Sizing Up Providence’s Home and Away Opponents

In 2012-13 Providence will play each team in the Big East once, with the exception of Syracuse, Connecticut, Seton Hall and Villanova which they will see twice.  Here’s an early look at all four of the home and away opponents.

Syracuse: Gone are NBA draft picks Dion Waiters, Fab Melo and Kris Joseph, as well as lead guard Scoop Jardine, but as seems to be the case annually, Syracuse returns a core that will have them back in the hunt for the Big East crown.

Brandon Triche will provide experience and clutch shooting in his senior season, while rising junior CJ Fair looks primed to be one of the breakout performers in the Big East this year.  Notre Dame Prep product James Southerland has emerged into a 6’8 three point threat, while Rakim Christmas and Michael Carter-Williams are a pair of 2011 McDonald’s All Americans who should take quantum leaps in their second seasons.

New additions: Sharp-shooting Trevor Cooney redshirted a season ago and should have an early impact.  Syracuse is one of only a handful of schools with the depth to sit a shooter of his caliber for a season.  6’10, 275 pound Dujuan Coleman is a top 20 player in the class of 2012 by all accounts, whose success may hinge on his ability to get into, and stay in, better shape when the game speeds up at the college level.  Their only other addition in 2012 is Dematha product Jerami Grant, the 6’7 combo forward who found his way into most recruiting services’ top 40-50 this year.

Seton Hall: Do the Pirates have the depth to make up for the losses of Jordan Theodore and Herb Pope?  Theodore was quietly one of the best point guards in the Big East a year ago (16.1 ppg, 6.6 asp), while Pope was a double double power forward who may have been the best rebounder in the conference.

Fortunately for the Hall, they return former Friar target Fuquan Edwin – a big time scorer out of New Jersey who should find his way onto an All Big East team next year.  He’s not only a potential 18 points per game scorer, but tops in the conference in steals.  Aaron Cosby was among the best freshman shooters in the conference a season ago and should see a surge in production as a sophomore.  He’s more than just a shooter and could form one of the better 2/3 combos in the league next season with Edwin.

After that, the pickings get slim.  Patrick Auda and Brandon Mobley are both big bodies (both are 6’9) who will add depth to the frontcourt, but they are also the only returning players to average more than five points per game a season ago.  Mobley torched Providence in the Big East Tournament (16 and 9) and played fairly well after missing a large portion of the early schedule after shoulder surgery.

New additions: Seton Hall landed one of the better point guards in the country in the diminutive Aquille Carr, but he’s a  member of the class of 2013.  Their only 2012 recruit is junior college big man Raymon Austin.

Connecticut: Ineligible for the NCAA Tournament in 2013 and facing the losses of lottery picks Andre Drummond and Jeremy Lamb, in addition to transfers Alex Oriahki (Missouri) and Roscoe Smith (UNLV), UConn won’t feature it’s typical frontcourt depth next season, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be a problem for the Friars.

Shabazz Napier and Ryan Boatright will form a small, but explosive backcourt.  They were second and third respectively in points per game on Connecticut last season.  How efficiently the Huskies can score next year is a fair question, as Napier was a sub-40% shooter as a sophomore and Boatright wasn’t much better at .421.  Still, Boatright has the ability to turn into one of the best scorers in the league next season.

They’ll be flanked by a rather average frontcourt made up the likes of Niles Giffey, Tyler Olander, and DeAndre Daniels, all of whom averaged less than five points per game, albeit in limited minutes in 2011-12.

New additions: Fortunately, Omar Calhoun remained committed to the Huskies when so many others jumped ship this spring.  The Brooklyn native is a clear top 40 talent who should provide some needed scoring from the jump for Connecticut next season.

Wisconsin power forward Phillip Nolan is a skilled 6’10 prospect with good upside.  How quickly he adds mass and adjusts to the strength of the college game will dictate how soon he contributes to a frontcourt that needs as much help as Providence’s in 2012-13.

Jim Calhoun dipped into Germany once again with 6’8 Leon Tolksdorf, who heads to Connecticut with the rep of being a solid all-around type.  He’ll be the third German on the Huskies this season.

Villanova: Is Jay Wright’s star dimming in Philly?  Following a Final Four appearance in 2009, his Wildcats were bounced by St. Mary’s in the second round in 2010, George Mason in the opening round in ’11, and then went 13-19 last season.  That’s not a trend that will please the Villanova faithful.

Gone from last year’s team are former McDonald’s All American Dominic Cheek and freshman transfer Markus Kennedy, but they return leading scorer Maalik Wayns (correction: Wayns declared for the draft and hired an agent in March) who averaged nearly 18 points per game a season ago.  He’ll be flanked by a pair of talented big men in 6’7, 260 pound JayVaughn Pinkston and 6’10 Mouphtauo Yarou, who was a borderline double double man last season.  Their development could make or break Nova next season.

6’5, 225 pound guard James Bell had his moments in 2012 (scoring in double figures in five straight games) who projects to see a bump in minutes.

New additions: The recruiting class is a good one.  Ryan Arciacono is one of the most talented point guards in the country, with great vision and range well beyond the three point line.  Scouts have raised questions about his on-court demeanor and an attitude that could potentially turn off teammates, but he’s a local product who is too talented for Wright to pass on (sound familiar?).

Wright added another Pennsylvania product in 6’9 Daniel Ochefu who is one of the top power forward prospects in the class of 2012.  Both recruits are legitimate top 50-60 talents.

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