The black cloud is gone.
For the first time in years, Friar fans have something to be excited about. Keno Davis, the 2008 Coach of The Year has signed on as the Friars' new Men's Basketball Coach, bringing with him new energy and focus, something missing from the program in recent years.
Davis has the unenviable task of coaching in the Beg East conference, easily the toughest conference in the country in terms of competition as well as style of play. However, Coach Davis is confident that he can make his players rise to the occasion and compete with the best.
Along with the new coaching staff, the Friars will be playing in the newly renovated Dunkin Donuts Center in downtown Providence. The state of the art arena will be sure to bring more excitement and intensity to the already exciting conference schedule.
The Friars have talent at most positions, but it has been getting that talent to work together that has been the problem in recent years. Far too many times, players have disappeared from games altogether, played lacadaisical defense, and not made the extra pass. This year is a fresh start for both Davis and the program, as the roster looks to be much different next year.
This year the Friars will feature six seniors in big-time roles which is much different from last year when the only senior was forward Charles Burch. Point guard Sharaud Curry, hampered by injuries last season, will remain a junior and extend his period of eligibility. Geoff McDermott was also injured last year and the Friars are counting on the senior forward to be a leader both as a scorer and as a rebounder.
Guard Weyinmi Efejuku also is facing a great deal of responsibility, as he is the barometer for the Friars. Throughout his entire career it seems that when he has a big game, the Friars usually come through with a win, as evidenced in his 26 point performance at UCONN two seasons ago.
However, he rarely plays with intensity when he is not scoring and struggles at times when guarding other quick and athletic Big East guards. Keno Davis has to correct this problem, as the explosive Efejuku is integral to the Friars success in the competitive Big East.
The Friars are buoyed by two sophomores who are key to the Friars' depth. Jamine Peterson, a 6-6 forward from Brooklyn averaged a menial 4.7 points last season and 2.9 rebounds in 10.5 minutes per game.
Marshon Brooks, a 6-5 guard/forward from Georgia averaged nine minutes and scored 3.4 points per game, including two 15 point performances versus Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. Both should see more minutes this year and will have to contribute especially on the defensive side of the ball.
The Friars still have some glaring weaknesses on the team this season, most notably the center position. Senior Randall Hanke and junior Ray Hall must play the best basketball of their collegiate careers in order to give the Friars a chance in the smash mouth Big East Conference.
The Friars have been snake bitten by the underwhelming performances of both players over the years, as they have been exposed by the bigger and quicker centers and forwards in the Big East. Their offense is not as necessary to the Friars success as their defense is something that Keno Davis has to hammer home to both Hall and Hanke.
The Friars have an easy non-conference schedule, but will participate in the Anaheim Classic starting with a game against Baylor. They also will be playing in state rival URI at home after an embarrassing loss last year, as well as Boston College on the road.
Their Big East schedule is pretty much the same as last years, but the Friars will play back to back home games versus Notre Dame and Pittsburgh in the last week of February. Both of these games have potential NCAA tournament implications.
I expect a NCAA berth from Providence, as the Keno era begins with a bang.
9 comments Last one added 9 months ago — Leave a Comment
Collin Hager - The Roundtable 9 months ago
As an alum, I hope you're right.
The non-conference schedule is an embarassment as a season ticket holder. I'm a little irritated that I'm being asked to pay more money for a schedule highlighted by Rhode Island. Maybe they do need to learn how to win, but that's the only way to justify it.
The Big East schedule is interesting, have thoughts on how many wins they'll end up with out of there?
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Collin Hager - The Roundtable 9 months ago
BTW, couldn't be happier to see Keno Davis at the helm. The end to the Welsh era wasn't pretty...nor was the beginning or the middle...
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Ryan Burns 9 months ago
couldnt agree more...welsh was just awful from day one...and got waaaay too much credit for Ryan Gomes developing into a force in the BIG EAST.
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Johnny Da Bone 9 months ago
Great Job!
I’m not a PC fan at all, but I do think they have a chance to be good this year. Keno’s situation is very similar to that of Huggy Bear last year in WV. Keno has some solid talent and a lot of experience… would be nice if he had Joe Alexander :)
I tend to think that Keno will spark some enthusiasm and get this team to compete for a bid. After this upcoming year, Keno must do three things to be successful: 1) recruit 2) recruit 3) recruit.
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Ryan Burns 9 months ago
Johnny,
Thanks for the feedback, you are 100 percent correct in saying that Keno has brought enthusiasm to the program. I met him briefly and his energy and attitude are as different from Tim Welsh as could possibly be. This year could be good, but I'm really excited for next year when he brings in his first recruiting class. One of the biggest criticisms that Welsh faced was his uncanny ability to recruit headcases that would end up leave the program (Dwight Brewington) and/or players who just couldn't get along with him (Rob Sanders, DeSean White, Dwain Williams). Hopefully Keno's recruits can make it through four seasons of basketball for a change.
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Ari Kramer 9 months ago
What do Providence fans think of Jeff Xavier? I'm a Manhattan College fan, so I got to see Xavier for 2 seasons before he transferred and he was nothing but unbelievable. I hope he's been doing a good job for the Friars and that he has a great season.
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Ryan Burns 9 months ago
Jeff is a good kid, from Rhode Island so he was able to return to his roots by coming back to little Rhody. He averaged a little over 12 points per game, but should get some more touches with Keno Davis' offense. He should have a great year and be a solid contributor to the Friars success.
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Ari Kramer 9 months ago
Good to hear. He was great at Manhattan. I loved watching his style of hustling, attacking, and also shooting.
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Jameson Fleming 9 months ago
While I agree Providence will be much better than last year, the issue they face is the difficult task of how do they finish any higher than 10th?
UCONN, Notre Dame, Louisville, Pitt are all top 10 teams while Villanova, Marquette, Georgetown, Syracuse, and West Virginia are all legitimate top 25 teams. That takes us to Providence who in any other conference would finish no lower than fourth. So unless they dramatically improve I can't see them winning more than nine games in the conference the way it stands now.
But anyways, nice write up. PC will be good, but unfortunately for them not good enough for the Big East.
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