Film Room with Coach Theo
Coach Theo is a Providence alum, who has been a coach at the Division 1 high school level and was employed by two D1 college programs. This is what he saw against Villanova:
Don’t discount this win
Villanova’s profile might not be the same as in previous seasons, but the team on Saturday resembled the Villanova of old. They put a lot of pressure on the defense with their patience to work for a shot and their drive and kick action. I thought this was an outstanding defensive performance by Providence.
The ‘ole Villanova head fake falls flat
Villanova’s switching, ball fake and drive game didn’t produce easy looks at the basket because of the mechanics of some individual Providence defenders. I though Breed, Locke, Carter and Floyd were generally excellent against Villanova drives. Not falling for the shot fake, footwork to stay with the ball handler on the drive, physicality to hold space, and finally, positioning at the attempt (not leaving your feet!) denied Villanova’s ball handlers good looks all day.
Noah Locke isn’t just a glue guy - he makes the glue
Noah Locke is such a professional. I don’t mean that in the NBA sense, but the way he executes his game is workmanlike and technically exemplary. He rarely has wasted movement on offense and no matter what the situation, his body is always in shot-ready position. Notice his consistent positioning with his feet and shoulders everytime he elevates for a shot. His highlight reel midrange with 8:15 remaining in the 1st half is a good example.
Croswell and Hopkins physicality overwhelm
I don’t know if Providence will get a frontcourt match-up this favorable as we move into the post-season. From a personal standpoint, the opponent was helpless to match the exaction of Croswell and Hopkins. Villanova’s starting 5 nearly all fouled out, as they struggled to keep up as the game wore on.
Devin Carter’s anticipation on defense
With 7:20 remaining in the first half, Carter picks off a pass from Arcidiacono in the backcourt and scores on the other end with ease. The fact that this pass was intercepted isn’t what stands out; it was a poor decision by Arcidiacono to attempt a cross court pass like that, especially when he wasn’t under duress. But as soon as Arch shifts his weight and moves to attempt the pass, Carter is already reacting, even though he was jogging away from the play.
…and Hopkins too
Bryce Hopkins also shows fantastic anticipation at the very end of the first half. With 38 seconds remaining, he and Clifton Moore execute a switch on the wing. Hopkins follows Dixon into the post, and then starts to turn his body in anticipation of the post pass before Slater has even moved the ball off his hip. Again, not a great decision by Slater, but by the time the ball arrives, Hopkins has Dixon covered so completely, he was able to get an entire palm on the ball.
Help defense
One area where Providence gives up a little is on help defense. The issue is that compared to last year with AJ Reeves and Noah Horchler, Providence simply doesn’t have the same length in some help situations.
Yo— appreciate this deep dive on providence bball. Are we gonna go all the way this year?? How far you predicting?