Providence Basketball: Friars right to mortgage their future on this freshmen class

Providence Basketball is relying on a core group of underclassmen to lead the way not only this season – but years to come.

For a multitude of reasons, it’s always exciting for college basketball fans to get excited over their favorite teams incoming Freshman class. Between the excitement of the unknown and inherent hope that fresh faces bring, fan bases rejoice at the newbies on campus. And it only gets amplified when your team is viewed as having a consensus Top-25 recruiting class in the nation.

Enter the Providence College Friars.

With five straight trips to the NCAA Tournament, the Friars have quietly become a beacon of consistency under Providence native, Ed Cooley. Cooley struck gold with his 2018 recruiting class landing Top-50 prospects in David Duke and AJ Reeves and rounded out the class with the lanky, explosive Jimmy Nichols Jr and Kris Monroe.

During the Summer time, everything looked great…then November came and the ball went up.

While currently 3-2, with losses to Wichita State and a respectable loss to Michigan on a neutral floor, the young Friars are still finding their footing despite what the prospect rankings dictated over the Spring and Summer time.

Duke & Reeves, despite starting all five games thus far, are still learning the flow of the college game. Reeves, who torched Siena for 27 points in his debut followed up by a 19 point showing in the loss to the Shockers, has combined for just 20 points over three games.

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David Duke, the gem of the class, scored 0 points in his debut. While things fell into place by the time the Friars traveled to Mohegan Sun and played South Carolina, where Duke tallied 20, it wasn’t a pretty 20 and baskets didn’t start to fall until mid-way through the 2nd half.

Meanwhile, Jimmy Nichols and his 2.6 PPG & 1.6 RPG, may not grab you, one could argue that the 6’8″ Stretch Armstrong is the most intriguing player from this class given his explosiveness and ability to attack the rim with a fierce hatred for the backboard.

While they have names to get excited about–and three potential NBA prospects–Providence just hasn’t found it yet. Through five games, they’re shooting 47% on 2pt field goals as a unit, which ranks for 239th in the country. And despite a suffocating defensive approach, they allow opponents to shoot 38.7% from deep which places them 289th in the country in defending the deep ball.

It’s gritty, not pretty.

But this isn’t an indictment on the young Friar squad. On the contrary, it’s a call to hope fans learn that it’s alright to temper expectations for Freshman right off the bat. Not every 18 year old kid is going to be Zion Williamson, there is a learning curve and often it takes time.

The Friar faithful should be thrilled. When you look at their minute distribution there’s encouraging signs: David Duke is at 69.5%, AJ Reeves is 59%, Jimmy Nichols is 30.5%. Even Sophomore’s Makai Ashton-Langford (21.5%) and Nate Watson (55.5%) see significant, meaningful minutes in correlation to their usage rates according to KenPom.

For a team who averages just 1.3 years of college basketball experience, it’s an up-hill battle. Come March will the Friars be seen on the dance floor? Maybe not. However, we’ve established their young talent–and I’d be foolish if I didn’t make note of their Junior star, Alpha Diallo–and all it takes is that one “AH-HA!” moment for things to make sense for such a young team.

Yet at the end of the day, even if this season winds up being pretty average in comparison to years past for the Big East residents, then don’t fret. If trading one year of mediocrity means giving a good group of young, talented, skilled and a high ceiling group of Freshman the chance to learn, then the return on investment could be exponentially beneficial for Ed Cooley and his squad.

Next. Winners/losers from week 2. dark

David Duke has NBA potential. AJ Reeves has a frame college coaches pine for. Jimmy Nichols is already one of the more intriguing, albeit raw, young athletes in the Big East. Ed Cooley is one the best coaches in the country. No hyperbole needed. If it’s not this year, you’d be foolish to bet against what this Providence College team can soon become.

And that’s a team that can make noise on a national level.

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