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Learning More About the Freshmen

2015 Freshmen

In our latest “15 in 40” season preview article the impact of the incoming freshmen is examined as Associate Head Coach Andre Lafleur shares his thoughts on Providence’s newcomers.

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This is a different kind of recruiting class under Ed Cooley — it’s one that the fanbase doesn’t have the same grasp on as in years past. The four man recruiting haul doesn’t include a local prospect fans have been tracking for 2-3 years, or a unanimous top 100 player and the ink that accompanies that, but there’s an ease and quiet confidence coming out of PC about the impact the rookies could have this season. Some impact will be necessary if the Friars are to reach their third straight NCAA Tournament.

That we’re discussing a third consecutive tourney appearance after just four years of Ed Cooley’s tenure is remarkable considering how decimated this program was prior to Cooley’s arrival. He brought stability, standards, almost instant on-court success, and major buzz to a dormant program — buzz that was built early on the recruiting trail.

The 2015 class doesn’t arrive with anywhere near the buzz of 2011, when PC landed two top 25 players, or 2014’s class that came with three top 100 recruits.

A ranking next to your name means little after freshmen arrive on campus, but during high school it comes with more national pub — and with more national pub comes more familiarity and excitement among a fan base.

And with a four man class made up of a players from Indiana, North Carolina, and a pair from Maryland, this isn’t a group made up of prospects that sites like this one or the New England Recruiting Report have been tracking in-person for years.

Regardless of the amount of exposure they received coming in, this is a class the coaching staff has confidence in because each of them can bring something specific to the table from the jump.

That’s the impact of a star like Kris Dunn. He can simplify the game for the freshmen.

The 6’7, 285 lb Quadree Smith (Temple Hills, Maryland) will be a ball screener for a team looking to do more off of the pick and roll this year.

6’7 Ryan Fazekas (Chesterton, IN) and 6’4 Ricky Council (Durham, NC) will allow the Friars to spread the floor for Dunn.

6’3 Drew Edwards (Perry Hall, MD) can slide into either guard position, providing more positional versatility and a savviness to the backcourt.

It looks like a group brought in with a certain style of play in mind — more pick and roll/pick and pop situations and an offense that attacks in waves versus methodically executing in the half court.

Fazekas was the first to commit to PC, doing so early in his junior season after visiting during Late Night Madness. Over the following six months Fazekas won a state championship in Indiana, scoring 34 points in the title game on seven 3-point makes.

A near 1,500 point scorer in high school, Fazekas will not only be relied on for his trademark outside shot. Associate Head Coach Andre Lafleur mentioned his “feel for the game” on three separate occasions in a conversation three weeks ago.

“Ryan has the ability to impact the game in at least one way right away,” Lafleur said. “And he had that his whole high school career with his ability to shoot the long ball.”

While slender (205 lbs) the thought is Fazekas could see some minutes as a stretch 4. “Strength can be an issue for a lot of freshmen,” said Lafleur. “A lot of people talk about girth and muscle, but sometimes length can compensate for that.”

“He has a very quick release on his jump shot, he’s very active and plays with a huge motor. He gets off his feet quick enough to get rebounds. He has a very good feel for the game — a high IQ — so I expect him to be able to impact the game, if not physically, than with his ability to shoot the ball and stretch the defense out,” Lafleur said of Fazekas.

Fazekas and fellow sniper Ricky Council have built a strong on-floor rapport with Dunn over the summer and both will be encouraged to fire away from the start.

“Ricky and Ryan come in right away — those are guys who can get 10-15 3 pointers up (a game) and they can make 5-6 to break a game open. They both stretch out the defense,” Lafleur said.

“Ricky is a much better athlete than he’s given credit for. He’s an above the rim guy when he does put it down on the floor.

Those guys being able to shoot the way they do, they come into a program and they already improved our 3-point shooting ability. We used to talk about developing our 3-point shooters and one way you do it is by recruiting. These are guys who are proven sharpshooters.”

Council’s recruitment remained somewhat quiet, even if his game did not. His Moravian Prep team finished 38-7 last year with Council averaging over 28 points per game and making 3-pointers at a 45% clip. His breakout 53 point performance (on 10-11 from deep) came against a typically competitive Robinson School.

Lafleur said of Council, “His body is already changing. He is one of the freshmen who benefitted from coming to two summers sessions. He’s in the gym every day — he’s a gym rat. He’s a quality, quality high character kid who listens , is coachable and he’s going to be a very good player for us who can change the game with his ability to score the basketball.”

The coaching staff thinks Council (a 2,000 point scorer in high school) could overachieve at Providence because of his character.

Drew Edwards played at Calvert Hall in the tough Baltimore Catholic League. Calvert Hall has produced terrific guards who were under the radar while there in Juan Dixon, Gary Neal and current Louisville scorer Damion Lee, and the hope is Edwards is another find.

Lafleur said teams “can’t have enough guys” like Edwards who can play both guard spots. Like Fazekas and Council, Edwards put up big scoring numbers in high school (over 1,500 points) in helping turn a .500 team his sophomore season into one that went 28-6 his junior year.

Calvert Hall head coach John Bauersfeld told Friarbasketball.com last year that Edwards  is a “very conscientious worker in the classroom at a demanding academic school.”

“He is a calming influence for our team on the floor through his decision-making and feel for the game. His ability to pass the ball is one of his greatest assets that won’t show up in the scouting report. He sees the floor well and has a great understanding of passing angles,” Bauersfeld explained.

The fourth member of the recruiting class is the biggest. Quadree Smith committed to PC in June after the transfer of Paschal Chukwu and has minutes there for him if he’s ready, as the Friars return just one regular from last season’s frontcourt.

Smith comes via IMG Academy. Friarbasketball was in attendance for one of his best games of last season — a 21 point, 14 rebound afternoon against Putnam Science at the National Prep Showcase in November. Perhaps the most noteworthy game of his career came when he pulled down 19 rebounds as his St. Paul VI team snapped famed Oak Hill’s 56 games winning streak.

“Quadree brings us a different type of body,” Lafleur explained. “He’s a wide-bodied girth guy who has great hands and a great feel for the game.”

“He’s going to be a big ball screener for whoever is guarding Kris (Dunn) and he’s hard to get around. He has very soft hands and he finishes around the rim.”

Twitter: @Kevin_Farrahar

Email: kevin.farrahar@friarbasketball.com

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Previous “15 in 40” articles.

15. Finding the Range from Deep: http://friarbasketball.com/2015/08/19/15-in-40-finding-the-range-from-deep/

14. Where Are They Now? http://friarbasketball.com/2015/09/11/15-in-40-where-are-they-now/

13. Rodney Bullock’s Day Approaching: http://friarbasketball.com/2015/09/12/rodney-bullocks-day-approaching/

 

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