Yesterday Providence did the unthinkable, matching their Big East win total from a season ago. It was unthinkable as the Friars lost a pair of starters to the NBA and returned a core that had been relegated as role players prior to this year.
For nearly all of Ed Cooley’s tenure at Providence, and much of it at Fairfield, he had relied heavily on his top two players.
Cooley made a point of keeping the ball in the electrifying Kris Dunn’s hands as often as possible the past two seasons, while Ben Bentil, LaDontae Henton, and Bryce Cotton all hoisted over 500 shots the past three years.