Kevin Stacom: PC Searching to Find Their Way
Kevin Stacom, Sports Analyst
Kevin Stacom: PC Searching to Find Their Way
You can learn a lot from post-game press conferences, when coaches and players are still gathering their thoughts fresh after battle, trying to put everything in perspective and give an honest explanation of what just occurred as best they can.
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The Providence College Friars have been less than a well-oiled machine but are 3-0 against some inferior teams.
After the last two games, Coach Kim English has been as direct as possible, stating where he thinks his team is in terms of progress or lack thereof. English relayed some basic facts about so many guys with injuries, including their best player [Bryce Hopkins], that the team did not have the luxury of gradually putting in schemes on offense and defense in a normal, timely manner, tweaking things as they went along, finding which combination of players might blend the best, etc. For the longest time they didn’t have enough healthy guys to even scrimmage 5 on 5.
There was justifiable relief in getting the win after the Hampton game, but also a bit of frustration in his voice concerning the growing pains of both players and coaches navigating how best to put this team on track to become a cohesive unit. English is doing his best to spread the minutes around as best he can to give everyone a chance to compete and show what they can do and, at the same time, somehow win the game. He emphasized after the game that he’s looking for “toughness” both physically and mentally and which players can best demonstrate those qualities. The obvious problem with this intense exploratory approach is that with all the shuffling of players in search of the right chemistry and effective combinations, cohesiveness has been lacking for large amounts of time, leading to considerable periods of scoring droughts. Their effort on defense has been consistent and is what keeps them at least in a position to pull out these mostly hard-fought wins.
As rough as these games have been to watch at times, in each contest, there have been some bright spots that lend hope to the idea that this alchemy will eventually pay off. Against Stonehill last Saturday, it was good to see Jabri Abdur-Rahim get in a rhythm and shake off the emotional loss of a close relative. He has a pretty stroke and showed what he has done at times throughout his college career at Virginia and the University of Georgia- get on a roll and put a bunch of 3’s together quickly. He had 16 points in 22 minutes.
But it was an unlikely pair that came into the game in the 2nd half against Hampton that saved the day when it seemed like PC was irredeemably stuck in quicksand. Yes, there were other contributors like Wesley Cardet, Jr. and Rich Barron, who hit timely 3’s to keep the momentum going, and two human highlight plays by Corey Floyd- one a lob dunk streaming in from the left baseline and an impressive windmill dunk off the bounce off two feet in the right lane that got the proper "WOW" reaction from the crowd.
Highlights vs Hampton pic.twitter.com/r662vdUZsf
— Providence MBB (@PCFriarsmbb) November 13, 2024
The main instigators, however, who awakened the AMP were Eli DeLaurier and Ryan Mela. If there is one flaw that has led to some stagnation at this early point in the season on the offensive end, it is that, in general, many of the players have a tendency to immediately put the ball on the floor to probe for their own opportunity, which leads to a lot of excessive dribbling, standing around, and lack of ball and player movement.
When these two got in the game it seemed like most of that disappeared. The game took on a whole different rhythm, and you could feel the momentum shift in PC’s direction. If you saw just their final stat lines and not the game, you would say to yourself, no way these guys were much of a factor, but their combined intangibles were there for all to witness.
DeLaurier-12 minutes, 0/1 FG’s; 3 rebounds, 1assist, 1steal, 2 blocks, 0 points
Mela- 10 minutes, 2/3 FG’s; 3 rebounds, 4 points
DeLaurier was all over the floor, had two timely blocks, a great steal, and dove on the floor with such abandon one time the crowd got on its feet in appreciation. Mela also had a couple of very good hustle plays and well-timed cuts to the basket without the ball, resulting in a nice bounce pass from DeLaurier and a nice finish at the hoop. They were 2 guys who did not need the ball to have a huge impact on the game.
Their performances are what lead Coach English to emphasize “toughness”as one of the major traits he’ll be looking for in determining the dispensing of playing time from this point on. At the previously mentioned post game presser Coach gave high praise to both- DeLaurier being “Country tough”, and Mela being a “hooper” meaning that he knows how to play and doesn’t get rattled when the object of tough coaching.
It was only a short sample, but the qualities that these two guys were able to display in effectively turning around this game are those that will be necessary to get this team on track once everyone is healthy and ready to go, especially as the competition gets ratcheted up in the Bahamas(Oklahoma) and the Big East schedule unfolds.
Speaking of ready-to-go, Coach English was asked about the progress of Hopkins's rehab, he mentioned that he is participating in live drills and scrimmages and had just recently had a very competitive one-on-one with him. They were playing at full speed, and Bryce felt fine afterward.
There is no set date for his return, but there is a strong implication that it is imminent.