RI Hoopsters and the PC Friars: The All-Rhode Island Friar Team
Robert McMahon, Sports Columnist
RI Hoopsters and the PC Friars: The All-Rhode Island Friar Team
Rhode Island high schools may not have a recent track record for sending basketball players to Friartown, but there is a long history between PC basketball and Rhode Island high school players. In researching this article, I was surprised to see that there was at least one RI high school player on every Friars’ team from the 1962-63 season to the 1977-1978 season. Not just a name on the roster, but RI players with playing time. The 1973-74 PC team, one of the greatest Friar teams ever at 28-5 with a Sweet Sixteen appearance in the NCAA, featured four Rhode Island natives with significant contributions: Marvin Barnes (Central), Joe Hassett (LaSalle), Rick Santos (Central), Mark McAndrew (Westerly).
I’m going to take a stab at naming the All-Rhode Island Friar Team. The selections of Barnes, Ernie D, and Joe Hassett are no-brainers. After that, lots of possibilities. I am not considering today’s advanced metrics as they were not available for most of these players. The selection is also complicated by the evolving 3-point shot and freshman-year rules over time.
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THE RI STARTING FIVE
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Barnes is the greatest rebounder in Friar history with 1592 rebounds, almost 300 rebounds ahead of the next player, Jim Hadnot. Why was he a rebounding machine: 1) he was quick and could get up and down the court faster than any big man he played against; 2) though only 6’8”, he could out-jump guys taller than him; and 3) he had innate rebounding instincts—where to locate his body for a rebound and when to elevate.
In addition to enjoying the Final Four year with Ernie D in 1972-73, Barnes’ 1973-74 team had 28 wins and a Sweet Sixteen appearance. But, of course, the eternal “what if” for Friar fans is: What if Marvin hadn’t gotten injured against Memphis in the 1973 Final Four?
Prior to Ernie D. playing as a sophomore in 1970-71, PC had 3 mediocre years. Ernie D’s arrival changed the trajectory of the team’s performance and recruiting, national media coverage, and the enthusiasm of the fan base. In his senior year, PC averaged 89 points/game with no 3-point rule in effect.
While he could shoot, averaging 20.5 pts a season for his PC career, it was his play as a point guard that is forever remembered. He averaged almost 8 assists/game in his 3 years at PC. He was a 6’0” passing genius, finding the open man with half-court bullet passes and hitting teammates streaking to the basket with behind-the-back passes. The ball was his brush and the court was his canvas. Ernie D. was a once-in-a-lifetime Van Gogh point guard for the Friars.
Hassett achieved the Holy Trinity for Catholic school basketball players growing up in the Smith Hill neighborhood of Providence—St. Patrick’s School, LaSalle Academy, and Providence College. Basketball was in his genes from his father Joseph Hassett, long-time Providence Recreation Director. His shooting form was pure and elegant, attained by hours of practice in the tiny St. Patrick School gym, and then on the LaSalle courts, less than a mile up Smith Street.
If Ernie D was a point guard artist, Joe Hassett, was a shooting guard dentist. He could drill deep shots from anywhere on the court. His long range shots earned him the nickname, “Sonar.” Hassett never met a shot he didn’t think he could make. That was fine with PC fans. They wanted him to shoot. In his freshman year, he played on a team where there were a lot of shooter options, so Hassett’s points/game was a modest 7.2 points. But with a 49.3% career shooting average, he scored 1828 points at PC and led PC in scoring his last 3 years, ending with a career average of 14.7 points/game.
And here’s the eternal “what if” for Joe Hassett and Friar Fans: What if there had been the 3-point shot (began in 1986) when he played? I won’t bore you with my math here but based on my estimate that 40% of Hassett’s 840 career field goals were from 3-point range, he would have had a career points/game average of 17.4 and a career total of 2164 points, making him the all-time PC scorer.
Ray Johnson, 6’7”, Center, 1968-69, 1969-70, 1970-71. Ray Johnson was an all-state dominant player at South Kingstown High, a small Class B school in sports at the time. His first two years at PC were transition years for the basketball program—from the Jimmy Walker era to the Ernie D/Marvin Barnes era. Coaching was also in transition, as Joe Mullaney left after the 1968-69 season and was replaced by Dave Gavitt.
Those first two years at PC featured Jim Larranaga and Vic Collucci as the dominant scorers, but PC languished with 14-11 and 14-10 records. Johnson was the center on the team, and while not as talented as past and future Friar big men, he performed admirably in his sophomore and junior
years, leading the team with 10.5 rebounds/game, a statistic second only to Marvin Barnes for all Rhode Island players who played at PC. And he contributed 10.7 points/game.
