Villa-Game-Ova

by The Cowl Editor on February 16, 2018


Friar Sports


Friars’ Win Creates Big Upset

by Sullivan Burgess ’20

Sports Staff

jalen brunson providence college mens basketball
Photo Courtesy of PC Athletics

As the end of the season swiftly approaches, the Providence College Friars dominate the Big East Conference play, with a major win against the # 3 overall Villanova, with a final score of 76-71.

After suffering a heavy loss to DePaul last Saturday, 80-63, the Friars bounced back and came back better than ever beating Nova and securing a 8-5 record in the 2017-2018 Big East Standings behind Xavier, Villanova, and Creighton, and a 17-9 overall record in the NCAA.

While the season has been back and forth with significant wins and tough losses, the Friars hope to provide the burning energy and spirit needed as they head towards the Big East Tournament and hopefully an appearance in the March Madness Tournament. Some of these notable wins come from Big East play, including ranked rivals such as #5 Xavier, Creighton, Marquette, DePaul, and Butler when the team was on a four-game winning streak.

However, things took a turn for the worse when the team’s streak was snapped by back to back losses to Villanova and Seton Hall. The team found themselves back on pace with back to back wins against Marquette and Georgetown, but DePaul, as mentioned previously, came out swinging to hand the team their fifth loss. All hope was not lost as the Friars brought the win to Villanova and look to carry the momentum of this win into the end of the regular season.

In a game filled with jaw-dropping dunks, plays, and a court storming by the entire student section, the team now has something to celebrate.  The Friars defense was able to stop Nova from shooting threes and allowed 19 turnovers that turned into some scoring opportunities. The offense was excellent as five Friars had double digits in scoring, including a leading 17 points from Kyron Cartwright ’18.

Head Coach Ed Cooley stated to the press after the game, “Honestly, the greatest win I’ve ever had at Providence College.” 

The team will look to continue this spark for the last few games, including the last home game of the season against St. John’s. Despite a few losses on the way, the players have played consistently good basketball throughout Big East games. Rodney Bullock ’18 has been leading the team in both minutes and points this season with 31.9 minutes per game and 14.6 points per game, as he continues to find a rhythm both on and off the court. 

Cartwright has also been leading in assists with six per game,  noticeably becoming the difference maker on the team.  With games coming down to the wire, Cartwright has been putting the team on his back to provide the leadership needed for this squad.

The Friars must face each team this year without forward Emmitt Holt ’18, who is redshirting this year due to injury.  However, Holt has been back on campus this semester and has been practicing with the team. This not only provides an on-campus energy used on game day, it creates the opportunity for Holt to teach the younger players and allow them to be stronger in the paint from experience.

These younger players include Alpha Diallo ’20, Kalif Young ’20, and Nate Watson ’21, all of whom have improved their game, including great offense and stellar defense against the Big East’s best players.  With minimal games remaining in the regular season, it is now or never for the Friars. 

Soon they will be sent off to Madison Square Garden for the Big East Tournament, hopefully taking down Villanova and becoming the champions again, which will hopefully make things easier after their upset. For now, Friar fans must wait and enjoy the last few games of the season while continuing to bring the constant energy to the Dunkin’ Donuts Center and help the team motivate each other to secure a spot in March Madness.

NCAA Makes the “Right Choice”

by The Cowl Editor on February 8, 2018


Friar Sports


Providence College Awarded the NCAA CHOICES Grant

by Meaghan Cahill ’20

Sports Co-Editor

NCAA CHOICES Grant alcohol abuse awareness
Photo Courtesy of PC Athletics

At the beginning of the 2017-2018 academic year, Providence College was awarded the CHOICES Grant by the NCAA. This $30,000 grant “provides funding for NCAA member institutions and conferences to integrate athletic departments into campus-wide efforts to reduce alcohol abuse,” according to the NCAA website. The CHOICES Grant Program was established due to the NCAA’s growing concern of the “misuse of alcohol by college students.”

Made possible due to donations from Anheuser-Busch Inc., the $30,000 awarded to the school chosen to receive the grant is spanned out over three years; $15,000 the first year, $10,000 the second year, and $5,000 the third year. The reason the grant’s money is spread out the way that it is “is to encourage institutionalization of the campus project to continue engaging athletics in the broader campus prevention effort.”

With the money from the grant, PC will build upon the already existing Friar Family Step UP! Bystander Intervention Program utilized to increase alcohol awareness education, prevention, and intervention skills among our student-athletes, coaches, athletic trainers, and the broader student body.

“I am confident that the proposal submitted by our team of program developers will result in a very meaningful and sustainable program that will positively impact our entire campus community during the three-year period.” said Robert Driscoll, athletic director and associate vice president for athletics at PC.

With the first installment of the money, PC so far has most notably brought in Chris Herren, a former professional basketball player. Throughout his entire career, Herren suffered from a serious substance abuse problem that ultimately led him to overdosing on heroin while driving. This resulted in him crashing into a utility pole. He was declared by paramedics to have been dead for thirty seconds. After his overdose, Herren went to rehab and has officially been alcohol and drug-free since 2008.

In 2011, The Herren Project (THP) was started by Herren with the goals of positively impacting those who suffer addictions, educating youth on the importance of a healthy lifestyle, and providing scholarship programs to clinics and camps. As a part of this project, Herren himself visits schools of all levels to educate students on the dangers of substance abuse through telling his own story—which is exactly what he did this fall at Providence College.

“Having someone come in and tell stories…actually moves you to be emotional about it,” Hadley Tate ’19, a member of Providence College’s Women’s Softball Team commented on the benefits of having speakers like Herren come and discuss their stories. In fact, Tate and teammate Julianne Rurka ’18 both agree that having the speakers come in is the most beneficial way to raise awareness towards substance abuse.

