Kevin Stacom: Providence College’s Greatest Guards
Kevin Stacom, Sports Analyst
Kevin Stacom: Providence College’s Greatest Guards
This is the third in a series of articles attempting to rank the top 5 players from Providence College at each position: center, forward, and guard. I’ve been careful to reiterate how subjective and reductive a process is because there are just too many players that you can make a case for that are close statistically and in terms of their impact on the development and success of the school’s overall program.
I lead with that thought because trying to pick only five from the guard category, especially after the top three, is an almost impossible task. God just didn’t make that many people 6’8” and above with enough coordination, athletic ability, and acquired skill to make that population anywhere near as voluminous as the countless gym rats who became fascinated with bouncing a ball and launching it toward that suspended ring high above the ground beginning as a child. Like crabs trying to escape a bucket climbing over each other’s backs the competition is fierce to distinguish yourself enough and earn the right to be part of a team good enough to attain any notoriety. Obviously, big men have played crucial roles in the legacy of all the successful PC teams, but the bulk of the ship’s crews, in terms of sheer numbers, have been the guards. That is what makes reducing this list to 5 players through all those years so difficult.
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But here it goes.
It’s been 57 years since Jimmy Walker played basketball at Providence College, and a lot of excellent players have come and gone during that time. And what’s most impressive is that there’s probably not any real argument to dispute the statement in the Providence basketball media guide “Jimmy Walker- Greatest Friar of Them All.”
His statistics provide the framework to help understand the impact, especially the summary of his senior year:
30 points/game; 5.2 assists/game;49%FG’s; 80%FT’s
If you are of an age to have been able to see him play live, you understand that it just wasn’t the stats. It’s HOW he did it. He was just different. A combination of quickness, strength, and scoring ability combined with one of the best handles ever. From the moment he stepped on campus, he ignited a fire of interest and enthusiasm that people recognized immediately. Sold-out freshman games became the hottest ticket in town, and the following year, he more than met expectations, as he led his team to a 24-2 record and a Final 8 appearance I believe it was Walker and Earl “The Pearl” Monroe that brought a lot of the fancy dribbling skills taken for granted today into the mainstream mainly because it wasn’t just for show, but also an effective and efficient method to advance the ball past defenders and to create space to shoot the ball. His dominance and showmanship enabled PC to capitalize and expand on the hard-fought foundation of all those great players who were able to bring the initial notoriety of the 1961 and 1963 NIT Championships by showcasing his abilities on the growing bigger stage of the NCAA tournament.
That scoring average of 30.39 for the ‘67 season led the nation and still stands as the highest scoring average for a season in Providence’s long history. That year, he was the #1 pick of the NBA draft and went on to play nine years in the NBA, making 2 All-Star teams, averaging 16.7 points for his career, and twice over those years averaging over 20 points/game
My teammate Ernie D spent many hours dribbling the ball, imitating the spin moves, behind the back, between the legs etc utilizing Walker as his model and inspiration. My other friend and teammate Marvin Barnes was very conscious of wearing The Walk’s #24 because he also was his hero growing up in Providence.
Jimmy Walker left a lasting impression that still can be felt to this day.
Having played in the New York City Catholic High School league and seeking out competition and games throughout that area for years growing up, I was fairly confident I had just about seen it all in terms of talent and different types of players and games that were out there at the time. I was wrong. I mentioned that Jimmy Walker was “different” well, Ernie’s another player whose uniqueness was evident from the 1st time I saw him handling the ball in person It was more like witnessing an illusionist or a magician constantly setting up diversions intending to draw your attention away from what he really intended to do with the ball.
Ernie D’s stats his senior year:
24.5 points/game; 8.6 assists/game 48% FG’s; 80% FT’s
That year (1973), Ernie, along with Marvin, led us to the Final Four on a 17-game win streak ending in the semifinal game as Marvin went down with a hyperextended knee after being up by 16 points in the 1st 1/2.
Ernie still holds the single-season record for assists (267) and the assist average for a career (7.7). And it wasn’t like he couldn’t score. He’s 3rd on the all-time list for career scoring average, behind only Jimmy Walker and Marvin Barnes at 20.47 points/game. But one stat that Ernie takes great pride in, is that he still holds the all-time PC record for shots attempted in a season at 728 a full 69 shots ahead of Jimmy Walker. He also, in that season (‘73), set a record for FGs made in a season (348).
