After
losing star forward Ryan Gomes to the NBA Draft, Tim Welsh's
Friars struggled to a 12-15 record last season. Still,
things are looking up for the future as
Providence returns just about everybody from last year's
team, and with every major contributor a junior or younger, the
best is yet to come.
Shawn Siegel (CHN): How will you deal with the graduation of
Donnie McGrath?
Tim Welsh (TW): It is going to be difficult to replace
the leadership and experience that Donnie McGrath provided us
last season. However, sophomore Sharaud Curry had a solid
freshman season and should be ready to step up. As a rookie
point guard, Sharaud led the team in assists and earned Big East
All-Rookie Team honors.
CHN: What
will the strengths and weaknesses of
this year’s team to be?
TW: Our strength will be our frontcourt with the return
of Herbert Hill, Randall Hanke and Geoff McDermott. Herbert is
6-10 and is an athletic big man who gives us a solid defensive
presence up front. Randall is the top returning scorer on the
team and he continues to get bigger and better. He had an
outstanding sophomore season for us and led the nation in field
goal percentage at 67.7 percent. Geoff was a force on the boards
and filled a huge void left by the departure of Ryan Gomes to
the NBA. He was a Big East All-Rookie pick and finished second
among freshman in the nation in rebounding. Our weakness will be
the relative inexperience in the backcourt where we will need to
try to find a replacement for Donnie McGrath who graduated and
ranks first all-time at PC in three-pointers, games started and
minutes played and 17th in scoring.
CHN: Talk about some of your guys that stand out as being unheralded leaders and contributors?
TW:
Charles Burch, Herbert Hill and Sharaud Curry are three players
who immediately come to mind. They always work hard in practice
and we’ll need their leadership both on and off the court this
season.
CHN: What should
we expect out of the incoming players. Who will make the biggest impact?
TW:
Freshman
guards Jamal Barney and Brian McKenzie will need to contribute.
Jamal is a 6-3 combination guard from Baltimore and once scored
58 points in a game in high school, while Brian is a 6-4
shooting guard from Brooklyn. Up front, we’ve added Ray Hall, a
6-11, 275 pound center from Denver. He has great size and was
the runner-up for the Colorado Player of the Year.
CHN: What other
coaches have helped you reach the level of success you're at
now?
TW:
Two great coaches, my father Jerry Welsh and my mentor at
Syracuse Jim Boeheim, had a tremendous impact on my coaching
career. My father always taught me to be persistent and work
hard and that work ethic and philosophy continues to serve me
well.
CHN: Realistically, what are your goals for
this season?
TW:
We’ll be young again, but hopefully we can come together as a
team and peak at the end of the year and get back to the
postseason.
CHN: Thanks for your time Coach.
TW: Your welcome. I
also want to let everyone know that this season we will be
celebrating the 20th anniversary of the 1987 Final
Four team and there will be a special gala event in May.
Don’t forget you can
obtain more information on Providence College at
www.friars.com.
More 2006 College Preview:
Head Coach
Interviews
