Can PC get it together?
Friars ready for conference home opener tonight
Friars strive to get healthy for Big East match-ups
PROVIDENCE – To be a point guard in Ed Cooley’s system means there’s a lot on one’s plate.
“The way we play, he has to be a facilitator, a scorer, and a great defender,” said Cooley in advance of the Providence Friars’ Big East home opener on Wednesday night against Marquette.
With the proverbial straw in senior Kyron Cartwright hindered by on- again, offagain ankle difficulties, the Friars ( 10- 5 overall, 1- 1 Big East) are looking to accelerate his understudy’s learning curve. Makai Ashton- Langford might be a freshman in name, yet PC can’t afford to have the Worcester native play like a first- year pup.
In the event Cartwright pulls up lame in the fashion he’s already had the misfortune of enduring a few times to date, the onus falls on Ashton- Langford to make sure Providence College’s attack keeps humming along.
Cartwright has a gift when it comes to knowing when to press the issue or to slow down the tempo in the half court. Some may even contend that his tempo selection is of f the charts.
Remove Cartwright from the equation and it’s clear the Friars are far from a free-wheeling force. Another glaring example took place at 12:44 of the firsthalf of Sunday’s 83-64 blowout loss at Creighton when Cartwright re-injured his ankle. After Cartwright hobbled to the bench following a collision with teammate Kalif Young, the Friars went into a deep of fensive funk – PC went six minutes, 18 seconds without a point – that could be traced to having a less-than-fullpower floor general.
Cartwright did return to the floor against the Bluejays, yet it was abundantly clear that he wasn’t his typical explosive self. He finished 1-for-5 from the floor in 22 very quiet minutes, a far cry from the 21 points and 15 assists he corralled St. John’s with last Thursday.
On Tuesday, Cooley said Cart - wright is feeling, “just okay .” The hope is that by resting his ankle on Monday and Tuesday that he’ll be ready to answer the bell for Mar - quette (10-4 overall, 1-1 Big East).
“It’s been frustrating to him and frustrating to us,” said Cooley. “It’s been a month and a half of dealing with the same ankle.”
Understandably, Cooley labeled the Friars “a work in progress” when it comes to findinga way to stay the course when Cartwright is foiled by his tender ankle. Another point-guard option in Maliek White continues to deal with a knee inju - ry that will hold him out Wednesday night and for Saturday’s game against Xavier. At times, Cooley has also tried sophomore Drew Edwards at the point, but he’ s better off playing off the ball.
Finding a way when the senior sparkplug is going through a rough patch with his health goes with the territory of handing the keys to a freshman who isn’ t necessarily new to the point-guard position. For Ashton-Langford, the newness comes with understanding all the demands that go with quarterbacking PC’s attack.
“My teammates keep tell me all the time that I’m not a freshman and that I need to adjust myself to different situations,” said Ashton-Langford, who’s averaging 6.5 points and 2.7 assists in 19.9 minutes. “If I get stopped at the halfcourt, I have to know what sets that coach Cooley wants to run based on the personnel.”
Ashton-Langford went on to provide an example of a point guard being fully conscious of who his running mates are at a given mo ment.
“Say Kalif is in the game. I’ve got to get him on the left side on the floorbecause he’s left-handed,” he said. “Knowing stuf f like that is essential when the ball’s in your hand.”
At this stage of Ashton-Langford’s development, he needs to be a pass-first,score-second point guard. Through time, Cartwright has been able to strike a balance that in turn helped to burnish his reputation as a two-way threat.
Someday, Ashton-Langford should reach the same ceiling. Until that happens, the Friars will settle for Ashton-Langford, the freshman version, to play with poise and confidencein the event Cartwright sustains another ankle-related relapse.
“Makai is a great player and he understands what he needs to do. It’s up to him to learn from experience,” said senior Rodney Bullock. “If he’s thinking too much, he won’t know what to do. If he’s just playing, he’ll be fine. I’m going to try and guide him as much as I can.”
Here are a few other Friar -related matters to be on the lookout for on Wednesday night:
• Cooley readily acknowledged the Friars need to receive a great - er rebounding lift from Young and Nate Watson. The two baby bulls combined for just three rebounds in 30 minutes against Creighton.
“Rebounding is a mindset. If you want to do something, you’re go - ing to do it,” said Cooley. “In order for us to become better, we need to rebound a lot better with those two individuals in particular.”
• On paper , Marquette is that classic pick-your-poison team. The Golden Eagles have two high-scoring guards in Andrew Rowsey (Big East-leading 22.4 ppg) and Markus Howard (20.5 ppg, good for second highest in the Big East). There’s also guard Sam Hauser (14.4 ppg) to contend with.
Slowing the opposition’ s top scoring threat has been a source of concern this season for the Friars, who may have to roll the dice in terms of devoting extra resources to slow one of Marquette’s backcourt threats, depending on who’ s hot from the field.
“Rowsey has a great swag about him while Howard has more of a business approach. They’ll shoot at a high volume, but both are very efficient,”said Cooley. “You’re not going to stop everything. You just want to make sure they’re taking tough, contested shots.”