Jamel Thomas leads team averaging 22.4 points a game.
February 10, 1999
FRIARS VERSUS HURRICANES...This afternoon's game is the only meeting this season between the Friars and the Hurricanes. This is the 20th meeting between the two schools with Providence holding an 11-8 edge in the all-time series. Since Miami joined the BIG EAST, PC has a 7-6 edge in 13 regular season meetings. Providence is 6-3 against Miami at the Providence Civic Center. The two teams split two games last season with each team winning at home. Miami won 64-54 at the Miami Arena and the Friars were 59-57 winners in the last meeting. Miami has won three of the last four meetings and five of the last seven dating back to January 18, 1995. PROVIDENCE COLLEGE (14-9/7-5) vs. #16/#21 UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI (16-5/10-3)
Saturday, February 13, 1999 - 4:05 p.m.
PROBABLE STARTERS THOMAS TIME...Jamel Thomas, Providence College's All-America and All-BIG EAST candidate went over the 500 point mark for the season with his 23 points versus Rutgers. That makes him just the fourth player in PC history to score over 500 points in a season three times. He joins Jimmy Walker, Marvin Barnes and Joey Hassett as the three others who have done it. He also passed Bruce "Soup" Campbell to move into fifth on PC's all-time scoring list. He goes into today's game with 1,825 points in his career. He needs just four to pass Joe Hassett (1,828) for fourth on the all-time list and 15 to pass Marvin Barnes (1,839) to move into third all-time. Thomas has been nominated for the John R. Wooden Award and All-American team that will be selected in March. The Friars' senior leads the BIG EAST with 22.4 points per game and is currently ranked 11th in the nation. He is just one of three Friars to score 1,800 points and have 600 rebounds as he joins Marvin Barnes (1,839/1,529) and Bruce Campbell (1,809/949). Thomas has 1,825 points and 693 boards SUPERPEST...Sophomore guard John Linehan has career highs in assists (83) and steals (69). His 3.0 steals per game currently tie him for tenth in the NCAA for steals per game. BACK AT IT...After having five days off before playing Miami, the Friars get back into the schedule with two games in three days. After Miami, the Friars travel to St. John's on Monday, February 15th for a 7:30 p.m. game against the Red Storm. The game will be televised on ESPN2 and can be heard on WPRO Radio 630 AM.
The Welsh Facts File
Birthdate
Birthplace
Family
High School
College
Coaching Experience
Coaching Honors
4-YEAR CAREER: 84-31 (.730)
BIG EAST TOURNAMENT:
BIG EAST GAMES: 7-6
NON-LEAGUE GAMES: 7-3
VERSUS MIAMI: 0-0
NCAA TOURNAMENT: 0-1 (1997-98)
NIT: 0-2 (1995-96, 1996-97)
1997-98 (27-6/10-4)...Led Iona to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship...Coached Iona to first NCAA appearance since 1985...MAAC Coach of the Year...Metropolitan Area's Division I Coach of the Year...Jack Bruen Award as New York State Coach of the Year...Team won school record 27 games... 1996-97 (22-8/11-3)...Led Iona to first place finish in MAAC...Made second consecutive NIT appearance...MAAC Coach of the Year...NABC District II Coach of the Year... 1995-96 (21-8/15-3)...Won first of three MAAC regular season titles...Took Iona to first NIT appearance since 1983...Winner of Peter A. Carlesimo Award as Metropolitan Area Division I Coach of the Year...
FRIARS VS. RANKED TEAMS...PC's January 23rd loss to #22/#21 Arkansas dropped the Friars record to 4-3 against nationally-ranked teams. The loss was the Friars' second in a row after four consecutive wins against the nation's best. The Friars were just 1-7 against ranked teams a year ago.
