Big East Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2021-22 season
team. 476. . . . Friars . 9
2020-2021 Record: 13-13 (9-10)
Probable Starters: Jared Bynum, AJ Reeves, Al Durham, Noah Horchler, Nate Watson
Bench: Justin Minaya, Alyn Breed, Brycen Goodine, Matteus Case, Ed Croswell, Luke Fonts, Legend Geeter, Andrew Fonts, Rafael Castro, Kieran O’Haire
The Friars finished 6th in the Big East last season and missed out on postseason play. Can they turn it around this season? Can Nate Watson be asked to do even more? Will AJ Reeves show more consistency? Providence has a lot of question marks that limits my enthusiasm on their outlook this season.
How will Providence fair without their best all-around and go-to player, David Duke who opted to go pro after last season. Duke played 37 minutes a game while averaging 16.8 PPG (38.9% from deep), 6.3 RBG, and 4.8 APG. That’s a lot of production to make up for.
Luckily for Providence, they have some continuity in their roster. They return 66.2% of their minutes, none more important than those from Watson who opted to return for a final year. Watson is a prototypical back to the basket center and will likely be the best big man in the conference and perhaps one of the better centers in the country.
Watson will have to be a first team All-Big East player if Providence wants to compete this season. It’s hard to imagine he can do much more than he already has for them, and this time he’ll be asked to do it without David Duke.
The Friars also return AJ Reeves (9.6 PPG, 32% from deep), Jared Bynum (5.8 PPG, 11.9% from deep), and Noah Horchler (6.7 PPG, 42% from deep). Alyn Breed got good experience during Jared Bynum’s absence, but I think Jared Bynum will be the X-factor for Providence. His injury partially derailed their season last year, but he will need to improve his shooting, especially in the absence of Duke.
Ed Cooley only brought in two freshmen in an underwhelming recruiting class, but he also pulled in a handful of transfers that can make an impact. Perhaps former top-100 recruit Brycen Goodine (Syracuse) can contribute more this year. However, I’m more interested to see how Justin Minaya (South Carolina transfer) and Al Durham (Indiana transfer) are used.
Both played impactful minutes at their previous schools and should provide a nice boost to the team. Will these additions and the returners be enough to make the postseason? I wouldn’t count on it.