Kevin Stacom: PC's Pressure to Play
Kevin Stacom, Sports Analyst
Kevin Stacom: PC's Pressure to Play
Coach Miller is quoted as saying:
“Redshirting players coming out of high school is going to be the secret sauce…you have the ability to develop some players and keep them. Part of the way you don’t retain young players is by not playing them. Part of the way you can retain young players is to redshirt them. You can work with them. Develop them. Get the size, the speed, the age, a year later. So next year, they will be so much more ready to contribute and help and get off to a good start. And they have the ability to make some money. The ability to make in year one compared to year 5 is absurd.”
In the crazy new world of collegiate sports that has been foisted upon coaches struggling to adapt, that approach sounds reasonable and fairly creative, especially as he assesses what constraints he might be operating under in terms of NIL, and the best and most efficient use of those resources. He went on to say that they are only going to use 10 of 13 available scholarships allowed under NCAA rules.
As an aside, I lived in Rhode Island for a very long time and always root for them as long as they’re not playing PC. Also, I’ve always felt the A-10 never gets enough respect in terms of how difficult it is to get wins in that league, especially on the road in places like Dayton, St Bonaventure, Davidson, VCU, Richmond, St Joes, George Mason, etc.
I mention all of this to draw a simple contrast to what is happening with Providence College’s basketball team as it has just completed the first 5 games of the 2024-2025 season.
The aforementioned approach probably never crossed the mind of Coach Kim English and his staff given the demands and realities of his team competing in the Big East, a league that accounted for four first-round picks last year (3 in the Lottery), a high 2nd (that should have been a 1st), and 3 other 2nd round picks. The pressure to obtain talent and to have depth is immense at that level. And there is a good amount of talent on this team.
What Kim English has been very honest about after every post-game press conference is the challenges that this particular preseason and early mid-major schedule presented.
Not only is your best player and preseason Big East 1st team selection, Bryce Hopkins, still on a recovery regimen, but a host of other key guys had injuries serious enough to keep them out of practices and scrimmages for extended periods of time. Jayden Pierre (groin), Christ Essandoko (wrist, back), Rich Barron ( shoulder surgery), Jabri Abdur-Rahim ( personal). The most important aspect of this is that for large amounts of valuable pre and early-season practice time, there were not enough players available for 5 on 5 scrimmages.
These early competitions are crucial for players to familiarize themselves with their teammates and get their legs and rhythm so crucial to compete at a high level. You can not simulate the kind of speed, reaction time and instincts necessary for Big East play by doing conditioning drills, or skill workouts no matter how intense.
As important it is for the players, it is also obviously important for the coaches to observe all this new and diverse talent in practice scrimmages and early non conference games, to make their best evaluations on the individual talents and how certain combinations create the best chemistry About 2 weeks ago Coach English felt because of all the quality practice time lost that they were about 2 or 3 weeks behind schedule in that regard.
Although he was still trying to find out “who we are,” the last two games vs Green Bay and Delaware State, Coach felt they were making some progress in terms of showing some signs of cohesiveness on the offensive end of the floor.
Turnovers went down from 16, 21, and 14, in the 1st three games to a more respectable 6 and 10 ( but balanced by 21 assists as a team).
English had the unenviable task of trying to evaluate individual players and viable combinations without loosing sight of the main goal of winning the game.
Every team eventually forms a personality, and Kim English said an interesting thing last night- “Our go-to guy is the open guy.” Of course, when Hopkins returns, some of the dynamics will change, but it seems this might be the type of team where, on any given night, someone else could be the hero. Other than last night when they got down by as many as 7 (like vs Green Bay), in a couple of these games, they dug down and defended with a lot of intensity, which carried them through the rough patches on offense.
Both bigs, Erhunmwunse and Essandoko, showed a little more confidence and comfortability on the floor; Ryan Mela has consistently shown his value, DeLaurier was a big factor in Hampton game, Barron seems to be getting his legs, Abdur-Rahim looks like the hired gun of his reputation, Cardet jr seems to be adapting better, and Fernandez hit a couple of long-range shots coming right off the bench which shows he has the mental toughness to stay engaged in the game while waiting his turn Floyd jr and Pierre, and newcomer Joseph have shown leadership and toughness at key moments Floyd Jr especially has brought his elite athleticism to ignite his teammates and the crowd it seems at just the right time and Bonke with his hustle and intensity is quicker become a fan favorite.
Yes, this team is a work in progress, and next week in the Bahamas vs Oklahoma will be another baseline from which to judge who they are at that point.
I am definitely looking forward to watching that game.