2008–09 Providence Friars men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 Basketball 2008–09 Providence Friars Providence Friars P script logo.gif 125 Big East Conference (1979–2013) Big East 19–14 10–8 Keno Davis Chris Davis Rodell Davis Pat Skerry Weyinmi Efejuku Dunkin' Donuts Center NIT #5, 1st Round The 2008–09 Providence Friars men's basketball team represented Providence College in the Big East Conference. The team finished with a 10–8 conference record and a 19–14 record overall. In March 2008, head coach Tim Welsh was fired by the school after finishing with a losing record for the third time in four seasons. In April, Drake University head coach Keno Davis replaced him; Davis was named the 2008 Associated Press National Coach of the Year in his first and only season as a head coach at Drake.http://www.boston.com/sports/colleges/mens_basketball/articles/2008/04/15/providence_picks_drakes_keno_davis_as_new_coach/?page=full Providence picks Drake's Keno Davis to replace Tim Welsh Associated Press The Boston Globe Eric Tucker 2008-04-15 2009-10-30May 2026 medicmedic The Friars had previously been turned down by Louisville head coach Rick Pitino, who coached Providence to the 1987 Final Four, George Mason University head coach Jim Larranaga, a Providence alumnus, and University of Massachusetts head coach Travis Ford.http://www.projo.com/pc/content/sp_bkc_rick_pitino26_10-26-08_VDC23EU_v59.3b94b1e.html Courting Pitino -- Friar coaching legend considered a return to PC The Providence Journal Kevin McNamara 2008-10-26 2010-03-10 Davis inherited all five starters from Welsh's final season with the Friars. However, prior to the season junior guard Dwain Williams transferred to Oregon State,http://www.osubeavers.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/081108aab.html Dwain Williams to Transfer to Oregon State Oregon State University 2008-08-11 2010-02-07 https://web.archive.org/web/20120301010555/http://www.osubeavers.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/081108aab.html 2012-03-01 dead while reserve forward Charles Burch was the team's lone departing senior. At home, the Friars twice defeated ranked opponents; on January 28 they defeated #15 Syracuse, and on February 24, the Friars knocked off #1 Pittsburgh, the first time the school had accomplished the feat since 1976. The Friars received votes in the AP Poll after each win, but were not ranked at any point in the season. Finishing with a 10-8 record in the Big East, the Friars began the 2009 Big East men's basketball tournament as an eighth seed, defeating DePaul in the first round before falling to top-seeded Louisville in the quarterfinals. They missed the NCAA tournament for a fifth straight season and lost in the first round of the NIT to Miami. Roster 2008 Providence Friars black #C0C0C0 white black y Alex Kellogg 0 F 6 7 225 So Columbus, Ohio St. Francis DeSales High School Jeff Xavier y 1 G 6 1 185 Sr Pawtucket, Rhode Island St. Raphael Academy Marshon Brooks y 2 G/F 6 5 190 So Stone Mountain, Georgia Tucker High School Sharaud Curry y 4 G 5 10 170 Jr yes no Gainesville, Georgia Joseph Wheeler High School Geoff McDermott 11 F 6 8 235 Sr New Rochelle, New York New Rochelle High School Luke Burchett W 12 G 6 0 185 Jr Western Springs, Illinois Fenwick High School Weyinmi Efejuku y 13 G/F 6 5 210 Sr Fresh Meadows, New York Brewster Academy Jamine Peterson 15 F 6 6 225 So yes Brooklyn, New York Notre Dame Prep Chris Baudinet W 21 F 6 5 210 Sr Watertown, Connecticut Taft School Brian McKenzie basketball 23 G 6 4 205 Jr Brooklyn, New York Xaverian High School Brian Beloin W 25 F 6 5 200 Sr Avon, Connecticut Avon High School Connor Heine W 31 F 6 4 185 Sr Fairfield, Connecticut Fairfield Prep Randall Hanke 32 F/C 6 11 240 Sr yes no New York, New York Trinity-Pawling School Jonathan Kale y 34 F/C 6 8 245 Sr