PREVIEW: PC Men’s Basketball Roster Part 1 - Kevin Stacom

PREVIEW: PC Men’s Basketball Roster Part 1 - Kevin Stacom

The leaves are beginning to turn, there’s a nip in the air at night, high school and college football are in full swing and the full glory of another New England autumn is upon us. What makes the Fall so bittersweet around here is that as nice as it can be, we know what’s coming next- the dues-paying season of winter. The Red Sox are out of the playoffs this year, and the Patriots Cinderella stagecoach without Brady and Belichick has obviously turned into a pumpkin before Halloween. 

It won’t be long before we look forward to one of those things that can make another winter of our discontent a lot more tolerable- Providence College basketball at the Civic Center, The Dunk, AMP ( just to cover all the age brackets since it’s inception) 

This will be head coach Kim English and his staff’s second season at PC, and there’s a lot of not-so-cautious optimism about the upcoming 2024-2025 Season. I think a lot of fans were justifiably impressed at what a great job his team did last year when they unexpectedly lost their best player (Bryce Hopkins) to an ACL injury on January 4th vs Seton Hall.      

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This preview of the upcoming season is not meant to put a burden of high expectations and hype on this team but to more or less flesh out why some of the optimism might be justified. We witnessed the competitiveness of a team last year doing its best to salvage a season with limited resources, so it’s only logical to anticipate the excitement of being able to watch the development of a team with a reloaded roster of players, Kim English and his staff worked hard and succeeded in recruiting from the clutches of other big-time programs.               

This roster is an interesting mix of players secured from the traditional High School/Prep school ranks, the Portal, and the normal college transfer process. It seems as though Coach English now has more of the elements necessary to implement more of his stated style of play - that of an aggressive commitment to defense spurring an uptempo offensive push to exploit hard drives to the hoop and resulting 3-point opportunities. To keep that intensity up, they’ll need a lot of bodies to implement it, and it appears they will have them in abundance.

 

Guards and Small Forwards              

The way the modern game has evolved, the distinction between guard and wing(small forward) has been blurred and basically rendered nonconsequential primarily because of the prominence of the 3-point shot. For this reason and to draw attention to the depth at each position, I’ve included the guards and small forwards in one category.        

For the purposes of this preview, and given the depth of this roster, it was decided to break this preseason analysis into two parts- the guards and wings this week and the following week, the Bigs.

 

#1- Jayden Pierre, JR, 6’2”185          

He made a big leap last year with the increased playing time and responsibilities of running a team. His confidence began to grow, especially down the stretch against three quality teams: Creighton, Marquette, and Boston College, where he averaged over 17 points/game. He began to do things with confidence, like pulling up for a 3-point shot off the break when the feel of the game warranted it. He’s very quick off the bounce and can get to the hoop to score or make a play.  I believe his decision-making and assist-to-turnover ratio will improve as his confidence continues to grow under this new system. 

 

# 7- Bensley Joseph Sr. G, 6’2”188lbs    

Secured out of the Portal from Miami, he’s an Arlington, Massachusetts native who brings a real physical presence to the point guard position. He’s very strong and aggressive on both sides of the ball, and he brings valuable NCAA tourney experience from a very successful Miami program. He also, like Pierre, can get to the hoop and also make 3’s. He and Pierre can either play together or platoon each other depending on the different combinations Coach employs 

 

#4- Justyn Fernandez R-So. G 6’5”205lbs          

Justyn redshirted last season, recovering from an ACL knee injury last spring. He has the reputation of a gym rat and being an excellent 3-point shooter who transferred over from George Mason with Coach English and is now ready to go. They’ll be the usual adjustments after being on the shelf for a year but he’s also and excellent athlete who can defend, get to the hoop and has great size for the position. 

 

#0- Wesley Cardet Jr Sr. G 6’6” 210lbs    

Like teammates Bensley and Joseph, Cardet Jr was secured out of the Portal (Chicago State). Don’t let the Mid Major resume fool you- Cardet Jr was a big-time recruit coming out of Prep school in Florida, but his loyalty to family connections led him to his initial choice of colleges at Samford and Chicago State. He’ll finally be competing at his proper talent level (he was invited to the NBA pre-draft camp this year in Chicago). He’ll have to adjust a bit not being alone on the talent pyramid on his team but he can do a lot of things to help a team win. He has great length and the ability to defend 3 positions, can create well off the dribble, and is an effective slasher with an improving 3-point shot. He’ll be able to take advantage of mismatches on switches with smaller players in the lane. Like Fernandez, he has great size for his position and lends great flexibility on both ends of the floor. 

 

#14- Corey Floyd Jr R-Jr G 6’4”210lbs         

On a team of very good athletes, Corey Floyd might be the best in terms of pure explosive leaping ability and running the lanes. (Although fans will get a kick out of seeing 6’10” 220 lb Oswin Erhunmwunse’s Bill Russell’s imitation when the time comes) He also made great strides last year on both ends of the floor as he adjusted to the more favorable for him uptempo style of Coach English. Another great slasher who should also be an improved 3-point shooter. He plays with great intensity and can lend a lot of leadership to a team that appears to be a nice blend of youth and experience. He also can really guard a number of positions as we begin to see the method to the madness of acquiring guys that can, at times, switch out in the perimeter without exposing any weaknesses defensively. 

 

#10- Rich Barron So. G/F 6’5”220 lb         

A tough, physical Chicago kid who came on last year as an unheralded freshman, and unlike a number of his new teammates, he was not on the list of top recruits coming out of high school his senior year, Barron was on his way to George Mason before both he and Coach English made the detour to Providence He proved English’s instincts correct as Barron earned All-Freshman Big East honors by the end of last year. Besides being a tough physical defender, he also led the team last year with a 3-point percentage of 42.9%. You could tell last year that in a lot of important and tight games down the stretch at crunch time, Barron was on the floor as the coaches obviously gained trust in his game. He’ll be another reliable outlet as a 3-point threat when things get clogged down below. Barron has the profile of an NFL linebacker who contributes to the overall aggressive mix of this roster. 

 

#11- Ryan Mela Fr. F 6’6” 200lbs       

Ryan is a Natick, Massachusetts native who, by all reports, has a lot of great instincts for the game. He has a lot of skills in terms of advancing the ball, making plays, getting to the basket, and is a good shooter. He can move without the ball and is a good catalyst for making things happen on both sides of the ball. He appears to have the potential to eventually be a great chemistry guy. It remains to be seen how many minutes will be available to him this year, but the hunch is good, given the overall quality of his game, that he’ll be able to contribute at some point in the near future. 

 

Depth and More Depth           

As you explore and drill down on this roster, it’s been a long time since I can remember this amount of overall depth and talent from the guard/wing position at Providence College. There will be great competition for minutes and great flexibility for whatever adjustments need to be made in terms of game management. There are a lot of very valuable skill sets and athleticism that all 7 of these guys bring to the table- that’s right, all 7 of these guys can play. 

          

You have a two-headed point guard model, each of whom can at times play with or without the ball, used in some combination with each other or in tandem with a string of real shooters in Fernandez and Baron, scorers like Cardet Jr and Floyd, and a savvy freshman like Mela inserted for even more flexibility when needed.            

This winter is actually looking a lot better already. 

 

NEXT WEEK:  The outlook at the Providence College Bigs