Breaking Down the Opener: While Stefan Vaaks and Jamier Jones shined in their debuts, Providence's defense sprung holes versus Holy Cross
"They played a free-flowing offensive game: passed the ball, cut, they got good shots. They looked how we looked in practice. Proud of the second group."
Providence’s season-opening 89-79 win over Holy Cross demonstrated the type of depth that Kim English hopes to lean into this season — but the opener fell well short of a statement victory coming out of the gates.
The night couldn’t have gone much better for freshmen Stefan Vaaks and Jamier Jones. In fact, the two newcomers were the best Friars on the floor.
Providence started sluggishly before sophomore center Oswin Erhunmwunse injected life into the AMP with three blocks in short succession — defensive plays that led to breakout layups from Vaaks and Ryan Mela that sparked a 9-0 run.
The Friars missed their first eight shots from beyond the arc before Vaaks connected on the first of his three first-half 3-pointers during the spurt.
In just nine first-half minutes, Vaaks scored 15 points on 3-6 shooting from deep and 6-6 at the free throw line, while coming up with a pair of steals.
Vaaks, Jones, and Mela combined for 27 points off the bench in the opening half (the Friars held a 27-0 edge in bench points at halftime). Mela also added three boards and three steals as Providence led, 44-27.
“They played a free-flowing offensive game: passed the ball, cut, they got good shots. They looked how we looked in practice. Proud of the second group,” English said of his bench.
English couldn’t have had many complaints about his team’s defensive effort in the first half. One of the best 3-point shooting teams in the country a year ago, Holy Cross went 0-11 beyond the arc, 9-28 from the field overall, and turned the ball over nine times. Providence got a little handsy and fouled too often in the opening 20 minutes, which led to 12 free throw attempts, but it was otherwise a solid first half defensively.
If not for subpar halves from some of their veterans, Providence could have led this one by 25+ through 20 minutes.
Vaaks and Jones continued to excel in the second half, with Vaaks showing off his passing chops on a pair of pretty assists to Erhumwunse and Duncan Powell, while Jones was key in keeping Holy Cross at bay through high energy, impactful plays.
Here’s a look at their best on Monday:
“Once I got used to the pace, it was an easy game for me,” Jones shared when asked about his first college action. “I was not forcing anything.”
The highly-regarded freshman out of Florida finished with 16 points, on a perfect 7-7 shooting from the field and 2-2 at the line, in his debut. His effort looked a lot like the solid performance he put forward in the exhibition finale against Harvard — keeping plays alive on the offensive glass, cutting effectively, and pushing the ball the length of the court in transition to halt a run (which he did against both Harvard and Holy Cross on Monday).
Vaaks closed with 19 points on 5-9 shooting from the field in 20 minutes. This feels like the tip of the iceberg for the young guard from Estonia who passes as well as he shoots.
“He’s not just a shooter. He’s a basketball player,” English said. “In our practices he’s led our team in pick-and-roll looks. The ball is in his hands a lot. He’s playing in the ball screens the right way.”
Vaaks shared he was playing through some early nerves: “Coach told me, ‘You’re going to sleep like a baby tonight.’ I did not sleep like a baby. That first layup really got me going, and after that three I felt comfortable on the floor.”
For as encouraging as the freshmen were, and as steady as the returnees played (Mela: 9 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals… Corey Floyd: 12 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2-4 from 3, 1 turnover… Oswin: 4 points, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks), this was far from a resounding victory against a team not expected to compete atop the Patriot League.
Key transfer portal additions Jason Edwards (11 points, 4-11 shooting, 1-5 from 3), Duncan Powell (6 points, 1-7 shooting, 0-4 from 3), and Jaylin Sellers (12 points, 5-9 shooting, 1-4 from 3, foul trouble) struggled to get into rhythm. They were on the floor during the slow offensive start in the first half, and then when Holy Cross came alive offensively to start the second.
It’s early, but any worries about the defense heading into Saturday’s game against Virginia Tech are warranted. Pittsburgh hurt them in the screen and roll in the first exhibition game, but that one came a little too early for concern.
The Holy Cross game played out the same way as the Harvard exhibition, however, and that’s not a good thing.
Providence was all over Harvard in the first half, forcing 15 turnovers, before surrendering 50 points in the second.
After locking down the Cross in the opening half on Monday, PC allowed the visitors to hit 11 three-pointers and score 52 points after the break.
English called out the defense immediately in the postgame press conference. “Giving up 50 points in the second half,” he said before pausing and just shaking his head.
He cited his team’s inability to secure defensive rebounds, contain dribble penetration, and hold up in transition defense as shortcomings. Holy Cross got 3-pointers from all three issues.
“I think we started off soft,” Vaaks said of why the defense struggled in the second half. “I think they hit three threes in a row and they got back into the game. It was just like a snowball effect from there, but we got the dub and that’s the most important thing.”
“I think we can do much better in 1-on-1 defense, especially me. I think when I get tired I kind of lose control, and I think, me especially, I need to do a better job there.”
If any Friars were tired it could have something to do with the pace they played at on Monday. Providence had 76 possessions — a significant jump from their 65 possessions per 40 minutes last year and the 67 per 40 two years ago.
They took good care of the ball, even if shots weren’t falling. Their turnover rate was 11.9% after they were at 16.4% last season and 15.6% two years ago. This team should score a lot if they turn the ball over just ten times and play with pace.
“Seventy five to eighty is where we want to be every game,” English said of his team’s possessions. “This is a game we felt we should have scored well over 100 points.”
The bench scored 44 points, while the starters added 45.
“We’re going to be really, really good when the ball moves.”
English has been reiterating a quote from the great Princeton coach Pete Carril to this group: “Crisp ball movement relieves the tension in the offense.”
“The second group didn’t have much tension in the offense.”
That his team scored 89 points with perhaps their top three projected scorers struggling is an indicator of the type of depth this group has, but it was clear English wants better ball and people movement from his veterans.
Providence did enough to build up a 20-point lead on Monday night, and countered when they needed to. They’ll need a far better effort on Saturday — when they travel to Mohegan Sun to take on a Virginia Tech team that enters the season with legitimate NCAA Tournament aspirations.
Full game highlights: