How Well Will the PC Friars and Coach English Respond to Adversity? - McMahon
Robert McMahon, Sports Columnist
How Well Will the PC Friars and Coach English Respond to Adversity? - McMahon
Now the Friars sit at 2-2, 7th in the Big East standings, ahead of only Xavier, Butler, DePaul and Georgetown. Yikes. Complicating the future of the Friars’ Big East season is the unexpected rise in the play of Seton Hall and St. Johns. It looks like Rick Pitino’s coaching magic is beginning to work on the Johnnies. Nobody at the beginning of the season expected Seton Hall and St. John’s to be tied at the top of the Big East standings on January 9th. The Friars are decidedly weaker without Hopkins, and now have a more challenging schedule ahead of them because of the recent play of Seton Hall and St. John’s.
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The uneven play of PC in the Creighton game, particularly on offense where PC shot only 38% from the field, suggests the team needs to change their offensive strategy. With Hopkins in the lineup, the Friars had three reliable offensive answers—Hopkins, Carter, and Oduro. With Hopkins no longer in the lineup, more pressure was put on other players to make up Hopkins’ lost points. In particular, Oduro tried to take on a bigger role, but Seton Hall and Creighton were waiting to put more defensive pressure on him, and Oduro, who had the best shooting percentage on any of the starters on the team prior to the Seton Hall game, struggled mightily.
Short of holding tryouts this week at Alumni Hall for 3-pt shooter walk-on from the PC student body (it would make for a heck of a movie), or see if Joey Hassett has another year of eligibility, how should Coach English tweak this lineup? Well, let’s start first by looking at PC’s strength: Defense. Despite the loss to Creighton, PC held the Bluejays to 12 pts below their scoring average. And PC had a rare game, where they had fewer turnovers than their opponent. The defense has been key to a lot of PC wins this year. Remember the Marquette and Wisconsin games. So, whoever Coach English puts into the lineup to replace Hopkins, that player has to be able to play Coach English’s style of defense. Aggressive defense leads to opponent turnovers, leads to fast break points.
I also think that the new 5th starter may have to vary from game-to-game, depending on the opponent, and player matchups. It may be Corey Floyd in some games; it may be Garwey Dual or Rich Barron in other situations. The learning curve for Barron and Dual just got quicker with Hopkins’ injury. English may also have to sacrifice some offense and give one of the new big men—Eli DeLaurier or Donovan Santoro—more minutes down low to give Oduro some minutes off in each game.
Finally, not to be overlooked at this point is the role of psychology. I know it sounds corny. But, the Hopkins injury is a test for Coach English and for the Friars. Can they find a way to overcome mid-season adversity? Success on the court is not just about X’s and O’s or prior reputations. English has to motivate this collection of Friars on how to win with what they have and who they are. Some players have to dig deeper. Some have to take on different roles. Some have to play harder, smarter, or tougher. This is still a good PC team, even without Hopkins. English has to make them believe they can win.
Friar Trivia
Last week’s question and answer:
Q. Before the Friars built the on-campus basketball arena Alumni Hall in 1955, where did the Friars play their home games during the previous five years?
A. Mount Pleasant High School. Yup, it’s hard to believe, but true. The arc of PC basketball success is pretty amazing when you think of PC playing Holy Cross at the gym at Mount Pleasant High School.
This week’s trivia question:
Q. This former US Senator once dropped 41 points on PC when he played in college? Who was he and what team did he play for?