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Another Look: PC vs. Penn State ’01 NCAA Tourney

Linehan vs. SJU

It’s impossible to truly appreciate how unlikely Providence’s 2001 NCAA tournament appearance was without looking back on where the program stood in the spring of 2000.

The Friars wrapped up the 1999-2000 campaign at 11-19 overall and 4-12 in the Big East. They lost their season opener to Holy Cross after scoring just 43 points, and later fell to Central Connecticut State.

They won their first conference game, then proceeded to drop the next 10.

Providence’s problems that year were centered around the loss of point guard John Linehan, who played in just six games before missing the rest of the year following three surgeries to repair a hernia.

First team All Big East performer Jamel Thomas graduated a year prior, sharpshooter Sean Connolly transferred to Ohio State, and a massive recruiting class made no impact in its first year.

What hurt the 2000 Friars’ recruiting class most was the underperformance of junior college transfers Donta Wade and David Murray. Both came in with huge reputations and neither found consistency. Wade was said to be a terrific scorer and shooter at off-guard who averaged over 18 points per game prior to coming to PC. The 6’11 Murray was one of the top junior college big men in the country. A third JUCO transfer, combo guard Chris Rogers, struggled in his first season at PC.

A four man freshman class resulted in just two keepers, shooting guard Abdul Mills and wing Rome Augustin. Both had their moments, but neither found consistency as freshmen.

Florida State transfer center Karim Shabazz brought hope in December. He was eligible mid-year and had an immediate impact, as PC knocked off Arkansas just before Christmas behind his 18 point, nine rebound, and three block debut.

In just his second game as a Friar, Shabazz had a 25 point, 15 rebound, 10 block triple double against Long Island. His impact wasn’t enough to overcome a team playing without a point guard, however.

PC shot .304 from 3 (287th in the country) and ranked 276th nationally in points per game.

Ultimately, incorporating eight newcomers, while losing Linehan proved to be too much to overcome.

The offseason was uglier than what transpired on the court, as several players were accused of assault after an incident off-campus that resulted in the dismissal of Wade, Murray, and guard Jamal Camaah. Two of the four freshman transferred, leaving head coach Tim Welsh with both a messy situation to clean up after, and the challenge of filling out his roster late in the spring of 2000.

As a student at the time, I remember the assault having a resounding impact on campus.

Welsh’s comments to the New York Times that spring reflect what a PR nightmare the program was facing, “Providence College basketball has been around for many, many years,” Welsh said. ”This was an unfortunate incident. We all have to learn from it and move forward. But the program is not going to go under because of something that happened in 10 minutes.’’

”I’m more determined than ever,” he said. ”We’re faced with this and now we have to figure a way out. It’s not something I’m just saying to you, I truly believe it. It’s not like we’re coming off a Final Four year. I like the kids coming back. I’m not saying it’s going to be a great time.”

Starting Fresh

The 2000-01 Friars returned six scholarship players and welcomed four freshmen. 6’6 forward Erron Maxey, coming off of a 14.8 point/8.0 rebound junior season, and Shabazz (10.4 points, 8.2 rebounds) would man the frontcourt.

The hope was that Linehan could return healthy and PC could get a sophomore leap from Mills and Augustine. Rogers (3 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds per a game) entered his second season with more modest expectations.

Things couldn’t have fallen into place more perfectly for Welsh in 2001.

Linehan didn’t just return, but he came back improved. He won Big East Defensive Player of the Year in the Big East, and turned himself into a 40% 3-point shooter after being dared to shoot earlier in his career.

Maxey and Shabazz provided frontcourt stability.

Mills and Augustin both took huge sophomore leaps. Augustin upped his 3-point percentage from 29% as a freshman to 40% as a sophomore. Mills was the team’s second leading scorer playing alongside Linehan — and the duo combined for nearly five steals a night. Mills also bumped his 3-point percentage to nearly 36% after hovering around 30 the year prior.

