Men’s Basketball at Big East Media Day

by Izzy Mignardi ‘27 on October 30, 2025

Sports

New Recruits and Returnees Give Insight into the Dynamics of This Year’s Team.

The buzz was palpable around the Providence College men’s basketball team as they attended the Big East Media Day at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, Oct. 21. It was an opportunity for coaches and players to discuss last year’s season, offseason moves, strategies for the team this year, and their hopes about what this season holds.

Among the attendees from Providence were head coach Kim English, returnees Corey Floyd Jr. ’26 and Oswin Eurhunmwunse ’28, and newcomers Jaylin Sellers ’G26 and Jason Edwards ’G26. When asked why these players specifically were selected to represent the Friars, Edwards responded that this combination is a display of the current team and their plans. In the offseason, the returnees set a standard of “what winning is and what Providence is” for the recruits.Edwards, a guard from Vanderbilt University, immediately shared his appreciation for the Big East, where “basketball rules” and there’s not a lot of competition with other sports, like in the SEC. The Big East also provides the opportunity to play in world-famous arenas like Madison Square Garden. Edwards continued, explaining his goals for himself this year. He says it’s important to become more than just a scorer and to focus on his teammates, too. “When I get the ball, I make myself better, but I want to make those around me better.”

Sellers, a guard from the University of Central Florida who only played three games last year because of injury, said he’s the kind of player who brings passion to every play, someone “that’s ready to run through a brick wall.” These two new players weren’t shy about expressing their passion for Friars Basketball. Right away, they felt a connection to their teammates and with the community in Providence, where “everyone shows love,” as Sellers said. But they both emphasized that the relationship they had with coach English was the selling point for coming to Providence, especially in the age of NIL. Edwards shared how coach English and the other coaches see the players more as people rather than athletes. “A lot of times in the portal era and NIL era, a lot of relationships with players and coaches seem business and transactional… Coach made it seem really personable. He cared more about me as a person than a player.”

Now that the roster is “reloaded,” what does the upcoming season hold? Last season, the Friars went 12–20 overall, lost in the first round of the Big East Tournament, and did not qualify for the NCAA tournament. But a recent pre-season coaches’ poll placed Providence No. 4 among the 11 teams in the Big East, following Creighton University in third, the University of Connecticut second, and St. John’s University first.

With that in mind, Corey Floyd Jr. explained that even though last season may have been disappointing, they’ll use that as motivation going forward. Despite losing their first exhibition game to the University of Pittsburgh, Floyd explained that it was a lot of the players’ first time being on a college court. He sees this game as a valuable lesson that they can bring to Saturday’s exhibition game against Harvard. As for coach English, his outlook seems to be one of quiet conviction. He said that “It’s going to be 11 teams at 0–0 when the season starts, and we’ll see who’s holding the trophy at the end.” The PC community and fans will most certainly be watching and with them every step of the way.

Big East Media Day Goes Virtual

by The Cowl Editor on November 12, 2020

Sports

Ed Cooley, Friars Ready for Redemption

by Thomas Zinzarella ’21

Sports Staff

A telltale sign that the Big East basketball season is right around the corner is when Big East media day occurs. The event is usually held at the prestigious Madison Square Garden in New York City, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was held over Zoom this year. Even so, the event still provided hoop fans with a glimpse of what they should expect this upcoming season.

The Providence College Men’s Basketball Team was tabbed to finish third in the Big East Preseason Coaches’ Poll. Last year, Providence was tabbed to finish fourth in that same poll. Villanova University took home the top spot this year and are in line to compete for another National Championship. Friar fans still reminisce on the Luwane Pipkins ’20GS shot at the Wells Fargo Center last February, which led to an upset for the Wildcats on their home floor. Creighton University follows the Wildcats at the No. 2 spot and are also a Final Four-caliber team.

“Somebody’s got to be picked first, and somebody’s got to be picked third and somebody’s to be picked ninth…it’s nice, yet at the end of the day I don’t look at these pre-season rankings as we have 11 high-quality programs that represent the Big East. Night in and night out, it’s going to be a battle…I don’t put a lot of stock into it,” PC head coach Ed Cooley stated.

A.J. Reeves takes a jumpshot against Marquette at the Dunkin Doughnut center — Photo courtesy of Ernie Brown

Another major focus of the media day was the University of Connecticut. UConn will make their much-anticipated debut in the Big East after returning from their exodus to the American Athletic Conference. UConn was one of the founding members of the Big East in 1979, along with PC, St. John’s University, Georgetown University, and Seton Hall University.

The return of UConn also restores a rivalry between the Huskies and the Friars in many different ways. The Huskies’ current head coach is Danny Hurley. Hurley, part of the famous Hurley family coaching tree, was a standout player at Seton Hall and is also the former head coach of the University of Rhode Island. Hurley helped turn the URI program into a powerful mid-major team in the Atlantic-10 Conference. After the Rams won just eight games in his first season, Hurley would eventually lead the Rams to back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances.

“[We’re] excited to have Connecticut back as it’s a regional game for us, they’re an original Big East member. …It’s going to be exciting to compete, to go to Gampbel [UConn’s arena] and or Hartford. …The fan bases on both sides will be excited,” Cooley said. UConn is seen as a blue-chip program in the college basketball community, as they have won four National Championships in their program history.

A pair of Friars also picked up pre-season honors. David Duke ’22 was named to the Preseason All-Big East First Team. Duke received high praise from Cooley, who said, “David is the hardest working player I have ever coached in the gym. I’ve been coaching for 28 years…[and he is] one of the best if not the best defenders in the country.” Nate Watson ’21 was also named to the Preseason All-Big East Second Team.

Indeed, media day proved to be an exciting day for all involved. It also means that we are one step closer to the return of college basketball.