We could break down how each coach performed record-wise, but there are some really interesting parallels to be drawn between the coaching staffs' early recruiting.
Year 1 - Player Retained
When Welsh took over for Pete Gillen in 1998 he inherited a bare bones roster without a legitimate post player. Gillen's only commitment was Sean Connolly and Welsh convinced one of the top scorers in Massachusetts history to come to PC. Rahim Johnson was a prop 48 kid who was on campus the year before, and would have technically been a freshman with Connolly, but never played. After averaging 25 ppg at Maine Central, the 6'6, 235 lb forward could have added an inside/outside presence Welsh lacked early.
Like his predecessor, Davis inherited one commitment from Welsh, Bilal Dixon, and redshirted him his freshman season when Dixon decided to remained committed.
In his one season at Providence, Connolly averaged 11 points per game and started 30.
Dixon has been the lone post defensive presence for the Friars in his freshman year and has started every game as well, averaging nearly 9 points and 6 rebounds per game.
Year 2 - The Mega-class
The first year as head man for each coach presented a sizable challenge. New to the school and still employing their style of play, each was forced to fill a number of scholarships.
Welsh's haul was headlined by Florida State transfer 7'2 Karim Shabazz who committed after witnessing what turned out to be one of the biggest wins in Welsh's tenure, an 87-82 victory over #8 Purdue. The group consisted of one transfer (Shabazz), three JUCOs (Donta Wade, David Murray, Chris Rogers) and four freshman (Abdul Mills, Rome Augustin, Marcus Jefferson, and Mark Jarrell-Wright).
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.
How will Keno's 7 man class fare against Welsh's not-so great 8? Playing with more upperclassmen alters a straight statistical comparison of year 1. Five of the six top scorers on this team were recruited by Welsh, whereas only one of Gillen's leftovers had an impact in 98-99 (Erron Maxey who led the team in scoring. John Linehan played only 6 games due to injury).
The Verdict: Only 3 of Welsh's 8 graduated from Providence, but four played a critical role on a tournament team. Neither got much of an impact dipping into the JUCO ranks in year 1 and Vincent Council looks to be the best freshman of either class. Davis made it a point to bring in two point guards when he already had a 5th year senior on board, while Welsh failed to convert clear wings like MJW to the 1.
Between injuries, fighting, and transfers Welsh's crop had their flaws, but for Keno's 7 to match them on the court they will have to make a tournament appearance over the next four years.
Year 3
Like year 2, year 3 was a mixed bag for Welsh. The class of Marcus Douthit, Sheiku Kabba, Maris Laksa, and Chrin Anrin was the only PC class of the last decade to reach the tournament twice. After immediately impacting with 3 point shooting their freshmen seasons, both Anrin and Laksa fell off the next season and seemed to get worse with each passing year.
Kabba provided toughness and big shot ability. If Duke Mondy has a four year career like Kabba I wouldn't complain.
Douthit was a key cog as the big man off of the bench his freshman year and re-emerged midway through his junior season to end strong enough to get drafted by the Lakers upon graduating. Upon committing to Providence out of Notre Dame Prep, Douthit was considered the 2nd best player in New England and chose the Friars over Syracuse and Villanova.
Keno's second recruiting class is an encouraging one with two top 100 guards and a elbow-to-your-back big man. Going on tournament appearances alone, this class will have to make it twice to even be in the conversation, but the Welsh's third crop had a first team All American playing along with them.
Like Douthit, Coleman is ranked 2nd in New England by the New England Recruiting Report and is rated even higher nationally. Keno's crew will be far better regarded from a national recruiting perspective upon arrival and he may not be done. The Friars continue to dabble in long shots like Trey Zeigler and Justin Coleman and continue to stay in the fray for big men like Jon Horford (MI) and Kadeem Jack (NY).
Welsh's following five classes:
2001-02: Ryan Gomes, Garnett Thompson, Leland Anderson, Donell Allick, Rob Sanders, Tuukka Kotti
2002-03: Donnie McGrath, Herb Hill
2002-03: Dwight Brewington, Gerald Brown, Jeff Parmer
2003-04: Randall Hanke, DeSean White, Rob McIver, Charlie Burch, Jujuan Robinson
2004-05: Geoff McDermott, Jon Kale, Sharaud Curry, Weyinmi Efejuku
