2008–09 Providence Friars men's basketball team American college basketball season
The 2008–09 Providence Friars men's basketball team represented Providence College in the Big East Conference . The team finished with a 10–8 conference record and a 19–14 record overall.
In March 2008, head coach Tim Welsh was fired by the school after finishing with a losing record for the third time in four seasons. In April, Drake University head coach Keno Davis replaced him; Davis was named the 2008 Associated Press National Coach of the Year in his first and only season as a head coach at Drake.[ 2] The Friars had previously been turned down by Louisville head coach Rick Pitino , who coached Providence to the 1987 Final Four , George Mason University head coach Jim Larranaga , a Providence alumnus, and University of Massachusetts head coach Travis Ford .[ 2] [ 3]
Davis inherited all five starters from Welsh's final season with the Friars. However, prior to the season junior guard Dwain Williams transferred to Oregon State ,[ 4] while reserve forward Charles Burch was the team's lone departing senior.
At home, the Friars twice defeated ranked opponents; on January 28 they defeated #15 Syracuse , and on February 24, the Friars knocked off #1 Pittsburgh , the first time the school had accomplished the feat since 1976. The Friars received votes in the AP Poll after each win, but were not ranked at any point in the season.
Finishing with a 10-8 record in the Big East, the Friars began the 2009 Big East men's basketball tournament as an eighth seed, defeating DePaul in the first round before falling to top-seeded Louisville in the quarterfinals. They missed the NCAA tournament for a fifth straight season and lost in the first round of the NIT to Miami .
Roster
2008–09 Providence Friars men's basketball team
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Name
Height
Weight
Year
Previous school
Hometown
F
0
Alex Kellogg
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
225 lb (102 kg)
So
St. Francis DeSales High School
Columbus, Ohio
G
1
Jeff Xavier
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
Sr
St. Raphael Academy
Pawtucket, Rhode Island
G/F
2
Marshon Brooks
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
So
Tucker High School
Stone Mountain, Georgia
G
4
Sharaud Curry
5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
170 lb (77 kg)
RS Jr
Joseph Wheeler High School
Gainesville, Georgia
F
11
Geoff McDermott
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
235 lb (107 kg)
Sr
New Rochelle High School
New Rochelle, New York
G
12
Luke Burchett (W)
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
Jr
Fenwick High School
Western Springs, Illinois
G/F
13
Weyinmi Efejuku
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
210 lb (95 kg)
Sr
Brewster Academy
Fresh Meadows, New York
F
15
Jamine Peterson
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
225 lb (102 kg)
So
Notre Dame Prep
Brooklyn, New York
F
21
Chris Baudinet (W)
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
210 lb (95 kg)
Sr
Taft School
Watertown, Connecticut
G
23
Brian McKenzie
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
205 lb (93 kg)
Jr
Xaverian High School
Brooklyn, New York
F
25
Brian Beloin (W)
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
200 lb (91 kg)
Sr
Avon High School
Avon, Connecticut
F
31
Connor Heine (W)
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
Sr
Fairfield Prep
Fairfield, Connecticut
F/C
32
Randall Hanke
6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
240 lb (109 kg)
RS Sr
Trinity-Pawling School
New York, New York
F/C
34
Jonathan Kale
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
245 lb (111 kg)
Sr
St. Andrew's School
Mattapan, Massachusetts
F/C
42
Bilal Dixon
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
228 lb (103 kg)
Fr
Queen of Peace High School
Jersey City, New Jersey
C
55
Ray Hall
6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
265 lb (120 kg)
Jr
J. K. Mullen High School
Denver, Colorado
Head coach
Keno Davis
Assistant coach(es)
Chris Davis Rodell Davis Pat Skerry
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on
Roster Last update: 2010-02-06
Depth chart
Incoming recruits
College recruiting information
Name
Hometown
High school / college
Height
Weight
Commit date
Bilal Dixon PF
Jersey City, NJ
Queen of Peace HS
6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
229 lb (104 kg)
Sep 25, 2007
Star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : N/A
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note : In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.
Sources:
Schedule
Date time, TV
Rank#
Opponent#
Result
Record
Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition games
November 1 *7:00 pm
University of Ottawa (CIS )
W 85–57
Dunkin' Donuts Center Providence, RI
November 8 *7:00 pm
Slippery Rock (D-II )
W 105–84
Dunkin' Donuts Center Providence, RI
Non-conference games
November 15 *7:00 pm
Northeastern
L 66–70
0–1
Dunkin' Donuts Center (8,086)Providence, RI
November 18 *7:00 pm
Dartmouth
W 100–82
1–1
Dunkin' Donuts Center (4,762)Providence, RI
November 20 *7:00 pm
Sacred Heart
W 111-87
2–1
Dunkin' Donuts Center (5,108)Providence, RI
November 22 *2:00 pm
Maine
W 83–62
3–1
Dunkin' Donuts Center (7,060)Providence, RI
November 27 *11:30 pm, ESPN2
vs. Baylor 76 Classic
L 56–72
3–2
Anaheim Convention Center (1,157)Anaheim, CA
November 28 *10:00 pm, ESPNU
vs. Charlotte 76 Classic
W 67–62
4–2
Anaheim Convention Center (1,417)Anaheim, CA
November 30 *5:30 pm, ESPNU
vs. St. Mary's (CA) 76 Classic
L 75–81
4–3
Anaheim Convention Center (1,077)Anaheim, CA
December 3 *7:00 pm
Brown
W 86–62
5–3
Dunkin' Donuts Center (6,155)Providence, RI
December 6 *2:00 pm, Cox Sports
Rhode Island
W 66–65
6–3
Dunkin' Donuts Center (12,600)Providence, RI
December 17 *7:00 pm
Jackson State
W 85–71
7–3
Dunkin' Donuts Center (7,158)Providence, RI
December 20 *4:00 pm, NESN
at Boston College
L 76–81
7–4
Conte Forum (6,880)Chestnut Hill, MA
December 22 *7:00 pm
Bryant
W 91–64
8–4
Dunkin' Donuts Center (6,103)Providence, RI
Big East regular season
December 31 4:00 pm, Cox Sports
St. John's
W 75–54
9–4 (1–0)
Dunkin' Donuts Center (3,037)Providence, RI
January 3 7:00 pm, Cox Sports
DePaul
W 62–54
10–4 (2–0)
Dunkin' Donuts Center (8,547)Providence, RI
January 7 7:00 pm, ESPNU
at Cincinnati
W 87–79
11–4 (3–0)
Fifth Third Arena (6,612)Cincinnati, OH
January 10 1:00 pm, ESPNU
at No. 9 Georgetown
L 75–82
11–5 (3–1)
Verizon Center (12,764)Washington, D.C.
