State University to Play Small Catholic College in Capital City

After having played five games in eight days, the Rams will have had a week off before taking the short trip up I-95 to tangle with in-state rival Providence College on Saturday afternoon.

For their part, the Friars are in the first half of a 13-day stretch in which Providence College plays six games, five of them at home in the Dunkin' Donuts Center.

The PC-URI game, the 121st meeting of the two teams, is being broadcast on Cox Sports Television (Cox channel 3, or 784 HD). Tip off is 4:00 p.m. at the Dunk.

    School:             Providence College
    Founded:         1917
    Enrollment:     3,850 undergraduates, 735 postgraduates
    Nickname:       Friars
    Colors:             Black and White
    Arena:              The Dunkin' Donuts Center
    Capacity:         13,000

Providence College is a private, Roman Catholic college located about two miles west of downtown Providence.

The home court for men's basketball is the Dunkin' Donuts Center. Located in downtown Providence, it opened in 1972, and was known as the Providence Civic Center until 2001. The Dunk, as it is colloquially known, will be the venue of this year's game.

The athletic teams are known as the Friars, a reference to the Dominican Blackfriars that founded and continue to run the institution. The Friars, after having spent the first six decades of their athletic existence as an independent, joined the Big East in its inaugural season, 1979–80, and has been a member of the Big East ever since.

From the perspective of most of the other teams in the Big East, Providence College is a mediocre basketball program that plays in a dumpy arena that lacks a college atmosphere and isn't even located on the PC campus.

However, from the perspective of many Rhode Islanders, Providence College is a storied program that is deeply tied to the identity of their home state.

For many families in Rhode Island, there has been a multi-generational love affair between the smallest state in the union and the small Catholic liberal arts college in the capital city. For these folks, although URI may be the state's school, the Friars are the state's team.

For some of the Friar faithful, the infatuation may have started with listening to Chris Clark on the radio. For others, it may have started gathered around the family television, or perhaps even with a big-time basketball game in the iconic Civic Center with the blare of "When The Saints Come Marchin' In" playing in the background.

In fairness to those smitten with Friars' basketball, Providence College back in the day was always able to deliver on roundball thrills and chills.

Back in the 1960s the Friars had the nation's third-best record, behind UCLA and Kentucky. The school had stars like future Hall of Famer Lenny Wilkens and No. 1 draft pick Jimmy Walker, and before them were the legendary Vinnie Ernst, Johnny Egan, and Jimmy Hadnot.

In the 1970s, PC with two local kids made it all the way to the Final Four, only to have Marvin Barnes' right knee blow out, early in that heart-wrenching loss to Memphis State 98-85.

The 1987 Providence team, coached by Rick Pitino and quarterbacked by Billy Donovan, made it back to the Final Four, and in 1997 the Friars fought their way to the Elite Eight before losing in overtime to eventual national champ Arizona.

But that was then and this is now. Nostalgia only takes you so far.

The current Providence College team is coached by Keno Davis, who has been the head coach of the Friars since the 2008–09 season. Davis is the son of well-respected coach Tom Davis, who decades ago was the head man at Boston College during the early days of the Big East.

Just before his hiring by the PC administration, Davis had been awarded Coach of the Year for having taken an over-achieving Drake team deep into the NCAA tournament. The conventional wisdom at the time was that the young son-of-a-coach would perform similar miracles for the Friars.

Last year, in a game played at the Ryan Center, the Friars lost 86-82 to the Rams. The Friars had led by as many as 16, but a strong second half comeback by URI sealed the deal.

However, beating the Big East Providence College Friars did not do much to inflate URI's RPI last year, and it is not likely to do much this year either.

PC ended the 2009-10 season with an 11-game losing streak, finishing with a 12-19 record overall, 4-14 in Big East play.

As the 2009-10 season drew to a merciful close, Davis knew he was about to lose to graduation scoring point guard Sharaud Curry and starting two-guard Brian McKenzie.

What he didn't foresee was all the turmoil in the off-season.

First, in April, there was Johnnie Lacy and James Still being dismissed from PC for their involvement in an assault on a fellow student.

Then, in May, there was leading scorer and rebounder Jamine "Greedy" Peterson leaving school following a dorm room escapade that also involved two recruits.

Finally, in June, there was key recruit Joseph Young begging out of his letter of intent.

And so when the new season commenced, Davis found himself with a 2010-11 Providence men's basketball team that was among the youngest in the country, with 11 newcomers, no juniors and just two seniors.

So far this season, the very young PC squad is 7-1. However, that win-loss record is somewhat less impressive when you take a look at who they've played and where they've played them.

11/13/10 vs. Dartmouth               W, 87-52
11/15/10 vs. Yale                           W, 58-55
11/18/10 vs. Morgan State           W, 77-55
11/20/10 vs. Prairie View A&M  W, 78-62
11/23/10 vs. La Salle                     L,  84-73   (Cancun, Mexico)
11/24/10 vs. Wyoming                  W, 84-77    (Cancun, Mexico)
11/29/10 vs. CCSU                        W, 94-57
12/01/10 vs. Northeastern            W, 77-72

The PC wins have come against Ivy Leaguers and low mid-majors. The Friars have beaten no one of consequence – none of PC's wins have come against a team with a winning record.

