Portsmouth's Chrabascz readies for Big East

Portsmouth's Chrabascz readies for Big East

When Andrew Chrabascz made his college decision last summer he couldn’t have expected what was ahead. The 6’7 power forward from Portsmouth, RI had bruised opponents through two productive years at Cushing Academy, prior to a 2012 summer that saw his stock take off as he starred for AAU power BABC.

By summer’s end, Chrabascz received interest from much of the Atlantic-10, as well as Creighton, Davidson and others, but in August he pledged to the fastest rising coach in the game -- Brad Stevens of Butler. The decision marked the beginning of a dizzying year.

Playing alongside star guards Kaleb Joseph (a Syracuse commit in the class of 2014) and Jalen Adams, as well as Providence walk-on Casey Woodring, Chrabascz capped a terrific high school career in style.

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Cushing won the ultra-competitive NEPSAC Class AA Championship over St. Andrew’s (RI) on a desperation three pointer by Adams at the buzzer. Chrabascz was outstanding in the title game, scoring 14 points and grabbing 17 rebounds.

After averaging over 13 points and 11 boards per game, Chrabascz was named 1st Team All NEPSAC, capping a career that saw him score over 2,200 points in three seasons at Cushing.

While Chrabascz was wrapping up an outstanding season, changes were coming at Butler -- big changes. In March, the school announced plans to join the newly reconfigured Big East, with the hope of many Big East followers that Stevens would be part of a core of coaches who grew with the new conference.

That dream would be short-lived, however, as Stevens announced in July that he’d be heading to Boston to coach the Celtics.

For Chrabascz, that meant he’d be playing for a different head coach than the one he initially committed to -- a man who was the face of Butler basketball in every possible sense. Butler replaced Stevens with a familiar name, promoting assistant coach Brandon Miller to head coach soon after.

Chrabascz’s new head coach sounded pleased with the steps forward the Rhode Island native has taken prior to his freshman season, “Andrew has really improved since he got on campus. He’s lost over 20 pounds since he’s got to Butler, and with him getting into better shape he’s really taken off,” Miller said.

Chrabascz earned the reputation as a punishing interior presence throughout his high school career, and his developed footwork inside and ability to pass from both the post and the top of the key will make him a weapon as his career progresses in the Big East.

The competitive nature he was known for at Cushing is showing up in preseason practices already, “He’s a tough kid. He completes, he plays hard at the offensive and defensive end every possession,” said Miller. “He’s doing nothing but getting better every single day.”

Chrabascz couldn’t have anticipated that he’d return to Rhode Island to take on Providence throughout his college career (the Bulldogs visit Providence on Jan. 21), nor could he have foreseen Stevens’ departure -- a move no one saw coming. Yet, for those who watched his development over the past four years, Butler’s visits will have a bit more added intrigue over the next four seasons.

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Throughout the 2013-14 season, the staff of Friarbasketball.com will partner with GoLocalProv to bring you all of the latest on not only the makings of Providence’s 2014 class and beyond, but the recruiting classes and efforts at Rhode Island, Brown and Bryant as well. We’ll also feature local prep and high school players throughout the year.

We’ll take you through who may be on the verge of committing and highlight how commitments from each of the schools are faring throughout the season.

Follow Kevin Farrahar on Twitter @Kevin_Farrahar.