Hitting the jackpot in Keno: Keno Davis, national coach of the year, signs with PC

FINALLLY A COACH for the friars. After playing the numbers and coming up empty on their first, second and third choice for head coach the PC Frairs play the Keno card and sign former Drake coach Keno Davis. Last year Keno was the National coach of the year and led drake to 22-8 record and the schools first NCAA appearance since 1971.

“I believe Keno Davis has the knowledge, passion, commitment and ability to bring Providence College basketball to another level,” Providence athletic director Bob Driscoll said in a statement.

Not a bad fourth choice, to get the national coach of the yaer. Ill take it. Its rumored the contract is 7 years.  The friars might have hit the Jack pot with Keno, Keno Davis.

Ford Pickup: Travis Ford to get an offer from PC.

UPDATE: FORD REJECTS OFFER, NO ONE WANTS TO COACH PC

Current Umass coach Travis Ford is expected to get an offer from Providence College today. He is the new up and coming young coach. His style is to get up and down the floor and score score score. A style similar to the Suns. He lead the Minutemen to a solid record this year and runner up in the NIT. I believe that his style would work great for PC and its quick up and down gaurds, and bigs who can handle the rock. He would bring a new style to the rough big east. I highly doubt that he takes the offer. He has already shunned LSU’s offer so why go to PC?

No! No! No! – Larranaga says no to PC.

 CBS Sports is reporting that current George Mason Coach is saying no to the PC job. This is a great dissapointment in my mind.

Jim Larranaga is rejecting Providence to stay at George Mason, a source has told CBSSports.com.

Larranaga passed on a standing offer to return to his alma mater Wednesday, electing to instead remain with the school he took to the 2006 Final Four. He just completed his 11th season with George Mason and will now receive a reworked contract to begin his 12th in November.

An attempt to reach Larranaga for comment was not immediately successful. – CBS SPORTS

Larranaga would have been a perfect fit but instead he chose to stay at George Mason, dissapointing to say the least. Well see who is the next name to come up for this job.

Current G. Mason Coach, and former Friar guard the next Providence College Coach?

Jim Larranaga, thr current george mason coach and a former guard at Providence College in the early 1970s, is in talks with PC on their open head coaching job.

“He was indeed contacted and we did give permission to talk to (Providence),” said Richard Coco, George Mason’s athletic department spokesman.

Larranaga just completed his 11th season at George Mason, where he is the school’s all-time leader in wins and in the history of the Colonial Athletic Conference. He’s led the Patriots to four NCAA Tournaments, including this year, when the team finished 23-11 and was knocked out in the first round by Notre Dame, 68-50.

Larranaga expressed interest in the vacant Providence position several times earlier in his career but was never a factor when the Friars chose to hire Rick Barnes (1988), Pete Gillen (1994) and Tim Welsh (1998). – projo.com

I think Larranaga would be a perfect fit. We saw what he can do at a smaller school in G. Mason with recruiting and coaching. He is a former player so he knows what PC is all about.

Martelli the Next Frair coach?….not so fast.

Amid rumors that Phil Martelli, (the current St Joes coach) will become the next PC coach, Martelli has responded.

sjuhawks.cstv.com

I have not indicated an interest in Providence,” Martelli told the Daily News. “Providence has not indicated an interest in me. I’ve not talked to anybody at Providence and Providence has not talked to anybody here at Saint Joseph’s, or to me or to my family.”

“It’s just one those [things] and it’s running wild,” Martelli said.

Numerous names have came up when talking about this job. It is a big east job so many will be attracted to it. Martelli would be a good fit. His teams are tough, play hard and always seems to get the most out of them.

Former Hendricken Star Mazulla leading the way for West Virgina

Just a few years ago Joe Mazulla was leading Bishop Hendricken (Warwick, RI) in a comeback victory in the Rhode Island State Championship over Cranston West, now he is leading West Virgina in the NCAA tourney.

Against Duke Mazulla was the heart and soul of the WV. He scored 13 pts, grabed 11 boards and had 8 assists.

 Because the shortest player on the roster from the smallest state in the union played the biggest game of his career, seventh-seeded West Virginia is headed to the Sweet 16 for the third time in the last four years. And the TV darlings from Duke departed another NCAA Tournament well short of their goal.

Joe Mazzulla, a 6-2 sophomore guard from Rhode Island who has yet to start a college game, drove the Blue Devils to distraction in the second round of the West Regional at the Verizon Center yesterday. When early foul trouble among front-line players forced the Mountaineers to utilize a three-guard offense, the reserve provided a brilliant demonstration of versatility and determination that nearly resulted in a triple-double. In addition to scoring 13 points, he had eight assists and grabbed 11 rebounds, seven more than any player wearing a Duke uniform, in a 73-67 victory – newsday

Even Coach K was raving about Joe:

That kid was fabulous,” said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, whose team barely survived its first-round game against 15th-seeded Belmont Thursday night. “He looked like a mini-Jason Kidd out there, getting rebounds and assists and points. The star on that court today was No. 3. I told him that when we shook hands.”- newsday

His name was even brought up in the show Around the Horn on espn today, hes come a long way from a small state.

