Providence Basketball: 2023-24 key storylines and outlook for Friars
By Kyle Craib
Providence Basketball’s 2022/23 season was a year encapsulated by “what ifs”.
Fresh off of a Big East championship and a promising Sweet Sixteen NCAA tournament run, Ed Cooley’s squad was poised to continue their charge up the ranks of the Big East.
To start off the year, things were looking up in Rhode Island. Despite not returning a single starter from the previous season, the Friars’ steamrolled their way through their out of conference schedule to the tune of an 8-3 record. Their only losses came away from home, dropping early contests to TCU at the hostile Schollmaier Arena and a pair of games in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off to Miami and St. Louis.
At home, this team morphed into a juggernaut. The Amica Mutual Pavilion continues to play host to one of the rowdiest crowds in all of college basketball – and the Providence student section did not miss a step in 2022/23. The Friars backed up that energy with an undefeated record on home court heading into March, highlighted by marquee wins over the soon-to-be champions UConn and Marquette in a double-overtime shootout.
Powering the team were a trio of incoming transfers, each offering a skillset that fit the needs of Providence’s wide open roster sheet. Sophomore forward Bryce Hopkins made the move from John Calipari’s Kentucky Wildcats, while guards Devin Carter and Noah Locke were ushered in to fill the backcourt.
Meanwhile, returning big man Ed Crowell was slotted into a starting role for his senior year with the Friars. In the middle, he offered a consistent and commanding presence down low in lieu of Nate Watson, who moved on following the 2021/22 season.
From the outside looking in, Providence looked to be gearing up for another kick at the Big Dance. But along this journey, the team’s check engine light was beginning to flicker – and under the hood, trouble was brewing.
In the backcourt, senior Jared Bynum was projected to blossom into a star following his breakout year in 2021/22. The crafty 5’10” guard had been developing into one of the premier sharpshooters in the nation, knocking down a mind-boggling 41.3 percent of his shots from beyond the arc this previous season.
However, Bynum struggled to rediscover his stroke from the outside to start the year. As the calendars rolled over into 2023, the senior had only knocked down 21.2 percent of his long-range attempts. Despite raising his numbers as the year winded down, the toll of Bynum’s shooting woes were already felt.
To make matters worse, Providence’s defence was beginning to leak oil. Throughout the first 27 games of the season, the Friars allowed opposing teams to shoot over 50 percent from the field only four times. But down the stretch, the team managed to match that total in only a mere six games.
All of this culminated in a month of March to forget for the Friars. The team fumbled their final two regular season games to Xavier and Seton Hall to drop to fifth in the conference standings. Quick exits in both the Big East and the NCAA tournaments tied a bow on a rather confounding season for Providence.
Were the highs of the early season really just a mirage of what this team actually was?
As another summer closed in and the page began to turn to what 2023/24 had in store, the unthinkable happened. Head Coach Ed Cooley, a Rhode Island native who spent 12 years with the team, announced he was leaving Providence to coach the Georgetown Hoyas.