PROVIDENCE COLLEGE BASKETBALLPROVIDENCE...All-time record: 1109-690 (.616) - Second in New England...Home record: 659-209 (.759)...Civic Center record: 334-130 (.720).PROVIDENCE IN BIG EAST...126-191 in regular season and 140-209 overall in 20 seasons ... Eighth all-time in wins and percentage. 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 9-3 at home this season. Over the last six-plus seasons PC is 81-29 (.736) 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...PC's 75-70 loss to Georgetown on January 9th 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 1-1 in the month of February. PC was 5-2 in November, 3-2 in December and 5-4 in January. DAY BY DAY...The Friars are 1-1 on Monday, 4-2 on Tuesday, 2-1 on Wednesday, 0-1 on Friday, 5-3 on Saturday and 2-1 on Sunday. In PC's four games that have started before 1:00 p.m., the Friars are 1-4. PC defeated Purdue and lost to Georgetown, Arkansas, Notre Dame and Rutgers. TURNAROUNDS...After losing its first two games this season (worst start since 1932-33), Providence has now won 14 of its last 201games. The Friars also started the BIG EAST schedule with two losses (Notre Dame and at Rutgers) but have won seven of their last 11 league games. CIVIC CENTER RECORD...PC owns a 334-130 (.720) 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 has seven players and one coach in the NBA this season. They are:
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 is fourth on the team in scoring with 9.2 points per game this season. 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 is one of the Friars' first players off the bench and is averaging 7.2 points and 3.3 rebounds per game this season. He recorded his first double-double of the season with ten points and ten rebounds in the win over Villanova. Farley owns a 3.35 grade point average as a Finance major and has been nominated for GTE/CoSida Academic All-American honors.
JAMEL THOMAS -ALL-AMERICA and ALL-BIG EAST CandidateSenior forward Jamel Thomas came into his own during the 1997-98 season and will once again be the Friars' team leader on and off the floor. As a junior, Thomas scored over 500 points for the second time in his career to become only the ninth Providence player in school history to reach that plateau. He joins: Jimmy Walker (three times), Marvin Barnes (three times), Joey Hassett (three times), Bruce Campbell, Ernie DiGregorio, John Thompson, John Egan and Kevin Stacom. The Friars' team MVP in 1997-98, Thomas finished the regular season averaging 18.5 points and 6.9 rebounds to lead the team in both categories. He had career highs in three points attempted (178); free throws (156); free throws attempted (200); free throw percentage (.780); rebounds (200) and steals (44). This season, Thomas picked up where he left off as a junior. He leads the Friars in scoring (515, 22.4 ppg) and rebounding (177, 7.7 per game). He ranks first in the BIG EAST in overall scoring and is 11th in the nation in the scoring column. Earlier this season, Thomas became PC's all-time leader in three-point field goals (186) and three-point attempts (542). He has moved into fifth on the all-time scoring list with 1,825 points. Thomas is just one of three players in PC history to have over 1,800 points and 600 rebounds joining Marvin Barnes (1,839/1,592) and Bruce Campbell (1,809/949)
1998-99 PRESEASON HONORS FOR JAMEL THOMAS
1,000 POINT CLUB...Jamel Thomas continues his assault on the Providence College record book. On February 7th, he moved into fifth on PC's all-time scoring list passing Friars' great Bruce "Soup" Campbell (1,809). The talented scorer now has 1,825 career points and leads the BIG EAST in scoring with a 22.4 points per game average. Here are the Top 10 scorers in PC history:
DOUBLE-DOUBLES...Thomas has recorded seven double-doubles this season including two in a row against Maine (11/30) and Brown (12/5) and Georgetown (1/9) and Syracuse (1/12)
BIG EAST SCORING...Jamel Thomas is second on the Friars' all-time BIG EAST scoring list with 1,033 points in 67 league games. Here's the list and who is ahead of him:
Thomas currently is tied for 17th on the BIG EAST all-time scoring list with Syracuse's Derrick Coleman. Both have 1,033 points. 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 is the Friars' all-time leader in three-point field goals (186) and three-point attempts (542). THREE, GOING FOR MORE...PC's All-BIG EAST and All-America candidate, Jamel Thomas, recorded his third game with 30 or more points this season at Arkansas. He is the first player at PC to have three or more 30-point games since Eric Murdock had 12 with 30 or more during the 1990-91 season.
1998-99 GAME-BY-GAME...
BOARD GAMES...Despite the Friars lack of size (one player over 6-7), PC is now 12-10 in winning the battle of the boards through 23 games. Villanova and Providence each had 43 rebounds in the January 26th game. Arkansas pulled down a season high 52 boards against the Friars and had a 52-45 edge in the game. Through the first 23 games of the season, the Friars have been outrebounded by a 862-825 margin.
