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Men's Hoops Travels to Arkansas
Jan. 21, 1999 PROVIDENCE COLLEGE (12-6/5-4) at #22/#21 ARKANSAS (13-5/3-3)
PROBABLE STARTERS
Pos. No. Name Pts/Reb. Ht. Wt. Class Hometown
F 22 Sean CONNOLLY 12.0/3.4 6-4 180 Fr. Peabody, Mass.
F 33 Jamel THOMAS 22.3/7.7 6-6 215 Sr. Brooklyn, N.Y.
C 24 Erron MAXEY 9.8/6.3 6-6 195 So. Lake Elsinore, Cal.
G 3 Kendrick MOORE 10.0/2.5 6-3 180 Sr. Hartford, Conn.
G 12 John LINEHAN 4.5/2.3 5-9 165 So. Chester, Pa.
OFF THE BENCH
Pos. No. Name Pts/Reb. Ht. Wt. Class Hometown
G 5 Jamaal CAMAH 3.8/1.6 6-4 195 So. Salem., Mass.
G 10 Corey WRIGHT 5.4/2.4 5-8 160 Sr. New York, N.Y.
F 15 Peter FARRELL- 0.0/0.5 6-5 195 So. Hanover, Mass.
MARCELLINO
G 21 Kareem HAYLETTS 0.0/0.0 6-0 160 Fr. Bergenfield, N.J.
F 25 Ben PERKINS 0.8/0.5 6-7 205 So. Vinton, La.
F 32 Leon BRISPORT 2.3/2.3 6-9 220 Jr. New York, N.Y.
F 40 Justin FARLEY 6.8/2.8 6-6 205 Sr. Indianapolis, Ind.
F 42 Llewellyn COLE 5.6/3.0 6-7 220 Jr. New York, N.Y.
F 50 Ryan McAULIFFE 0.0/0.0 6-5 205 Sr. Essex Jct., Vt.
FRIARS VERSUS RAZORBACKS...This afternoon's game is the first-ever meeting between Providence and Arkansas. The Razorbacks won two games in the 1996 NCAA Tournament in Providence beating Penn State and Marquette.
FRIARS VERSUS TOP TEAMS...For the third time this season the Friars will face ranked teams in back-to-back games. On Wednesday night, St. John's snapped PC's four-game winning streak against ranked teams with an 84-57 win in Providence. Arkansas comes into today's game ranked #22 by the Associated Press and #21 by USA Today/ESPN. The last time PC played back-to-back ranked teams was December 27 vs. #9/#8 Purdue (87-82) and at #23/#23 Pittsburgh (83-68). PC won both those games. The Friars also started the season with games against #24/#25 TCU (77-79) and #23/#25 Rhode Island (87-63). The Friars are 4-2 overall against the top teams in the country.
THREE FOR JAMEL...PC's All-BIG EAST and All-America candidate, Jamel Thomas has been named the BIG EAST's Player of the Week for his play in two Friar wins last week. Versus Syracuse on January 12th, Thomas had his sixth double-double with 19 points and 14 rebounds in the 67-58 upset of Syracuse. On Sunday, January 17th, Thomas scored 27 and added eight rebounds in the Friars 89-77 win at Boston College. This is the third time this season that PC's go-to-guy has been named Player of the Week.
RED STORMED...St. John's 27-point win against the Friars on January 20th was the Friars worst loss at the Providence Civic Center since UConn defeated the Friars by 27 (83-56) last January 27th. St. John's held the Friars to its lowest point total (57) this season. Before the St. John's game, PC had lost five games by a total of 21 points.
WILDCAT WATCH...The Friars return to BIG EAST action on Tuesday, January 26th when they host Villanova at the Providence Civic Center. Tip-off is set for 8:00 p.m. on ESPN2 with Dan Shulman and Doris Burke calling the action. The game can also be heard on WPRO Radio with John Rooke and Joe Hassett calling the shots. TODAY IN THE BIG EAST PC ON THE AIR Saturday, January 23 WPRO Radio with John Rooke and Joe Rutgers at Notre Dame Noon Hassett calling the shots. The game will also Providence at Arkansas 1:30 pm televised live by CBS Sports with Tim Brando Villanova at West Virginia 4:00 pm and Al McGuire handling the play-by-play. Georgetown at Pittsburgh 7:30 pm The game can be seen on WPRI-TV 12 at Seton Hall at Connecticut 8:00 pm 1:30 p.m. in Providence.
PROVIDENCE...All-time record: 1107-687 (.617) - Second in New England...Home record: 657-208 (.760)...Civic Center record: 333-129 (.721).
