Summer Mailbag Pt. 2: How media coverage of the Friars has changed, talking recruiting, PC's X-factor, the Offseason of Caution, and more

Let’s jump right into part two…

Good Morning,

First time, long time.

I was hoping you could comment on how friar coverage has changed over the years.

Alex

My gut reaction when first reading this question was that there is a lot more coverage outside of legacy media now compared to when I started at the tail end of 2009.

I’m not so sure that’s the case, however.

There are two really big differences since then: changes at The Providence Journal and the emergence of podcasts.

The Projo had Kevin McNamara dedicated to the PC beat, as well as columnists Jim Donaldson and Bill Reynolds covering the Friars. The loss of Kevin was big — and will forever feel shortsighted. Today, they spread Bill Koch thin, having him cover the four D1 programs in the state and professional local teams. Not an easy task. They’ve certainly benefitted from adding a column from John Rooke in recent years.

Elsewhere on the newspaper front, The Pawtucket Times/Woonsocket Call has had a very good run the past 20 years, first with Dave Borges and now Brendan McGair. I really enjoyed reading Dave back in the day, and have obviously gotten to know Brendan very well over the past decade and a half. Their coverage has remained consistently good between both writers. The local TV folks are really solid as well. Nick Coit and Ian Steele are great on television or radio, and Frank Carpano is obviously a Rhode Island staple.

Outside of legacy media, it feels like there are a lot more options now — but looking back, there were a lot starting around 2010 as well.

Between hosting their site/message board at Scout and Rivals, Rich Coren and Steve Hartnett were the sole alternative to journalists for a ten-year stretch starting around 1999. By 2010 more voices started to emerge between local coverage at Cox Sports and blogs becoming easier to create. I probably would have started right out of college (2001) had there been an easy way to create a blog or site.

I started our site around 2010 (adding Craig Belhumeur in 2011 and Craig Leighton a year later), as did David Pean who ran Friarblog. There was a blogger/twitter account (The Truth About Providence Basketball) which was probably about ten years ahead of its time — a genuinely hysterical burner account before that was ever a phrase. I believe the three of us were the first PC-related blogs to gain any traction, and we all approached it a lot differently.

Shortly after, Daniel James started writing from the fan perspective at Friarblog and later Cox Sports, while Mike Hopkins and my guy Brendon Desrochers began contributing across different spaces soon after that. There were a lot of independent voices emerging back then, and I’m probably forgetting some.

Podcasts are where coverage has really changed. They’ve exploded, while the depth of written coverage on the program isn’t where it once was — which I guess reflects sports coverage in general.

Craig B. was the driver behind us starting a pod around 2014 or ’15, but our fans weren’t fully in the habit yet back then. Craig was pretty fearless and used to get national guests like Dickie V, Andy Katz, Jon Rothstein, Jeff Goodman, and so on. He did a really good job covering things like the Big East Media Day at the time via podcast — and I’m fairly certain no one else was doing that locally. He made the rounds at BE Media Day and pulled all of his 1-1 conversations together in a pod. I was always so excited to publish on those days. When he moved on from our site, I stopped podcasting until meeting Billy a few years later.

There must be seven or eight podcasts about PC basketball that I’m aware of today, offering something different for all types of fans. I most consistently listen to Mike and BOC at The Providence Crier. They have great chemistry as long-time friends, and I appreciate their consistency in producing podcasts year after year — through good seasons and bad. I also think Tom Harkness from The Rhody Vault is a young writer who really knows his stuff and will continue to draw a bigger audience through his writing and radio spots.

Ted Bancroft elevates our podcast tremendously whenever he’s on. He’s as natural and engaging as it gets, and obviously brings great perspective after five years in the program and a lifetime of supporting it. We’re looking forward to working with Ted more.

I used to be competitive about carving out and maintaining our space (and maybe this comes with having been around a while), but I appreciate that there’s something out there for any demographic now.

I read that Ryan Moesch is scheduled to visit Providence in late August. What are your thoughts on him? Any guesses as to why other high majors haven’t offered? How about some of the other kids who were recently offered?