Mattapan, Massachusetts St. Andrew's School Bilal Dixon 42 F/C 6 8 228 Fr yes Jersey City, New Jersey Queen of Peace High School Ray Hall 55 C 6 11 265 Jr y Denver, Colorado J. K. Mullen High School Keno Davis Chris DavisRodell DavisPat Skerry http://www.friars.com/sports/m-baskbl/archive/prov-m-baskbl-roster-0809.html 2010-02-06 Depth chart 000000 C0C0C0 000000 Jonathan Kale Geoff McDermott Weyinmi Efejuku Sharaud Curry Jeff Xavier Randall Hanke Alex Kellogg Marshon Brooks Brian McKenzie Luke Burchett (W) Bilal Dixon 8px|Redshirt Chris Baudinet (W) Brian Beloin (W) Ray Hall 8px|Injured Jamine Peterson 8px|Redshirt Connor Heine (W) Incoming recruits no no 2008 Bilal Dixon PF Jersey City, NJ Queen of Peace HS 6 9 229 2007-09-25 3 3 2008 2008 Providence Signees 2008 Providence Signees 2008 Providence Signees providence 425 2507 2009-10-30 yes Schedule yes |- !colspan=9| Exhibition games November 1 7:00 pm w yes 2008-09 Ottawa Gee-Gees University of Ottawa University of Ottawa (CIS) Dunkin' Donuts Center Providence, RI 85–57   November 8 7:00 pm w yes 2008-09 Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania Slippery Rock (D-II) Dunkin' Donuts Center Providence, RI 105–84   |- !colspan=9| Non-conference games November 15 7:00 pm l yes 2008-09 Northeastern Huskies Northeastern University Northeastern Dunkin' Donuts Center Providence, RI 66–70 8,086 0–1 November 18 7:00 pm w yes 2008-09 Dartmouth Big Green Dartmouth College Dartmouth Dunkin' Donuts Center Providence, RI 100–82 4,762 1–1 November 20 7:00 pm yes 2008-09 Sacred Heart Pioneers Sacred Heart University Sacred Heart Dunkin' Donuts Center Providence, RI 111-87 5,108 2–1 November 22 2:00 pm w yes 2008-09 Maine Black Bears University of Maine Maine Dunkin' Donuts Center Providence, RI 83–62 7,060 3–1 November 27 11:30 pm l yes yes Baylor Anaheim Convention Center Anaheim, CA 76 Classic ESPN2 56–72 1,157 3–2 November 28 10:00 pm w yes yes 2008-09 Charlotte 49ers University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte Anaheim Convention Center Anaheim, CA 76 Classic ESPNU 67–62 1,417 4–2 November 30 5:30 pm l yes yes 2008-09 St. Mary's Gaels St. Mary's College of California St. Mary's (CA) Anaheim Convention Center Anaheim, CA 76 Classic ESPNU 75–81 1,077 4–3 December 3 7:00 pm w yes 2008-09 Brown Bears Brown University Brown Dunkin' Donuts Center Providence, RI 86–62 6,155 5–3 December 6 2:00 pm w yes 2008-09 Rhode Island Rams University of Rhode Island Rhode Island Dunkin' Donuts Center Providence, RI Cox Sports 66–65 12,600 6–3 December 17 7:00 pm w yes 2008-09 Jackson State Tigers Jackson State University Jackson State Dunkin' Donuts Center Providence, RI 85–71 7,158 7–3 December 20 4:00 pm l yes yes Boston College Conte Forum Chestnut Hill, MA NESN 76–81 6,880 7–4 December 22 7:00 pm w yes 2008-09 Bryant Bulldogs Bryant University Bryant Dunkin' Donuts Center Providence, RI 91–64 6,103 8–4 |- !colspan=9| Big East regular season December 31 4:00 pm w St. John's Dunkin' Donuts Center Providence, RI Cox Sports 75–54 3,037 9–4 (1–0) January 3 7:00 pm w 2008-09 DePaul Blue Demons DePaul University DePaul Dunkin' Donuts Center Providence, RI Cox Sports 62–54 8,547 10–4 (2–0) January 7 7:00 pm w yes Cincinnati Fifth Third Arena Cincinnati, OH ESPNU 87–79 6,612 11–4 (3–0) January 10 1:00 pm l yes Georgetown 9 Verizon Center Washington, D.C. ESPNU 75–82 12,764 11–5 (3–1) January 17 9:00 pm l Marquette 14 Dunkin' Donuts Center Providence, RI ESPN2 82–91 10,221 11–6 (3–2) January 19 8:00 pm w Cincinnati Dunkin' Donuts Center Providence, RI Cox Sports 72–63 7,285 12–6 (4–2) January 22 7:00 pm w yes 2008-09 Seton Hall Pirates Seton Hall University Seton Hall Prudential Center Newark, NJ ESPNU 98–93 OT 7,165 13–6 (5–2) January 28 7:00 pm w Syracuse 15 Dunkin' Donuts Center Providence, RI Cox Sports 100–94 10,873 14–6 (6–2) January 31 4:00 pm l yes Connecticut 2 Harry A. Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT Cox Sports 61–94 10,167 14–7 (6–3) February 4 8:00 pm l Villanova 17 Dunkin' Donuts Center Providence, RI Cox Sports 91–94 11,212 14–8 (6–4) February 7 4:00 pm l away West Virginia WVU Coliseum Morgantown, WV Cox Sports 59–86 11,091 14–9 (6–5) February 10 7:00 pm w yes South Florida USF Sun Dome Tampa, FL ESPN360 77–62 3,340 15–9 (7–5) February 14 7:00 pm w Rutgers Dunkin' Donuts Center Providence, RI Cox Sports 78–68 11,246 16–9 (8–5) February 18 7:30 pm l yes Louisville 7 Freedom Hall Louisville, KY ESPN2 76–94 19,484 16–10 (8–6) February 21 12:00 pm l Notre Dame Dunkin' Donuts Center Providence, RI Cox Sports 84–103 12,600 16–11 (8–7) February 24 7:00 pm w Pittsburgh 1 Dunkin' Donuts Center Providence, RI Cox Sports 81–73 11,887 17–11 (9–7) March 1 2:00 pm w yes Rutgers Louis Brown Athletic Center Piscataway, NJ ESPNU 73–66 5,122 18–11 (10–7) March 5 7:00 pm l yes Villanova 11 The Pavilion Villanova, PA ESPN2 80–97 6,500 18–12 (10–8) |- !colspan=9| Big East tournament March 11 12:00 pm w yes DePaul Madison Square Garden New York, NY First Round ESPN 83–74 19,375 19–12 (10–8) March 12 12:00 pm l yes Louisville 5 Madison Square Garden New York, NY Quarterfinals ESPN 55–73 19,375 19–13 (10–8) |- !colspan=9| NIT March 18 7:00 pm l yes 5 Miami 4 Dunkin' Donuts Center Providence, RI First Round ESPN2 66–78 5,645 19–14 (10–8) AP Poll Eastern TimeSchedule Friars.com. Retrieved on October 30, 2009. Rankings 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings + Ranking movementLegend: ██ Improvement in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. Poll Pre Wk 1 Wk 2 Wk 3 Wk 4 Wk 5 Wk 6 Wk 7 Wk 8 Wk 9 Wk 10 Wk 11 Wk 12 Wk 13 Wk 14 Wk 15 Wk 16 WK 17 Wk 18 Final AP RV RV n/a Coaches RV Awards and honors Recipient Award(s) Marshon Brooks 2009 Co-Coca-Cola Most Promising Prospect Award Sharaud Curry 2009 Ernie D Team Leader Award Weyinmi Efejuku 2009 All-Big East Honorable Mentionhttp://www.friars.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/030809aab.html Weyinmi Efejuku Named All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention Friars.com 2009-03-08 2009-10-30 https://web.archive.org/web/20111008142403/http://www.friars.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/030809aab.html 2011-10-08 dead2009 USBWA All-District 1http://www.friars.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/031309aab.html Weyinmi Efejuku Named USBWA All-District 1 Friars.com 2009-03-13 2009-10-30 https://web.archive.org/web/20180429091851/http://www.friars.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/031309aab.html 2018-04-29 dead2009 Jimmy Walker Most Valuable Player Awardhttp://www.friars.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/042509aaa.html Men's Basketball Team Awards Announced Friars.com 2009-04-25 2009-10-30 https://web.archive.org/web/20111008142356/http://www.friars.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/042509aaa.html 2011-10-08 deadMarch 2: Big East Player of the Weekhttp://www.friars.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/030209aaa.html Weyinmi Efejuku Named BIG EAST Player Of The Week Friars.com 2009-03-02 2009-10-30 https://web.archive.org/web/20111008142407/http://www.friars.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/030209aaa.html 2011-10-08 dead Ray Hall 2009 Thomas Ramos Academic Award Randall Hanke 2009 John Zannini Coaches' Award Jonathan Kale 2009 Ryan Gomes Most Improved Player Award Geoff McDermott 2009 Marvin Barnes Defensive Player Award Brian McKenzie 2009 Co-Coca-Cola Most Promising Prospect Award Jeff Xavier 2009 Lenny Wilkens Hustle Award References 2 External links 2008–09 Providence Friars men's basketball media guide Category:Providence Friars men's basketball seasons Providence Providence Providence Providence