Jeff Borzello, Providence News

KENO DAVIS, PROVIDENCE HOPE SPEED KILLS in 2009-2010

Second-year Friar coach hopes overal speed and quickness compensates for lack of size & experience

by JEFF BORZELLO

After posting 19 wins last season and finishing tied for seventh in the Big East, Providence will likely take several steps back in the conference this year.

The Friars lose four starters and return just three key players from a season ago.

Head coach Keno Davis is not overly concerned about the lack of returning talent, though.

“We weren’t a really good offensive team last year. We weren’t a good defensive team, and we were an average rebounding team,” Davis said. “But we won 19 games.”

The most glaring weakness for Providence heading into the year is its lack of size up front. The Friars have no one taller than 6-foot-9 and just four players bigger than 6-foot-7.

Again, Davis does not seem worried. He plans to spread the floor with several perimeter players and force opponents to match-up with his team rather than the other way around.

“We’re not going to be the biggest team,” he said. “But we’ll be one of the smallest and quickest. We’re going to have to find the match-ups to best be successful.”

Although the Big East lost several key big men, players like Luke Harangody, Greg Monroe and Devin Ebanks are going to pose major problems for the undersized Friars.

“I don’t know [how we’ll defend them],” Davis said. “We’ll try to defend with quickness, we’ll make it difficult to throw the ball inside. We’re going to try to get up and down more to negate the size differential.”

The top returnees for the Friars are senior Sharaud Curry and junior Marshon Brooks, while freshmen Vincent Council and Johnnie Lacy are expected to make an impact in the backcourt immediately.

Davis is looking forward to his newfound depth and will utilize it to the fullest.

“We’re going to find some guys to step up and contribute,” he said. “We’re going to be playing more players. I expect to play nine or 10 guys; we’re going to beat teams with numbers.”

Davis’ up-tempo, attacking style is already paying dividends in the recruiting game, as he is bringing in several quality players this season and has locked up three players for next year, too.

“We’re a program on the rise, I don’t think there’s any doubt,” he said. “Kids see our style and are attracted to it. Our staff works as hard as anyone in the country, and the future is bright for us.”

While the upcoming season might not be so bright, Providence will certainly be fun to watch.

*********Follow NBE Sports on Twitter: http://twitter.com/NBESports*****