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Finding the Range from Deep

Lindsey 3

Friarbasketball.com looks at 15 key storylines in the 40 days leading up to the start of college basketball season.

At this time a year ago no Providence preview was complete without the requisite question of how the Friars would replace Bryce Cotton. Cotton was a two-time 1st Team All Big East selection, led the league in scoring as a junior, and is perhaps the most prolific 3-point shooter the school has ever seen. Cotton is the only Friar to ever make over 70 3 pointers in three different seasons, and the 98 he knocked down his junior year were the most in PC history.

It wasn’t an unfair question, but it was the wrong one. PC didn’t replace Cotton’s shooting and late-game accuracy at the free throw line. Smart coaches alter their style, and that’s what Ed Cooley did a year ago — winning 22 games and cracking the top 25 at one point despite a lack of firepower from deep.

A lack of firepower is being kind. Providence was one of the poorest 3-point shooting teams in the country last season. Their 31% from deep left them in the bottom of the Big East and around 300th nationally. Of the regulars, Kris Dunn made a respectable 35%, but the rest of the backcourt struggled, with Kyron Cartwright and Junior Lomombo making fewer than 20% and Jalen Lindsey getting hot in the postseason to bump his average to 33%.

Providence’s shot chart from last season shows their struggles from 3:

PC shot chart

Cooley’s post-Cotton adjustment was obviously aided by the superb breakout season of Dunn, who has gone from question mark to lottery pick in under a year, and the presence of the uber-productive Henton. It will be fascinating this season to see if Cooley fully unleashes Dunn in more of a free-flowing offense.

On paper, it looks as though Cooley has no other choice.

Last year the Friars were one of the tallest teams in the country (6th nationally in Effective Height per Kenpom), but they’ve lost 14 feet of center in Carson Desrosiers and Paschal Chukwu, the 6’9 Tyler Harris shipped out to Auburn, and Henton, who played much bigger than 6’5, has graduated.

A frontcourt that had trouble finding minutes for Chukwu last season is now filled with question marks: Can Ben Bentil handle the transition to the 5? Does he want to be there? How will Rodney Bullock return from knee surgery and two years away from the game? Can spring signee Quadree Smith give them anything as a freshman?

Those are questions that will be addressed in a future “15 in 40,” but one way Providence could attack any interior shortcomings is to spread the court for Dunn and let him go to work.

It is conceivable that Dunn could be even more effective with this cast if things break right. He had great chemistry with Henton and his loss is significant, but the hope in Providence is that a young core is ready to step in and knock down shots.

I’ve written on multiple occasions about the freshman class of 2001, a group headlined by 6’11 Marcus Douthit and a trio of under-the-radar recruits in Sheiku Kabba, Maris Laksa and Chris Anrin who were phenomenal from 3 — playing a key role in turning the Friars from one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the country into one that made 40% as a team. The Friars were a woeful shooting team in 2000, and no one would have expected the 2001 group to end up second in 3 pointers made and 3-point percentage in school history.

It’s unfair to expect anything similar from this freshman class. Kabba’s .465 is the highest rate of any Friar regardless of class, while Laksa’s .458 is fourth all time.

That team also saw big jumps from deep by sophomores Abdul Mills and Rome Augustin, and John Linehan returned from injury a far better shooter as well.

A similar jump for Dunn, Lindsey and perhaps even Bentil wouldn’t be a surprise, while freshmen Ryan Fazekas, Ricky Council and Drew Edwards all arrive with reputations as shooters.

The 2001 team also didn’t have a playmaker in the same stratosphere as Dunn. The game becomes a lot easier for freshmen when they’re asked to do one or two things well — something Tim Welsh didn’t get enough credit for during the 2001 tournament season.

If the Friars are to hang a 2016 NCAA Tournament banner in the Dunk one day, they’ll need to reinvent themselves as they did a year ago. They’ll need to be much better from deep.

* * *

The top four 3-point shooting teams in Providence history all made the NCAA Tournament. Here’s a look at each:

1987: Shot .421 as a team from 3 and made a PC record 280 total. A Final Four team.

2001: Completed an amazing turnaround on the court thanks to the return of defensive dynamo John Linehan and dramatically improved shooting. One of the worst outside shooting teams in the country a year prior finished 12th nationally from 3 in 2001.

1990: NCAA Tournament team made .387 from 3 — third best in school history.

1989: Another NCAA Tournament team, this one connected on .382 from 3.

Twitter: @Kevin_Farrahar

Email: kevin.farrahar@friarbasketball.com

 

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