Friars Get Back Key Player In Win
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Providence’s 94-89 win over Sacred Heart on Wednesday night wasn’t important just for the result, or that it came in the first game after being off for a week and a half after finals. It was not only the first game back, but the beginning of the rest of their season as far as personnel goes.
Point guard Sharaud Curry made his season debut in the game, playing nine minutes. He hit his only three-point shot and handed out three assists with no turnovers, acquitting himself well all things considered. Overall, he looked like someone playing his first game of the season.
“I was excited to get back out there with the team. Physically, that’s a whole different story,” said Curry, who added that he feels better on some days than others. “I still need to get back in better shape and get back my timing and get back into the flow of the game.”
Head coach Tim Welsh planned to play Curry fairly limited minutes since he hadn’t played all season thus far. He was happy with what he got, and knows his point guard isn’t all the way back yet.
“He’s better than anybody else would be at this stage that had the injury he had, because he’s a natural player,” said Welsh.
Curry’s return means the Friars now have their whole team together, but most importantly, their point guard is back. The importance of the point guard to a team can’t be stressed enough, and while sophomore Dwain Williams has performed admirably while starting at the point, he’s not a true point guard. Once Curry is fully ready to go, the Friars have one of the Big East’s better floor leaders leading their team, and that should boost them. They certainly hope he brings more consistency to a team that has been up and down thus far.
“He’s still the same player, just not conditioned yet,” said Weyinmi Efejuku. Once he gets used to practicing and playing at that speed, he’s going to be right where he left off.”
Last season, Efejuku and Curry were one of the best guard combos in the Big East for a while. With them leading the way, the Friars looked like a better team than advertised, and they got off to a nice start in non-conference and then Big East play. When Curry was suspended for several games, Efejuku wasn’t the same player as well. Thus far this season, Efejuku has played well in a different role without Curry, giving the team some instant offense off the bench as the team’s third-leading scorer.
Without Curry, the Friars have had to make do with Williams at the point and junior Geoff McDermott handling the ball more often. McDermott gets his hands on the ball often as it is, and he continues to show an excellent touch passing the ball, but the Friars haven’t been able to play him inside as much as they would like to offensively. With Randall Hanke only just now starting to show signs of being the player he was two seasons ago, that has left them without much of an inside game offensively. Junior Jonathan Kale is a nice player who has improved since he came to campus, but he’ll never be mistaken for a post scorer.
McDermott once again showed his feel for the game on Sunday, hurting Sacred Heart in a different way each half. In the first half, he had six assists, several to Hanke to take advantage of a size mismatch inside. Then in the second half, he scored 15 of his 21 points, finding several opportunities to attack the basket and make something happen.
“Geoff is a playmaker. He just knows when to turn it on, when to score and when to pass,” said Efejuku, who led the Friars with a game-high 22 points.
With Curry back, McDermott will be able to play inside more at the offensive end and handle the ball less out of necessity and more out of the offense going through him. That, along with Hanke coming alive and the obvious benefit of having their point guard back, will make the Friars a more complete offensive team.
One thing Curry can’t do is get the Friars to improve on how they start the second half. In a few games where they have had a healthy halftime lead, the Friars have come out without much life in the second half and either not gained on the lead they had or had the opponent eventually overtake them. The most notable case was the game to start the month against Boston College, and on Wednesday Sacred Heart made it a ballgame and even took the lead around the halfway point.
That’s not something this team can afford to continue doing, especially with Florida State coming to town on Saturday and the Big East schedule beckoning.
“I think we’ll get up 15, 18 points, then get lackadaisical, like not close out as hard, not cut as hard on offense,” Efejuku said of their second half play. “The teams we’re playing against are too good for you to just play lackadaisical. They’ll score.”
The Friars have yet to lose a game where they led at the half, but that could be tested if this continues. At the very least, they should be better equipped to hold leads and gain on the opponent in the second half with their floor leader back in action.
