Here are some Providence news and notes from the week, including coverage from Big East Media Day, the return of the PC/UConn rivalry, a shout out to Ed Cooley from Kenpom and more.
Big East Media Day Coverage
Big East Media Day was once again held on the floor at Madison Square Garden for the second year in a row. The league would love to do it every year, but it’s dependent on the other MSG tenants’ schedules, namely the Knicks and Rangers. Kalif Young was supposed to be the fourth Friar player in attendance, but he remains sidelined by headache issues. The quick recap is that Providence was picked 4th in the preseason poll and Kyron Cartwright and Rodney Bullock were named to the preseason Second Team All-Big East.
Friars at Media Day pic.twitter.com/H1TcWGIn19
— Kevin McNamara (@KevinMcNamara33) October 18, 2017
Quick photo shoot to kick off @BIGEASTMBB Media Day! #GoFriars pic.twitter.com/T8iS3gzjmb
— Providence MBB (@PCFriarsmbb) October 18, 2017
🎤 @CoachCooleyPC #BEMediaDay pic.twitter.com/vRFUbEXN3F
— Providence MBB (@PCFriarsmbb) October 18, 2017
"This is the deepest team I have coached since I was at Boston College" Ed Cooley #GoFriars pic.twitter.com/OY3RPQ2LIQ
— Providence MBB (@PCFriarsmbb) October 18, 2017
Ed Cooley: "Thank God for our presidents for getting rid of the football schools and becoming basketball-centric. I think we have the best schools, the best coaches. We sell the Big East." #pcbb #BEmediaday
— Jaden Daly (@DalyDoseOfHoops) October 18, 2017
Favorite #bemediaday moment? Watching the guy who brings an actual TAPE recorder having to flip the tape over mid-answer from Cooley #pcbb
— Mike Hopkins (@pcbb1917) October 18, 2017
Your 2017-18 @BIGEAST head coaches. @rumbleSBN pic.twitter.com/LT4T8nPiex
— Trey Rodriguez (@TreyRodriguezNY) October 18, 2017
Time for @BIGEAST media day. @CoachCooleyPC and I were warmly greeted by the mascots: pic.twitter.com/ZyEtfLHUgu
— Andy Katz (@TheAndyKatz) October 18, 2017
Here are some of the articles worth reading with coverage of this year’s event:
- Providence Journal – Kevin McNamara
- The Athletic – Dana O’Neil
- WEEI.com – John Rooke
- Friarbasketball.com – Kevin Farrahar
- Omaha World-Herald – Jon Nyatawa
- Asbury Park Press – Josh Newman and Jerry Carino
Those who are interested in the full video from the Big East Digital Network can watch below:
Click through to YouTube to see linked timestamps for certain topics and interviews. The Providence-related ones are Ed Cooley at 47:45 and Kyron Cartwright at 1:39:03.
Stay tuned for a podcast next week with some audio from Big East Media Day.
Providence and UConn Back in Action
Providence and UConn are playing basketball against each other again! Well, sort of. The news broke on Tuesday that Providence and UConn were going to play an exhibition game on October 25th at Mohegan Sun Arena to raise funds to send to the Red Cross to assist hurricane victims. The NCAA granted a waiver for these kinds of games to happen because Providence and UConn have already scheduled their maximum allotment — 2 — of exhibition games. Tickets are still available at Ticketmaster.com — the fees though! — and sources told pcbb1917.com that the game will be available on Fox Sports GO for those not able to be there in person. Additionally, Joe Hassett tweeted on Thursday that he and John Rooke will be there to call the game on the radio for WEEI 103.7FM.
Providence and UConn's hurricane benefit game on Oct 25th at Mohegan Sun will be available on Fox Sports GO, source tells me #pcbb #gofriars
— Mike Hopkins (@pcbb1917) October 19, 2017
Game will also be on Friars radio network Learfield Sports 103.7 WEEI fm https://t.co/adTIBcUH0X
— Joe Hassett (@sonarhassett) October 19, 2017
Friars Receive Votes in Preseason Coaches Poll
The preseason USA Today Coaches Poll was released on Thursday and the Friars were in the “others receiving votes” category that effectively ranked them 32nd in the poll. The AP preseason poll should be out in the next week or so. Stay tuned for that. Head here to see the Big East and Providence’s non-conference opponents.
Cartwright on Preseason Cousy Award Watch List
After getting some national love last week by media, Kyron Cartwright got a little more love this week. Cartwright was named to the preseason watch list for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award, presented by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
Kenpom Giving Cooley Love at The Athletic
First, a subscription the The Athletic is worth the money. Second, a subscription the Kenpom.com is worth the money. Ok. Moving on to the topic at hand.
Ken Pomeroy is writing some data-based articles for The Athletic and the one he put out on Tuesday was an attempt to quantify which coaches are the best “in crunch time.” The premise and article are worthwhile reads, but here’s the meat of what the data showed:
Return of the Mal Brown Scrimmage
The Mal Brown scrimmage is back! Fans who have missed a chance to see the team play against each other on campus before the season begins will get that chance again at 4pm. This will be the first Mal Brown scrimmage since the likes of Kiwi Gardner and Ricky Ledo were donning Friar practice jerseys and hooping it up at Alumni Hall. There is also a season ticket holder event from 2-4pm.
Ed Cooley Radio Show Live from Campus
The Ed Cooley Radio Show returns on Saturday at 2pm, the school announced on Thursday. The show, which is hosted by John Rooke, will air live from 2-3pm on WEEI 103.7FM and will also be streamed on Friars.com. Those venturing up to campus on Saturday for the season ticket holder event and/or Mal Brown scrimmage can catch the show at the Slavin Atrium.
Additionally, here is the rest of the schedule for the Ed Cooley Radio Show, courtesy of John Rooke:
- 10/21 Slavin Atrium, Providence campus 2pm
- 10/26 Audi Warwick 7pm
- 11/2 Hannoush Jewelers 7pm
- 11/7 DaVinci, Providence 7pm
- 11/27 Union Station Brewery, Providence 7pm (taping, broadcast on Nov. 28)
- 12/12 Caserta Pizzeria, Providence 7pm
- 1/8 TBD 7pm
- 1/25 TBD 7pm
- 2/7 Audi Warwick 7pm
- TBD PJ Clarke’s, New York City TBD
Best #pcbb Reads of the Week
Here are some articles worth your time on Providence basketball-related topics:
- 2018 David Duke Commits to Hometown Providence Friars
- Providence’s 2017 Late Night Madness a True Recruiting Celebration
- Friarbasketball.com – Kevin Farrahar
- Woonsocket Call – Brendan McGair
- BigEastCoastBias.com – Chris Grenham
Follow me on Twitter @pcbb1917