Friar Basketball

PC Looks to Reestablish Identity vs. URI

URI_2014

You’d be hard pressed to find someone who can remember Providence’s victory over Rhode Island in December 2000.

Both teams came in struggling — URI was 1-4 and the Friars had stumbled their way through their first six games. PC squeaked out a win in their opener over Holy Cross, fell to Maine next, they weren’t all that competitive against Creighton and Auburn, and had wins over two teams that finished below .500 in UMKC and Florida International (who finished 8-21 despite featuring future NBA guard Carlos Arroyo).

Providence rolled over Rhode Island in their 2000 meeting, with Karim Shabazz blocking 10 shots to lead PC to a 95-72 win — the largest margin of victory the rivalry had seen since 1967.

There were absolutely no signs of what was to come next. PC just started killing teams: 85-70 over UMass, 93 points on George Washington, 110 against Brown and wins in nine of their next 11 games following the URI victory.

The Friars went on to win 21 games and made the 2001 NCAA Tournament behind a team that wasn’t much more experienced than the current edition of the Friars (John Linehan, Shabazz and Erron Maxey provided the leadership, they got a boost from two sophomores, while all four members of their freshman class eventually contributed significantly in conference play).

Something clicked in their win over Rhode Island and PC rolled from there after struggling for well over a year.

After a pair of discouraging losses to Brown and Boston College, this current edition of the Friars is looking for a similar springboard effort against URI.

It won’t be nearly as easy as it was in 2000, however. These aren’t Zach Marbury’s Rams.

Dan Hurley has done a terrific job restocking URI’s roster. Led by sophomores EC Matthews and Hassan Martin, the Rams are off to a 5-2 start. Matthews is a star guard who should one day play in the NBA, while Martin is second on the team in scoring and has made over 70% of his shots this season.

Freshmen Jared Terrell and Jarvis Garrett provide backcourt depth and added intrigue to this one. The powerful Terrell flirted with the Friars for well over a year before committing to URI (some reports had Terrell dropping PC from his list, others had PC pulling out first). He’s third on this team in scoring, despite making just 36% of his shots from the field and 56% at the free throw line. He’s a versatile defender that could be asked to guard either Kris Dunn or LaDontae Henton.

For the Friars, this game is just as much about looking inward. Many in Friartown are questioning what this team has inside, not in the paint, but in their chests, after a pair of listless performances against Boston College and Brown. The BC loss was disappointing, the Brown loss inexplicable. After Providence played at such a high level just two weeks ago at Mohegan Sun, defeating Florida State and Notre Dame, it seemed unimaginable that this team would enter this one at 6-3.

But that’s the reality for the Friars, and while URI may see a wounded animal, Providence has to look at this one as an opportunity to reestablish the identify that they seemed to be developing just two weeks ago.

December hasn’t always been kind of Ed Cooley at Providence. Two seasons ago they fell in back to back games against Brown and a poor BC team, and a year ago they lost three games and barely defeated Yale and a URI group that finished 14-18.

Friar fans should take solace in the fact that Cooley’s teams have gotten significantly better from December on, but we’re going to learn a lot about the character of this group on Wednesday night with a rival coming to town that would love nothing more than to keep them reeling.

Is this the day that the Friars push back for the first time since their trip to Kentucky?

Twitter: Kevin_Farrahar

Email: kevin.farrahar@friarbasketball.com

4 Comments

  1. Michael Graham Adamowicz

    December 10, 2014 at 3:30 am

    Well said, good perspective. Let’s go Friars!

  2. Jeremy Nunes

    December 10, 2014 at 3:11 pm

    That Brown loss took a little steam out of this game. Let’s get the Dunk rocking and get a much needed W!

  3. Thomas Walters Jr

    December 10, 2014 at 4:42 pm

    This is big basketball see the difference in the benches-wanting to win cheering for each other -heads up

  4. Michael Trenn

    December 11, 2014 at 2:54 am

    Good game tonight!

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