January 17 9:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 14 Marquette
L 82–91
11–6 (3–2)
Dunkin' Donuts Center (10,221)Providence, RI
January 19 8:00 pm, Cox Sports
Cincinnati
W 72–63
12–6 (4–2)
Dunkin' Donuts Center (7,285)Providence, RI
January 22 7:00 pm, ESPNU
at Seton Hall
W 98–93 OT
13–6 (5–2)
Prudential Center (7,165)Newark, NJ
January 28 7:00 pm, Cox Sports
No. 15 Syracuse
W 100–94
14–6 (6–2)
Dunkin' Donuts Center (10,873)Providence, RI
January 31 4:00 pm, Cox Sports
at No. 2 Connecticut
L 61–94
14–7 (6–3)
Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,167)Storrs, CT
February 4 8:00 pm, Cox Sports
No. 17 Villanova
L 91–94
14–8 (6–4)
Dunkin' Donuts Center (11,212)Providence, RI
February 7 4:00 pm, Cox Sports
at West Virginia
L 59–86
14–9 (6–5)
WVU Coliseum (11,091)Morgantown, WV
February 10 7:00 pm, ESPN360
at South Florida
W 77–62
15–9 (7–5)
USF Sun Dome (3,340)Tampa, FL
February 14 7:00 pm, Cox Sports
Rutgers
W 78–68
16–9 (8–5)
Dunkin' Donuts Center (11,246)Providence, RI
February 18 7:30 pm, ESPN2
at No. 7 Louisville
L 76–94
16–10 (8–6)
Freedom Hall (19,484)Louisville, KY
February 21 12:00 pm, Cox Sports
Notre Dame
L 84–103
16–11 (8–7)
Dunkin' Donuts Center (12,600)Providence, RI
February 24 7:00 pm, Cox Sports
No. 1 Pittsburgh
W 81–73
17–11 (9–7)
Dunkin' Donuts Center (11,887)Providence, RI
March 1 2:00 pm, ESPNU
at Rutgers
W 73–66
18–11 (10–7)
Louis Brown Athletic Center (5,122)Piscataway, NJ
March 5 7:00 pm, ESPN2
at No. 11 Villanova
L 80–97
18–12 (10–8)
The Pavilion (6,500)Villanova, PA
Big East tournament
March 11 12:00 pm, ESPN
vs. DePaul First Round
W 83–74
19–12 (10–8)
Madison Square Garden (19,375)New York, NY
March 12 12:00 pm, ESPN
vs. No. 5 Louisville Quarterfinals
L 55–73
19–13 (10–8)
Madison Square Garden (19,375)New York, NY
NIT
March 18 *7:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 5
No. 4 Miami First Round
L 66–78
19–14 (10–8)
Dunkin' Donuts Center (5,645)Providence, RI
*Non-conference game.
# Rankings from
AP Poll . (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in
Eastern Time [ 5] .
Rankings
Ranking MovementLegend: ██ Improvement in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
Poll
Pre
Wk 1
Wk 2
Wk 3
Wk 4
Wk 5
Wk 6
Wk 7
Wk 8
Wk 9
Wk 10
Wk 11
Wk 12
Wk 13
Wk 14
Wk 15
Wk 16
WK 17
Wk 18
Final
AP
RV
RV
n/a
Coaches
RV
Awards and honors
References
^ "Big East Conference Standings - 2008-09." ESPN.com. Retrieved 03-23-10.
^ a b Tucker, Eric (April 15, 2008). "Providence picks Drake's Keno Davis to replace Tim Welsh" . Associated Press . The Boston Globe . Retrieved October 30, 2009 .
^ McNamara, Kevin (October 26, 2008). "Courting Pitino -- Friar coaching legend considered a return to PC" . The Providence Journal . Retrieved March 10, 2010 .
^ "Dwain Williams to Transfer to Oregon State" . Oregon State University . August 11, 2008. Archived from the original on March 1, 2012. Retrieved February 7, 2010 .
^ Schedule Friars.com. Retrieved on October 30, 2009.
^ a b c d e f g h i "Men's Basketball Team Awards Announced" . Friars.com . April 25, 2009. Archived from the original on October 8, 2011. Retrieved October 30, 2009 .
^ "Weyinmi Efejuku Named All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention" . Friars.com . March 8, 2009. Archived from the original on October 8, 2011. Retrieved October 30, 2009 .
^ "Weyinmi Efejuku Named USBWA All-District 1" . Friars.com . March 13, 2009. Archived from the original on April 29, 2018. Retrieved October 30, 2009 .
^ "Weyinmi Efejuku Named BIG EAST Player Of The Week" . Friars.com . March 2, 2009. Archived from the original on October 8, 2011. Retrieved October 30, 2009 .
External links
Venues Rivalries People Seasons NCAA Final Four appearances in italics