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Providence Basketball: 2020-21 season preview for the Friars

By Salvador Lopez

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - FEBRUARY 01: Nate Watson #0 of the Providence Friars celebrates with teammates during a game against the Butler Bulldogs at Hinkle Fieldhouse on February 1, 2020 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Providence defeated Butler 65-61. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - FEBRUARY 01: Nate Watson #0 of the Providence Friars celebrates with teammates during a game against the Butler Bulldogs at Hinkle Fieldhouse on February 1, 2020 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Providence defeated Butler 65-61. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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Providence Basketball
Providence Basketball (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

Providence Basketball closed out last season with a bang winning their last six games. Will the Friars be able to carry over that momentum into this upcoming season?

The 2019-20 season was full of ups and downs for Providence Basketball. The Friars started out last season at 6-6 overall with resume shattering losses against Northwestern, Pennsylvania, Charleston, Long Beach State, and a 32-point blowout loss to Florida.

It seemed like Providence had no life in the tank for the first part of last season. That was until head coach Ed Cooley rose Providence from the bottom and gave the Friars new life.

Once conference play was underway, Providence completely flipped the switch, as the Friars played with grit, determination, and desperation picking off their Big East opponents one-by-one. Last season, Providence finished fourth in the conference with a 12-6 record and had at least one victory against every Big East opponent. The Friars ended last season on a six-game winning streak, capping off their season with a blowout 93-55 victory on Senior Night against DePaul.

With the team chemistry building at the perfect time, Providence was poised to make some noise in the NCAA Tournament. Unfortunately, the red-hot Friars and their fans were left hanging with “what could have been” a potential deep NCAA Tournament run which never happened due to COVID-19.

This season, the Friars will look to carry over last season’s momentum into this upcoming season. However, the roster will look quite different. In the offseason, Cooley lost five graduating departures from the roster. All five players started anywhere from 6 to 30 games last season.

The offseason departures include the 2020 All-Big East Second-Team and Providence’s leading scorer and shooting guard Alpha Diallo (14.1 ppg, 7.8 rpg); number three scorer and point guard Luwane Pipkins (10.8 ppg, 2.8 apg); guard Maliek White (7.8 ppg); forward Kalif Young (5 ppg, 4.9 rpg); and forward Emmitt Holt (4.8 ppg, 3.7 rpg). Cooley will have a ton of holes to fill this season with the loss of five players who all averaged between 15 to 33 minutes per game last season.

For this season’s roster, Cooley will bring in two key transfers that will look to have a tremendous impact on the Friars this season. The two newcomers to watch for this season will be point guard Jared Bynum and forward Noah Horchler, who both sat out last season due to NCAA transfer rules. In the offseason, Cooley added in guard Brycen Goodine from Syracuse, who was granted a waiver and will be eligible this season.

These three transfers will be joined by returning starters, David Duke, Nate Watson, and A.J. Reeves. This season, 9 of the 11 players from the 2020 All-Big East First or Second Team won’t be back, as they either graduated or went to the NBA Draft. With some big names departing in the offseason, Providence could be in line to have a couple of their players to take a big step up to make the All-Conference Team this season.

We will take a look at how this season’s starting lineup will shape up between the returning players and transfers at Providence.

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