Its the most Wonderful time of the year!

 The NCAA tournament starts tomorrow and if you are like me the first two days of the tournaent are two of the best days of the year. When I was in junior high and high school I used to save up my “sick days” to act sick on these two days so I could catch all the afternoon games. Whether you are skipping work or school, its a must. If you cant get out of work early you can always watch the games online http://ncaasports.com/mmod/welcome which is equipped with a boss botton that acts like a spread sheet. Tomorrow I will be skipping and I will have the ultimate NCAA tournament set up (which Ill take a picture of and post it). This includes a TV for one game, my laptop for another game and my girlfriends laptop for game three, in between all of those will be homemade buffalo wings, bacon and chive dip and a tall glass of gatorade. I cant wait!!

With all that being said here are my picks:

FINAL FOUR PICKS

East Region: Louisville- everyone is on UNC but they can not defend. Louisville has the coach, the defense and the big man to make the final four

Midwest- Kansas- Best all around team, great guards, bench, defense and adequate big men

South- Texas- THey have beat UCLA, Kansas, and Tennesee. Great defense and Augustine and Abrams are one of the best backcourts in the nation. Plus their region is played in Texas

West – UCLA- Have the easiest out of the four regions. Have experience, a big man and a lethal back court. Ben Howland stresses defense and their defense is oustanding

Championship – Kansas over Texas- rematch of Big 12 championship game.

Here are a few upsets (must be at least a 11 seed) that I like in the first round:

#11 St Joes over #6 Oklahoma

St Joes is a gritty team from Philly who does take shit from anyone. They are lead by Pat Cathletis and Ahmad Nives. Oklahoma has two key players hurting (Longar Longar and Blake Griffin). St Joes Recently beat Xavier twice and arent going to be afraid of Oklahoma, they also beat Nova by 22 points.

#13 Winthrop over #4 Wash State

Wintrop is a senior heavy team and is in its 4th straight trip to the big dance so they wont be scared of the lights. Both teams have a similar style of intense defense (both rank in top 25 in defense). Winthrop shocked Notre Dame last year and will do the same to WSU this year. They have the experience and guard play to upset the Cougars.

Other teams to watch out for posible runs in the tournament

Butler- Got screwed with a 7 seed while being ranked inn the top 10.  Aj Graves and Mike Green are a dynamic backcourt and they arent afraid of anyone. Could see a possible upset over Tennesee in the second round and a long run in the tourney

Davidson- Led by Stephen Curry this team can play, They have a 23 game winning streak and i see a win over gonzaga with an outside chance of beating Gtown

Division II Playoffs- Bryant vs. Bentley

Bryant vs Bentley is Division II’s version of Duke v UNC. The two rival schools are only miles away and both specialize in Business. All Bryant vs Bentley games over the last couple years have been sold out, with each team’s fans going back and forth at each other.

 The two teams have met in two of the last three NCAA tournaments.  The Falcons have won six in a row against Bryant dating back to Bryant’s 88-78 double overtime win in the regular season in 2006 back in Smithfield, RI.  Bryant and Bentley met in the 2005 regional final with Bryant winning 74-64 en route to a trip to the Elite Eight and National Championship game.  Bentley won all four meetings last season including an NE-10 semifinal win and 85-74 victory in the NCAA Regional Championship game at the Dana Center.

Bentley is undefeated on the year but Bryant has challenged them this year, their last game came down to the final seconds

LAST MEETING WITH BENTLEY – Falcons 69, Bryant 68 (Waltham, MA – Feb. 2, 2008)
Bryant’s Cecil Gresham (Bloomfield, CT)drained a three-pointer with 7 seconds left to put the visiting Bulldogs ahead and on the verge of an upset of the top-ranked team.  But Bentley had the answer once again as Yusuf Abdul-Ali, held to just 1 of 9 shooting and four turnovers by the Bulldog defense before Gresham’s shot, drove the lane on the Falcons’ ensuing possession and scored the game-winner off the glass as time expired to keep its perfect record intact. The game featured 13 lead changes and nine ties.

Bryant fell behind 57-53 with a little over six minutes left, but managed to draw even at 65-65 with a minute to go. With a chance to take the lead, guard Chris Birrell (Scituate, RI)would miss a three-point attempt with 56 seconds left and Bentley’s Jason Westrol would answer with a drive in the lane to put the hosts up 67-65 with 25 seconds remaining on the Dana Center clock. 

