It’s rare that you can glean anything positive out of a ninth straight loss, but this game was filled with positives. From Vincent Council’s return to picking apart defenses (8 assists, 0 turnovers), to an improved defensive effort, and of course, Greedy Peterson’s monster night (24 points and 18 rebounds) it was a good night for a developing team.
PC played Pitt even in the paint (36-34 points in the paint advantage for the Panthers), doubled them in points off of turnovers, and had more fast break points, points off of turnovers, and bench points. They deserved better, which happens when you shoot 13-23 from the free throw line in a gym that rarely sees a road team victory (131-11 all time in Peterson for Pitt).
Council shot 2-11 from the field, but was the second best Friar on the floor. The kid gets it. His 8 assists were huge, but on a team struggling defensively he came up with four steals and made two key defensive plays late: a steal on a long pass with 4 minutes to play after Pitt had taken a one point lead on a Wanamaker 3. PC converted that into a layup to grab the lead back and then Vincent took a charge in the paint with 2:44 left.
Peterson was the headliner. He’s driven Providence fans insane with lackadaisical defense and a tendency to shoot bad 3s, but he physically dominated a team that is accustomed to pushing around the Friars. A bit player his freshman year, Greedy is still on pace to become the first player at Providence to average a double double for the season since Michael Smith. He’s currently averaging 19.5 ppg and 10.2 rebounds (20.6 and 9.6 in BE play) while hitting 37% of his 3s in conference play.
The most encouraging sign for Providence was that Council and Peterson matched the physical play of a team that bullied the Friars around for so long. No matter what his offensive or defensive philosophies are, the success of Keno Davis at Providence is going to largely depend on his ability to find guards who can pull down rebounds in the middle of trees (rare for a guard under the old regime) and won’t have the ball ripped away in key moments. Finesse teams don’t find much success in the Big East.
NEPSAC Class A Semis
Speaking of finding the next generation of Friars, Friarbasketball took in the NEPSAC Class A semi-finals on Friday night to see the Winchendon/Northfield Mount Hermon and Brewster/St. Thomas More tilts.
Winchendon over Northfield Mount Hermon 91-79
The final score of this one is a bit misleading as neither team led by more than six throughout the first 32 minutes of action. NMH's outside shooting ability kept them in the game early (I counted 6 3s in the first 12 minutes), but Brewster led 40-35 at the half.
The teams went back and forth over the opening 11 minutes of the 2nd half, as the game was tied at 63 all after Laurent Rivard (Harvard) drained a 3 pointer. Seemingly every time Northfield looked to make a run Winchendon answered, this time with an Eric Ferguson three point play, pushing Winchendon in front 66-63. Over the next seven minutes the lead ballooned to 10 and Winchendon cruised through the final three minutes.
- It will be a tall task, but if Winchedon can win on Sunday then Anthony Ireland is looking at tournament MVP. The Loyola Marymount commit simply makes huge plays whenever Winchendon needs them and Friday night was no exception. Extremely quick with perhaps the best handle in Class A, Ireland gets to where he wants and knows what to do when he gets there. A pass-first point guard with the ability to score from beyond the arc, at mid-range, and in the paint, it's impossible not to like this kid.
- Quiet night for Khem Birch on the boards and offensively, but he pulled a Khem Birch with three very loud blocks. Poor Rivard got pinned once and had to have been shocked when Birch extended way in the air to reject a shot in the paint. Birch saw less minutes today due to matchups. Quiet demeanor.
- Angel Nunez flashed more ability today, specifically with a loud dunk off of a baseline drive, but the outside shot is way off right now and his decision making is a liability at times. Looks like he's thinking instead of just playing out there. Looking forward to seeing him pull it all together.
- Is it too late for PC to get in on Majok Majok? He's a tough kid, who struggled a bit against the size of Winchendon, but still put up numbers.
- Great first half for Hector Harold, quiet second. His line drive jumper fell short late.
- Vince Van Nes is a nonfactor at this level right now.
Brewster crushes St. Thomas More
How did this one go? Let's put it this way, I stopped taking notes on the game with 10 minutes to go in the second half after 6'10, 280 lb Mo Walker canned a 3 pointer to give Brewster a 70-34 lead. I stopped keeping track of the score once it got to 84-41 with 5:54 left.
How well is Brewster playing right now? This St. Thomas More team enters next week's National Prep Championship as the 6 seed. I'd argue that St. Mark's deserves a bid in the national tournament and would beat T-More head to head, but that's a different argument for a different day.
Playing without Providence recruit Trahson Burrell, STM fell behind early and was never really in this game.
- Naadir Tharpe continues to impress. The NIA Prep loss at the National Prep Invitational is looking more like a blip on a great season for Naadir. The questions about his jump shot have been answered soundly. Tharpe hit three more 3 pointers today and has hit more than he's missed in the last three times I've seen him. The knock on the jumper simply shouldn't exist at this point. Folks at Brewster tell me he is as good of a kid as he is a basketball player.
- Andre Drummond picked up two fouls in the first three minutes and never recovered. I might have missed a bucket, but I had him scoreless in this one. What stood out about Drummond more today than at URI was just the size of the kid. He's enormous and was the first kid I've seen all year who looked equipped to match Mo Walker physically. The offensive game is competely raw, but he's a fluid athlete with a large frame that has even more room to grow. Had words with Will Barton at one point. More like Will Barton had words with him. Have a feeling few will have words with him in a year or two.
- Took a closer look at Bryon Allen tonight. This was my third viewing of STM and nothing about Allen's game has jumped out at me as a must have guy. Allen is a well built kid with a nice spin dribble, but the jumper is a work in progress and he's doesn't appear to be a great athlete (missed two fastbreak dunks). Not sure how he fills a need in Providence, unless Johnnie Lacy departs. That being said, I'd rather Lacy stay.
- CJ Fair continues to impress.
When the NEPSAC playoffs started Friarbasketball had three dream matchups:
- Brewster vs. Winchendon
- St. Andrew's vs. Tilton
- Lawrence Academy vs. St. Mark's
What a monster Sunday this will be for Friar fans. Gerard Coleman, Naadir Tharpe, Khem Birch, Angel Nunez, Shabazz Napier, Alex Murphy, and Kaleb Tarczewski will all take to the court.
Lawrence Academy won a thriller in their only game against St. Mark's. In their only matchup of the season Winchendon defeated Brewster by four at home. Tilton narrowly lost to Marianapolis in the teams only meeting.
Looking for storylines and matchups?
- Does the speed and quickness of Lawrence Academy win out again over the size of St. Mark's? Does a more assertive Alex Murphy make the difference this time around?
- Brewster is filled with stars in Will Barton (Memphis), CJ Fair (Syracuse), Melvin Ejim (Iowa State), Tharpe, Walker, and Austin Carroll (Rutgers), while Winchendon counters with great players, but not as many going to BCS schools next year. Big man Markus Kennedy is headed to Villanova and Angel Nunez and Khem Birch will be on that level one day, but the core of this Winchendon team is made up of kids like Ferguson (Georgia Southern), Ireland (Loyola-Marymount), Devon Saddler (Delaware), and Marvin Dominique (Hofstra) who won't back down from anyone.
- Ireland and Tharpe were AAU teammates and may end up playing the deciding role in this one. Winchendon is at their best when Ireland is creating and scoring.
- Kennedy and Walker will bang away underneath and Barton versus Ferguson could be great.
- Providence fans will get one of their last looks at Gerard Coleman before he steps foot on campus. Enjoy it.
