The Fan Survey Results Are In!

Al Durham cleaned up in the survey, which included responses from over 600 Providence fans.

There is a lot to feel good about following a season in which Providence finished with a 27-6 record, a Big East regular season title, and the program’s first Sweet 16 appearance in 25 years.

Over the past three seasons, we have been polling fans before and after the season to gauge the temperature of the fanbase. Needless to say, the fans are feeling pretty good right about now. That was certainly reflected in our year-end survey.

The most recent survey was taken by 615 of you, and the results are below:

Who was Providence’s MVP this season?

• Al Durham: 60.5%

• Justin Minaya: 11.5%

• Jared Bynum: 10.7%

March does so much to shape a fanbase’s recollection of a team or player, and Durham was terrific in the postseason. Durham was Providence’s leading scorer this year, with his 13.6 points per game barely edging out Nate Watson’s 13.3. Durham was also a big-time tone-setter for this group early in the season, got to the free throw line at will, and made clutch buckets throughout the year.

Notably, Bynum and Watson (9.3% of the vote) were named Big East Second Team All Conference. Yet, after Durham shined so brightly in March, I’m not surprised he won this one — but the amount he won it by was a surprise.

Who was your favorite player on the 2021-22 Friars?

In hindsight, I don’t love this question. There were so many likable players and personalities on this team.

Still, I found it interesting, and a sign of how in-tune Providence fans are, that Justin Minaya won out with 25.7% of the vote. Durham landed at number two with 24.8%.

Minaya averaged 6.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.8 blocks, but Friar fans appreciated his amazing defense and overall awareness so much so that his traditional numbers were almost inconsequential when it came to voting for this one.

How would you rate Ed Cooley's recruiting haul (Al Durham, Justin Minaya, Rafael Castro, Legend Geeter, Matteus Case) one year later?

Conversely, I loved this question because I figured it would be interesting to see just how much Friar fans valued the one year they got out of Durham and Minaya (especially considering Castro, Geeter, and Case did not play).

This was an “A” for me, simply because Durham and Minaya were such ideal fits, both culturally and on the floor. We’re also seeing Providence continue to reap further benefits, as Durham and Minaya have relationships with Friar targets this spring that have already paid off.

What was the best win of the year?

This one was tight, and there were a lot of different ways Providence fans could have interpreted “best” — most significant, most unlikely, most gratifying, the best they played, a win against the toughest competition, etc.

This vote was very close:

• Clinching the Big East regular season title versus Creighton: 22.5%

• The NCAA Tournament win over Richmond: 21.2%

• Triple overtime win versus Xavier: 17.1%

• Coming back from 19 down at Butler: 12.4%

• Versus Texas Tech: 7.8%

With the game on the line, who did you want taking the last shot?

There were a lot of good options here. AJ Reeves had been a big shot maker late in games throughout his PC career, Cooley dubbed Durham his “closer”, Bynum had a long stretch in which he made huge shots (including against South Dakota State in the first round of the NCAAs), and Noah Horchler hit a lot of big shots.

The fans went pretty heavy on Durham.

Who was Providence's Most Improved Player this season?

This vote was a little closer than I’d anticipated. Bynum finished with 48.6% of the vote, Ed Croswell had 38%, and Noah Horchler 13.4%.

How would you grade Ed Cooley's performance throughout his entire tenure as Providence's coach?

Not surprisingly, Cooley’s approval rating was up from this past November (prior to the start of the season). He received a “B” from 68.9% of voters in November, an “A” from 18.9%, and a “C” from 11.6%.

Fast forward six months, and Cooley got an “A” from 63.4% of the responders, a “B” from 34.6%, and a “C” from just 1.6%.

Out of the freshmen and the class of 2022 commitments, who do you think has the highest long-term potential?

Jayden Pierre ran away with this one, earning 48% of the vote. Second came Rafael Castro with 16.3%.

Notably, this survey was sent before Christ Essandoko de-committed. He received 8% of the votes, ranking behind Pierre, Castro, Legend Geeter, and Quante Berry.

How do you think this year will change recruiting?

You were spot-on here. Cooley and Co. have had a huge spring recruiting-wise following the Sweet 16 run.

Before this season, it had been 25 years since Providence last reached the Sweet 16. When do you expect them to make it back?

We ended with this question. Over 64% of the fans surveyed expect PC to make it back to the Sweet 16 in the next 1-3 years, 33% said in 4-9 years, and 2.3% said it will be another 10+ seasons until we see the second weekend again.

Thanks to all who participated in this survey!