PROVIDENCE IN BIG EAST...124-189 in regular season and 138-207 overall in 20 seasons ... Eighth all-time in wins and percentage.
BIG EAST FAXBACK ...(201-947-3918) - Allows you to access PC's short notes (1721); PC's full game notes (1722); PC's statistics (1723) or Box scores (1724). Also the BIG EAST is on the Internet at www.bigeast.org
TOUGH SCHEDULE...Friars' head coach, Tim Welsh has a tough schedule in his first season as PC's basketball bench boss. Sixteen of the team's 28 games come against teams that played in postseason tournaments a year ago. 12 games come against NCAA Tournament teams (TCU, URI, North Carolina State, Purdue, Connecticut, Syracuse, Miami and two each against West Virginia and St. John's). The other four are against teams that saw NIT action - Vanderbilt, Seton Hall and two with Georgetown.
HOME COOKING...The Friars are now 8-2 at home this season. Over the last six-plus seasons PC is 80-28 (.741) at the Civic Center. The Friars are 41-5 (.870) in their last 46 non-conference home games in Providence dating back to the start of the 1992-93 season. The back-to-back losses against Vanderbilt and TCU are considered neutral site losses since the Friars were not a home team in the CoSIDA CLASSIC. The last time PC lost back-to-back non-league games at the Civic Center was the 1984-85 season when the Friars dropped home games to Assumption and Dayton on November 29 and December 1.
NAIL BITERS...Saturday's 75-70 loss to Georgetown drops the Friars to 2-4 in "close" games this season "Close" games are games decided by five points or less. The Friars were 5-3 last season in "close" games.
MONTH BY MONTH...The Friars are 4-2 in January. PC was 5-2 in November and 3-2 in December. CIVIC CENTER RECORD...PC owns a 333-129 (.721) record at the Providence Civic Center since the building opened in 1972. The Friars recorded their 300th win on January 8, 1996 against Canisius (91-63).
FRIARS IN SEASON OPENERS...With the season opening loss to Vanderbilt, the Friars' all-time record in season opening games goes to 63-9. When that season opening game is at home, PC is 49-4. When the first game is on the road, the Friars are 14-5. In home openers, the Friars are 66-6 all-time. The Vanderbilt loss snapped a four-year streak of wins in season openers and a string of 13 straight home openers dating back to November 29, 1984 when the Friars lost a 70-67 decision to Assumption at the Civic Center. PC's last season opening loss came on November 26, 1993 - a 113-102 overtime loss at Oklahoma State.
BIG EAST OPENERS...The Friars' 83-80 loss to Notre Dame on December 8th extended their BIG EAST season opener's losing streak to nine straight. PC's last win to open the BIG EAST schedule came in December of 1989 against Boston College at home. The Friars are now 3-17 in BIG EAST season openers and 8-12 in their first league contest at home.
FRIARS IN THE NBA...Providence College had eight players and one coach in the NBA last season. They are: Otis Thorpe - Washington Wizards Austin Croshere - Indiana Pacers Eric Murdock - Miami Heat God Shammgod - Washington Wizards Dickey Simpkins - Chicago Bulls Michael Smith - Vancouver Grizzlies Eric Williams - Denver Nuggets Marty Conlon - Miami HeatAlso, Atlanta Hawks coach Lenny Wilkens, is one of Providence College's all-time greatest players.
FAMOUS RELATIVES...Senior standout Jamel Thomas is the cousin of the Minnesota Timberwolves' Stephon Marbury.
NEW HOOP STAFF...Joining Tim Welsh at Providence College are three new assistant coaches. Steve DeMeo joined Welsh on April 2nd after the two worked together at Iona. King Rice, a former standout point guard at North Carolina joins the staff after spending five years at Illinois State as an assistant. Bob Walsh comes to Providence after a year at the University of San Diego. He had served as a graduate assistant to Welsh at Iona for two years prior to taking an assistants job in San Diego. Vince Cautero takes over as the administrative assistant. He has been an assistant coach at Florida State (1988-1992) and Florida International (1992-1998).
KENDRICK MOORE SELECTED... Providence College senior guard Kendrick Moore (Hartford, Conn.) has been selected to the NCAA Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) for the 1998-99 school year. The SAAC is made up of dedicated, hard working student-athletes who are the voice of their fellow student-athletes within the NCAA. The committee meets three times a year in January, March and August. Moore's appointment began on September 1st.
