Friar Basketball

Fortune on Fire in February

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Providence sophomore Josh Fortune has enjoyed the most consistent month of his career in February. The Virginia native has shot over 50% from the field in six of PC’s seven games this month and made over half of his three point attempts in four of those contests (he also shot .429 in a fifth game).

Prior to February Fortune hadn’t made four 3 pointers in a game all season, but he’s done so three times already this month. And despite a 2-14 night at Georgetown, Fortune is shooting 48% from the field and 47% from three in February. Taking the Georgetown game out of the equation (cherry picking at its finest) he’s made 58% from the field and 56% from deep.

In addition to the shooting numbers, Fortune had back to back eight rebound games (versus Xavier and Georgetown) and came up with four steals in the double overtime loss to Villanova.

He’s now averaging 8.5 points and 4.2 rebounds per game in conference play, while making 37% of his three point attempts in Big East games. For a player who shot just 27% in conference games last season, he’s made significant gains with his shot as a sophomore.

Fortune’s numbers are up across the board from a season ago. He’s making 50% of his two point shots (he seemingly never misses from 17 feet when the Friars are running their Flex offense), which is up from 38% last season, and his three point percentage on the entire season is at 35%, a big jump from the .289 mark he ended his freshman season with.

This isn’t to say he has had a flawless month. Fortune is still prone to untimely turnovers and has taken just four free throws in February, but he seems to have found his footing offensively after looking out of sorts for much of his first year and a half at Providence.

In fairness, his adjustment period was shorter than what Ed Cooley had initially planned when he brought Fortune aboard, but Friar fans are seeing more than the flashes that he’d shown in the past, as Fortune has shot the ball consistently well since mid-January.

 

Email Kevin at kevin.farrahar@friarbasketball.com

Twitter: Kevin_Farrahar

 

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