The first Providence Friar game I attended was in January of 1970 at Alumni Hall. I was five years old and haven’t stopped cheering for them since. A couple of years later, I helped out with a paper route, and would often use my money to take the number 26 RIPTA bus to the then new Providence Civic Center to attend Saturday afternoon games. The bus was $0.35 each way, and tickets were $3.50, I think. I didn’t appreciate at the time how lucky I was to see a Friar team featuring three all-Americans, playing the top teams in the country when most schools played regional schedules. Providence had home and home series with regular top 20 schools such as Purdue, Oregon, Jacksonville, St. John’s, Villanova, St. Bonaventure, and North Carolina (Thank you Dave Gavitt).
My two early memories of how fortunate we were in Providence was the first InBank Classic, where we beat Texas and top-ranked Michigan in overtime, and the following season when we beat North Carolina in the Blizzard Game. I had gotten tickets to the Texas and Michigan games for Christmas, and my brother and I walked to the Civic Center for the North Carolina game because my older neighbor could not make it (Thank you Anna!). Another memory was a couple of weeks before the North Carolina game when the Friars had an exhibition game scheduled at the Civic Center. Unfortunately, the Hartford Civic Center (now XL Center) had their roof collapse earlier in that week, and in an abundance of caution, the game was moved to Alumni Hall, with extremely limited attendance. Fortunately, my older brother knew how to sneak into Alumni, and we were able to watch (thank you Kevin!).
The point of all this is that the Friars are ingrained into my sports fandom. I have no interest in the NFL or NBA, so the only sports for me during cold New England winters are the Friars (and Friars hockey). Since I hate the cold, the years when the Friars are not competitive really suck. After the past decade when the Friars have been competing for NCAA bids on an annual basis, there was trepidation throughout Friartown when Steve Napolillo hired a relatively unproven coach to take over the flagship program of Providence College. Early reviews and endorsements were strong, but it is not easy coaching in one of the top conferences in the country.
This past week was a pair of major tests for Coach English and his team. Coming off a disheartening loss to Villanova, the Friars were facing a revitalized Creighton offense (91.5 ppg over their previous four games) and the surprise team of the league at Butler. During the Creighton game, the Friars made a decision that could have been easily questioned by primarily running their offense directly into the seven-foot frame of two-time reigning Big East defensive player of the year, Ryan Kalkbrenner. The response was that Josh Oduro absolutely dominated the Bluejays, keeping the Friars in the game. Jayden Pierre and Corey Floyd hit some big three pointers, and Floyd continued his outstanding defensive play. Down the stretch, Devin Carter put on his Superman cape and matched the hot shooting Creighton team with Steven Ashworth, Baylor Scheierman, and Trey Alexander all hitting big shots. In the end, Providence had Devin Carter and Josh Oduro and Creighton did not.
This re-energized the Friar faithful, waiting to see Carter, Oduro, and company take on the Bulldogs. Then, on Friday afternoon, rumors began to leak out that Josh Oduro did not make the flight to Indianapolis, staying behind with his expectant wife. Jokes aside, Friar fans were thrilled for the newlyweds. For Kim English and the staff, they have been with Josh and his wife for three years, and this was a joyous moment for all.
The fact remained that the Friars would have to adjust their offense again, without the benefit of practice time. Their early season plan when going small had Bryce Hopkins playing the five spot, but that was obviously not an option. It also made it easier for Butler to focus even more attention on the All-America candidate, number 22. This is in addition to the fact that Butler is led by one of the best in-game coaches in the business, Thad Matta. During the Big East media day in October, I was surprised to see Butler picked in a near tie for last with DePaul (one point separated the two teams, well behind Seton Hall and Georgetown above them). I thought they had a decent team capable of surprising people, but they surpassed anything I expected. Their wins in home, road, and neutral settings have put them in great position for their first NCAA bid since 2018. Their roster is a combination of low major players getting a chance to shine in a major conference (Jamyl Telfort, DJ Davis, and Andre Screen), a highly rated player showing he deserved a chance at his previous stop (Pierre Brooks), and a Big East player looking to rebuild his reputation (Posh Alexander). Matta hit on all four of these under the radar portal additions, plus a solid if unspectacular bench. Given their size, strength, and ability, Friar fortunes had significantly diminished.
Coach English always talks about there being no excuses, but this could be an exception. Instead, Corey Floyd stepped up with an offensive game to match his stellar defense of late. Garwey Dual had his best conference game of the season, and Richard Barron played with a maturity belying his freshman status. Additionally, Jayden Pierre was restricted due to injury, and despite this was a calming influence on the offense. Plus, we still had Devin Carter. Despite a tough finish and several non-calls that could have changed the final outcome, the Friars gained as much as possible without getting the victory. The most important thing to me is the job Coach English did on such short notice. He developed a different offense and made numerous defensive adjustments against one of the top coaches in the business with an NCAA Tournament team. The Friars fought and did not panic despite falling behind by double digits in the second half. They had every excuse to pack it in for the day, but came back and took the lead, only to lose in heartbreaking fashion. Coach English provided leadership, game planning, and execution this week at a higher level than ever. The other thing that was so impressive was the manner in which the Friar defense, especially Carter, Floyd, and Gaines, matched up against opposition players several inches and up to 50 lbs. bigger than them. Carter and Floyd held Brooks and Telfort below their season averages, and Ticket battled Jalen Thomas to a standstill despite the height and weight differential.
This week will not be any easier, as the Friars host St. John’s led by arguably the best college basketball coach of all-time in Rick Pitino. After this past week, however, I am still worried about the game, but much less worried about the coaching matchup. Go Friars.