Who should stay, who should go?

After Cooley's revenge, we look towards next seasons roster

I suppose it was wishful thinking to be believe that Ed Cooley was never going to get a win against his former Program. His 0-4 record against Providence since he departed for Washington DC was a source of pride for many in Friartown, but with the putrid performance the Friars put in on Wednesday night, that pride vanished quickly.

Three days later I’m not going to belabor the point of how Providence came out lifeless, nor am I going to make to much of a single loss for a team that is 12-15 and whose season has essentially been over since early January. Providence could very well finish 13-18 (beat DePaul, lose to Marquette, UConn and Xavier) and cement the worst season for the Program since 2009-10 when the team finished 12-19 in Keno Davis’s second season at the helm. I will spare us all the Kim English / Keno Davis comparisons for now, but suffice to say this will be the worst season Friartown has seen in more than a decade.

All that to say, we can expect some significant roster overhaul next season. In this age of near constant collegiate free agency, you can rest assured that Kim English will go into a make-or-break year 3 with a much different looking roster. Whether that new roster finds success is anyone’s guess, but I sense that we could see up to 9 current Friars depart this offseason via graduation and / or the transfer portal. While that may be a shock, this team is 12-15, so change isn’t all bad! The following list is a combination of art and science, given performance this season, team needs for next season and a whole bunch of other factors that we are about to dive into.

The Coaches:

Kim English - Stay: Sorry folks, for those of you who are trigger happy and want to see the head coach canned after two seasons, there is 0% chance that this will happen. While it’s true that Steve Napolillo’s contract extension for the head coach at the end of last season has aged like rotten milk, there was never a world in which Kim English was going to be let go after 2 season. Nor should he to be fair! Now if we’re having these same conversations about the team a year from now we can have a discussion about the head coach’s future, but lets hope for my sanity (and yours) it doesn’t come to that.

Winning Percentage of Providence Head Coaches, Last 40 years

• Rick Pitino .646 (42-23)

• Gordie Chiesa .392 (11-17)

• Rick Barnes .586 (108-76)

• Pete Gillen .576 (72-53)

• Tim Welsh .528 (160-143)

• Keno Davis .479 (46-50)

• Ed Cooley .612 (242-153)

• Kim English .532 (33-29)

Assistant Coaches - Go: I want to be clear, I am not saying that every assistant coach is going to be or even should be let go. But I would be shocked if there wasn’t some shakeup on this staff, be it assistant coaches on the bench, the strength and conditioning program or back room player development staff that fans don’t even know. English is one of the youngest head coaches in Division 1 basketball, and at times has looked like it. I don’t think this is all that controversial, the Friars are awful, yes they’ve been injured but they also lost to Rhode Island (while fully healthy might I add), Davidson, St Bonaventure, and were down 30 to Georgetown. Change is coming to the coaching staff.

The Players:

Bensley Joseph - Go: Unfortunately, Joseph will have exhausted his collegiate eligibility after this season. I think all of Friartown would love to have the Arlington, MA native back for a 5th year. I suppose a 5th season is always possible but we should not go into the offseason expecting Joseph back. That’s a shame, as he has single handedly willed Providence to wins on 3 separate occasions this season. Maybe the fact that the Friars needed a heroic Joseph performance to beat Central Connecticut in the season opener should’ve been a red flag, but alas…

Jabri Abdur-Rahim - Go: JAR exhausted his 5th and final year of college eligibility this year at Providence. He will not be back next season. A shame that he never quite found his groove and when he was getting close, he suffered a season ending injury.

Wesley Cardet Jr - Go: After putting his name in the NBA draft evaluation process last season, Cardet used his senior season of eligibility in Friartown. Cardet will not be back next season.

Corey Floyd Jr - Stay: One of the few bright spots this season has been the continued improvement of CFJ. He has grown much more comfortable in his role over the course of the season, and has developed into an ultimate glue guy that contributes to winning in multiple ways. There will be a lot of roster turnover next season but there is still value in continuity. CFJ will likely get a handful of offers to play elsewhere, but English & Co. would be wise to keep him around.

CFJ has improved significantly as a playmaker, and if he returns next season as a 4th or 5th starter / offensive option, the Friars will be in a good place.