Games 1 and 2 are under Kim English‘s belt as head coach of the Providence Friars and the results are a 2-0 record heading into the first high major opponent of the season in Wisconsin on Tuesday at the Amica Mutual Pavilion. While the Gavitt Tip Off Games matchup with the Badgers looms large in the immediate future, a quick look back at the recent past is needed before previewing games this week.
Opening night provided a welcoming atmosphere for Kim English who said, “it felt like a midseason SEC game” and that he’d “never seen a crowd like that for opening night in my 14 years of college basketball.” Columbia provided a good first game for this new era of Friar basketball as there was never really a doubt about the outcome with the Friars trailing for just over 3 minutes all night and, for a change, extending their lead into double digits (15) heading into halftime and leading briefly by only 13 early in the second half but by 20 or more for much of the second half. The final piece of the puzzle against Columbia being a fancy Luke Fonts pass to Rafael Castro to put the Friars up by 21 so that the final bucket by the Lions didn’t negatively impact the final betting line of Providence -18.5. Nothing like starting 1-0 ATS for a new head coach in front of the home faithful.
Milwaukee presented a step up in competition as the Panthers, behind preseason First Team All-League player BJ Freeman, were picked second in the preseason Horizon league poll. Freeman, who missed the team’s season opener due to a violation of team rules, led all scorers in the game against Providence with 33 points on 10/26 shooting and in impressive 11/11 at the free throw line. English made special remark of the free throw proficiency after the game and tipped his hat to Freeman for hitting tough shots.
Some things I found interesting watching the first two games are the much more fluid and aesthetically pleasing it was to watch this version of Providence play offense. While the prior regime ran a ton of set plays and sets in general, English seems much more about flow and concepts than running specific things each time down the court. Garwey Dual, who turned an ankle in the opener against Columbia, has looked very good so far. The easy comparison is to Kris Dunn given the size, lengthy arms and the number 3 uniform and while that seems apt in limited action, I actually think Dual is farther along through 2 games as a freshman than Dunn was as a Friar. Long way to go from here to top 5 NBA Draft pick, but Dual was already on some draft analysts’ big board in the lottery prior to even logging a single collegiate minute. Of the experienced newcomers, I’ve been most impressed with Ticket Gaines. Gaines, who has played for English at 3 different schools now, knows how to play ball and is a versatile piece that seems like it will be a great complement to guys like Devin Carter and Bryce Hopkins. Both Carter and Hopkins have had flashes of their brilliance, but neither seems to be fully comfortable and rocking and rolling. I expect the light to eventually come back on fully for both, particularly Hopkins who made a big change in his shooting motion and to his body this offseason. Jayden Pierre has looked good with Dual in the backcourt and Corey Floyd, Jr. continues to show highlight reel dunks are easily in his repertoire. Josh Oduro has been solid as he works his way back from missing time in the preseason due to injury. It will be interesting to see is Castro is able to keep getting minutes behind Oduro, or if English will opt to go smaller with Hopkins/Gaines at the 5 for stretches when Oduro needs a breather or gets into foul trouble. I expect much of that kind of thing to be based on matchups. More ahead on Wisconsin tomorrow, but I expect that to be a very good game on FS1 with Bill Raftery on the call with Alex Faust.