Providence Is Once Again a Power in Basketball

Providence College basketball Coach Rick Pitino is using two teams to go in one direction.

For the first time since 1978, the Friars, a cellar-dweller in the tough Big East Conference, find themselves in the Top 20.

On offense, the Friars move the ball quickly, more often than not getting a three-point shot from guards Billy Donovan and Delray Brooks or forward Ernie (Pop) Lewis.

Defensively, Providence relies on a nagging press to bother opponents and uses foul after foul to prevent easy shots.

“It’s almost like you have two different teams,” Pitino said. “You have the finesse team on offense that moves the ball quickly and ball fakes quickly and is constantly looking for the three-point shot, always looking for the break. And then you have a schizophrenic team. Once the ball goes in, it’s like Dr. Jekyll takes over.”

The combination has worked, launching Providence to the No. 17 spot in the Associated Press poll.

A last-second, one-point loss to Boston College last Wednesday dampered the Friars’ spirits as it ended a seven-game winning streak, six in the conference.

“Being in the Top 20, winning in the Big East, those things are great,” Pitino said. “But what’s really important to me is gettting into the NCAA tournament.”

A little over a year ago such talk would have been ridiculed.

Longtime Coach Joe Mullaney, a name synonomous with Providence’s glory days, announced he was resigning after the 1985 season. The Friars finished with an 11-20 record.

Pitino was lured away from the staff of the NBA’s New York Knicks, promising to restore the Friars’ basketball program to respectability by the end of his four-year contract.

He found a shortcut.

Providence finished 17-14 last year and advanced to the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament. Not satisfied, Pitino and his squad have emerged this season as the surprise of the East, knocking off Georgetown and St. John’s in the past 10 days to vault into the rankings.

The Friars are leading the nation with an average of 8.5 3-point shots a game.

“That’s obviously been our strength,” Pitino said. “I wish we could look for it more. Some teams have been doing a good job shutting it down.”

Credit for the long-range success rests largely with Donovan, Brooks and Lewis, who made a 3-pointer to beat Georgetown and another to send the St. John’s game into overtime.

Donovan, overweight and awkward when he came to Providence as a freshman, has slimmed down, developed into a dangerous shooter and emerged as the team’s leader in his senior year.

Lewis, a senior from Philadelpia, and Brooks, an Indiana high school standout who transferred to Providence from Indiana, spend hours working on their shoooting.

“Last year we were a defensive team only and we struggled for points,” Pitino said. “This year, we improved the range of Lewis and Brooks as soon as we heard about the 3-point shot. Because of their work ethic and dedication, everything is falling into place.”

Opposing teams have taken notice, and Pitino said Providence’s inside scoring has to improve for the outside game to remain successful.

Students and alumni have also taken notice. Providence, a national power in the 1960s with players such as John Thompson, Lenny Wilkens and Jimmy Walker, are again drawing sellout crowds.

“There’s the myth of what happened in the past,” Providence Athletic Director Louis Lamoriello said. “There’s the feeling that what’s happening now is creating an excitement a lot like in the past.”