MORE WRIGHT...Senior guard Corey Wright has become a scoring threat for the Friars this season. Through 23 games, Wright has scored 113 points, 42 more than all of last year. As a sophomore he scored 117 points in 36 games. He is averaging 4.9 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.
PROVIDENCE STATS IN WINS LOSSES HOME AWAY NEUTRAL
FG Percentage .445 .399 .423 .425 .452
FG Percentage Defense .454 .509 .473 .478 .472
Three-point Percentage .347 .254 .300 .345 .216
Free Throw Percentage .716 .690 .722 .691 .705
Rebounds Average 36.5 34.9 35.1 38.4 29.0
Rebound Margin +0.1 -4.3 -2.3 +0.4 -6.5
Points per Game 81.8 70.3 79.5 75.7 71.5
Points Allowed per Game 70.3 83.3 73.8 77.6 75.5
##Brisport is eligible to play in second semester of 1998-99 season.
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.
STARTERS VS. BENCH...The Friars use ten players in their regular rotation. Here's a breakdown through 21 games:
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. He scored a season high 14 points with three rebounds in the loss to Rutgers. He had his first double-double of the season (10/10) versus VILLANOVA. Over the last ten games, Farley has scored 98 points (9.8 ppg) and had 39 rebounds (3.9 rpg) in 23 minutes per game. He played a season-high 27 minutes at Boston College and is fifth on the team in scoring with 7.2 points per game and 3.3 rebounds over the first 23 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.
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 seven of its last 11 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. On February 3rd, PC won its first game ever at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown. 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. FREE THROWS VERSUS WVU...In PC's two games against West Virginia this season, the Friars have shot 101 free throws making 72 of them for a .713 success rate. 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. HOG HIGHS...Arkansas scored 118 points the most ever by an opponent versus the Friars. The 15-three pointers Arkansas scored were the most ever by an opponent. The 45 field goals equalled the most ever by an opponent versus PC. Arkansas' 29 assists were a season high against Providence and the 26 turnovers by the Friars were a season high. Arkansas' 52 rebounds were the most this season by a PC opponent. FAST PACE...The Friars have already passed last year's win total of with 14 (13-16 in 97-98) and have equalled their BIG EAST total of seven (7-11). PC has five games left this season. GETTING HIS CHANCE...PC's Leon Brisport who joined the team on December 23rd played a career high 19 minutes at Notre Dame and scored a career best eight points with two rebounds. In ten games this season, the Friars' big man is averaging 3.1 points and 2,5 rebounds in just over eight minutes per game. THREE POINTS...In his last four games, Sean Connolly is 11 for 25 (.440) from behind the three-point line. His 53 three-pointers for the Friars is the most ever by a PC freshman. He is 11th on the season list for most three pointers with five regular season games left. He also has a shot to be the Friars' highest scoring freshman scorer ever. He is averaging 12.0 per game with the PC record being 12.3. That mark was set in the 1944-45 season by Leo Labossiere. Only seven freshman in Providence College history have averaged 10.0 or more points in their first season
FINAL SCHEDULES...Here's how the teams the Friars are battling with in the BIG EAST wrap up their seasons:
CONNECTICUT - (11-1, 6 remaining) 1998-99 PROVIDENCE COLLEGE BASKETBALL
FRIAR LEADS AND DEFICITS
$ CoSIDA CLASSIC
FRIARS' FOUL SHOOTINGFREE THROW SHOOTING IN THE FINAL THREE MINUTES AND OVERTIME (Game score 10 or fewer)
PLAYER 1998-99 CAREER PLAYER 1998-99 CAREER
Leon Brisport 0-0 0-0 Erron Maxey 8-14 (.571) 8-14 (.571)
Jamaal Camah 0-0 0-0 Kendrick Moore 4-6 (.667) 20-23 (.870)
Llewellyn Cole 0-2 (.000) 2-8 (.250) Ben Perkins 0-0 (.000) 3-4 (.750)
Sean Connolly 6-6 (1.000) 6-6 (1.000) Jamel Thomas 20-28 (.714) 67-89 (.753)
Justin Farley 9-10 (.900) 13-18 (.723) Corey Wright 12-20 (.600) 27-45 (.600)
John Linehan 19-22 (.864) 33-38 (.868)
PROVIDENCE 78-108 (.722) OPPONENTS 45-69 (.652)
FRIAR GAME KEYS:10-9 in games shooting under 50% 4-0 in games shooting over 50% 5-1 when PC has better FG% 4-6 when PC is outrebounded 1-4 when committing more turnovers 9-3 when opponent held to 75 or less 11-3 when PC leads at the half
FRIARS BY THE NUMBERS....
