Friar Basketball
Home / General News / Season Preview: Jalen Lindsey

Season Preview: Jalen Lindsey

Lindsey Preview Article

The latest “15 in 40” season preview article takes a look at Jalen Lindsey, as Associate Head Coach Andre Lafleur shares the staff’s expectations for the sophomore. 

Perhaps the most confounding player from a season ago could end up Providence’s most important this year.

Jalen Lindsey came to Providence a top 100 prospect and looked the part a handful of games in. Lindsey torched Florida State in the Friars’ fourth game of the season, connecting on 5-6 from 3 point range in an 80-54 dusting of the Seminoles.

A day later it looked as though Lindsey had it rolling again, as he connected on his first shot against Notre Dame (a 3 pointer), but came down on a defender’s foot, sprained his ankle and was relegated to just one minute of action over the next two games.

Lindsey’s freshman season seemed to get derailed every few weeks. A bout with mono kept him from traveling on the team’s preseason trip to Italy, the sprained ankle came during his hottest shooting stretch of the year, and he later mangled a finger on his shooting hand rather horrifically.

Salvaging a season that saw his minutes decline over the final month of the year (10 minutes or fewer in six of PC’s final 10 games), Lindsey caught fire against Villanova in the Big East Tournament Semifinals with three 3 pointers when the Friars desperately needed a lift, and then he nearly went the distance (39 minutes) against Dayton in the NCAA Tournament when he dropped 4-8 from deep.

Lindsey hadn’t made more than two 3s in a game since the Florida State explosion and the hope in Providence is that his late season outburst was a sign of things to come.

Still, for the Friars to make any sort of noise come March they’ll likely need Lindsey to not only show the shooting stroke he flashed late, but become a more assertive presence on the glass and with the ball in his hands.

PC had two of the Big East’s top scorers a season ago in Kris Dunn and LaDontae Henton and they ran virtually everything through them offensively. Lindsey was often relegated to spot up shooter — one who rarely got the proverbial easy bucket that so often gets shooters going.

94 of his 119 field goal attempts were from beyond the arc last season. Associate Head Coach Andre Lafleur expects that to change in 2015-16. “Look for him to put the ball down, get into the paint and make some plays off the bounce. I think he’s a guy for us that’s going to be key. His development is going to be shown early and often with this year’s team,” Lafleur said.

Lindsey Shot Chart

Whether by game plan, comfort, or skill, we didn’t see Lindsey put the ball on the deck last year, and for a player with good length and leaping ability, he wasn’t much of a factor on the glass (1.5 rebounds in nearly 18 minutes per game).

Where he was more than ready as a freshman, and where he didn’t receive as much credit as he deserved, was on the defensive end. Lindsey and Dunn were a nuisance with their long limbs and athleticism at the top of a zone, and the 6’7 Lindsey showed the ability to keep most ball handlers in front of him.

He also made the defensive play of the season in the Big East Semifinals — stripping Villanova’s Josh Hart, leading to a Dunn layup to tie things in the closing seconds.

The staff refers to Lindsey as one of their “interchangeable” players who they will look to utilize more in ball screen situations as both a screener/shooter and ball handler this season.

With a year under his belt the staff is expecting more from the sophomore, “His year development is off the charts. I think we’re going to see him turn into the player that came with the expectations last year. His ability as an athlete to make plays is going to be highlighted a lot more with our uptempo style,” said Lafleur.

Twitter: @Kevin_Farrahar

Email: kevin.farrahar@friarbasketball.com

* * *

2015-16 “15 in 40″ season preview 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/

12. Learning More About the Freshmen: http://friarbasketball.com/2015/09/18/learning-more-about-the-freshmen/

4 Comments

  1. Mike Baffaro

    September 20, 2015 at 1:45 pm

    Lindsey just needs confidence, no doubt he’s a top talent.

  2. Chris Torello

    September 20, 2015 at 1:45 pm

    Lindsey is going to make some fans apologize for their impatience and horrible attitude towards him during his freshman year.

  3. Tommy Larsen

    September 20, 2015 at 1:45 pm

    Love reading this. Sure hope it’s the case with Lindsey!

  4. Derec Lamendola

    September 20, 2015 at 3:11 pm

    WOLRD YOU STOP TALKING ABOUT LINSDAY AND Becuass IS Geting Rsuchsrated YOU KNOW GIVE The GAUY Brake He A Sophomre Year IN College IN Providence College IS NOT LIKE HE A Ferchsmin HE A Sophomre Year Can Every One UNDERSTAN Don’t Say Lseinday Going Florida He STIL With Us Criag LEIGHTON

You must be logged in to post a comment Login