Friar Basketball
Home / General News / Featured / Best Individual Seasons of the Decade

Best Individual Seasons of the Decade

Best Seasons of the Decade

With all due respect to Marshon Brooks and a senior season in which he averaged nearly 25 points a night while grabbing seven rebounds, the top five individual seasons of the past decade came when the stakes were highest. All five of the seasons below resulted in 1st Team All Big East honors on teams that played in the NCAA tournament.

A very legitimate case can be made for Brooks, whose big senior year resulted in him being taken in the first round of the NBA Draft, but in terms of building this program, the five seasons below were far more impactful.

1. Bryce Cotton 2013-14

Season Statistics: 21.8 points, 5.9 assists, 3.5 rebounds, 41.9% from the field, 85.3% free throw shooting, 36.7% from 3, 77 three pointers made, 39.9 minutes per game.

Big East Statistics: 23.4 points, 6.1 assists, 3.9 rebounds, .413 from 3, 41.9 (!) minutes per game, 8.8 free throw attempts per game.

Awards: 2014 Big East Tournament Most Valuable Player, 1st Team All Big East, 2nd in the Big East in scoring, 1st in the nation in minutes per game, 1st in the Big East in assists, free throw attempts, free throws made.

Big Games: 36 points, eight assists, five rebounds versus North Carolina in the NCAA tournament, 23/5 in the Big East Championship game, 25/9/7 in a double overtime win on Senior Night against Marquette, 28/6/3 on 5-7 from 3 versus Butler, 22/9/7 against Villanova, 28/6/4 in the opener against Boston College.

Summary: The ultimate iron man, Cotton’s game log is jarring for how many nights he played 40 (or 50) minutes a game. While Kris Dunn earned All American honors two years later, Cotton’s senior season is the best of the past decade because of the points he put on the board and the impact he made in March. Cotton shined in both the Big East Championship game against Doug McDermott and Creighton and in the NCAA tournament a week later. Cotton’s 36 point explosion was perhaps the best of the opening weekend of the 2014 tournament, and he did it in a nail-biter against North Carolina. The Friars would have played Iowa State in the next rebound, a Cyclone team down Georges Niang, which could have opened the field for PC. Still, it’s hard to imagine Cotton could have gone out on a higher note.

2. Kris Dunn 2014-15:

Season Statistics: 15.6 points, 7.5 assists, 5.5 rebounds, 2.7 steals, 47.4/68.6/35.1

Big East Statistics: 17.0 points, 7.7 assists, 5.9 rebounds, 2.8 steals, .476 from the field.

Awards: Big East Player of the Year, Big East Defensive Player of the Year, 1st Team All Big East, All Big East Tournament team, 1st in the Big East in assists and steals, 3rd in the nation in assists, 4th in the nation in steals.

Big Games: 22 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals versus URI, 15 points, 13 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 steals in Brooklyn against Miami, 25 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists at Butler, 20 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals versus Xavier, 27 points, 13 rebounds, 11 assists versus DePaul, 22 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists in the BET semis against Villanova.

Summary: Dunn realistically could have added Big East Most Improved Player to his resume after returning with a vengeance from two injury-plagued seasons to start his career. Dunn went from early season question mark to one of the best players in the nation, leading Providence to a six seed in the 2015 NCAA tournament. He seemed to get better as conference play arrived, seeing a spike in his numbers once Big East games began. He was terrific in a painful Big East Tournament semifinal loss to Villanova. Dunn went to the bench early with foul trouble against Dayton (two fouls in the first three minutes) in the first round of the NCAAs and never found his rhythm.

The 2014-15 Friars may have been Ed Cooley’s best, in hindsight. LaDontae Henton led the Big East in scoring that year, Dunn emerged as a star, Tyler Harris was a solid scoring option, they had a pair of seven footers in Carson Desrosiers and Pascal Chukwu, while a trio of freshman were contributing solidly come March (Ben Bentil, Jalen Lindsey, Kyron Cartwright). PC got four 3-pointers out of Lindsey in the Dayton game and still lost — few would have guessed it.

3. Kris Dunn 2015-16:

Season Statistics: 16.4 points, 6.2 assists, 5.3 rebounds, 2.5 steals, 44.8/69.5/37.2.