Rogers became the perfect backup point guard, shooting over 40% from 3, 81% at the free throw line, defending well, and rarely turning the ball over.

Even more surprising was what Welsh got out of his freshmen. 6’3 guard Sheiku Kabba set a program high (regardless of class) by making .465 from deep. European imports Maris Laksa and Chris Anrin were spring signees who shot the lights out. The 6’9 Laksa made 45%, Anrin 36% from 3.

PC signed Marcus Douthit away from Villanova and Syracuse and he contributed right away, blocking 1.6 shots in 15 minutes a night. The rangy 6’11 center gave Welsh tremendous length at center backing up Shabazz.

Linehan hounded guards for 90 feet, while Shabazz and Douthit protected the rim. With Douthit and the 7’2 Shabazz roaming the paint Providence ranked 16th in the country in blocked shots. Behind Linehan and Mills they were 23rd in steals.

What couldn’t have been foreseen was the offensive improvement in just a year.

The offensively inept Friars of 2000 turned into a group that shot over 40% from 3 as a team (12th in the country). No one on the 2001 Friars averaged over 12 points per game, but six players scored more than eight.

Digging into the 2001 season

The 2000-01 season was certainly an odd one for the Big East. The league saw Providence go from 4-12 in conference to 11-5, while Boston College went from last place in the league to first overall behind the extraordinary year of point guard Troy Bell.

Five Big East teams made the NCAA tournament, with BC a three seed, Georgetown a ten, PC a ten, Syracuse a five, and Notre Dame a six.

How upside down was the Big East in 2001? Syracuse and UConn played in the first round of the Big East Tournament for the right to play PC.

Providence’s 10 seed felt like a slap at the program, considering the Friars finished tied for second in the league. Early season losses to Maine at home, and then Creighton (Kyle Korver knocked down five 3s) and Auburn (Marquis Daniels) didn’t help PC’s cause. Providence was without Linehan during their 2-3 start to the season, however. He injured his hamstring in the opener against Holy Cross.

Linehan returned with 17 points in a 95-72 drubbing of URI that set the tone for the remainder of the season. Shabazz 10 blocked shots on that night. That win was the second of a seven game winning streak that included victories at UMass, versus South Carolina, and hanging 110 points on Brown behind 22 points and 11 boards from Douthit, earning him Big East Rookie of the Week.

After a 2-2 start in conference play (including a win over Caron Butler-led UConn), Providence ripped off five wins in a row, highlighted by Linehan frustrating McDonald’s All American point guard Omar Cook so badly that he took a low blow at Kabba in the second half that send the Civic Center into an uproar.

Two games later, the Friars hung 103 points on #15 Georgetown in one of the biggest offensive night’s in program history. PC became the first team to score 100 against the Hoyas in a Big East game behind a 61 point first half that saw Linehan go for 11 points, seven assists, and four steals by the break. PC shot 9-12 from 3 in the first half, and got monster nights from Shabazz (22 points, 11 boards), Linehan (18/10/6 steals, 4-4 from 3), and Mills (5-5 from deep).

The balance of the 2001 Friars was on full display in a 119 point outburst against Binghamton in which no Friar scored more than 17 points, as PC shot 14-21 from 3-point range.

Providence had a chance to win the Big East regular season title, and needed a win over #10 BC in the home finale to do so. The Friars, ranked 25th, trailed by seven with 1:07 to play, but had the ball down a point on the game’s final possession. Augustin scooped up a loose ball and put up a 15 footer at the buzzer that was on line, but hit the back rim in front of a truly wild Civic Center crowd.

BC finished the season 13-3 in the Big East — two games ahead of the Friars.

PC fell 55-54 to #17 Syracuse in the Big East Tournament. This game was marked by a 19-0 Syracuse run in the first half, with Providence racing back in the second. The Friars ripped off an 11-0 run out of halftime. PC went 0-10 from 3 in the first half, but made eight in the second, as Rogers knocked one down with over eight minutes to play to give them the lead. Laksa missed a deep 3-pointer with PC down three that would have tied it in the closing seconds.

