A new season begins with new expectations for Providence.
After losing 20 games for only the second time in program history last season, the Friars officially turn the page to a new campaign against visiting Holy Cross on Monday night.
Providence looks to benefit from a mix of returnees and transfers, with one of each — center Oswin Erhunmwunse and reigning All-SEC guard Jason Edwards (Vanderbilt) — earning preseason All-Big East honors. Corey Floyd Jr., Ryan Mela and Rich Barron are other key returnees for the fourth-rated team in the Big East preseason poll.
“The one bright spot of last season was the guys we brought back,” third-year Friars coach Kim English said. “Corey just really emerged as a leader and a guy that we could depend on. His game kept getting better and better.”
With injury limiting now-rival Bryce Hopkins (St. John’s) to just three games last season, the aforementioned returnees stepped into even bigger roles. Floyd, a former UConn transfer, is the team’s top returning scorer (9.2 points per game).
English’s starting lineup included at least three new transfers in exhibition games over the past two weekends. The Friars lost 81-74 at Pitt before beating Harvard 85-77.
Guards Jaylin Sellers (UCF), Daquan Davis (Florida State) and forward Duncan Powell (Georgia Tech) figure to make an impact alongside Edwards, the SEC’s eighth-leading scorer with 17 points per game last season.
“There’s a competitive edge that’s just in them,” English said. “There’s been an edge and a physicality to our practices that I’m hoping to see translate to the court when we start for real.”
Holy Cross improved its overall win total by three year-over-year despite finishing last in the Patriot League (13-19, 5-13) a season ago with a roster that featured all but four underclassmen.
While losing Patriot League Rookie of the Year Max Green in the portal to Northwestern, coach Dave Paulsen’s team does return its second-leading scorer in Joe Nugent (12.5 points, 5.2 rebounds per game). The junior is from Berkley, Mass., which is less than an hour’s drive from Providence, R.I.
Guard Tyler Boston averaged 9.1 points while playing in just 10 games as a freshman.
“We’ve got a lot of good balance, a lot of good depth, so the competition level is really, really high,” Paulsen said. “And I love the coachability of this group. … The guys have really been competing and showing some progress (in the preseason).”
The Crusaders were picked ninth out of 10 teams in the Patriot League entering this season.