1998-99 PROVIDENCE COLLEGE WINS AND LOSSESFRIARS RECORD WHEN....Providence shoots 50% or better from the floor...............................................4 - 0 Providence shoots less than 50% from the floor................................................10 - 9 Providence holds opponent to 50% or less from the floor.......................................11 - 5 Providence opponent shoots 50% or better from the floor....................................... 3 - 4 Providence outrebounds opponent............................................................... 9 - 3 Opponent outrebounds Providence............................................................... 4 - 6 Providence makes 40% of three point tries..................................................... 5 - 1 Providence makes less than 40% of three point tries........................................... 9 - 8 Providence scores less than 60 points......................................................... 0 - 1 Providence scores 60 or more points..........................................................14 - 8 Providence scores 70 or more points..........................................................12 - 5 Providence scores 80 or more points..........................................................10 - 1 Opponent held to less than 60 points......................................................... 2 - 0 Opponent scores 60 or more points.............................................................12 - 8 Opponent scores 70 or more points............................................................. 7 - 8 Opponent scores 80 or more points............................................................. 2 - 6FRIARS WHEN AHEAD, TIED AND TRAILING....
WHEN AHEAD WHEN TIED WHEN TRAILING
Halftime 11 - 3 ----- 3 - 6
10 Minutes Left 10 - 1 0 - 0 4 - 8
5 Minutes Left 13 - 2 0 - 0 1 - 7
STARTING LINEUPS RECORDS:8-6: Linehan-Moore-Maxey-Thomas-Connolly 6-3: Linehan-Camah-Maxey-Thomas-ConnollyRECORDS AS STARTERS 0-0: Leon Brisport 6-3: Jamaal Camah 0-0: Llewellyn Cole 14-9: Sean Connolly 0-0: Justin Farley 14-9: John Linehan 14-9: Erron Maxey 8-6 Kendrick Moore 0-0: Ben Perkins 14-9: Jamel Thomas 0-0: Corey WrightGAMES LOST - INJURY/ILLNESS/ACADEMICS (18) 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); Sprained right knee (VILL) Ben Perkins - Flu (@ND)
GAMES LED PC IN:
STATISTICAL COMPARISON The Hurricanes have won three in a row overall and five of their last six. The lone loss came at Pittsburgh. Miami's eight road wins is the most since the 1964-65 team.
FRIARS CAREER STATS VS. MIAMI
Monday, February 8
1998-99 BIG EAST HONORS PLAYER OF THE WEEK (Feb. 8)
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK (Feb. 8)
FRIAR STATISTICAL LEADERS
FIELD GOAL %
Jamel Thomas .431 (11th) .408 (10th)
FREE THROW %
Jamel Thomas .758 (12th)
Kendrick Moore .868 (1st)
3PT FG MADE
Sean Connolly 2.30 (2nd) 2.46 (2nd)
Jamel Thomas 1.87 (6th) 1.77 (t13th)
3PT FG %
Sean Connolly .390 (10th) .438 (5th)
REBOUNDS
Jamel Thomas 7.7 (5th) 7.6 (7th)
OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS
Erron Maxey 2.70 (12th) 2.46 (15th)
Jamel Thomas 2.52 (13th) 2.62 (12th)
DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS
Jamel Thomas 5.17 (4th) 5.00 (5th)
Erron Maxey 3.85 (14th)
STEALS
John Linehan 3.00 (1st) 3.00 (1st)
Corey Wright 1.91 (10th)
ASSIST/TO RATIO
Corey Wright 2.19 (1st) 2.12 (2nd)
John Linehan 2.08 (3rd) 1.92 (4th)
ASSISTS
Corey Wright 4.00 (t13th) 4.08 (12th)
John Linehan 3.54 (15th)
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