Can PC’s Demo of the Cellar-Dwelling Demons Provide Momentum for Friars?

Can PC’s Demo of the Cellar-Dwelling Demons Provide Momentum for Friars?

As expected, the PC men’s basketball team had few problems defeating the DePaul quintet, 100-62, last week in Chicago.  It’s difficult to get excited about this win.  A victory lap certainly isn’t warranted.  But it is a Big East win, one that was desperately needed, as PC climbed into 8th place in the Big East with a 3-4 record.

 

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And there were some positives to take away from the PC demolition of DePaul:

 

- PC won handily; there would have been nothing to cheer about if PC squeaked out a win; PC had 5 players in double figures;
- PC won a Big East game on the road, its first of the season;
- PC reserves and little-used players got valuable playing time, especially Castro, Barron, and Dual;
- PC regulars, in particular, Josh Oduro and Devin Carter, got some rest, racking up fewer minutes than normal; they both responded with good shooting nights;
- On the defensive side, PC’s mojo re-reappeared somewhat, holding DePaul to 62 points and forcing 19 DePaul turnovers.

 

Can this success carry over to this Wednesday’s game at Seton Hall?  As we all know, the Friars’ troubles began with the Seton Hall game at the AMP on January 3rd when PC’s Bryce Hopkins went down with a season-ending knee injury.  It was still a winnable game for the Friars, but the Pirates prevailed.  Since then, Seton Hall has emerged as a Big East power, now sitting with a 6-2 Big East record after losing in 3 overtimes, 94-93 to Creighton last Saturday.

 

At this point in the season, Seton Hall is a better team than PC.  The 3-OT loss by Seton Hall to Creighton may help the Friars.  That was a crushing and dispiriting loss for Seton Hall.  It may give the Friars some psychological help. For PC to win they will need to do a solid defensive job on guard Kadary Richmond, a three-tool dominant player for the Pirates.

 

Friars Trivia

 

Last week’s answer corrections (mea culpa) for the 1/9/2024 question:

 

We got a bit wrong. Bill Bradley was a senior (not a sophomore) at Princeton when he scored 41 points against the Friars in the 1965 NCAA tournament, and his 58 points in his next NCAA game were scored against Wichita State, not Michigan.

 

Last week’s question and answer:

 

Q.  What year did PC set an all-time PC record for team rebounds/game?  Who was PC’s leading rebounder that year?

 

Most long-time PC fans will naturally think the team rebounding record was set during one of Marvin Barnes’s years at PC. Close, but not the case. PC averaged 48.3 rebounds/game in 1973-73, while Barnes averaged 18.7 boards/game.

 

PC’s record rebound year, however, was set by the 1963-64 team when the Friars averaged 50.6 rebounds/game. The leading rebounder was 6’10” senior John Thompson, who averaged 14.5 rebounds/game. The main reason this team exceeded all other PC teams in rebounds is that they also had a second big man, 6’8” Bob Kovalski, who pulled down 11.1 rebounds/game. Jimmy Stone and James Benedict were the other noteworthy players on this team.

 

PC does not hold the NCAA team record for average rebounds/game. The NCAA record for team rebounds in a year was 1967-68 by Houston with 62.8 boards/game with Elvin Hayes being the King of Glass that year.

 

Thompson, of course, was a star recruit from Washington DC and the best player for the Friars and coach Joe Mullaney in 1963-64. The Friars appeared in their first-ever NCAA game in 1964, but got beat easily by nemesis Villanova 77-66 at the Palestra.  Ironically, in PC’s best-ever rebound year, Villanova outrebounded the Friars in this NCAA game 49-29.

 

Thompson, when he graduated from PC, held Friar basketball records for points, scoring average, and field goal percentage.  He was second to former teammate Jim Hadnot in rebounds. He was drafted in the third round by the Celtics after PC.   As the backup to Hall of Famer Bill Russell, however, Thompson got meager minutes with the Celtics and left after the 1966 season. He eventually became a legendary coach with Georgetown, where his career-winning record for 27 years was .714.  He had three Final Four appearances with a title in 1984. He passed away in 2020.

 

This Week’s Trivia Question:

 

Q.  Who are the five best Rhode Island natives to play basketball for PC?