Growing Questions About PC Coach English’s Ability to Close Out Games

Growing Questions About PC Coach English’s Ability to Close Out Games

This year has been a major disappointment for the Providence College men’s basketball program to date.

The emerging question is whether coach Kim English can close out games.

Despite landing two top-tier recruits and spending around $8 million to $10 million in NIL money to retain two (Ryan Mela and Oswin Erhunmwunse) and attract top recruits like Jaylin Sellers, Jason Edwards, Stefan Vaaks, and Duncan Powell, PC is off to a 2-6 start in the Big East. 

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This was supposed to be the bounce-back year after a disappointing 12-20 record and a 6-14 Big East standing; the revamped Friars were expected to compete for the Big East title and an NCAA bid.

 

PC AD Sets High Bar

After last season, in March of 2025, Providence College athletic director Steven R. Napolillo emailed to the PC men’s basketball season ticket holders and supporters a message promising to reverse the course of this past season and that the school is committed “to supporting our basketball programs at the highest level to compete for Big East and national championships.”

Then, after the NIL haul, the Friars were selected fourth in the pre-season coaches' poll. The Big East wrote:

Providence was selected to finish fourth.  The Friars feature 10 newcomers and five returnees on the 2025-26 roster.  Transfer guard Jason Edwards averaged 17.0 points per game at Vanderbilt and was picked to the preseason All-Big East Second Team.  Providence also returns a pair of BIG EAST All-Freshman team selections from a season ago in Oswin Erhunmwunse and Ryan Mela.

 

Losing in Final Minutes This Season

 

Virginia Tech: The Friars led late in the game. A pair of Edwards free throws gave the Friars the two-point lead before a Virginia Tech timeout (1:06). 

But, a put-back layup by Virginia Tech tied the game at 86 with 7 seconds remaining. The Friars brought the ball up the court and called a timeout with 3.8 seconds remaining.  But PC missed a close shot and then lost in OT 107-101.

 

Butler: The Friars lost 113-110 in double-overtime. In the second overtime, Butler made a second-chance three-pointer and took a three-point lead with 35 seconds remaining. With 22 seconds remaining, Vaaks missed a potential three-pointer to tie the game. Butler missed a pair of free throws, giving the Friars one last look. Sellers missed a three-pointer as Butler led 113-110 at the end of regulation.  

 

Seton Hall: PC lost 72-67 and let a late lead get away in the final two minutes. A driving effort from Jamier Jones gave Providence the lead after a Seton Hall bucket, 65-64 (1:53).  Then, Seton Hall responded with two free throws before Sellers drove and was fouled, knocking down two free throws, making it 67-66, Providence (1:16).  

Seton Hall connected on a three-pointer that was followed by a midrange jumper to give them the 71-67 lead with under 10 seconds remaining. The Friars failed to score in the final 75 seconds as Seton Hall held onto a 72-67 lead at the final buzzer.  

 

UConn: The most excruciating loss was PC surrendering an 11-point lead at home with 3 minutes left and then losing in overtime to the Huskies. 

PC had led 86-75 (3:12) and was outscored 14-3. 

A plethora of substitutions in the final two minutes seemed to add to the chaos.

Regulation ended tied at 89. In overtime, the Huskies pulled away and won 103 to 98.  

 

Creighton: It was a PC win, but Creighton was able to cut the lead to 3 points less than 5 seconds in the game. The Friars ultimately won 93-88 after a PC offensive foul and fouling a Creighton 3-point shooter in the final seconds.

 

Marquette: If the other collapses were not painful enough, Monday night’s loss to a 1-7 Marquette may go down in Friar history as one of the most painful losses.

The Friars led by 4 with less than a minute left in the game.

Marquette freshman Nigel James Jr. drained a 3-pointer with 21 seconds to cut the Friars' lead to one.

The Friars were leading by 3 in the final seconds, but Sellers fouled James on a 3-pointer with 2.3. He hit all three to send the game to overtime.

It was the second game in a row where PC fouled a 3-point shooter in the final seconds.

Then, PC had the ball with the score tied at 104-104, and Corey Floyd, Jr. turned over the ball and then fouled Ben Gold, who hit one of two of the free throws.

PC got the ball with 3.5 seconds left, giving Vaaks a long 3-pointer at the buzzer, but he was off the mark.

 

Reality

The Friars have two close game wins — Penn State (77-65) and St. John’s (77-71), and both were fueled by last-minute heroics by Vaaks.

The season is not lost. The talented Friars could reverse course and begin to pile up some wins. They get a gift in Georgetown, and coach Ed Cooley comes to town on Saturday. The Hoyas are in last place in the Big East, just 9-9 overall and 1-6 in the conference.

PC is just 9-10 on the season and 2-6 in the Big East.