Go Friars

Earlier today the Big East sent out their conference “summer preview” – here’s what it has to say about the Friars:

The Big Picture

Last year, coach Keno Davis had only three scholarship players. History says the BIG EAST wars are often rough on young teams and, not surprisingly, the Friars struggled. They finished 12- 19 overall and 4-14 in league play. The 2010-11 team has two seniors, no juniors and plenty of sophomores and freshmen. The promising work of some of last year’s freshmen gives Davis some reasons to be optimistic. With a strong incoming freshmen class, PC is ready to move back up in the standings.

Who’s Back

Senior Marshon Brooks figures to be the Friars’ go-to guy. The 6-5 senior can play shooting guard or the wing. Last season, he averaged 14.2 ppg and shot 35.1 percent from 3-point range. The point guard spot seems set with sophomore Vincent Council. A BIG EAST All-Rookie pick last season, the 6-2 Council averaged 10.3 ppg and a team-leading 4.6 assists. Sophomore guard Duke Mondy came off the bench last season and averaged 3.4 ppg. Center Bilal Dixon was thrust into a starting role and performed admirably, averaging 8.2 ppg and 6.8 rpg. Senior Ray Hall, a burly 7-0, 285-pound center, will continue in his backup role. Six-nine Kadeem Batts is a frontcourt candidate who could be a factor in the low post.

Who’s Missing

Forward Jamine Peterson, who was fourth in the BIG EAST in scoring (19.6) and second in rebounding (10.2), was dismissed from the team for a violation of school policy. Guard Sharaud Curry was a four-year contributor who finished his career by averaging 15.5 ppg last year. He finished fifth on the BIG EAST career list for free throw percentage in league games, hitting 87.9 percent. Guard Brian McKenzie (5.8) was a solid perimeter shooter.

Storylines

The Friars will still be a young squad this season, but Council and Dixon proved themselves last season as freshmen. Brooks has been a productive scorer throughout his career. Some of the freshmen will get long looks to fill in at the other positions. Gerard Coleman could help right away. Like Brooks, Coleman can play the big guard or on the wing. Dre Evans may be slotted this year to back up Council at the point. Forward Ron Giplaye is a strong, physical player who may contribute immediately around the basket. Forwards Brice Kofane and Lee Goldsbrough also will compete to earn a spot in the rotation. Last season, the Friars led the BIG EAST in scoring (82.4), but were last in scoring defense (82.2).

Newcomers

Kadeem Batts, F, Fr., 6-8, 235 Powder Springs, Ga./John Mceachern

Was redshirted in 2009-10.

Averaged 15 points, 11 rebounds and three assists per game as a prep senior.

Earned second team all-state honors and first team all-region accolades in 2008-09.

Gerard Coleman, G, Fr., 6-4, 180 Boston, Mass./Tilton School (NH.)

Averaged 17 points and four rebounds last season at Tilton.

Helped Tilton to the NEPSAC Class B title and the Prep School National Championship in 2009.

Was a teammate of Friar newcomer Ron Giplaye on the BABC AAU Team.

Dre Evans, G, Fr., 5-9, 167 Dallas, Texas/Carter

Averaged 21.6 points and 4.5 assists as a senior.

Was named MVP of the Dallas County versus Tarrant County All-Star Game with a 23-point effort.

A National Honor Society student, he was named all-region and all-district in 2009- 10.

Ron Giplaye, F, Fr., 6-6, 230 Lowell, Mass./Notre Dame Prep (Mass.)

Averaged 12.4 points and 10.6 rebounds in 2009-10 at Notre Dame.

Helped Notre Dame to a No. 5 national ranking.

Was a teammate of Friar newcomer Gerard Coleman on the BABC AAU Team.

Lee Goldsbrough, F, Fr., 6-9, 205 New Castle, England/Manchester Magic

Averaged 20.1 points and 11.0 rebounds for the Manchester Magic U18 Club Team.

Shot 62 percent from the field.

Played for the Manchester Division 3 team and averaged 15.3 points and eight rebounds.

Brice Kofane, F, Fr., 6-8, 205 Yaounde, Cameroon/The Miller School (NY)

Averaged 12.1 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.2 blocks for the Miller School in 2009- 10.

Was named to the All-Tournament Team in the 2009 State Tournament. Recorded 10 double-doubles for the season.

Michael Murray, G, Fr., 6-2, 188 troy, NY/La Salle Institute

Averaged 18 points and 13 rebounds in his senior season.

Earned all-academic honors as a senior.

Was a teammate of Friar newcomer Brice Kofane on the Albany Rocks AAU Team.

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Josh Fortune headed to Providence

According to multiple sources, Keno Davis & Krew have landed 15 year old Joshua Forune. The 6-foot-4 1/2, 180-pound Fortune is from Hampton, Va.; more importantly, he plays for the influential Boo Williams. According to Zagsblog, the Friars feel he compares to Syracuse bound Michael Carter-Williams. If true, this would be a great signing for the Friars.

Click HERE for Zagsblog’s comments.

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Providence College men’s basketball coach Keno Davis announced on July 26, 2010 that student-athlete Lee Goldsbrough (Newcastle, England) will attend Providence College beginning in September 2010.

Goldsbrough, a 6-foot-9-inch, 205-pound forward played for the Manchester Magic Under-18 Club Team in 2010.  He averaged 20.1 points and 11.0 rebounds.  He also shot 61 percent from the field.  In addition, he played for the Manchester Division 3 team, and averaged 15.3 points and eight rebounds.  Goldsbrough also was a member of the Manchester Division 1 Team where he averaged 8.9 points and 4.8 rebounds.  He helped that team win the National League Final Four Championship.  In addition, the Manchester Division 1 Team finished runner up in the National League Regular Season, the National Trophy Cup and the National Cup. 

