providence friars

We ran everything we wanted to. We knew plays they were going to run. We made them do things they didn’t want to do. We controlled the paint . . . and we really controlled the tone.

Justin Burrell, after the West Virginia win

After an impressive conference-opening win at West Virginia, St. John’s continues Big East play with another road game at Providence on New Year’s Day. I guess that means no champagne for the fellas at midnight (or maybe one glass) – if they want to stay sharp.

And this team should want to remain sharp. Last year, a weaker Providence team came to Carnesecca Arena and the Red Storm had their defense opened up like a banana. The Red Storm gave up 42 points in the second half and found it hard to score against a team that spent a whole season not playing defense. The Johnnies turned the ball over without Malik Boothe in the lineup and had little offensive flow.

Not only can St. John’s not afford to lose to this Friar team if they want to contend for a spot in the top half of the league, they need to avenge what was a disturbing loss for the squad.

[gigpress_related_shows]

Providence (11-3, 0-1 Big East)

Providence is 11-3 with wins over Alabama and local rival Rhode Island. Their schedule hasn’t been the most daunting, but the Friars have shown a willingness to play defense. They have been solid at defending the perimeter with their length at the point guard and the wings, and haven’t sent opponents to the line often (unlike West Virginia).

On offense, the Friars look to run on made and missed baskets, crash the glass and score well inside the paint. Keno Davis’ team doesn’t dig deep into the bench, but has some interesting talent in the wings. They are willing to a 4-guard lineup at times.

The Friars are led by the scorer Marshon Brooks and the point guard Vincent Council. Brooks is a senior who is not shy about taking shots. From anywhere and at anytime, he will pull up and stroke it, though he is adept at driving to the rim. He does more of his scoring inside the arc, and gets to the line fairly frequently. He can block a shot as well, and grabs rebounds on both ends. In fact, he’s not a terrible passer (by the numbers) and has some steals; he does it all.

Vincent Council plays point guard and has some nice defensive stretches. He has turned the ball over on occasion, but is also putting up excellent assist numbers, while getting to the line even more than Brooks does.

Also at guard is the freshman Gerard Coleman, who has been capable outside but less of a threat from the perimeter. He was a highly rated recruit, so one never knows when he might have a coming-out party. Duke Mondy is strictly a perimeter shooter, though his percentages haven’t been great in his sophomore year. He grabs steals as well. Freshman Bryce Cotton is pesky on defense.

Up front, the Friars have improved with a pair of big bodies doing the dirty work. Bilal Dixon and Kadeem Batts both rebound very well, don’t hunt their shots down, and provide some defense inside. Batts is more efficient on offense and focuses on offensive rebounding. Dixon is a far better defensive rebounder, blocks shots at a strong rate, but has struggled to score efficiently or from the free throw line. Ron Giplaye backs them up with more rebounding and blocked shots.

Keys to the Game

Take Care of the Ball. St. John’s can’t afford to turn the ball over to a team that isn’t good at forcing turnovers; the Red Storm can’t defeat themselves.

Anticipate Fast Attacks. St. John’s has to get back in transition and anticipate the streaking Friars’ players; many of their points come from their transition game. If St. John’s can either slow them down or prevent them from getting easy perimeter shots in transition, the Friars will struggle.

Control the Game. Much like the above Key, St. John’s simply cannot allow them to go on long unanswered runs. The Fordham game is a good lesson for this matchup – a team that can give up a lot of points but can also score a bunch in a hurry if the Red Storm isn’t careful. St. John’s has to take smart, efficient shots… preferably the types that get Friar post players into foul trouble.

Master the Glass. Once again, if St. John’s can keep their opponent from offensive rebounds – and get some second-chance points themselves – the Red Storm can win this matchup.

Cover the Perimeter. Providence has some shooters, even if they haven’t tasted a lot of success this season. The Red Storm can’t slack on their perimeter defense.

Prediction: St. John’s wins this one, 79-75.

Ambiance: Jay-Z, On to the Next One (video link, pops up in new window)

As frustrating as Friday’s loss against the Georgetown Hoyas was – and it was frustrating for both sides – it’s time to move on to the next game against the Providence Friars. The black cowled school’s basketball team had fine year last year, and are introducing a whole new lineup – there are 4 returnees (3 if you don’t include Jamine Peterson, who redshirted last year). That’s a lot of bodies to integrate and it shows.