Ron

Moesch is a lefty, pass-first point guard who really emerged over the past year for Cushing Academy and Middlesex Magic. There’s a lot of groupthink when it comes to coaches and recruiting, and with the transfer portal taking over the world, offers are becoming harder to come by for high school recruits.

This feels a bit like a Ryan Mela redux: he didn’t have high major offers, but the staff liked what they saw and moved fast. The portal is exciting, but you need program guys, and Moesch is a New York native who could really grow and stick at Providence. He’s an excellent passer with great instincts. Get him in-house now and hope he grows with your guys. Local writers and coaches rave about him.

A Closer Look: Ryan Moesch

PC will reportedly get a visit from top 50 wing Alex Egbounu, and cracked the final seven for top 40 prospect Abdou Toure. Both are New England/BABC kids, but will be tough gets. Shaka Smart has followed Egbounu everywhere this summer and Marquette will be tough to beat, while Toure will require overcoming some elite programs with massive NIL. Not sure I see wing Julius Avent out of New Jersey as a future Friar, despite recent reports of an upcoming visit.

Moesch and New Jersey wing Aiden Derkack have been two guys squarely on my radar since the spring in the class of 2025. The recent activity hasn’t changed that, but recruiting is constantly evolving, and priorities can change in this game of musical chairs.

Why not end the in$anity and just go DIII?

Thank you,

Tom

The sport we all love is changing for the worse, no doubt, but we are a long way from having that conversation. I’m sure Steve Napolillo could explain much better than I could what having high major basketball means for not just the athletic department, but the profile of the school overall. Basketball is just such a part of Providence’s identity.

I might also hang it up if we go D3, and I’m not ready for that just yet.

It seemed that last year Kim and the staff had a tough time tailoring a system to match the team they ended up with. It felt like they stuck with a 4-out offense when it was apparent that the talent on the team wasn't there to make that successful. Going into this year, my biggest concern is whether Kim and staff are able to make those on-the-fly adjustments. Have you seen or heard anything this spring/summer to show they're in a better position to handle a situation like that this year?

Thanks!

Dan

Dan, this may sound like a cop out, but we really won’t know until the season begins. I thought Steve Lappas made a really interesting case for Rick Pitino and Bob Knight as the best coaches he’s ever seen. Lappas essentially said he favored them over Coach K because they were coaches who were always “tinkering” — those on-the-fly adjustments you are speaking of. Much like some players have a “feel” on the court, great coaches do too.

There is a learning curve that English faces in a league full of great coaches. Kevin Willard was on The Field of 68 this summer talking about how steep the learning curve was when he started at Seton Hall, explaining how much more equipped he is to take on the Villanova job because of that experience.

Hey Kevin,

Who in the starting five will be the most impactful & why?

Who in the starting five will be a sneaky X-factor & why?

Who will be the most impactful off the bench?

What is the ceiling for Vaaks (assuming full recovery) & Pinnis?

Overall thoughts on how valuable Ryan Gomes is to this program?!?

As always, many thanks for your coverage of the team!

-Chris in Boston, class of ‘06

Hey Kevin,

Great work per usual. I specifically love these mailbag posts.

My question is…after reviewing the transfer/freshman tapes & seeing this team live, what will be our main strengths and main weaknesses as a team?

Bonus big east prediction would be great as well!

Thanks for all you do for Friartown!

Best,

Anthony

A lot to unpack and some similar themes in these questions, so I’ll combine these and try to categorize them a bit.

Most impactful: The backcourt of Jason Edwards and Jaylin Sellers. If this team is going to crack the top 4-5 in the Big East, it will likely be behind the scoring prowess of these portal additions, supported by an emerging young center and some versatile pieces. Both Sellers and Edwards have to be good this year.

Sneaky X-factor: Ryan Mela. He just does so many things well, and I think his strengths are even more impactful on a good team. He gets a lot of players looks, and with Edwards and Sellers being more scorers than creators, Mela could have a 7-8 assist game at some point. He could consistently have 3-4 assists and 6-8 boards, depending on playing time. Mela can also get you 15-20 points on given nights. He just helps in a lot of ways. The biggest question marks will be staying with quicker wings defensively and how his shot comes along.

