Talking with Friars Coach Keno Davis

The month of February has not been the best for the Friars.

Providence College men's basketball head coach Keno Davis sat down with John Rooke to discuss what the Friars have to do to turn around their 8 game losing streak and how he plans to build the team to be strong enough to compete in the NCAA tournament. 

On February 2nd, the Friars took on currently ranked number 1 Syracuse. PC was only down by three at halftime, but Syracuse opened the second half with a 27-7 Syracuse run and the Friars couldn't get closer than 14 points for the rest of the game.

Davis tried to pin point just what let the game slip away. Perhaps it was that Syracuse went 32 for 38 from the free throw line, while Providence shot a low 11 for 22. 

Davis claimed that Dominque Jones is possibly the best player in the Big East, and although PC did a great job of locking up his three point shots, Jones still found a way to the free throw line 16 times, and really hurt the Friars. 

Davis explained the importance of a go-to guy for big games in the Big East, especially in Providence's most recent loss to USF on February 27th. 

He said, "What South Florida has and why they've been able to have some level of success this year is that they have a pro, and when you know who your go-to guy is ... how many games come down to the last 2 or 3 minutes? Quite a few. And so in the last three minutes, they're going to him, there's no question. When the last three minutes come for us, we don't have a go-to guy right now."

The Friar's have their final two regular season games coming up against Pittsburgh and then Seton Hall, but Davis has his focus on the long term as well. 

He shared his concerns with recruiting and finding the right student-athletes to come to Providence College. He said "Once we get to the NCAA tournament it can't be a one year shot and then we are back to trying to rebuild... we have to build it on a good base so we're able to compete each and every year."

But Davis doesn't look for role players. He wants well rounded players to fit different positions. "I'm looking for players that are versatile, I don't want a one dimensional player... I don't want a specialist."

So hopefully over the course of the next few games, someone on the Providence team will be able to step up and out of their role, and act as the much needed go-to player in their upcoming games before the season comes to an end. 

(Photos from Friars.com)