TWO YEAR SENIORS...Two key members to the 1998-99 Friars are seniors Kendrick Moore and Justin Farley. Both close out PC careers this season after transferring two years ago from Missouri. Moore, who graduated in the spring and is currently a graduate student working on his MBA led the Friars with 3.3 assists per game last year and was third in scoring with 9.2 points per game. Moore is like a coach on the floor and can play either guard spot. Farley joined the Friars before Christmas last season after transferring from Evansville. The 6-6, 205-pound forward worked his way into a starting role in January and was second on the team with 9.5 points per game. In his last eight games of the season he averaged 14.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. Both players are excellent students and are candidates for Academic All-America honors this season.
NUMBERS GAME...After starting the season 0-2 (the worst start since 1932-33), the Friars have now won six of their last eight games and 12 of their last 16.
PC VS. SEC...The Friars are 0-1 this season versus the Southeastern Conference. PC lost a 72-66 decision to Vanderbilt in the season opening game. Overall, the Friars are 5-7 (.417) in 12 meetings against the SEC.
1,000 POINT CLUB...Jamel Thomas continues his assault on the Providence College record book. On January 5th, he moved into seventh on PC's all-time scoring list passing Otis Thorpe (1,625). The talented scorer now has 1,711 career points and leads the BIG EAST in scoring with a 22.3 points per game average. Here are the Top 10 scorers in PC history: NO PLAYER GP POINTS 1 Jimmy Walker 81 2,045 2 Eric Murdock 117 2,021 3 Marvin Barnes 89 1,839 4 Joe Hassett 124 1,828 5 Bruce Campbell 122 1,809 6 Ernie DiGregorio 86 1,760 7 JAMEL THOMAS 112 1,711 8 Otis Thorpe 113 1,625 9 Austin Croshere 121 1,523 10 John Thompson 79 1,520 DOUBLE FIGURES...Jamel Thomas has now scored in double figures in 51 consecutive games dating back to the final four games of his sophomore year.
REBOUNDER TOO... Thomas led the Friars in rebounding last season with 200 rebounds in 29 games for a 6.9 rebound per game average. He became the first Friar to lead the team in scoring and rebounds since Steve Wright did it in 1987-88. Since 1956-57 only Jim Hadnot (3 times), John Thompson, Marvin Barnes (twice), Rudy Williams, Rich Hunger, Otis Thorpe, Wright and Thomas have led the Friars in both scoring and rebounding in a single season. Thomas currently leads the Friars in scoring (401 pts.) and rebounding (139) through 18 games.
BIG EAST SCORING...Jamel Thomas is second on the Friars' all-time BIG EAST scoring list with 949 points in 63 league games. Here's the list and who is ahead of him: NO PLAYER GP POINTS 1 Eric Murdock 63 1,145 2 JAMEL THOMAS 63 949
BIG EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK...PART III...Jamel Thomas was named the BIG EAST Player of the Week for the week ending January 17th. This marks the third time this season that the Friars' go-to-guy has recorded this honor and the fifth time in his career. Jamel had 19 pts/14 rebounds in upset win at Syracuse and 27 pts/8rebs against Boston College. He was also chosen for the honor on November 18th and on December 7th.
RECORDS WATCH...Thomas became PC's all-time leader in three point field goals made with three at Georgetown. For his career, he now has 176, passing Eric Murdock who had 169 in his career. Thomas is also the all-time leader in three-point attempts with 509 in his career.
DOUBLE-DOUBLES....Friars with double-doubles this season: PLAYER GAME J. Thomas TCU 21 pts/11 rebs E. Maxey UTPA 20 pts/11 rebs J. Thomas MAINE 25 pts/11 rebs J. Thomas BROWN 30 pts/10 rebs E. Maxey @Rutgers 13 pts/13 rebs J. Thomas @Pitt 25 pts/11 rebs J. Thomas @GT 17 pts/12 rebs J. Thomas @Syr. 19 pts/14 rebs E. Maxey @Syr. 14 pts/12 rebs
HALFTIME LEADS...The Friars have led at halftime in 12 of their first 18 games this season. Only Maine (35-32), Notre Dame (39-31), West Virginia (34-28), Georgetown (37-36), Syracuse (36-27) and St. John's (40-29) have led against the Friars at the intermission. PC is 9-3 when the Friars lead at halftime and 3-3 when they trail.
BOARD GAMES...Despite the Friars lack of size (one player over 6-7), PC is now 11-7 in winning the battle of the boards through 18 games. PC pulled down a season high 51 rebounds in the win at Syracuse with Jamel Thomas getting 14 and Erron Maxey 12. Through the first 18 games of the season, the Friars have been outrebounded by a 654-643 margin.
