Turning Jeers to Cheers, Freshmen Stefan Vaaks and Jamier Jones Ignite Providence's Surge Against URI

Four minutes into the latest iteration of The Ocean State Rivalry, visiting Rhode Island (looking for its first win on Providence’s home floor in over 20 years) ran out to a 14-2 lead.

Boos rained down at the first timeout, and the next round of angry tweets were writing themselves.

The Friars were facing a 5-5 start through ten games (and the indignity of falling to the program their fanbase sees as little brother) in a season filled with frustration up until that point.

But over the ensuing 36 minutes Providence looked like the team that everyone hoped to see this year — only it was a pair of freshmen leading the way.

Panic turned into hysteria thanks to Stefan Vaaks. The 6’6 guard from Estonia put on the most explosive scoring outburst this rivalry has seen in years, as he buried four 3-pointers in less than two minutes to tie the game at 14-14.

The first one stopped the bleeding, the second got PC back into the game, and by the time the third and fourth dropped, the Rams were in trouble.

URI hung tough through 25 minutes before Providence’s final surge put this one out of reach.

A lineup featuring Vaaks, fellow freshman Jamier Jones, Corey Floyd Jr., Oswin Erhunmwunse, and Duncan Powell went on a decisive 10-0 run five minutes into the second half to create separation for the Friars.

Providence rolled to a 90-71 victory from there.

They outscored a feisty Rams team, 88-57, after falling behind by 12 early.

It was the type of feel-good win that this program needed — with contributions up and down the roster.

There was Vaaks leading the charge early with 17 points and five made threes in the first half.

Fellow frosh Jamier Jones electrified the AMP by doing a little bit of everything on Saturday — highlight reel dunks, draining a transition three, a pair of pretty assists, and 18 points on perfect 7-7 shooting.

Here’s a look at the best from the two freshmen on Saturday:

“We were down 12, and I thought I had to step up in that moment,” Vaaks said of his early outburst.

When asked about his first taste of the in-state rivalry, Vaaks was candid about the boos his team heard early: “I think the fans were amazing, but we were like three minutes into the game — we started off bad — I just heard the fans booing. When I first had a Zoom call with Kim (English) he told me that we have one of the best fanbases in America. I think we can be better than that.”

As for the Friars, they haven’t been better than what they were on Saturday all season.

Jaylin Sellers looks to have made the decision to lead this group. For the second straight game, he was everywhere on the floor and the first off the bench cheering on a day in which he finished with 14 points (on 4-5 shooting), ten rebounds, and three assists, while playing through foul trouble.

Oswin Erhunmwunse enjoyed perhaps his best all-around game of the season. The sophomore center blocked six shots for the second game in a row, while logging a season-high 33 minutes. He made sound decisions with the ball in his hands and in determining when to contest shots at the rim in his 10-point, 8-rebound day.

Jason Edwards, playing in a reserve role for the third time, scored 13 points, made three 3-pointers, and found Vaaks for his fourth make from beyond the arc.

Then there was Duncan Powell, the Georgia Tech transfer returning from a concussion and dental surgery after a nasty collision in practice.

Following an October in which he was perhaps Providence’s best player in exhibition play, Powell suffered a thumb injury in the season opener that set him back early.

In a no-excuses season, no one wanted to hear about the impact of losing him in November, but Powell brings a level of maturity, physicality, and scoring punch that this frontcourt had lacked.

And against URI, his impact went beyond the four-point, four-rebound, three-assist stat line he put up in his return.

Vaaks jokingly called him Batman due to the mask Powell sported on Saturday, but Vaaks also shared how important he was to the win: “It was so big. We were so excited to have him back out there. He impacted winning for us,” he said. “He really played for the team. A lot of stuff he did — maybe you don’t see it on the stat sheet — but I think it was one of his best games.”

English shared how Powell has stayed engaged throughout his absence, texting his head coach and sending video clips of what Powell was seeing during the team’s losses to Wisconsin and Florida in San Diego over Thanksgiving.

“We’re not strangers to losing our big, physical four man,” English said in the postgame.

English had high praise for Vaaks and Jones as well, citing Jones coming to his office after virtually every game and practice to break down film, and Vaaks’ advanced understanding when it comes to reading defenses.

“The American basketball system is a lot of individual workouts and trainers, and working on getting to your bag. Stefan Vaaks was telling me the other day that he spent months as a young player only working on ball screen coverages. Only working on the right decision in pick and roll.”

English saw Jones go head-to-head with Cooper Flagg on the Nike EYBL circuit prior to his junior year of high school and knew he needed the athletic terror from Florida. Jones was dominant on Saturday.

“They don’t have a ceiling,” English said of the freshman duo. “They continue to get better. If they continue to work hard they can have as good a career as anyone.”

Few would have seen Providence running away with this one on a day in which URI (struggling from three coming in) made 14 shots from beyond the arc (led by Jonah Hinton’s 7-14 outburst), but the Friars are on an offensive heater and held up better on the defensive end.

According to kenpom.com, Providence had one of its most efficient offensive weeks since they started tracking data in 1997:

On Saturday, Providence shot 14-29 from three, and had 19 assists, 35 bench points, and a 23-10 edge in points off turnovers.

They forced 35 turnovers in the two games this week — 18 versus URI and 17 against Fairleigh Dickinson. Last season their high for forcing turnovers was 14.

They topped the 17 turnover mark just twice in English’s first year (20 against Kansas State in the Bahamas and 19 at DePaul).

The Friars also played at a slower pace since returning from San Diego. From a possessions per 100 minutes perspective, they were at 68.9 against URI and 64.2 versus FDU.

They are 4-0 when their pace is under 70, including in their win versus Penn State.

English has spoken repeatedly about how offense and defense are “married,” and it’s no coincidence that a team with this level of athleticism provided two of the best offensive performances the program has seen in recent years while turning teams over and converting on the other end. They had 25 points off turnovers against FDU and 23 versus URI — the two top marks this season.

Against Rhode Island, Friar fans were treated to the vision of what so many hoped this team could become this season.

Capitalizing on the momentum of this win feels like a must. The Friars close out their non-conference schedule against Brown on Tuesday before kicking off league play at Butler (one of the surprise teams of the Big East) Saturday.

Saturday’s win over Rhode Island was their biggest step in the right direction this year.