Ceiling of Vaaks and Pinnis: Peteris Pinnis is likely third on the depth chart at center, while Stefan Vaaks has the widest range of ceiling/floor on this team. He’s coming off a knee injury, didn’t get a chance to build chemistry with his teammates this summer, and is adjusting to a completely different style of play in America. Conversely, he’s potentially their best passer, very good in screen and roll, a capable outside shooter, and there’s a chance he could play point guard at 6’6 (which he did this past season) alongside Edwards. We’ll see how he handles physical, aggressive on-ball defenders if he does play the one. That’s a big question I have regarding Vaaks. He’s the toughest player to project for next season on this roster.

Most impactful off the bench: Jamier Jones. He can contribute in so many ways. I’d be shocked if he didn’t have an impact this year. Down the road, he could turn into an Andre Iguodala type.

Impact of Gomes: An assistant of the highest character who connects with people, spent a decade learning in the NBA, and absolutely loves this school — that’s Ryan Gomes. English can point to him as an example of someone who came to Providence with no reputation and made it big. I’m sure it wasn’t lost on the guys when Gomes was giving advice to Kris Dunn at a recent practice, with Dunn listening intently. I’m very interested to see how Bryan Tibaldi and Gomes impact the coaching staff. I really like Tibaldi’s background and perspective.

Big East prediction: There are so many new faces in the league, and there are bound to be transfers that surprise me, but on sheer talent, I think Providence has the fourth or fifth best roster in the league. Greg McDermott was on with Jon Rothstein a few weeks ago and pointed to PC as a team (outside of UConn and St. John’s) who he thought built a strong group. Right now, I’d go St. John’s-UConn-Creighton on sheer talent. Marquette lost a lot, but I’m done overlooking Shaka’s ability to develop. It feels pretty open after Creighton, however.

I’m not sure how that talent comes together at PC, how their young coach manages the depth of the roster, or if everyone will buy into their roles and the program. Uncertainty is more prevalent now than ever across the sport.

The magic behind the 2022 PC team that won the league was finding a room full of guys who were “over themselves” and just wanted to win. That’s rare and becoming increasingly more difficult to find, but I also think most of these kids are competitors at heart and value winning. English has repeatedly said he targeted players that he (and his players) thought would be a cultural fit.

Is it me or is everyone being way too cautious about this team? It seems that coaches, analysts and fans are feeling burnt by last summer’s transfer hype. The difference is last year’s squad were from a Mid Major, an independent conference, a junior college first year player and a kid suffering a terrible family loss. It was the best available and didn’t quite come together as we had hoped. Let’s give Kim credit. He has definitely done a much better job this year in the transfer portal. Kim continues to recruit High School players at an elite level. This has been proven with two players on last season’s Big East All Freshman Team. Kim is not a one trick pony. He’s not just relying on transfers like Pitino, nor relying on High School commits like Shaka. Kim should be given a lot more credit right now, especially with bringing in two coaches that are at an elite level. The biggest thanks we can give English in return for all his hard work is our vote of confidence. Great Job Kim! Well done.

So Kevin, Billy and fans…just say it! This team should be much better because these players have more proven leadership experience, better numbers, and high end potential players and staff. Yes, all on paper, but it is better paper. Unlikely that “Mindset” will be the theme again this year, but maybe Coach Gomes can help bring back the pride. I am already proud and grateful for Kim putting this team together.

Tom

Tom is ready for the season to start! English and his staff have been great at identifying talent in the high school ranks. I consider last season’s freshmen his first real high school recruiting class at PC. Obviously, Oswin and Mela are hits. I’ve been very impressed with Jamier Jones and Jaylen Harrell as well. They are building a really strong foundation, hopefully of kids who are loyal to Kim and want to stay. It sucks that we have to add that caveat all the time.

Caution is the theme of the offseason, however. There is a lot of talent on this roster, but the wounds from last season are fresh.

It’s nice to see Tom’s enthusiasm in the Offseason of Caution, however!

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Thanks to everyone who sent in a question. We’re getting ready to ramp up for the season with player previews, a twist to our podcast, and more. Looking forward to the season!