Big East Basketball: Way-too-early conference power rankings for 2020-21

5. Providence Friars

2019-20: 19-12 (12-6), 4th in Big East
Key Departures: F Alpha Diallo, G Luwane Pipkins, F Kalif Young, F Emmitt Holt, F Maliek White
Incoming Freshmen: F Jyare Davis, G Alyn Breed
Incoming Transfers: G Jared Bynum (St. Joe’s), F Noah Horchler (North Florida), F Ed Croswell (La Salle – sit-out), G Brycen Goodine (Syracuse – sit-out)

Headline: Can Ed Cooley manage all the moving parts in a potentially shortened offseason?

Star Watch: David Duke
Who makes The Leap: AJ Reeves
X-Factor: Noah Horchler

Few teams finished hotter to conclude the 2019-20 season than Providence, who turned a lackluster 6-6 start to the year into a 19-12 final record, topped off with a six-game winning streak to close the regular season.

Unfortunately, the Friars lost the bulk of their senior-laden rotation, and rank just 308th in the nation in returning minutes. Duke (12 ppg) is PC’s leading returning scorer and has shown signs of being an alpha dog on offense. His shooting numbers spiked drastically as a sophomore, so if those gains are for real, he should be a bonafide star, even though he has been a little iffy finishing around the rim.

Jared Bynum, a transfer from St. Joe’s who sat out the 2019-20 campaign, is Ed Cooley’s like-for-like Luwane Pipkins replacement: an undersized guard from the A-10 who makes up for inefficient scoring with skilled passing and proper pacing. Bynum topped 40 minutes in 10 different games as a freshman for the Hawks; Cooley might need another Energizer Bunny performance from Bynum considering the Friars’ lack of guard depth this year.

Providence does possess impressive size and length, though, between Duke, Reeves, Horchler, Nate Watson, and former top-100 recruit Greg Gantt. Horchler averaged 16 ppg and 9.3 rpg in 2018-19 for North Florida before transferring to PC; the 6-foot-8 Australian fared pretty well in his 10 career games against high-major competition and is a crafty scorer around the paint. Horchler and Watson could theoretically start next to each other at the two frontcourt spots, though neither can really spread the floor or defend quicker players. How Cooley navigates that pairing and maximizes spacing – something that hasn’t exactly been a hallmark of recent Friar squads – remains to be seen.

Few coaches wring more wins out of their talent than Cooley, so in a topsy-turvy season for college basketball, expect him to put his team in the best position to win.