DJKennedyvsGA2 — DJ Kennedy. By Icon Sports Media.

As a result, there’s little relation to last year’s pathetic game, which featured poor shooting on the outside, questionable ball handling and movement, and a guy named Hanke – normally a hit and miss producer on the court – going for a season high (17) in points. It’s almost like St. John’s has no idea how to defend very large men who understand to run to the basket. That 75-54 beating featured a lot of turnovers, a lot of missed shots, and in no way gave an indication that the same Johnnies would knock off #7/10 Notre Dame at Madison Square. Goes to show you never can tell.

The Friars have been simply bad on defense, while putting up serious numbers on the scoreboard. They run, run, and run some more, and have been excellent at not turning the ball over. They also pick up offensive rebounds – mostly on the strength of Jamine “Greedy” Peterson’s excellent offensive board work. Guess that’s where he got the nickname. But with all of those offensive rebounds, shot attempts, and non-turnovers, they are not the most efficient scorers. They’re not terrible, but there are stretches of missed shots, especially from beyond the arc.

The defense… well, they’re not indifferent, exactly, but they’re out of position a lot defending the drive. Against the Fighting Irish, the Friars allowed open looks from the corner… repeatedly. The Friars do not force turnovers, and they are not great at cleaning their defensive glass. There will be second chance opportunities.

St. John’s has improved since last year with respect to scoring and turning over the ball. Having multiple ballhandlers, a 3-point shooter from junior college, and the emergence of DJ Kennedy as a playmaker has helped. Some of the starters have lost confidence or effectiveness; Sean Evans isn’t scoring at last year’s efficiency, Paris Horne has struggled with his shot, and Malik Boothe’s passing has not led to assisted shots. On defense, there are some holes, especially when the forwards come out to slow the progress of a perimeter ballhandler, but the team has managed to put together enough defense to win 10 games and suppress interior scoring. They could be better, but they have certainly been worse.

St. John’s should enter this game as a favorite. But make no mistake about it – this Friar team has ability to score from all over the floor (in stretches). The Red Storm will need to defend and make the most of their scoring opportunities. Providence gives St. John’s a chance to get the home crowd rocking with a Sunday afternoon win at Carnesecca. It’s early in the Big East season, but the Red Storm have to win games like these to be taken seriously nationally.

Game Information

Tip Off: 5:30 PM, Sunday, January 3
Location: Carnesecca Arena
TV: SNY
Radio: Bloomberg 1130/ WSJU

Team Reviews

Providence (8-5)

4 PG Sharaud Curry SR 5’10 170: 13.8 ppg* 4 apg* 1.2 spg

2 G/F Marshon Brooks JR 6’5 190: 15.2 ppg* 4.5 rpg* 2.1 apg* 1.5 spg* 39.6% 3PT

23 G Brian McKenzie JR 6’4 205: 7.4 ppg* 4.6 rpg* 36% 3PT

21 F Jamine “Greedy” Peterson SO 6’6 230: 18.3 ppg* 10.8 rpg* 1.4 spg* 45% FG

42 F/C Bilal Dixon FR 6’8 228: 8.9 ppg* 6.4 rpg* 2.2 bpg* 58% FG

Bench

32 PG Vincent Council FR 6’2 180: 23.5 mpg* 7.7 ppg* 3.4 rpg* 3.2 apg* 47.4% 3PT

5 G/F Kyle Wright JR 6’6 215: 12.7 mpg* 4.7 ppg* 2.4 rpg* 40.6% 3PT

1 G Duke Mondy FR 6’3 196: 11.5 mpg* 3.2 ppg* 2.5 rpg

44 F Russ Permenter JR 6’9 230: 8.5 mpg* 2.2 ppg* 2.1 rpg* .9 bpg

Providence’s star has been Jamine Peterson, a Brooklyn forward with some size and girth. He cleans the glass and is very, very willing to put up shots in the offense without turning the ball over. Joining him up front is freshman Bilal Dixon from Jersey City. He’s been very solid at blocking shots and rebounding on the offensive glass. Russ Permenter is a forward from junior college who rebounds decently.

Marshon Brooks also will put up shots, but with far more efficiency – he can hit the 3-pointer with some accuracy, and pick up some steals as well. He’s always been very offensive-minded, even when he couldn’t get on the court under Tim Welsh. Also on the wings are Kyle Wright and Duke Mondy. Wright seems to have a nice shooting touch, and has taken most of his shots from the perimeter.

