Creighton at Providence on Sat. Night 1-18-14 at The Dunk

[JAY DOG]

FriarFan2 or other Providence fan that roam this Board,
Would love to start some friendly discussion on this tough upcoming road game for the Bluejays on Saturday night.
It is my understanding that injury and some undisclosed (that need no further discussion) alleged indiscretions have decimated your roster and greatly altered your team and lineups this season. Could you please give us an update on your current lineup/roster and season to date, surprises, disappointments, positives, coaching staff, etc.
Thanks!

[OutlawWales]

Perhaps unrelated to discussion about the game, but man for some reason I absolutely LOVE the Providence logo. There is something just quietly awesome about it.

[billyjack]

At this point, we have basically a 6-man rotation.

PG- Cotton, senior. MVP of team. Scores 20/game. Really a SG, but Dunn injury and Austin suspension force Cotton to PG.
SG- Fortune, soph. Recruited as a 3-pt specialist, he's been forced into the starting lineup. Can get hot, like vs GU, and last year vs VU.
SF- Tyler Harris, soph. Came from NC State. Smooth lefty, can drive to hoop or hit the 3. Talented. Brother plays for NBA Magic.
PF- Henton, junior. Great rebounder. Can score too, even hits 3's. Does yeomens' work.
C- Batts, senior. Had break out season as junior. Starting to find his rhythm this year. Can hit nice 18-ft jumper.

then
C- Desrosiers, junior. From Wake. 7 footer, great for blocked shots. Needs a little more confidence with his shot.

further down
PF-C- Goldsbrough and Kofane. Goldy, from Newcastle UK, and Kofane, from the Cameroon, will be used either if Batts gets in foul trouble, or if the starters are sleep-walking. Limited skill sets, but can rebound.
PG-SG- Bancroft. If Cotton or Fortune get exhausted or in foul trouble, or Fortune or Harris are sleep-walking, Bancroft serves as a high energy guy, but can rebound and shoot in limited quantities.

way down
SG- Woodring is a walk-on. Will see the floor if you guys are crushing us by 30.

Gameplan vs PC:
Press and run. We do like to run, but will need to conserve strength. Keep a guy on Cotton at all times. Luckily for us, each of the starting 5 can score, although we sometimes have scoring droughts. Each of our starters usually will score in double digits.

Also
We play at St John's Thursday night, where we'll be an underdog. At home there is more of a comfort zone.

Good luck!

[Bluejay]

Creighton doesn't press. We have neither the depth nor the athletes. We do like to play uptempo though as we are really good in transition despite a relative lack of athleticism. The more possessions in the game, the more Creighton likes it.

My concern is that this is our first road trip while Grant Gibbs is on the shelf. We've gotten away with not having him at home because the crowd supplies energy. I worry that if we start to get rattled on the road, not having his influence could be a real problem. (I also worry about not having his ball handling skills and savvy against a Villanova press).

[Wizard of Westroads]

I don't know anyone in Omaha who isn't worried about this game. Lot of old wounds about dropping Valley games when we went on the road feeling great after a big home win. Different league, but it's hard to lose that feeling. Not to mention Providence might be short-handed right now, but they've played some good ball this year.

[JRoc]

I don't know anyone in Omaha who isn't worried about this game. Lot of old wounds about dropping Valley games when we went on the road feeling great after a big home win. Different league, but it's hard to lose that feeling. Not to mention Providence might be short-handed right now, but they've played some good ball this year.

I respectfully disagree, I don't think the average fan feels that way. I think most fans that get their info from message boards feel that way because they read about every flaw... Perceived or real instead of sitting back and enjoying the ride.

[JAY DOG]

BillyJack, thanks for that fine summary.
I have done some further reading and your Bryce Cotton is a stud, and will be a handful for our Canadian Red Bull lockdown defender, Jahenns Manigat.
What is your best Providence hoops forum?

[MooseFriar13]

The best friars hoop forum is the ScoutFriars forum...apologies if the link doesnt work
http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=425&f=1323

[Jays4Days]

well it is about time for our midseason losing streak......

[Jet915]

well it is about time for our midseason losing streak......

That usually happens in February but any road game in the Big East will be tough so who knows.