His playing time and numbers decreased slightly in his senior year with the influx of Ernie D, Nehru King, and Fran Costello. His shooting range was limited: a 5’ semi-circle around the basket. And he had trouble at the free-throw line, but his 3-year numbers are otherwise solid: 8.6 rebounds/game and 9.6 points/game, just shy of a career double-double, and a 50% field goal percentage.
He left after his junior year to join the NBA draft and has bounced around mostly with NBA D-league teams since. His three years at PC featured teams with modest records of 18-16, 19-12, and 13-13. Duke was primarily a shooting guard. Duke progressed in his 3 years at PC, with points/game progressing from 7.2 to 12.0 to 16.8. His overall PC career stat of 11.5 points/game is the 4th highest of all Rhode Island players to play at PC.
What if Duke had stayed his senior year for the 2021-22 season? That PC team featured a mature Nate Watson and finished with a record of 27-6, 14-3 in the Big East, and a close Sweet Sixteen loss to #1 Kansas.
Rick Santos, 6’2”, Guard, Central High, RI Junior College transfer, 1973-74, 1974-75.
Career Stats: 8.2 pts/game, 47.0 fg%, 3.5 reb/game, 3.5 ast/game
He was a former teammate of Marvin Barnes at Central; every aspect of his game was solid, and he was part of the PC team that went 28-4 in 1973-74.
Jeff Xavier, 6’0”, Guard, St. Raphael’s, Manhattan College transfer, 2007-2008, 2008-2009.
Career Stats: 10.8 pts/game, 38.1 fg%, 3.3 reb/game, 2.2 ast/game.
Leading scorer with 12.4 pts/game on the 2007-2008 team that went 15-16; minutes and productivity went down next year with the emergence of Marshon Brooks and Sharaud Curry as the lead guards on the team.
Mark McAndrew, 6’4” Forward, Westerly High, St. Thomas More, 1972-73, 1973-74,
1974-75, 1975-76.
Career Stats: 6.8 pts/game, 44.5 fg%, 4.9 reb/game, 2.1 ast/game
McAndrew was in the first class that the NCAA allowed freshmen to play, and thus, he was one of the first Friars to play 4 years of varsity ball. His junior year was his best with 10.1 pts/game and 6.8 reb/game. He has the Friar distinction of playing in the most wins by any PC player: 96 wins!
Craig Callen, 6’5”, Forward, Pilgrim High, 1967-68, 1968-69, 1969-70.
Career Stats: 5.4 pts/game, 47.7 fg%, 4.8 reb/game, no assists/game data available
Played alongside Ray Johnson for two of his years. Unfortunately, his three years at PC were forgettable Friar years with only 39 wins. Callen was a good shooter and a savvy rebounder.
Ken McDonald, 6’4”, Guard, North Providence, Community College of RI transfer, 1990-91, 1991-92.
Career stats: 5.6 pts/game, 33.3 fg%, 1.5 reb/game, 1.5 ast/game.
Recruited by Coach Rick Barnes when Barnes was at PC and has been an assistant coach with Barnes at Clemson, Texas, and Tennessee. In his junior year at PC, McDonald played alongside Eric Murdock, one of PC’s greatest players.
Jimmy Ahern, 6’1”, Guard, Hope High, Hargrave Military Acad., 1962-63, 1963-64, 1964-65.
Career Stats: 3.2 pts/game, 1.9 reb/game, no assists/game or fg% data available
Like Hassett, a product of the St. Patrick’s School CYO. Co-captain in his PC senior year. No metrics available to recognize his contribution as the ultimate PC team player. Won the NIT in 1963. In his 3 years at PC, Ahern played alongside Ray Flynn, John Thompson, and Jimmy Walker. In his career at PC, the Friars winning percentage of .850 was the highest of any 3 years in the school’s history.
Jacek Dudek, 6’11”, Center, Central Falls, 1983-84, 1984-85, 1985-86, 1986-87.
Career stats: 2.5 pts/game, 45.7 fg%, 2.7 reb/game, 0.3 ast/game.
How can you not have this guy on your team? Escaped the Iron Curtain from Poland as a teenager, ending up in Central Falls. Brought attitude, effort, and inspiration to his teammates and got to the Final Four playing for Rick Pitino. It was a helluva journey for a kid from Poland.