SUPERPESTS...Keep an eye on Friar guards John Linehan and Corey Wright. Despite their size (5-9 and 5-8 respectively), they have a way of getting under their opponents skin. Combined, the dynamic duo is averaging 10.2 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 7.6 apg and 5.5 steals per game. These two combined for 105 steals last season with Linehan getting 50 and Wright 55. Linehan set a BIG EAST freshman record with nine steals in a game against Pittsburgh. They already have combined for 95 steals this season (5.3 per game). With 40 steals in the first 18 games, Corey Wright is now seventh on the Friar' all-time steals list with 168 in 82 games. 1. Eric Murdock 117 376 2. Carlton Screen 109 226 3. Harold Starks 117 207 4. Joe Hassett 124 176 5. Michael Brown 123 174 6. Billy Donovan 122 170 7. Corey Wright 82 168 MORE WRIGHT...Senior guard Corey Wright has become a scoring threat for the Friars this season. Through 18 games, Wright has scored 97 points, 26 more than all of last year. As a sophomore he scored 117 points in 36 games. He is averaging 5.4 points per game on the year. In the November 24th win over North Carolina State, Wright poured in a career high 14 points going 3-4 from the floor with a career high seven free throws in a career high eight attempts. He also had a career high seven assists in the win with three steals.
MAD MAX...Sophomore center Erron Maxey continues to be a force on the boards for the Friars. He collected his third double-double of the season in the win at Syracuse with 14 points and 12 rebounds. It was the fourth double-double of his career. At Rutgers in December, Maxey pulled down a career high 13 rebounds in his second double-double of the year. 1/12/99 @ Syracuse 14 pts/12 rebs 12/11/98 @ Rutgers 13 pts/13 rebs. 11/21/98 TEXAS-PAN AM 20 pts/11rebs. 1/5/98 IONA 12 pts/11 rebs.
NEW FRIARS...The Friars have received national letters of intent from three players for the 1999-2000 season:
##Leon Brisport F 6-9, 220
Brooklyn, N.Y./Erasmus Hall/Los Angeles Valley CC
Mark Jarrell-Wright G/F 6-5, 180 Fr.
Newark, N.J./St. Benedict's
David Murray F 6-9, 220 Jr.
New York, N.Y./All Hallows/Mesa (AZ) CC
Also joining the Friars' roster as a transfer from Florida State is Karim Shabazz. He will be eligible in the second semester of the 1999-2000 season.
Karim Shabazz C 7-2, 230 Jr.
Queens, N.Y./Woodmere Acad./Florida State
Shabazz enrolled at Providence for the second semester and is eligible for the second semester of the 1999-2000 season. He has 1-1/2 years of eligibility
ROSTER ADDITION...Junior forward Leon Brisport (6-9, 225 lbs., Brooklyn, N.Y.) has joined the Friars' roster for the second semester. Brisport was signed in the November signing period after playing two seasons at Los Angeles Valley Community College. An All-California JC selection last season, Brisport averaged 22.5 points and eight rebounds per game last year.
WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS GAME... Purdue shot 57.1% from the floor, outrebounded the Friars by 18 (43-25) yet lost the game, 87-82. The Boilermakers shot 71.4% (15-21) in the first half yet trailed, 46-43. PC forced 27 turnovers and took 18 more shots in the game.
STARTERS VS. BENCH...The Friars use ten players in their regular rotation. Here's a breakdown through 17 games:
REBOUNDING MARKS...Jamel Thomas' 14 rebounds at Syracuse were his career best in a a BIG EAST game. The 51 rebounds recorded by the Friars against the Orange was a season best for PC.
THE LAST TIME...The last time PC won back-to-back games against ranked teams came late in the 1994-95 season when the Friars beat #4 Connecticut (Feb. 27) and #11 Villanova (3/4) to end the regular season. They went on to defeat #21 Syracuse in the BIG EAST Tournament before falling to #13 Villanova in the semi-finals giving them four games against ranked teams in 13 days.
"FOUL" SHOOTING...The Friars were just 17-34 (.500) from the charity stripe in the win over Syracuse. PC was 9-10 in the first half, but just 8-24 in the second half and still won the game. Syracuse was just 8-22 (.364) from the line for the entire game.
FARLEY TIME....Senior forward Justin Farley has found his role in the Friars offense. In the last five games, Farley has provided a spark off the bench scoring season highs of 12 points against Georgetown and Syracuse. Over the last five games, Farley has scored 55 points (11.0 ppg) and had 12 rebounds (2.4 rpg) in 25 minutes per game. He played a season-high 27 minutes at Boston College and is averaging 6.8 ppg and 2.8 rpg over the first 18 games this season.
