Kevin Stacom: “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad World, Stop the World, I Want to Get Off!”

Kevin Stacom: “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad World, Stop the World, I Want to Get Off!”

When I rushed to my seat just minutes before tipoff of the St. John’s vs Providence College basketball game last Saturday, I was pleasantly surprised to feel the energy and palpable anticipatory buzz of a sellout crowd.

After all, coming into this contest, PC was sporting a record of 11-14 overall and 4-10 in Big East Conference play, so the sustaining of fan interest and this level of support could not be automatically presumed. I wasn’t shocked because, of course, there were elements at play here that would naturally generate more than a good amount of general interest and very dramatic content.

Coach Rick Pitino, besides always bringing in a competitive team, brings above all else, himself. As you look around, there are a high proportion of fans with my hair color (white) who have been following his career since the celebrated halcyon days of his propelling an unlikely group of unknowns led by a precocious reconstituted star (Billy Donovan) to the Final Four in 1987. As a young 35-year-old coach, Pitino ingeniously embraced the new world of the 3-point shot at a time when the old guard of the Big East coaching establishment was well on their way to creating the identity of the conference as a rock’em sock’em physical enterprise.     

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It's as if a lot of us feel we own shares, like in a private company, of his subsequent success, due to the fact that his much-celebrated HOF career was definitely launched here in Providence, and Coach Pitino has often expressed and reinforced that emotional tie and connection in many forums throughout the years during his journey as a coach - a journey that led him to the Knicks, Kentucky, the Celtics, Louisville, Greece, Iona, and now St John’s, where his latest milestone of 906 wins puts him in 3rd place behind only Coach K of Duke (1202) and Jim Boeheim of Syracuse (1116).

For the most part, there was little resentment when Pitino left, since everyone realized, especially at that time, that Providence College couldn’t compete with the life-changing opportunities he was about to experience.

So as I settled into my seat for the ensuing contest I was ideally situated 3 rows from the baseline under the basket, with the slight elevation of a platform granting full view of the St John’s bench situated diagonally across from where I was sitting. I always enjoyed watching him applying his craft - strutting back and forth in that very clipped style, impeccably dressed, intervening periodically with the impassioned, exaggerated hand and arm gestures of an Italian maestro, directed intermittently towards his players and also the referees.

The stage was set as in a Greek play - Rick Pitino returning once again as a conquering hero and worthy opponent with a team that hasn’t lost since PC pulled off a dramatic victory on their home court of MSG  back on January 3rd. Since then, St.John’s had reeled off 10 straight Big East wins, including against #3-ranked UConn and a dramatic OT win vs Xavier (coached by his son), both at MSG.

St John’s came out with their trademark very aggressive defensive intensity. When you establish a certain level of physicality and aggressiveness as your baseline approach, the refs typically give you a lot more leeway than a finesse team attempting the same mode. At about the 15-minute mark, PC was quickly down double digits, 15-4, reeling a bit and trying to gain some footing. St John’s lead extended to 13 points but by the half, Providence was able to whittle it down to 5, 29-34.

PC came out strong in the 2nd 1/2, and at the 15:09 minute mark, Jaylin Sellers hit a jumper in the paint, putting Providence up 40-39. You could feel the momentum shift as the fans roared their approval of the home team’s resilience vs the 17th ranked St John’s.

Then, a little less than a minute later, at exactly the 14:25 mark, it happened.

The takedown that transformed the classic engaging Greek drama into an instant, dark karmic WWF event. Whether Duncan Powell meant it or not, it certainly looked intentional when he grabbed Bryce Hopkins by the head and neck while he was airborne and tossed him to the floor.

Growing up in an area not far from St. John’s and going to high school in close proximity just a few blocks away, I was quickly able to gage the mood and reaction of the swath of St John’s fans seated at the corner section behind the St John’s bench that were going back and forth with the PC student section next to them all game long. I know from whence they come. Adults on opposing sides were beginning to get aggressively animated, also. A couple of Providence Police officers and AMP security guys did a great job nipping a few potentially volatile situations in the bud.

