2008–09 Providence Friars men's basketball team

2008–09 Providence Friars men's basketball
2008–09 Providence Friars men's basketball
NIT, #5, 1st Round
Conference	Big East Conference (1979–2013)
Record	19–14 (10–8 Big East)
Head coach	Keno Davis;
Assistant coaches	Chris Davis; Rodell Davis; Pat Skerry;
MVP	Weyinmi Efejuku
Home arena	Dunkin' Donuts Center
	Seasons ← 2007–08 2009–10 →

2008–09 Big East men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 1 Louisville†	16	–	2	.889	31	–	6	.838
No. 4 Pittsburgh	15	–	3	.833	31	–	5	.861
No. 5 Connecticut	15	–	3	.833	31	–	5	.861
No. 11 Villanova	13	–	5	.722	30	–	8	.789
No. 23 Marquette	12	–	6	.667	25	–	10	.714
No. 13 Syracuse	11	–	7	.611	28	–	10	.737
West Virginia	10	–	8	.556	23	–	12	.657
Providence	10	–	8	.556	19	–	14	.576
Notre Dame	8	–	10	.444	21	–	15	.583
Cincinnati	8	–	10	.444	18	–	14	.563
Seton Hall	7	–	11	.389	17	–	15	.531
Georgetown	7	–	11	.389	16	–	15	.516
St. John's	6	–	12	.333	16	–	18	.471
South Florida	4	–	14	.222	9	–	22	.290
Rutgers	2	–	16	.111	11	–	21	.344
DePaul	0	–	18	.000	9	–	24	.273


† 2009 Big East tournament winner As of April 4, 2009^[1] Rankings from AP Poll

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: 2010-02-06

Depth chart

Pos.	Starting 5	Bench 1	Bench 2	Bench 3
C	Jonathan Kale	Randall Hanke	Bilal Dixon	Ray Hall
PF	Geoff McDermott	Alex Kellogg	Chris Baudinet (W)	Jamine Peterson
SF	Weyinmi Efejuku	Marshon Brooks	Brian Beloin (W)	Connor Heine (W)
SG	Jeff Xavier	Brian McKenzie
PG	Sharaud Curry	Luke Burchett (W)

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
Bilal Dixon PF	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: "2008 Providence Signees". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 30, 2009. "2008 Providence Signees". Scout.com. Retrieved October 30, 2009. "2008 Providence Signees". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 30, 2009. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved October 30, 2009. "2008 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 30, 2009.

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 Movement
**Legend:** ██ 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

Recipient	Award(s)
Marshon Brooks	2009 Co-Coca-Cola Most Promising Prospect Award^[6]
Sharaud Curry	2009 Ernie D Team Leader Award^[6]
Weyinmi Efejuku	2009 All-Big East Honorable Mention^[7] 2009 USBWA All-District 1^[8] 2009 Jimmy Walker Most Valuable Player Award^[6] March 2: Big East Player of the Week^[9]
Ray Hall	2009 Thomas Ramos Academic Award^[6]
Randall Hanke	2009 John Zannini Coaches' Award^[6]
Jonathan Kale	2009 Ryan Gomes Most Improved Player Award^[6]
Geoff McDermott	2009 Marvin Barnes Defensive Player Award^[6]
Brian McKenzie	2009 Co-Coca-Cola Most Promising Prospect Award^[6]
Jeff Xavier	2009 Lenny Wilkens Hustle Award^[6]

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

2008–09 Providence Friars men's basketball media guide

[standings-1] "Big East Conference Standings - 2008-09." ESPN.com. Retrieved 03-23-10.

[Keno-2] Tucker, Eric (April 15, 2008). "Providence picks Drake's Keno Davis to replace Tim Welsh". Associated Press. The Boston Globe. Retrieved October 30, 2009.

[3] McNamara, Kevin (October 26, 2008). "Courting Pitino -- Friar coaching legend considered a return to PC". The Providence Journal. Retrieved March 10, 2010.

[4] "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.

[5] Schedule Friars.com. Retrieved on October 30, 2009.

[teamawards-6] ^ ^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.

[7] "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.

[8] "Weyinmi Efejuku Named USBWA All-District 1". Friars.com. March 13, 2009. Archived from the original on April 29, 2018. Retrieved October 30, 2009.

[9] "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.

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v t e Providence Friars men's basketball
Venues	Bishop Harkins Hall (1926–1955) Alumni Hall (1955–1972, 2020–21) Amica Mutual Pavilion (1972–2020, 2021–present)
Rivalries	Rhode Island
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA Final Four appearances in italics