HIGH SCORERS....West Virginia guard Jarett Kearse joined Notre Dame freshman Troy Murphy, Cleveland State's James Madison and TCU's Lee Nailon as players that have scored 30 or more points against the Friars this season. James Madison - CSU 33 points Jarett Kearse - WVU 31 points Troy Murphy - ND 30 pts./11 rebs. Lee Nailon - TCU 30 pts./10 rebs. Madison is the first player to score 33 or more points on the Friars since December 21, 1995 when Reggie Freeman lit the PC up for 37 points in a 92-83 loss at Texas.
BIG EAST STARTS...The Friars have started the BIG EAST schedule with an 0-2 mark in three of the last four seasons. PC was 0-3 in the league last year before winning in the fourth league game. The Friars have started the BIG EAST schedule with an 0-2 record or worse in 14 of the BIG EAST's 20 seasons. PC has won five of its last six league games after the 0-2 start.
TOUGH PLACES....The Friars win at the Fitzgerald Field House at Pittsburgh was just the Friars third against Pittsburgh on the Panthers home court. PC is now 3-13 at Pitt. The Friars are just 3-15 at Georgetown and 3-15 at Syracuse after winning their last two games at the Carrier Dome. OVERTIME BLUES...The Friars overtime win against West Virginia snapped a five-game overtime losing streak for the Friars that dated back to 3/19/95 (PC defeated Syracuse 71-69 at the BIG EAST Tournament). The Friars were 0-2 in 1995-96 and 0-3 in 1996-97 in the extra stanza. The West Virginia win evened the Friars' all-time record in overtime to 42-42.
WILD WEST VIRGINIA...PC and West Virginia set several BIG EAST records in the 90-87 overtime win on January 5th. The 59 free throws taken by the Friars is a BIG EAST and Providence College record. The previous record for the Friars was 55 set against Alaska-Fairbanks in the 1996 Top of the World Classic. West Virginia's 41 fouls was a BIG EAST record as were the 39 overtime points that the two teams combined for. The Mountaineers had six players foul out while the Friars had two. Providence was 16-21 from the free throw line in overtime. 50 OR BETTER...PC shot over 50% (50.8%) in the win over Boston College on January 17. That marked the fourth time this season that PC has shot 50% or better in a game. The Friars are 4-0 when they hit half their shots or more.
SEASON LOWS...St. John's held the Friars to a season low 32.4% (22-68) from the floor. The Friars were also held to a season low 11 assists while St. John's turned over the ball a season low 12 times.
CHANGING TIMES...Please note the following time changes on the Friars' schedule.
February 15 at St. John's - Originally a 7:00 p.m. game, this game will be moved to 7:30 p.m. and will be televised by ESPN2.
RECORDS AS STARTERS
0 - 0: Leon Brisport
5 - 2: Jamaal Camah
0 - 0: Llewellyn Cole
12 - 6: Sean Connolly
0 - 0: Justin Farley
12 - 6: John Linehan
12 - 6: Erron Maxey
7 - 4 Kendrick Moore
0 - 0: Ben Perkins
12 - 6: Jamel Thomas
0 - 0: Corey Wright
GAMES LOST - INJURY/ILLNESS/ACADEMICS (16) Kareem Hayletts - Arthroscopic surgery - cartilage right knee (VU, TCU, URI, UTPA, NCST, CSU, ME, BR, ND) Kendrick Moore - Stress fracture - left foot (UTPA, NCST, CSU, ME, BR, ND, Rut)
GAMES LED PC IN:
PROVIDENCE - ARKANSAS SERIES FACTS Series Record: First Meeting BIG EAST Series: N/A At Arkansas: 0-0 At Providence: 0-0 Neutral Courts: 0-0 Last Meeting: Last PC win: Last Arkansas Win: SERIES INFO Notes: Both teams come into this afternoon's game off losses. PC suffered its worst loss of the season on Wednesday night, an 84-57 loss to #8/#9 St. John's. Arkansas lost to Alabama, 67-60. Both losses broke two game winning streaks by each team. The only common opponents the two teams have are Villanova (Arkansas lost to Wildcats, 76-63 in Top of the World Classic) and Vanderbilt (PC lost to Vandy, 72-66 in CoSida Classic). FRIARS CAREER STATS VS. ARKANSAS No. Player GP PPG RPG APG 3 Moore 2 3.0 1.5 2.0 Career Best - 12/3/94 - 4 pts/2 rebs/2 asts.
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