Penn State Awaits

Friar fans liked this 7/10 matchup. Penn State was 21-12 on the season, but just 7-9 in the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions did boast wins over #6 Illinois and an upset of #2 Michigan State in their conference tournament, but they had also lost to Illinois by 32 earlier in the year, and were trounced twice by MSU in the regular season.

Penn State shot a ton of threes, and PC had held opponents to 29% shooting from deep all year. The highlight was Linehan defending Joe Crispin, a dead-eye 3-pointer shooter who averaged nearly 20 points per game. The Lions were dangerous because of their experience. Titus Ivory was a solid senior scorer, while fellow senior Gyasi Cline-Heard (16 points, eight rebounds per game) was a bigger version of Maxey, yet nowhere near as large as Shabazz or Douthit.

What stood out:

  • Jim Nantz and Billy Packer were on the call. So many college hoops fans found Packer obnoxious, but his breakdown of how and why Linehan was such a great defender was top notch.
  • Ed Cooley would have loved Erron Maxey’s game. Maxey came to PC with a pretty good rep out of California, but was forced to play center his first two years at Providence. The additions of Shabazz and Douthit moved him to an undersized four role where he excelled. He and Shabazz were the Friars’ most consistent offensive weapons against a smaller Penn State group. Maxey hit mid-range jumpers and finished at the rim in this one. He was called for a tough offensive foul with about six minutes to go that really swung the game. He threw down an incredible dunk, but it was overturned.
  • Mills was such a beauty in the eye of the beholder type. He could be electric offensively and scored with ease, but turnover issues plagued him. Both Mills and Augustin were great as sophomores, however. They both defended and scored. It’s a shame their careers ended early.
  • PC trailed 23-13 midway through the first half and had trouble locating Penn State shooters beyond the arc. The Friars then went on a 17-2 surge to pull ahead, capped by a Mills drive. Packer insisted that Mills was the X-factor for the second time after his bucket.
  • Shabazz was killing Penn State in the first half on second chance opportunities. Packer noted how offensive rebounding was not a strength for the Friars. Foul trouble limited him in the second half.
  • Penn State controlled the first ten minutes of the second half, before PC cut a 10 point lead to six on a Maxey layup. Penn State countered with a three that Packer called a bad shot before it ripped through the net early in the shot clock. Killer shot.
  • PC trailed by 11 with six minutes left. Shabazz hit a foul line jumper to cut it nine, and then the offensive foul call on Maxey’s dunk all but ended it. A dunk and free throw would have cut the lead to six with 5:17 remaining.
  • The lead stood at 62-55 with 1:50 left when Providence called a timeout. Their out of bounds play resulted in a 3-point attempt from Anrin that missed badly and the game was over at that point. Packer was all over the play call.
  • This was a huge lost opportunity for PC. Penn State went on to beat sixth seeded North Carolina in the next round. UNC wasn’t great that year, as they were led by freshman Joe Forte and center Brendan Haywood. They also had a power forward by the name of Julius Peppers. Penn State fell to Temple in the Sweet 16.
  • As for the Big East, Boston College lost in the second round to Brian Scalabrine and USC. Notre Dame knocked off Xavier before falling to Ole Miss. Syracuse beat Hawaii then fell to Kansas, while Georgetown advanced to the Sweet 16 before losing to Maryland.
  • Duke, led by Shane Battier, Jay Williams, and Mike Dunleavy won the national title, knocking off Gilbert Arenas, Richard Jefferson, Luke Walton and Arizona in the final. Battier was named national defensive player of the year by most publications over Linehan, which irked this writer.

3 Comments

  1. John b

    March 30, 2020 at 8:42 pm

    “How upside down was the Big East in 2001? Syracuse and UCONN played in the first round of the Big East tournament for the right to play PC.”

    Great stuff, Kevin. Thanks.

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