           

In terms of the flagrant foul committed by Powell, there is one main thing that came to mind. Back in the day, when you were attempting to become a better player, you would instinctively seek out better competition and pickup games where the better players would tend to congregate. This was long before AAU was the predominant vehicle of player development. Sometimes, by necessity, you would end up in some hardscrabble areas because often, that’s where the best games and talent were. Ironically, a lot of great games took place at St John’s bandbox auxiliary gym in the summertime.

I bring this up because the point is, that even at times when things got super competitive, in situations where it was often the case there were 20-30 guys waiting to take on the winner of a game to 11, a point per basket, have to win by 2, and things would get really physical, close to fights - there was a strict code - you NEVER, undercut or attacked a player when he was airborn. Mainly, because you can really seriously hurt someone. It was considered worse than stealing someone’s money off the bar when they had to go to the men’s room to relieve themselves.

Nothing seemed to matter after that incident. The outcome of the game, after the almost half-hour delay, seemed like a fait accompli with the additional ejection of Jaylin Sellers. The pall over the entire arena came down like a fog off the Providence River.

It was only fitting that the justifiable execution was administered by a reserve 6’1” 175lb Jr Guard, Dylan Darling who came off the bench (6.4 pts avg) to score the next 8 St John’s points on his way to a 23 point, 8 rebound afternoon and a 79-69 St John’s win. He definitely played like the genetic offspring of his father, who was a 10-year NFL veteran of the Eagles, Jets, and Cardinals (1997-2007).

This season has been an unbelievable representation of the fine line between success and struggle. I counted about 8 games that were definitely within grasp, when a constant structural defect-the lack of a true point guard and good attendant decision making at a crucial time proved fatal.

For me, this group is still interesting and entertaining to watch, mainly because there is a good amount of talent, and I don’t think lack of effort has been the problem.

As you comb through the season Big East Conference statistics, Providence players are well represented

3 of the top 5 individual scorers are:

Jason Edwards - 17.3
Jaylin Sellers - 17.2
Stefan Vaaks - 15.8
   

Oswin Erhunmwunse leads the league in blocked shots (2.4) and is 3rd in rebounds (8.4)

Notable, also from the Big East media notes:

“Providence’s Stefan Vaaks and Jamier Jones rank as the 4th highest scoring freshman duo in the country (min 10.0 ppg). Vaaks reached double figures in each of his last 23 games played. He and Syracuse’s Carmelo Anthony in 2002-03 are the only 2 freshmen in Big East history to score 10+ in each of their 1st 23 collegiate games.”

In addition:

“Jones is one of two power conference freshmen to average at least 12.0 points per game while connecting on at least 60.0% (103-166, 62.0%) from the floor.”

Previously, before the St John’s game, Sellers was named Big East Player of the Week after 2 exceptional games vs Butler and DePaul - 36 points vs 2 OT win vs Butler and 21 points and 4 steals vs DePaul.

Once again this season, the Providence College basketball team will have to collect itself after a difficult loss, refocus, and try to muster up the resolve and pride to go after the remaining 5 games with as much energy as they can.

The Big East Tournament begins on Wednesday, March 11. Even if they are not able to get out of the current #11 spot, I don’t think there’s a coach or team in the middle of the pack that doesn’t believe PC is an uncharacteristically dangerous opponent at that position.

If they are either 10 or 11, they will play either the 7 or 6 that 1st night. Having beaten the current #1 team (St John’s) and proven they were close to beating the #2 team (UConn), it won’t be an impossible task for them to get hot and achieve the seemingly impossible. They are not perfect, but they have the talent to do it. They might need to avoid the Kryptonite of Villanova to get that done, however.

Despite everything that has occurred this year, there should be plenty of motivation for each player as they enter the basketball mecca of MSG. For every player desiring to get to the NBA, every team will be there scouting intently, and for those players considering entering the Portal, this is also a crucially important platform to display your talents.

Obviously, it's been a difficult year for Head Coach Kim English and his staff. In the current crazy World of the Portal, if they could somehow retain for next year the 2 talented freshmen Vaaks and Jones, along with the 2 excellent sophomores Erhunmwunse and Mela, they would have a rare, solid core to build on for next season.

One thing I can vouch for with confidence is that Kim English is a quality person who is working as hard as he can, along with his staff, to get through all these challenges as best they can.  

The next Road to Redemption begins at DePaul.