponent doesn’t come until Jan. 27, its eighth conference game of the season, when it plays Connecticut.

Rutgers and DePaul should be winnable games, but I would hardly call Louisville, St. John’s, and Marquette “relatively light”.  I guess that’s your theory.

C Ray Hall, the redshirt senior who has been practicing with the team, got his first game action of the year Wednesday night, playing nine minutes. His line was all zeroes, except for one foul.

It would not have been all zeroes if taking charges or playing like a monster were official stats.

Storming the Floor: The God Shammgod Trophy List Watch

This season, we’ve inaugurated the first annual God Shammgod Trophy watch list. The trophy is to be awarded to the player who forms the nexus of humorous nomenclature and top-notch basketball skill, meaning “the best player with a funny name”.

• Friar recruit Ron Giplaye will a niche. That niche is being a bruiser [Cox Go Friars Blog]
• Get your Vincent Council desktop wallpaper! [State of Friars Basketball]
• Friar Basketball reports on some RI High School basketball, including super sophomore Ricky Ledo. [Friar Basketball]
• Ever wonder what the evolution of referee Tim Higgins looked like?  You’re in luck! [The Sports Hump]
• Big East News and Notes [NBE Basketball Report]
• Keno Davis on the Future of PC vs. URI [Scout.com]
  

• Kevin McNamara has a mid-term report card for the Friars, and it aint pretty. [Providence Journal]
• It was a busy weekend for future Friars, as Gerard Coleman’s Tilton team taking on Ron Giplaye’s Notre Dame squad on Saturday, and Coleman also facing off against a big rival on Sunday [Friar Basketball]
• Judgment Day comes early for Keno [Friar Basketball]
• Argh, we’ve hit rock bottom in the NBE BIG EAST Power Poll as well [NBE Basketball Report]
• With all this losing and being ranked last in the conference, I think it’s time to bring back the Cheerleader of the Day [CollegeHoops Net]
  

• Both of our coach Davis’s made the The Big East Conference All-Twitter Team list.  Friarblog did not make it :(  [Digital Hoops Blast]
• The new Providence Friars blog “The State of Friars Basketball” asks if it’s time for Brian McKenzie to go [State of Friars Basketball]
• More thoughts about the Brown victory [Bleacher Report]
• A preview of tonight’s SEC/BIG EAST Invitational [AOL Fanhouse]
• A breakdown of last night’s games and all the upcoming BIG EAST action for tonight [NBE Basketball Report]