In Ernie’s senior year he earned 1st team All-American honors, in addition to winning the Joe Lapchick award for the best college player of the year. He went on to become the 3rd pick of the NBA draft by the Buffalo Braves, justifying their decision by earning Rookie of the Year the following year leading the league in assists and FT percentage.
I scouted College players for over 30 years for 2 NBA teams, and I still haven’t seen anyone handle and pass the ball like Ernie D. It was pure artistry watching him or playing with him.
Lenny Wilkens was one of those crucial players, along with John Thompson, Jim Hadnot, Ray Flynn, Johnny Egan, and Vinny Ernst, who set the table and provided the foundation in the early 1960s for all those players who came to follow in their footsteps.
Wilken’s full body of work, encompassing almost four decades as a player and a coach, began at Providence College, and I can only highlight a portion of his accomplishments without running out of space to list them all.
Wilkens helped bring PC to the NIT in NYC, where the fans and media instantly adopted them as admirable underdogs. Wilkens earned NIT MVP honors in 1960. He made All-American honors his junior and senior year. He was also MVP in the East-West All-Star game his senior year. His senior year, he was the 6th pick of the NBA draft by the Saint Louis Hawks and went on to a 15-year playing career for four different teams- St. Louis, Cleveland, Seattle, and Portland, and made 9 NBA All-Star teams.
Wilkens was named to the NBA’s Top 50 Greatest Players List (1996), and also enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame both as a player (1989), and a coach (1998) When Wilkens retired he was 2nd on the all-time assist list (6.7/game) and averaged 16.5 points/game over a 15 year career.
He retired from coaching as the 3rd all-time winningest coach, including a NBA Championship in 1979 (Joe Hasset was a member of that team) Oh, yes, I almost forgot to mention, Wilkens coached the USA team to a Gold Medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.
Taken as a whole, between his careers as a College and NBA player, in addition to his NBA coaching career Lenny is undoubtedly the most accomplished basketball person ever to attend Providence College.
Eric Murdock was one of the best 2-way guards ever to play at Providence College. Eric’s senior year statistics:
25.6 points/game; 4.6 assists/game; and 3.5 steals/game
In terms of scoring Murdock stands behind only Jimmy Walker for most points scored in a season- 818 points. He also stands at #4 All-time in total points in a career at 2021 points, and is #3 All-Time in scoring average for a season (25.58) only behind Jimmy Walker (30.39)and John Thompson (26.19).
As far as his statistics as a defensive player, Murdock is # 1 in terms of steals average for a career at 3.21. He’s #2 All-Time in the number of steals in a season (behind only John Linehan) at 111.
In his senior year, Eric was a 1st team All-American, lead the Big East in scoring and steals, and was the 21st pick in the 1st round by the Utah Jazz where he enjoyed a productive 9 NBA years between Utah, Milwaukee, Vancouver, Denver, Miami, the Nets, and the LA Clippers.
I’ve written fairly extensively in a couple of previous articles prior to the NBA draft about the type of unique senior year Devin Carter accomplished
Again, his senior year statistics:
19.7 points/game; 8.7 rebounds/game; 3.6 assists/game; 1.8 steals/game
I mentioned previously, and I stand by the statement that I haven’t seen a player have that dramatic effect on a game from the guard position on both the offensive and defensive end of the floor in a long time. Every era through the decades at PC has had key players that were able to keep the tradition alive and hand the ball over intact to the next generation of players. Carter’s efforts this year enabled that process to continue, turning a potentially disastrous situation with the loss of Bryce Hopkins into a very competitive, exciting season with a number of quality victories against some highly ranked teams, setting the stage for the continuation of the PC tradition into the Kim English era.
His performance at the NBA draft combine, which demonstrated his overall athletic ability, solidified his status enough to earn him the 13th pick of the Draft—no small accomplishment.
PS- I realize picking only five guards from such a long list of accomplished players is an impossible task - Johnny Egan, Vinnie Ernst, Ray Flynn, Joe Hassett, no offense meant-just ran out of space to give all those guys Justice.