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Here and There in Friartown

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Here are some notes and opinions on what has happened in Friartown during the past couple of weeks:

  • Even though the Friars did not play against any meaningful competition in Italy the trip was still very valuable to the Friars for a few reasons. Unlike other schools who did not play overseas this summer PC was allowed to hold a full week or regular practices in August before they went over to Italy. This included the three freshmen (Paschal Chukwu, Ben Bentil, and Jalen Lindsey) who were not able to accompany the team overseas. This practice time will prove to be invaluable for a team trying to incorporate so many new faces into the program. Rodney Bullock and Junior Lomomba were able to get playing time against outside competition for the first time after having had to sit out the prior year. This will help with their confidence heading into the start of regular practice. Taking a trip overseas is a great team building experience and will bring a team closer together. This is something that is very real but can’t be measured
  • Speaking of Junior Lomomba, he showed an ability to hit the three point shot and to be a playmaker over in Italy, even though it was against inferior competition. This is great news for Friar fans. It looks like his daily workouts with God Shammgod are paying off.
  • Having Jalen Rose attend Late Night Madness and visit the PC campus is long overdue. When they were teammates on the  Indiana Pacers, Austin Croshere used to tell Jalen all about how Jalen’s father, Jimmy Walker, was such an icon at Providence. He will finally get a chance to see this for himself.
  • Big Sean is going to be at Late Night Madness? I am too old to really know who he is but anyone who has almost six million twitter followers has to be very popular so I will say it is another nice job by the athletic department. What a difference from Keno Davis’s first Midnight Madness when Keno didn’t even speak to the crowd.
  • The Friars are still actively recruiting front court players for the 2015 class, but may have difficulty getting a top player to commit knowing they will be competing for time with Ryan Fazekas, Alex Owens, Ben Bentil, Paschal Chukwu, and Jalen Lindsey. That is a lot of talent to compete with for playing time. PC  could possibly bring in a developmental center type or forward who can play multiple positions.
  • It seems that the Toronto Bluejays are all upset with the Creighton Blue Jays lately. If I was the Louisville Cardinals is it time to start worrying about St. Louis starting litigation? Or Arizona? Just kidding on Louisville but this situation goes to show you how cut-throat the business of sports is today. If I was Toronto, I would think the more that Bluejays get mentioned in relation to sports, the better it is for them. What do I know?
  • I am looking for the Friars to add at least two guards to this year’s class. With all the front court talent this team has, it should be an easy sell to bring in a couple of quality back-court players. Justin Robinson, Davon Dillard, Jared Wison-Frame, Curtis Cobb, and Drew Edwards are some of the names being mentioned, although I would not be surprised if one of the guards winds up being someone that has not been mentioned before.
  • After an incredible three year turnaround of the Friar basketball program one of the most amazing things is that the assistant coaching staff of Andre LaFleur, Bob Simon, and Brian Blaney is still intact. I would not expect that to continue after this season as at least one of these coaches is going to wind up with a head coaching position somewhere. And just in time as it would be a shame if God Shammgod does not wind up with an assistant coaching position on this staff because of a log jam.
  • Bruce Pearl just became eligible to speak with recruits for the first time this past weekend and he already has two ESPN Top 100 players committed to Auburn? Come on.
  • Did anyone catch the Elite 24 on ESPNU last Saturday? It had to have been one of the most incredible venues for a basketball game I have ever seen; on the Brooklyn pier with the New York City skyline in the background. Absolutely incredible. And if you did watch it you got to see Shammgod coaching one of the high school All Star teams.
  • The SEC Network is now available on Cox in Rhode Island? Just what I need.

 

email Craig: Craig.Leighton@friarbasketball.com

follow Craig: @CraigL79

 

 

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