The Return of Jason Edwards, Improved Defense Lead Providence to Rout of DePaul

Edwards scored an efficient 25 points, while Providence saw improved defensive numbers against spot-up shooters and in guarding the pick and roll.

Photo courtesy of Carl Rizzo at gameone_photography and Friarbasketball.com

In a tumultuous season, Jason Edwards seemed to embody the frustrations Providence fans harbored throughout the year.

The most highly regarded transfer to join the Friars last spring, Edwards is averaging over 17 points and three assists per game — and despite solid shooting numbers (43.9% FG, 37.6% 3PT, 76.8% FT), there were questions about if he made his teammates any better.

He bore the brunt of the displeasure over the team’s defense in November and December, heard groans over his shot selection, and then after he was on the bench for much of Providence’s rousing comeback win at St. John’s, it was all but determined by the fanbase that the team was better off without him playing a lead role.

So, as Edwards sat through a seven-game absence due to plantar fasciitis, the reaction wasn’t as strong as it typically would be after a team lost its leading scorer. In fact, the strongest reaction came from those speculating about if he was following the same path as last season’s leading scorer and preserving himself through the pain.

Problem was, Providence wasn’t playing any better in Edwards’ absence. The shortcomings on the defensive end didn’t fade (their Defensive Rating was worse), and the tough shots that Edwards put up seemed to be handed off to freshman Stefan Vaaks.

It’s not unfair to think that the 2-5 record that took place during Edwards’ absence could have been 4-3 had he played against Marquette and Georgetown. Maybe they don’t get stripped late with a 3-point lead in Milwaukee, or perhaps Edwards slows some of the momentum and turnover issues that plagued PC as they lost a 21-point lead to the Hoyas.

But those are hypotheticals. What we saw on Saturday against DePaul was what the Friars were without when Jason Edwards is at his best.

Suiting up for the first time in a month, Edwards had one of his most productive days of the season: 25 points, four rebounds, two assists, and zero turnovers in a 90-72 win. Edwards shot 8-13 from the field, 5-8 from three, and 4-7 at the free throw line. Sure, there were some forced shots in the first half, but Edwards was otherwise terrific.

“It was tough,” Edwards said of sitting the past month. “It was really tough trying to navigate through a time that I’ve never had to navigate, ever. I’ve never missed a game in my life, so having that nagging injury, it was really hard to get to the point where it was like, ‘Okay, I don’t think I can keep playing through it.’ I didn’t feel like I was playing effectively.”

“It was eating me alive watching us play and I wasn’t out there — through the wins and losses. I wanted to be out there. I wanted to help the guys. I wanted to help Coach Kim.”

Edwards explained that he first felt something in his foot against Butler — the Big East opener in which he scored a season-high 32 points. “Versus Seton Hall (the following game) is where I think I did a lot of damage, and I tried to play through it for a long time.”

His numbers dipped in the four games following the trip to Butler:

• 10 points on 2-8 shooting versus Seton Hall

• 11 points on 3-14 at St. John’s

• 8 points on 3-9 versus UConn

• 16 points on 6-15 at Xavier

He couldn’t move laterally the way he wanted to over the past month, and was having trouble accelerating and decelerating. Edwards wasn’t quite sure how he would feel in his return against DePaul and kept his mindset straightforward: “I wanted to go out there and be a spark for the team. I didn’t care if I started, I didn’t care how much I played, I knew I was going to play hard as hell.”

It was a noticeably different tone than earlier in the year, when Edwards looked irked after being asked his feelings about coming off the bench.

Edwards wasn’t the only Friar to perform well on Saturday.

Jaylin Sellers got Providence going early with scorching shooting, following his 36-point performance against Butler. He was an efficient 6-8 from the floor, 3-4 from three, and 6-7 at the free throw line en route to 21 points. His only blemish was five turnovers in 21 minutes of action (Sellers was on a minutes restriction due to a lower leg injury).

Playing in front of his father, Oswin Erhunmwunse gave Providence 10 points, 13 rebounds, and four blocks. He had 10/7 at the halftime break and walled up DePaul scorers on the interior throughout the day.

And following a double double against Butler, Ryan Mela continued his solid play with 16 points and eight boards on 7-11 shooting. Mela was particularly effective early in the second half when DePaul made a push — hitting his first five shots out of the break.

“The homegrown guys in this era of college basketball — we’ve got to push Ryan Mela and Oswin Erhunmwunse to finish (their careers) at Providence. We need them to be our guys — extensions of us, and we’re really, really hard on them,” Kim English said.

English noted he has challenged Mela throughout the season to play with more consistent aggression and patience with the ball in his hands. He demonstrated both on Saturday.

Offensively, this was likely the vision English had heading into the season. Not necessarily with Edwards and Sellers leading the way (English insists this team has no “go-to” guy — the go-to guy is the open man), but on a day in which Vaaks (8 points, 4 assists) battled through foul trouble and injury, Providence had more than enough scoring to go around.

They also put up perhaps their best defensive effort in conference play.

With the caveat that the Blue Demons (while improved this year) came into Saturday with the worst Offensive Rating in the Big East in conference games (102.7), Providence limited them to 5-23 beyond the arc (21%), 26 points on 35% shooting in the first half, and 42% shooting on the game (a number boosted by DePaul making its final five shots in garbage time in the final two minutes).

Some defensive metrics that stood out:

• Slowing the screen and roll: DePaul’s pick and roll ball handlers scored just .862 points per possession and their roll men were at .571.

• Improving spot-up defense: While Providence has hovered around the first or second percentile all year in defending spot-up shooters, they limited DePaul to a mere .556 points per possession on Saturday. Comparatively, PC was at 1.714 on the offensive end. The .556 DePaul scored was well below the 1.073 PC has given up on the season. Butler scored .889 points per possession in spot ups earlier in the week, so there’s been some necessary progress there.

On the heels of limiting Butler to 32% shooting from three, these were two encouraging games for a Friar team that now stands at 11-13 overall and 4-9 in league play.

In what is becoming an increasingly top-heavy Big East, Providence and five other league opponents are within a game of each other in the bottom half of the conference standings. PC is in a four-way tie with Marquette, Butler, and DePaul, stands a half game back of 4-8 Xavier, while Georgetown’s four-game winning streak was snapped on Saturday with a loss to Villanova.

The Hoyas are 5-8, and proved over the past two weeks how tenuous winning or losing streaks can be in college basketball when their comeback at Providence sparked a four-game spurt.

The Friars aren’t quite on a run yet, but an upset at Seton Hall on Wednesday would inject more energy into next Saturday’s return date with Bryce Hopkins, Rick Pitino, and a St. John’s group boasting an 11-1 record in league play. The Johnnies will certainly look to avenge their only conference loss, while Friartown eagerly awaits the return of Hopkins.