Busting Brackets
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Big East Basketball: Building each program’s Mount Rushmore

By Brian Foley

KEYSTONE, SD - OCTOBER 01: Mount Rushmore National Memorial towers over the South Dakota landscape on October 1, 2013 near Keystone, South Dakota. Mount Rushmore and all other national parks were closed today after congress failed to pass a temporary funding bill, forcing about 800,000 federal workers off the job. A bulletin issued by the Department of Interior states, 'Effective immediately upon a lapse in appropriations, the National Park Service will take all necessary steps to close and secure national park facilities and grounds in order to suspend all activities ...Day use visitors will be instructed to leave the park immediately...' (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
KEYSTONE, SD - OCTOBER 01: Mount Rushmore National Memorial towers over the South Dakota landscape on October 1, 2013 near Keystone, South Dakota. Mount Rushmore and all other national parks were closed today after congress failed to pass a temporary funding bill, forcing about 800,000 federal workers off the job. A bulletin issued by the Department of Interior states, 'Effective immediately upon a lapse in appropriations, the National Park Service will take all necessary steps to close and secure national park facilities and grounds in order to suspend all activities ...Day use visitors will be instructed to leave the park immediately...' (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) /
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PROVIDENCE, RI – FEBRUARY 13: Kris Dunn
PROVIDENCE, RI – FEBRUARY 13: Kris Dunn /

Mount Friar

Providence History: 2 Final Fours, 2 Elite Eights, 1 Sweet 16

G Ernie DiGregorio (1970-73)
Stats: 20.5 points, 7.7 assists, 3.4 rebounds

Despite playing just three seasons for Providence, Ernie D. still ranks second in career assists and 10th in career points among all Friars. DiGregorio averaged 24.5 points per game in 1973 and paired with big man Marvin Barnes to lead Providence to its first-ever Final Four. DiGregorio won the NBA Rookie of the Year award the following season with the Buffalo Braves, and his 25 assists still stand as the single-game record for a first-year NBA player.

G Kris Dunn (2012-16)
Stats: 12.8 points, 5.8 assists, 2.2 steals

Providence has churned out many talented point guards over the years, but Dunn is the most individually accomplished at the college level. After recovering from an injury-plagued second season, Dunn dominated on both sides of the ball in 2015 and 2016, going back-to-back with both the Big East Player of the Year awards and the Big East Defensive Player of the Year awards. Nationally, he was also a second-team All-American in 2016. Dunn’s Friars advanced to the NCAA Tournament in both his redshirt sophomore and redshirt junior campaigns, and even cracked the top-10 of the AP Poll in 2015-16. The current Chicago Bull is third in Providence history in career assists.

HC Dave Gavitt (1969-79)
Stats: 209-84 (.713 winning percentage), 5 NCAA Tournament appearances

Gavitt had plenty of success in his 10 years coaching the Friars – including appearances in the Final Four and Sweet 16 – but his biggest accomplishment came as Providence’s athletic director and eventually the first commissioner of the Big East. With Gavitt at the forefront, Providence teamed up with St. John’s, Georgetown, Syracuse, Seton Hall, UConn, Boston College, and eventually Villanova and Pittsburgh. The Big East quickly became one of the major players in college basketball, sending three different schools to the Final Four during Gavitt’s tenure. College basketball and the entire sports landscape would look much different today had it not been for Gavitt’s leadership over three decades ago. He remained the conference’s commissioner until 1990.

F Ryan Gomes (2001-05)
Stats: 18.4 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.6 steals

Gomes, along with Dunn and DiGregorio, is one of just five All-Americans in Providence’s history. Gomes was a consensus first-team selection in 2004 when he led the Friars in scoring and rebounding en route to a 20-win season and an NCAA Tournament appearance. He is also Providence’s all-time leading scorer, and seventh in career rebounds. Gomes averaged over 10 points per game for four different teams in the NBA.

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