The ballhandlers are veteran Sharaud Curry and the freshman out of Brooklyn, Vincent Council. They are both solid offensive players inside the arc and draw fouls… neither will be mistaken for a sharpshooter from the perimeter. Strangely, Curry has taken half of his shots from beyond the 3-point line, and has only connected on 25% of those shots. Also at guard is senior Brian McKenzie, who has regained some of his missing shooting touch from 2 years ago.

St. John’s (10-3)

3 PG Malik Boothe JR 5’9 188: 5.3 ppg* 2.5 rpg* 2.2 apg* 1.1 spg

23 G Paris Horne JR 6’3 191: 8.6 ppg* 3.1 rpg* 1.4 apg* 1.1 spg* 37.3% 3PT

1 G-F DJ Kennedy JR 6’5 215: 16.2 ppg* 6.3 rpg* 3.5 apg* 37% 3PT

24 F Justin Burrell JR 6’8 235: 5.4 ppg* 3.1 rpg* 57.6% FG

5 F Sean Evans JR 6’8 255: 7.6 ppg* 6.8 rpg

Bench:

12 G Dwight Hardy JR 6’2 187: 23.1 mpg* 11.8 ppg* 42.3% 3PT

32 F Justin Brownlee JR 6’7 232: 22 mpg* 8.1 ppg* 6.1 rpg* 1.2 spg* 1.1 bpg

15 F-C Dele Coker JR 6’10 252: 11.4 mpg* 2.4 ppg* 2.5 rpg* 1.6 bpg* 70% FG

St. John’s has been solid on both sides of the ball, despite leaving some exploitable gaps in their defense and not generating a lot of turnovers with their token pressure. They have been a bit reliant on outside shooting, and haven’t had a steady post presence. Sean Evans leaves half of his “free” points off the scoreboard, but worked the glass better against the Hoyas. The return of Justin Burrell against Georgetown brought in a better post defender and a player; and he got offensive opportunities – even passes into the post – and did fairly well with those. Justin Brownlee had a nice streak of plays against the Hoyas, but some bad ideas as well… he needs to drive and dunk more often. Dele Coker has improved as a defender and provides valuable minutes.

The team isn’t drawing fouls is because the eager shooters all take a large number of 3-point jump shots. Granted, they’re not bad at hitting those shots, and the team is turning the ball over less, but some more player movement as a team would be helpful for when those shots aren’t falling. So far, DJ Kennedy has been solid from all over the court. Dwight Hardy has been a player, driving more than one would think for a baller advertised as a 3-point shooter. Paris Horne is getting his confidence back in his shot. And Anthony Mason practiced and warmed up for the Hoya game… his return will make the Red Storm a much more dangerous team offensively and perhaps defensively.

Boothe has been the team’s most capable ballhandler, though Stith has better per-minute assist rates and turnover rates. Malik Boothe hurt his groin during the Hoya game… no word on whether he will be ok to play on Sunday.

Keys to the Game:

Defend the Glass. The Friars get a number of second chance opportunities. Those need to be minimized; and St. John’s has to get second chance points themselves. The Red Storm’s size and hustle inside make this an aspect of the game where they can really shine and make a difference against the Friars.

Run Intelligently. The Friars will run; the Johnnies like to run as well. But at times, they will need to slow the Friars down, control the pace, and set up their defense. Additionally, the team has to take advantage of the fast break opportunities – scoring without turning the ball over.

More Kennedy + Burrell. This team cannot depend on Dwight Hardy and Paris Horne’s shooting; they need interior scoring. That can be provided by getting opportunities to Justin Burrell – the best interior scorer (who can make plays as well), and DJ Kennedy, the team’s best all around player.

Make Defensive Plays. Get stops. That’s all there is to it. Cover the deep shooters. Don’t let the Friars get easy shots inside.

Make Shots. From the free throw line, or from behind the arc, St. John’s need to make shots for this not to turn into an upset.

Prediction: St. John’s needs to score to win this game. Here’s saying they get some good performances and put the contest away. St. John’s wins, 79-70.

Transplanted New Yorker and now Midwesterner Peter a/k/a Pico writes for the East Coast Bias and the Church of Bracketology and for Johnny Jungle, doing the Calm Before the Storm posts. Pico is also on Twitter, @ECoastBias.

No Hangover

Friars for Sunday Dinner