Big East Statistics: 16.2 points, 5.9 assists, 5.4 rebounds, 2.4 steals

Awards: Consensus 2nd Team All American, Big East Player of the Year, Big East Defensive Player of the Year, 1st Team All Big East, 1st in Big East in steals and 5th in the nation, 2nd in the Big East in assists.

Big Games: 32 points, 8 steals versus Harvard, 22 points, 10 rebounds, 9 assists, 7 steals against NJIT, 19 points, 8 assists versus Arizona, 20 points, 9 assists, 7 rebounds at Butler, 13 points, 14 assists, 4 steals in a win at Nova, 23 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists versus Xavier, 29 points against North Carolina.

Summary: Providence was 17-3 at one point during the 2015-16 campaign, with Dunn leading the way. He made an early season statement in the opener against Harvard, when he scored 32 points and grabbed eight steals. Dunn was dominant down the stretch of a win over Arizona in November, flirted with a quadruple double versus NJIT, and closed his career with 29 points against North Carolina in the NCAA tournament in Raleigh.

With the departures of Henton, Desrosiers, Chukwu, and Harris, there were questions about if the Friars would make a third straight tournament, but Dunn (and the next player on our list) led the way in PC’s first NCAA tournament win in 15 years.

Dunn was terrific down the stretch against USC in the first round that year, knocking down a huge three and coming up with a big steal and a floater in the final three minutes.

4. Ben Bentil 2015-16:

Season Statistics: 21.1 points, 7.7 rebounds, 46.2/78.2/32.9

Big East Statistics: 22.9 points, 7.7 rebounds, 8.8 free throw attempts

Awards: 1st Team All Big East, Big East’s leading scorer, first in the Big East in field goals made, free throws attempted, free throws made, third in minutes, fifth in field goal percentage, fourth in rebounds.

Big Games: Tied a PC record with 38 points in the Big East Tournament against Butler, 31 points and 13 rebounds in a win at #4 Villanova, 42 points, 12 rebounds, six 3-pointers at Marquette, 32/12 at UMass, 26/9 at Georgetown, 27/10 versus Creighton,

Summary: Bentil exploded onto the scene as a sophomore, earning the league’s most improved player award and leading the league in scoring after a relatively quiet freshman year. Bentil expanded his game beyond the 3-point arc and turned into one of the best inside/out scorers in the country. He scored from the post, could be run off of screens for 3s, and lived at the free throw line — taking nearly nine per game. Bentil was named 1st Team All Big East in this, his final season in black and white.

Bentil fouled out with 7:30 to play in a second round NCAA tournament loss to top seeded North Carolina. This was a five point game with ten minutes left, but the loss of Bentil killed the chances of a Friar team that relied on Bentil, and virtually no one else, on the interior. He left Providence after his sophomore season, being drafted in the second round by the Celtics.

5. LaDontae Henton 2014-15

Season Statistics: 19.7 points, 6.5 rebounds, 44.6/75.9/33.9, 64 3-pointers made

Big East Statistics: 20.1 points, 6.9 rebounds

Awards: 1st Team All Big East, Big East’s leading scorer, 1st in the Big East in minutes played and field goals made, became second player in program history to score 2,000 points and grab 1,000 rebounds.

Big Games: 38 points against Notre Dame on 13-18 shooting, 24 points and 10 rebounds in a win over Florida State, 35 points versus Creighton, 28 points and six 3-pointers made at Marquette, 24/10 against Xavier, 25 points and 15 rebounds versus Marquette.

Summary: With Cotton and Kadeem Batts having graduated, Henton led the league in scoring and paired with Dunn to form a fearsome duo. Henton solidified his reputation as a clutch shooter the year prior by putting away Creighton in the Big East Championship, and flashed that ability in November of his senior year with an amazing shooting performance (13 for 18) in a win over Notre Dame. That Irish team went 32-6 and fell in the Elite Eight by a bucket to then-undefeated Kentucky.

Originally a Dayton commit, Henton re-opened his recruitment after a coaching change in the spring of his senior year of high school. He became the first player to commit to Cooley at Providence and averaged over 14 points and eight rebounds as a freshman. As luck would have it, Providence matched up with Dayton in what would ultimately be the final game of Henton’s career. He finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds, but had maybe his most difficult night during his time at Providence, shooting 7-26 from the field. It was an unfair ending to a great career and senior season.

You must be logged in to post a comment Login