It’s always been a ‘team’ thing for the Providence Friars this season. The sum of the parts has always been greater than the whole, and the sum of these parts has left PC with its’ best regular season record in 45 years, at 24-4.
But if you’re a competitor, you always like to believe you’re at least a little better individually than the other guy. It’s been that kind of a ‘chip on the shoulder’ attitude of these Friars that has pushed them toward the finish line for their first-ever Big East regular season championship.
And a couple of those individual parts may have received an ever-so-slight backhand from the league coaches this week as Big East post season honors were announced Sunday. Yes, senior Nate Watson and junior guard Jared Bynum were both named to the all-Big East second team…but no one from the Friars’ roster was deemed worthy enough to crack a six-man 1st team.
“Congratulations to all the award winners, there are many deserving players,” Ed Cooley told WPRI’s Morey Hershgordon Sunday night. “It’s the coaches’ decision on votes, and I’m really happy for Jared and Nate being recognized. I just hope it all plays out where we can continue to win games.
“Those are awards where at the end of the day the best statistic is a ‘W’ or an ‘L’.”
Fuel for a future fire later this week? Perhaps. Not that anyone needed extra fuel this season, but when you consider it’s a rare feat for a regular season conference champ to NOT have someone on the all-league first team…it could be perceived as disrespect.
Or, it could also be seen as a talent-rich league with several players in position to make names for themselves, and their teams, down the stretch.
“I’m very proud of our buy-in as a group. I like where we are with respect to awards, if we’re fortunate to win an award great, but at the end of the day we’re trying to win and improve,” Cooley told KevinMcSports. “We have a motto of ‘leave your mark’ so you can leave your legacy, and this group has just bought into everything we’ve been trying to coach.
PC’s Jared Bynum, who led his team in scoring during conference play at better than 15 points per game, did claim the Big East’s Sixth Man Award, and was among several candidates for the leagues’ Most Improved Player.
“Jared has done as much as anybody in this league to improve,” Cooley said.
Providence opens the 40th anniversary of the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden in New York Thursday at 12 Noon ET against the winner of Wednesday nights’ 8 vs. 9 first-round game between Xavier and Butler. The Friars were extended into a grand total of four overtime periods in four games with those two teams – but did sweep the four games against both opponents in the regular season.
“We’ve been fortunate to win a lot of close games. Whoever the winner is (between Xavier and Butler) we’re gonna play and our players know they’ve been in close games with them. I can’t tell you how excited I am as a head coach,” Cooley said Sunday evening.
Last years’ regular season champ, Villanova, lost to eventual tournament titlist Georgetown in the quarterfinal round at MSG.
Big East Coach of the Year and Player of the Year awards will be announced Wednesday.
BIG EAST DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton, C, So., 7-1, 256, St. Louis, MO
BIG EAST MOST IMPROVED PLAYER
Justin Lewis, Marquette, G, So., 6-7, 245, Baltimore, MD
BIG EAST SIXTH MAN AWARD
Jared Bynum, Providence, G, Jr., 5-10, 180, RJR, Largo, MD
BIG EAST SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD
Donald Carey, Georgetown, G, Gr., 6-5, 187, Upper Marlboro, MD
ALL-BIG EAST FIRST TEAM
R.J. Cole, Connecticut, G, Gr., 6-1, 185, Union, N.J.
Adama Sanogo, Connecticut, F, So., 6-9, 240, Bamako, Mali
Justin Lewis, Marquette, F, So., 6-7, 245, Baltimore, Md.
Julian Champagnie, St. John’s, G-F, Jr., 6-8, 215, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Jared Rhoden, Seton Hall, G-F, 6-6, 210, Baldwin, N.Y.
*Collin Gillespie, Villanova, G, Gr., 6-3, 195, Huntingdon Valley, Pa.
ALL-BIG EAST SECOND TEAM
Ryan Hawkins, Creighton, F, Sr., 6-7, 222, Atlantic, Iowa
Javon Freeman-Liberty, DePaul, G, Sr., 6-4, 180, Chicago, Ill.
Jared Bynum, Providence, G, R-Jr., 5-10, 180, Largo, Md.
Nate Watson, Providence, F, Gr., 6-10, 260, Portsmouth, Va.
Justin Moore, Villanova, G, Jr., 6-4, 210, Ft. Washington, Md.
ALL-BIG EAST HONORABLE MENTION
Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton, C, So., 7-0, 256, St. Louis, Mo.
Darryl Morsell, Marquette, G, Gr., 6-5, 205, Baltimore, Md.
Posh Alexander, St. John’s, G, So., 6-0, 200, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Jack Nunge, Xavier, C, Jr., 7-0, 245, Newburgh, Ind.
BIG EAST ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
Jordan Hawkins, Connecticut, G, 6-5, 175, Gaithersburg, Md.
Trey Alexander, Creighton, G, 6-4, 185, Oklahoma City, Okla.
*Ryan Nembhard, Creighton, G, 6-0, 167, Aurora, Ont.
Arthur Kaluma, Creighton, F, 6-7, 220, Glendale, Ariz.
*Aminu Mohammed, Georgetown, G, 6-5, 210, Temple Hills, Md.
*Kam Jones, Marquette, G, 6-4, 185, Cordova, Tenn.
*Denotes unanimous selection