That ended rather abruptly.
It would be easy to say the 2021 pandemic version of the Providence Friars basketball team ran out of gas at the end of this season – largely because their play on the floor lacked energy or any palpable sense of urgency.
Staying fit and healthy, outside of the usual workouts, weightlifting and cardio work has been challenging for all – and the Friars appeared to handle reality as well as it could be handled. And no doubt many are grateful to their adherence for following protocol so watching a basketball game could become a reality this year, rather than a memory.
Nary a Covid pause from PC's own internal testing – which is (and has been) a rare accomplishment for many teams around the country (see Blue Devils, Duke). Yet for much of the second half Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden in New York, the Friars looked tired, listless and disinterested…and dropped a 70-62 decision to a four-win DePaul team that spent half of its season on the sidelines in a Covid pause.
Did the stress, strain and pressure of playing through the pandemic take something away? Or are there existing issues that need to be addressed in the coming days, weeks and months?
Probably a little of both. But there's no doubt – after the euphoria of a strong finish last season as one of the hottest teams in the country going into the postseason before Covid pulled the rug out from under us all, disappointment reigns supreme in Friartown.
Starting with head coach Ed Cooley.
"We didn't match their (DePaul's) intensity," Cooley said late Wednesday night, after the Blue Demons punched Providence in the mouth for much of the game. "It's sad. I'm hurt for our players, I'm hurt for our program to have your last game like that.
"When I talk about soul searching for me it starts on the defensive end," Cooley continued. "Team toughness, mental toughness, coaching toughness. The finger points right at the mirror and it starts with Edward Cooley. I know there are a lot of disappointed people, and there's no one more disappointed than myself."
Cooley later added that "changes are coming."
But what are they? What should they be? Those questions will be fuel for a fire that will burn slowly until next fall. It is painfully clear the commitment to playing top-level, Big East caliber defense was a hard buy-in for many on the current roster.
It was also painfully clear that while PC has athletic talent, they need "basketball" players, too. Shooters, defenders, rebounders, passers, leaders. They have enough dribblers.
Need specialists and skilled players? Sure. Complete players? Definitely...whatever that may be. Look for transfers, coach up the guys you have. Create better competition for roster spots and playing time. Demand a hunger for the game and a commitment to excellence…which these days is easier said than done as student-athlete rights and issues over name, image and likeness are debated and considered.
They need all of the above. But it's complicated getting there.
Of course, it will help if the pandemic decides to take a pass and allow us to return to some sense of normalcy. But that's not the only reason Providence suffered a setback on the floor this year, as opposed to the perception of taking a big step forward from a year ago.
Perhaps a simple rearranging of the deck chairs on the good ship Friartown is all that is needed over the next few months. If so, it'll be up to Captain Cooley to make those calls.
Just so next years' gas tank doesn't run short at the end.