 “We are excited about having Lee join our program,” Davis said. “He has enormous potential and he will be a great addition to our team.”

Goldsbrough also played for Great Britain’s Under-20 training team this summer.  He was the youngest member of the team.

“I am very excited about attending Providence, it is clearly a great college,” Goldsbrough said.  “I know it will allow me to pursue my goals academically and on the basketball court. I know that the knowledge and experience will serve me well in the future.”

Goldsbrough joins Gerard Coleman (West Roxbury, Mass.), Ron Giplaye (Lowell, Mass.), Joe Young (Houston, Texas), Brice Kofane (Yaounde, Cameroon) and Dre Evans (Dallas, Texas) as newcomers to the Friar roster who will attend Providence College beginning in September 2010.

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The NBE Basketball Report has a story on new Providence College recruit Alex Gavrilovic, who’s looking forward to competing in the Big East:

“It’s very exciting to sign with Providence,” he said, “I watch Big East all last year on ESPN and it’s amazing that I will play in the league…I can’t wait. It’s also easy trip from France with Boston being only 45 minute drive so my parents are excited too!”

For the full story, click HERE.

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On the heels of Jamine “Greedy” Peterson’s departure from the team, the NBE Basketball Report says that Keno Davis has signed Alex Gavrilovic, a 6′9″ post player out of IMG Academy. Gavrilovic will be joining Providence for the 2010 season. For a link to their story, click HERE.

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It was announced on Tuesday, May 18 that Providence College forward Jamine Peterson (Brooklyn, N.Y.) has been dismissed from the men’s basketball team for a violation of team rules. Peterson, who completed his sophomore season with the Friars, averaged 19.6 points and 10.2 rebounds per game in 2009-10.

“Jamine Peterson has been dismissed from the men’s basketball team for a violation of team rules,” Head Coach Keno Davis said. “Jamine had a productive season in 2009-10. However, regardless of his athletic accomplishments, it is essential to the integrity of the program that every student-athlete meets the high standards and expectations we have at Providence College.”

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Inside Friartown’s Shawna Hassett chats with two senior members from PC’s softball team.
• Check out more clips from Inside Friartown

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Brice Kofane is expected to provide some defensive help for the Friars

Brice Kofane, a six-foot-eight power forward from the Miller School in Virginia, committed to the Friars yesterday.

Kofane is an explosively athletic and incredibly mobile big man who does his best work on the defensive end of the floor.  His mobility gives him the versatility to defend multiple positions while his athleticism, especially his quick bounce, and long arms make him an outstanding shot blocker from the weak side of the floor.

Kofane is still a work in progress offensively but really projects as more of a role player for the Friars, someone who can come off the bench for a few minutes at a time and bring a burst of energy into the game with his high motor and ability to make highlight reel plays with his ability to block shots and finish around the rim.

Providence received Kofane’s signed National Letter of Intent today and so they were able to officially comment on his commitment.  Here’s what Coach Davis had to say.

Adam Finkelstein, New England Recruiting Report

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We get a lot of questions about Cox Sports’ productions, especially around PC basketball. This past season we decided to tape a behind the scenes look at one of our productions when UCONN came to Providence to play the Friars.

The video is embedded at the end of the post, but first some background on how this all comes about. Regardless of who is producing the games, all of the Big East “regional” games (those that air on Cox Sports, SNY, MASN and other local or regional outlets), have Big East Network graphics and branding. This is due to a rights agreement that the Big East Conference has with ESPN Regional Television (ERT), who handles production and distribution for the conference.  Cox has an agreement with ERT to air Big East regional games in our New England market – this agreement also requires Cox to produce a certain number of games annually. The benefit to Providence College is that they are able to have men’s basketball games produced and distributed in major markets at no cost to the school.

Although they don’t have our branding or graphics, most (but not all) of the games fans see from The Dunk are actually produced locally by Cox. We select and hire the talent (Don Orsillo, Ron Perry and Shawna Hassett), we provide the production truck and crew, and we coordinate with ERT in Charlotte for distribution of PC’s conference games to other markets.

Despite not being on an ESPN national network, these games are distributed to millions and millions of homes in key recruiting markets like New York, Washington, DC, Chicago, and more. Distributing these games gives ESPN a live look into The Dunk so that they can switch any game over to one of their networks if they so choose; that happened at the end of this game versus UCONN and when the Friars upset Pitt in 2009. It also gives ESPN access to all of the footage so that they can include highlights on SportsCenter, something Greedy took full advantage of last season. This type of exposure is invaluable to the program.

There is a significant cost to Cox in producing these games, and the company does not make money from these productions. We provide this content to fans as a type of public service; we believe that local sports programming is something that customers want and we provide this free to Cox customers. In fact, Cox has continued to make significant investments to produce our shows and events while many other areas of the country don’t have this type of service available, have scaled back productions, or have eliminated resources entirely as was the case with Comcast shutting down CN8 in New England.

We’re proud to be able to partner with PC, and we’re looking forward to what the future holds for all of the teams we cover. Every season we review ways to improve our programming, game coverage and other features, so stay tuned to see what’s happening next with Cox Sports and PC. (You can stay up to date by becoming a fan on Facebook. Click HERE.)

Enjoy this video, and Go Friars!

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We’re thinking about heading over and getting some video from the Providence Jam Fest, especially since Naadir Tharpe is coming to town with the New England Playaz. Any Friar fans out there that are interested, send us a note and let us know who you want to see!

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