Also, with the exception of the two tournament games played in Cancun, PC has played all its games at home in the Dunk.

PC's only loss to date this season was in Cancun to perennial A-10 lightweight La Salle, which just happens to be the only team with a RPI less than 150 that PC has played this season.

Providence's weak out-of-conference schedule is perhaps more understandable when you remember that (as the PC faithful are apt to remind you) the Friars will be facing some of the best teams in the country once Big East conference play commences. Nevertheless, Saturday's match up with URI will represent for the young Friars the sternest test so far this season.

The roster of eligible players (and likely starters against URI) is as follows:

• Dre Evans (5-9 167) Freshman from Dallas, TX. Spunky guard who will see minutes against Rhody as the backup point guard.
• Xavier Davis (5-11 170) Redshirt freshman guard from Smithfield, RI.
• Bryce Cotton (6-1 165) Freshman Guard from Tucson, AZ.
• Vincent Council (6-2 180) Sophomore guard from Brooklyn. He played his high school ball at the Patterson School. Last year as a freshman, he played exceptionally well, earning Big East All-Rookie Team honors. Against Rhody last year, Council pushed the ball up the court, made good passes and pulled down some great rebounds. The bad news for Rhody fans is that Council has improved since last year. The point guard for Providence, Council is very good at driving to the basket and is a solid shooter. Council is currently second in scoring (17 points per game) and first in assists (five per game) for PC. His 16-for-16 effort from the free-throw line helped to secure that 84-77 win over Wyoming.
• Mike Murray (6-2 188) Freshman guard from Troy, NY. Walk-on.
• Duke Mondy (6-3 198) Sophomore guard from Grand Rapids, MI. He played his high school ball at Catholic Central. Likely to be the first man off the PC bench, Mondy is a good outside shooter who does not always pick his shots well but who nevertheless can go hot from the 3-point line. On Monday against CCSU, he shot 3-for-6 on treys, finishing with a career-high 13 points.
• Gerard Coleman (6-4 180) Freshman guard from Boston, MA. He prepped at the Tilton School. The lefty wingman is a scoring threat from the perimeter, and is also a good passer. On Monday against CCSU, he had 14 points, shooting 7-for-11 from the field.
• Chris Carter (6-4 180) Senior guard from Worcester, MA. Practice player who is unlikely to play against Rhody.
• Ted Bancroft (6-4 187) Freshman walk-on from Marion, MA. He played his high school ball at Bishop Stang. As a kid, he lived in Rumford, next door to legendary PC coach Dave Gavitt.
• Marshon Brooks (6-5 200) Senior swingman from Stone Mountain, GA. In last year's loss to Rhody, Marshon Brooks was in foul trouble early, never really got things going and finished with just four points. More of a perimeter presence than an inside guy, this year he is averaging 19 points per game and has established himself as the Friars' star and veteran leader. In PC's one loss to La Salle, Brooks had a team-high 20 points and had 11 rebounds. Against Central Connecticut State on Monday he had 26 points (4-for-6 on treys). Against Northeastern, he had 27 points, making 3-for-5 on threes. Looks like this guy has found his stroke from beyond the arc.
• Ron Giplaye (6-6 230) Freshman forward from Lowell, MA. He prepped at Notre Dame Prep last year. More beast than beauty, he is a ferocious rebounder who scores with dunks and put backs.
• Brice Kofane (6-8 205) Freshman forward from Yaounde, Cameroon. He prepped last year at the Miller School.
• Lee Goldsbrough (6-9 220) Freshman forward from Newcastle, England. Last year he was a Sixth Former at Loreto College. He has not done much since being in the States.
• Bilal Dixon (6-9 245) Redshirt sophomore center from Jersey City, NJ. On the current PC roster, he starts at the center spot. He leads PC in rebounding with nine rebounds per game.
• Kadeem Batts (6-9 250) Redshirt freshman forward from Powder Springs, GA. Kadeem may start but probably will only log minutes in the mid-teens, as Davis only uses this guy intermittently. A big man with lots of potential, Batts is still developing.
• Ray Hall (7-0 285) Fifth year senior from Denver, CO. Hall, a lumbering center, is injury-free for the first time in three seasons, but he is still foul prone, which limits his minutes. Not expected to devour anything Saturday, except perhaps his self-esteem.

PC is a so-so team from the arc, averaging just 27 percent as a team. Their strong 3-point shooters are Brooks and Mondy.

Indeed, much of the Friars offense is dependent on Brooks creating opportunities, either for himself or one of his teammates. Brooks ended up playing 38 minutes Wednesday night in the win over Northeastern.

On defense, the Friars mostly play man-to-man. Last year, the PC players often chose to not play much defense at all. This year, the PC defensive effort has been able to contain their opponents to date.

It remains to be seen whether Keno's kids can contain the Runnin' Rams. Expect a high scoring game, as both these Ocean State teams like to run.

Look – This is a very losable game for Rhody. While Providence College is not the most difficult obstacle that URI will face during OOC play, given that this is an on-the-road rivalry game it will take more than a good performance by Barons' boys to get Rhody the win.

The two teams may be fairly reasonably matched, and the young Friars may have home court advantage, but I still have to pick the guys wearing Keaney Blue.

GO RHODY!