Here & There in Friartown

News, notes, and opinions on PC basketball (and other topics) while wondering why the Friar seem to have so much time off lately.

• It is midseason awards time and NBC Sports has named Kris Dunn its National Player of the Year and Ben Bentil its Most Improved Player in the nation. Meanwhile, ESPN named Dunn a First Team All American and Bentil a Third Team All American. All awards are richly deserved by these two Friars.
• PC played a lousy game and lost by one point to a Marquette team that is going to be battling all season for an NCAA Tournament bid. That alone says a lot about this year’s Friars.
• What do Kris Dunn, Ryan Fazekas, Ben Bentil, Rodney Bullock, Jalen Lindsey, Drew Edwards, Junior Lomomba, and Ricky Council have in common? They have all attempted more three point shots than Tyler Harris has this year. I don’t think that is quite what Harris had in mind when he transferred.
• Henry Ellenson is the real deal and will wind up being a top five pick this year unless he pulls a Kris Dunn and comes back for another season.
• Would Ben Bentil be the player he is right now if Paschal Chukwu were here getting 25 minutes per game at the center position?
• Speaking of Paschal Chukwu, what on Earth was he ever thinking?
• The next Ed Cooley Radio Show will be broadcast live from Union Station Brewery tonight at 7:00 pm on 103.7 WEEI.
• It was good to see Ryan Fazekas back in the lineup, even if it was just for a couple of minutes. The Friars are at their best when he is out there hitting his three point shot.
• It is going to be difficult for the Big East to have a couple of teams finish the year in the top 10 as they are going to beat up on each other too much. This is the price you pay for having a deep league.
• One thing that may still be underrated about Ben Bentil is his free throw shooting. He is becoming pretty much automatic from the free throw line and is shooting .814 from the charity stripe on the season.
• With Dunn and Bentil the Friars will be entering most games for the rest of the year with the two best players on the court, a great position to be in.
• The Friars are 14-2 on the season, they have the perfect coach for the program in Ed Cooley, they have two potential All Americans on the team, a new practice facility is on the way, and recruiting is looking up. It is a great time to be a Friar.

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