Taking Stock of Providence at the Season's First Checkpoint

Kim English had the unenviable task of familiarizing his players with one another during in-game action to start this season. The Friars were a MASH unit in October, and the season’s first five games were spent balancing the urgency to win with figuring out who should be part of the rotation as the schedule ramps up going forward.

Some players who didn’t see playing time on opening night have forced their way into the rotation, while the pending return of star Bryce Hopkins from an ACL tear will eventually shake things up once again. Providence survived the discovery phase of its season, starting 5-0 with wins in games they were all heavily favored to win — now things get more serious.

English is ready to move on from talk of who missed time in October, and with a week off following their 5-0 start, so are we. So, let’s take stock of where this team is before heading to the Bahamas for a set of critical games at the Battle 4 Atlantis next week.

What’s worked well, where have the Friars come up short, and how has each player on the roster fared to date?

The Good: The Defense Hasn’t Skipped a Beat

Despite the loss of the best defensive guard in the country in Devin Carter, Providence’s defense has remained rock solid: 5th in the country in Effective Field Goal Percentage and 35th in Defensive Efficiency. Opponents are shooting just 24.4% from three (18th best in the country) and 39.6% from two (15th). Opponents are also scoring just .738 points per possession — good for the 96th percentile in the nation for the Friars.

By the numbers, Wesley Cardet Jr. has shined. The Chicago State transfer is holding opponents to 18.5% shooting from the field (5-27), a mark closely followed by Jayden Pierre’s 20.0% (5-25). Corey Floyd Jr. has been stingy in his own right, limiting opponents to 32.6% shooting (14-43). Throw in point guard Bensley Joseph, and PC is physical and tough on the perimeter.

The Friars have been largely a man-to-man defense this season, as 326 of their 327 defensive possessions have come in man (English used a zone out of a timeout as a wrinkle early in the year).

It’s scary to think what this defense could become with the return of Hopkins and once freshman center Oswin Erhunmwunse finds his footing.

The Bad: The Offense hasn’t taken a step forward yet

The offseason mission was to find shooters, and despite adding Joseph and graduate transfer Jabri Abdur-Rahim, the 3-point shooting numbers are lagging.

Providence is 35th in the country in 3-point attempts per game (29.8), but they are shooting just .315 (235th in the nation). Only 6% of the Friar offense comes in transition (4.2 fast break points per game) and despite turning the ball over just 15 times in their last two games, the turnovers were such a disaster early that PC is still handing it over on more than 20% of its possessions. The errors were often unforced, and at times ugly. The Friars are also shooting 60.8% at the free throw line this season. They rank 129th in Offensive Efficiency through five games.