“I really like the speakers that they have come in…just having that opportunity to hear from people is really cool,” said Rurka. “We do a lot of…programs, automated training methods, that we all have to do it. Now, with the money to do things different from that.”

Both Rurka and Tate are members of the Student Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) at PC, which is made up of generally two members from each sports team. With this grant, SAAC’s goal is to have “student-athletes as leaders to promote less excessive, unsafe [drinking] habits,” according to Tate.

When questioned about how the student-athletes will be looking to make a direct impact, Rurka explained that each team will be creating videos that relate their sports to alcohol abuse. With sayings like “getting home safe,” the videos will not be focusing on the “cold hard facts” that both Rurka and Tate agreed need to be avoided.

“[The] slogans really hit the whole awareness part right on the head without being over-dramatic on the statistics…once the student body sees all of the statistics and things like that they kind of get put off from it. I think it’s kind of cool that we can deliver a very important message that doesn’t deter people from paying attention to it,” stated Rurka. “We’re a very big and well-known group on campus …we all have that platform where we could reach a lot of different students and maybe listening to one of these videos could change that perspective.”

Tate chimed in saying, “Like it or not, just being a student athlete sets you apart from being a normal college kid, so having a different platform to work your actions can be more effective.”

While PC’s student-athletes will be the main group on campus heading up the alcohol abuse awareness campaign, they will not be going at it alone. One of the guidelines for the grant as stated on the NCAA website asserts that  “projects must partner athletics with other campus departments in the development and implementation of effective alcohol education projects.” Therefore, SAAC will be collaborating with both Student Affairs and the Counseling Center to ensure that a successful campaign takes place across campus in the years to come.

Aside from Herren, videos were shown at Late Night Madness and a BASICS training session is being planned for coaches and athletic trainers as a part of this new initiative.

Looking ahead, SAAC has also collaborated with Active Minds, Student Affairs and Academic Affairs in securing two mental health speakers that will be coming to campus to talk on Monday, February 12. The talk, titled “You’re Never Alone in Friartown,” will feature speakers Kate Fagan, ESPN correspondant writer, former basketball player, and author of What Made Maddy Run, and Chamique Holdsclaw, the number 1 pick in the 1999 WNBA Draft and 2000 Olympic Gold Medalist. The event takes place at 7 p.m. in the Mullaney Gymnasium and is open to all students.

College Basketball in the Hot Seat

by The Cowl Editor on October 7, 2017


Sports


Coach Emanuel Richardson from the University of Arizona
photo courtesy of Casey Sapio

By Chris McCormack ’18

Sports Staff

  It was a sad week for college basketball last week as 10 people, including four assistant coaches, were arrested for their part in a corruption and bribery scandal that put all eyes on the NCAA. Former Providence College Head Coach Rick Pitino was put on unpaid administrative leave and was eventually relieved of his coaching duties at the University of Louisville completely. 

    The investigation performed by the FBI began last year when a financial adviser Marty Blazer was charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission with fraud allegations and accused of taking $2.35 million from five of his clients who were professional athletes. As part of the plea agreement that Blazer ultimately signed, he agreed to work under the FBI as a key witness and helped provide evidence that contributed to the 10 arrests made last week. 

    During his time at PC, Pitino helped coach the Friars to a Final Four in the 1987 NCAA Tournament. As one of the most successful coaches in NCAA, many people looked up to Pitino. However, in recent years he has been the face behind many scandals and this one seems like it is going to put him out of a coaching job for the rest of his life. 

Pitino has been the center of attention for three other major scandals over the past 10 years. In 2009, a woman named Karen Sypher demanded money and cars from Pitino after they engaged in a sexual encounter in 2003. Sypher was ultimately arrested and Pitino faced no consequences.

  In 2015, a former escort in the Louisville area published a book that documented the times she was paid by a graduate assistant to go to the dorms and visit potential recruits. Pitino claimed to have no idea these things were going on and the program was eventually suspended from participating in the 2016 NCAA Tournament.

      Finally, the findings of last weeks investigation shows a coach from an unnamed program matching the description of Louisville allegedly paying $100,000 to a basketball recruit’s family. 

These three investigations will result in Pitino’s legacy being forever tainted. The latest investigation is just one of many for the NCAA and players illegally receiving money from teams.

     Pitino is the biggest name in this scandal but there are many others involved from other schools such as Auburn University, University of Southern California, University of Arizona, Oklahoma State University, and the University of Miami. 

Arizona’s assistant coach Emmanuel Richardson is one of the coaches who was arrested last week. He is accused of accepting bribes from agent Christian Dawkins as well as financial adviser Munish Sood in exchange for pushing Arizona players to them as they reach the professional level. Richardson was relieved of all duties at the university. 

Like Richardson, Auburn’s associate head coach Chuck Person was also arrested. He is accused of accepting a $50,000 bribe from Rashan Michel, owner of a clothing line based in Atlanta. Richardson accepted the bribe on the terms he would convince his players to sign with the clothing line once they make it to the pros.

  Oklahoma State assistant coach Lamont Evans is also accused of accepting a bribe of $22,000 from Dawkins and Sood. He was a former coach at the University of South Carolina. At both Oklahoma State and South Carolina, he influenced players to sign with Dawkins and Sood. 

     University of Southern California assistant coach Tony Bland is accused of being bedding with the two bribers. He allegedly took a bribe of $13,000 and had Dawkins and Sood pay $9,000 to the families of two USC athletes. 

  All of these coaches, along with Dawkins and Sood, have been arrested and charged with fraud. It is the sad truth that this probably will not be the last time we hear about coaches and players violating NCAA standards.