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15 in 40: 14 Feet of Center

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Kevin Farrahar takes a look back at how the 2001 Friars had a program-changing season behind a pair of seven foot shot blockers, and wonders if this year’s centers could have the same impact on the defensive end in the latest “15 in 40” article.

There was no one in Providence who could have dreamed in the preseason that the 2000-01 Friars would have made the NCAA Tournament. The Friars were simply inept the year prior.

They lost their point guard before the 1999-2000 season got off the ground, as defensive dynamo John Linehan suffered a hernia in October, tried to return in late November, but shut it down after playing in just six games.

A recruiting class that centered on top junior college recruits Donta Wade and David Murray fizzled in large part because both Wade and Murray failed to come close to meeting expectations before being kicked out of school for an assault in the spring.

Freshmen Rome Augustin and Abdul Mills flashed potential at the 2 and 3 but struggled much of the year without a point guard on the floor, while 7’2 center Karim Shabazz provided a defensive spark when he became eligible midseason (following a transfer from Florida State), but it wasn’t enough to stop a horrid offensive team (287th in the country in 3 point shooting) from finishing 11-19.

The aforementioned assault then stripped the Friars of any depth the following season.

So, how did PC go from Big East bottom feeder to a second place finish in the conference the next year?

Linehan’s return certainly didn’t hurt — and that he returned a 40% 3 point shooter was an added benefit. During the run to the tournament he won the first of his two Big East Defensive Player of the Year awards.

Linehan wasn’t the only Friar to lock in from deep. PC shot 40% from 3 as a team, with Augustin bumping his percentage over that mark and a trio of freshmen hitting a lot of 3s at a great clip (forwards Chris Anrin and Maris Laksa combined to make nearly 90 3s, with Laksa shooting over 40%, and Sheiku Kabba set a PC record by hitting over 46% of his 3s in year one).

Three point numbers aside, this was a limited offensive team that lacked any creators or a go-to scorer, so much so that their leading scorer was Erron Maxey at 11 ppg. Only two other players averaged over 10.

This was a team that won with defense — a defense remembered for the genius of Linehan (a 90 foot terror who changed the game defensively unlike any guard in the Big East before him) — but a defense that was anchored by 14 feet of center.

PC finished top 20 nationally in blocked shots, with Shabazz swatting 2.4 in 24 minutes a night, and freshman Marcus Douthit blocking over 50 shots coming off of the bench (1.6 blocks in 15 minutes per game).

A group that was so limited offensively was the first PC team to crack the top 25 since 1989 behind the strength of that defense.

A defensively disrupting point guard returning from injury and the potential for a seven footer (or near 7 feet in Douthit’s case) on the floor at all times — sound familiar?

While the talk nationally centers on how Providence can overcome losing the offense of Bryce Cotton and Kadeem Batts, the hope locally is that this team has the size and athleticism to win by smothering opponents on the defensive end.

Replacing offense with defense? Enter 14 feet of center.

No one blocked more shots in Big East play than Carson Desrosiers last season. The Wake Forest transfer changed the dynamic of the Friar lineup, giving them a player who challenged drives at the rim for the first time in years.

He was the best defensive center since Douthit graduated in 2004 (Douthit was later drafted by the Lakers after finishing 2nd all time in blocked shots at PC).

Desrosiers’ presence allows Ed Cooley to ease 7’2 freshman Paschal Chukwu into action.

Chukwu is regarded as one of the top 3-4 shot blockers in the class of 2014 — a top 60 recruit who Providence discovered early and pursued harder than anyone before he committed the August prior to his senior year at Fairfield Prep in Connecticut.

Unlike Shabazz or Douthit, Chukwu is terrific at catching and finishing lobs above the rim. The rest of his offensive game must progress, and more physical interior players could pose problems early in his career. Still, to watch him is to see 2-3 awe-inspiring blocks that leave you wondering just how good he can be in time.

Desrosiers is buying in, having seen major strides since Chukwu started practicing with the team this summer. The freshman is helping the senior as well, Desrosiers said, “He has a reach that is out of this world, so just to be able to practice against him is helpful. Then, in turn, he’s practicing against me and it’s just going to help both of us because most of the players we’ll be going up against won’t be seven feet tall.”

Desrosiers thinks his role in the offense could evolve with the change in personnel: “I looked at it last year like we had so many options in terms of guys who can get big numbers and we lost them, so people have to step up. I’m definitely up for that challenge.”

Offense has a way of figuring itself out. What could separate this Friar team is a different type of challenge than the one Desrosiers referenced — their ability to challenge opponents at the rim with all of that length.

It’s the kind of length not seen in these parts since 2001.

Email: kevin.farrahar@friarbasketball.com

Twitter: @Kevin_Farrahar

 

11 Comments

  1. Tim Finnegan

    November 5, 2014 at 2:32 am

    Ya can’t teach height!!!

  2. Erin Cannon

    November 5, 2014 at 4:00 am

    I’m so excited David and I have season tickets this season.

  3. Thomas Walters Jr

    November 5, 2014 at 5:40 am

    Free throw practices you can teach both will need to make teams PAY from the Line

  4. Sean McNamara

    November 5, 2014 at 11:38 am

    Kris Dunn might not be JL; but he’s strong on D. Lots of length in this lineup.

  5. Domenic Zannella

    November 5, 2014 at 2:27 pm

    If he can stay healthy I think Dunn will go down as an all time great friar

  6. George Lacouture

    November 5, 2014 at 4:31 pm

    Carol Palladino Fortin have tickets for 3 games

  7. Luke Sacharczyk

    November 6, 2014 at 2:03 am

    Is that the guys who’s jersey you ripped Erik Cloutier?

  8. Erik Cloutier

    November 6, 2014 at 2:05 am

    Lol yeah

  9. Luke Sacharczyk

    November 6, 2014 at 2:06 am

    Beast lol. Remember that one Eric AyoMayo

  10. Eric AyoMayo

    November 6, 2014 at 2:42 am

    Haha yea we surprised them and even had the fans thinking we could win. We had a chance too

  11. Kathleen Pantaleo

    November 6, 2014 at 3:50 am

    Emily Desrosier…..any relation to this kid?!

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