Following a timeout to draw up a play, Bryant would work the ball around the perimeter.  With Bentley, over-playing Jon Ezeokoli (South Orange, NJ), Birrell found a wide open Gresham who drained a deep three from the right side to put the Bulldogs ahead, 69-68 with seven ticks on the clock only to see Ali come up with the game-winning drive.  

Bryant trailed by only a point at the half, 32-31 taking a 13-9 in the early moments.  Bentley would counter with a 14-2 run to race back out in front 23-15.  Birrell would knock down a pair of trey’s before picking up his second foul with 3:09 left before halftime.  Reserve Ray Witkos (Easthampton, MA)entered the game for Birrell and was fouled immediately attempting a three by Bentley’s Westrol.  Witkos sank all three free throws to pull the Bulldogs even 26-26.  Birrell had another fine game on both ends of the floor. The sophomore finished with 17 points and six assists in 36 minutes.  Ezeokoli, who had 11 first half points, added 17 points while Gresham chipped in with 14 plus four boards. Bentley was led by Westrol’s 17 points while Lew Finnegan had 17. 

Will Bryant be the New York Giants of D II basketball and spoil Bentley’s perfect season or will Bentley chalk up another win. Its the Bulldogs vs Falcons, throw out the records. The game is at 730 tonight and can be seen free at http://www.ne10.tv/

Tim Welsh OUT as Providence College head coach!

According to ESPN Tim Welsh is offically out as Providence College head coach. This is not shocking news but some thought that he might be back for one year. Athletic Director Bob Driscoll:

 “I appreciate all the hard work and dedication that Tim has put into this program over the last 10 years. He represented the College with dignity and class. However, I felt that it was in the best interest of the program and Providence College to make a change in leadership,” Driscoll said.

Welsh’s career at PC

Welsh’s final record in 10 years as PC’s coach season was a 160-143. PC qualified for the post-season in five of the 10 seasons but didn’t enjoy much success. PC was 0-2 in two NCAA Tournaments and 1-3 in three NIT’s. The Friars were 1-9 in the Big East Tournament over the last decade.- projo.com

The 1-9 in Big East tourney is horrid and they failed to win a game in thier two NCAA tourney apperances. Only 50 percent of the time they were in post season play and only 20 percent of the time he got PC to the Big tourney. Not going to cut it. I wish Welsh the best, I am sure he will end up at a smaller school and most likly be sucessful like he was at Iona.
Who will be the next PC coach? There have been numerous and wild rumors. Heres a short list of names being thrown out there:

George Mason’s Jim Larranaga (PC Alum)

Kent State’s Jim Christian

Drake’s Keno Davis

VCU Athony Grant

Brown’s Craig Robinson

Other long shots;

Free Agent Greg Rak (comes at a cheap price)

Western University’s – Nick Nolte (blue chips)

NY Knick’s – Eddie “whoopi” Goldberg

PC, BC and URI’s last chance…..

Its March Madness where anything can happen, could that anything mean URI winning the A-10 tournament and gaining an automatic berth (i doubt it) or PC or BC getting hot and catching some breaks on their way to a Big East/ACC championship ( I highly doubt it) but it is March Madness and stranger things have happened.

URI 

After starting 19-3 and all but a lock for the Big Dance with some quality wins over UAB, Sryacuse, PC and Dayton they have went 2-7 over the last 9. We all know they are talented and they can catch fire like they did in last years A-10 tournament. In a way they got lucky by being the 10 seed; they will not have to play Xavier until the championship game and everyone else in the A-10 seems to be on the same level.

Their journey starts today @ 2 vs a Charlotte team who just spanked the Rams at home by 10. If they are able to get by Charlotte, a solid Umass team waits for them whom URI has lost to twice. With all that being said if URI’s Will Daniels decides to take over the game and Jimmy Baron gets open looks and gets hot they can beat any team in the A-10. The season starts over again for URI today lets see which team shows up. Chances of winning the tournament 10%.

PC

Providence College needed a West Virginia win over St. Johns to get to the Big East tournament and now they face that very team. In both meetings WV has spanked PC  and WV needs this game in order to strengthen thier at large position in the NCAA tournament. With all that being said I do not like PC’s chances and I see this being Tim Welsh’s final game as a Friar. If PC can pull off the first upset thier friends from UConn are waiting for them. I do not like the chances of PC winning one game nevermind 2 plus; PC chances of winning the tournament 0.08%

BC

Boston College’s problem all season has been inexperience. They start the tourney off vs Maryland whom they spilt the season series with. So there is a chance. My hope here is that Tyrese Rice pulls a Gerry McNamara (Syracuse-Big East Tourney) and carrys the team on his back to multiple wins. BC chances of winning the ACC tourney 0.09%

This is my favorite time of the year. You never know whats going to happen. March Madness baby!