On Wednesday, the Ed Cooley and the Friars made their way down to the Virgin Islands for the 2013 Paradise Jam tournament. Opening up with a 2-1 Vanderbilt team, Friday night, PC looks to remain perfect on the young season. Now equipped with a seemingly healthy Kris Dunn, Providence has the opportunity to pick up several quality wins in a field filled with teams like Maryland, LaSalle, Marist, Northern Iowa, Loyola Marymount and Morgan State.
Additionally, it was confirmed on Thursday that both suspended freshmen, Brandon Austin and Rodney Bullock, made the trip down to St. Thomas. Their status for Friday’s matchup remains unclear.
To preview PC’s first matchup, against Vanderbilt, I caught up with Christian D’Andrea who covers the Commodores for AnchorofGold.com. For more coverage from D’Andrea, follow him on Twitter @TrainIsland.
Below you will find his answers to some of the questions that I had for him.
1) Vandy is 2-1 to begin the season, what are your impressions so far?
The first impression so far, is that things aren’t as bad as Vandy fans had come to expect. The one loss came in overtime at Butler and the season started with a win over a formidable Georgia State team – a team that should have a good run in the Sun Belt this year. The difference has been the play of senior Rod Odom (who seems to finally get it after three disappointing, streaky seasons in Nashville) and the impact of two newcomers. True freshman Damian Jones has been impressive as a post player, while Tulsa transfer Eric McClellan has proven that he can score from the point and give this team the offensive spark it needed after losing four (!) underclassmen from the 2012-2013 team.
2) As a Warwick native, and seemingly familiar with PC, how would compare the two teams?
Providence’s resurgence under Ed Cooley is familiar to Vanderbilt fans because we have a football coach who has been able to have a similar effect in James Franklin. Like Cooley, Franklin was able to change the local culture and challenge young players in an effort to bring recruits in and build something unique from the ground up. He’s had early success in resurrecting a program that had been coming off a decade (or more) of underwhelming returns.
Basketball-wise, PC and Vandy both run guard/wing heavy offenses that rely on outside scoring with a big, shot-blocking pivot (DesRosiers for you, Josh Henderson/Damian Jones for us) holding it down in the paint. Vandy doesn’t have the singular talent that PC does in Bryce Cotton or Kris Dunn (at least now that Kedren Johnson is sitting out the year), but Kevin Stallings’s teams have been successful thanks to a team-oriented, 3-point heavy approach.
3) From a Vanderbilt perspective, what is your biggest concern for Friday night’s game?
Can Vanderbilt stop an athletic backcourt that features one of the NCAA’s premiere scorers? That’s an area in which the Commodores have historically struggled under Kevin Stallings. Bryce Cotton will have a tough test ahead of him with Dai-Jon Parker likely to guard him, but past results suggest that he’ll be able to cut up the ‘Dores when it matters most. Having a player who creates second chances like LaDontae Henton does, is troubling as well.
4) Which players should PC be most concerned about on Vanderbilt?
Eric McClellan hasn’t missed a beat in his first season at Vandy, and he is giving the ‘Dores the penetrating presence they need to keep the offense going with Johnson out for the season. Up front, Rod Odom can play as a stretch 4 or mismatch-ready 3 who can shoot the deep ball and provide solid defense as well. James Siakam and Damian Jones are both aggressive post players who can surprise you with their efficiency. Dai-Jon Parker has started slowly, but he’s one of the best passing shooting guards in the country, and he can hit dagger threes when called upon.
5) Thoughts on the coaches picking Vandy to finish 10th in the SEC?
At the beginning of the season, that sounded about right. Through three games, I’m a bit more optimistic. Jones and McClellan have looked better than advertised, and the SEC could be weak again this winter since so many teams will be relying on impact freshmen to get the job done. Vandy has an outside shot to climb into the top half of the conference, but it won’t be easy. I think 10th is more of a floor for this team than a ceiling, however.6) Final prediction for the game
Providence 71, Vanderbilt 68. I think the ‘Dores keep it close, but this is a tough year for them to finally get the confusing Black/Gold dream matchup I’d been waiting for against PC.
Game Info:
Location: St. Thomas, Virgin Islands
Time: 6:30 PM
Television: CBS Sports Network
Radio: WEEI 103.7 FM
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