2011–12 Providence Friars men's basketball team

2011–12 Providence Friars men's basketball
Conference	Big East Conference (1979–2013)
2011–12 record	15–17 (4–14 Big East)
Head coach	Ed Cooley
Assistant coach	Andre LaFleur
Assistant coach	Bob Simon
Assistant coach	Brian Blaney
MVP	Vincent Council
Home arena	Dunkin' Donuts Center

2011–12 Big East men's basketball standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
#11 Marquette	14	–	4		.778			27	–	8		.771
Notre Dame	13	–	5		.722			22	–	12		.647
Cincinnati	12	–	6		.667			26	–	11		.703
#15 Georgetown	12	–	6		.667			24	–	9		.727
South Florida	12	–	6		.667			22	–	14		.611
#17 Louisville†	10	–	8		.556			30	–	10		.750
West Virginia	9	–	9		.500			19	–	14		.576
Connecticut	8	–	10		.444			20	–	14		.588
Seton Hall	8	–	10		.444			21	–	13		.618
Rutgers	6	–	12		.333			14	–	18		.438
St. John's	6	–	12		.333			13	–	19		.406
Pittsburgh	5	–	13		.278			22	–	17		.564
Villanova	5	–	13		.278			13	–	19		.406
Providence	4	–	14		.222			15	–	17		.469
DePaul	3	–	15		.167			12	–	19		.387
*#2 Syracuse	0	–	1		.000			0	–	3		.000
† 2012 Big East Tournament winner As of March 31, 2012 *Syracuse:: 30 reg. season games, 4 postseason games vacated due to sanctions against the program; Disputed record: Syracuse–(34–3)(17–1); Rankings from AP Poll

The 2011–12 Providence Friars men's basketball team represented Providence College in the Big East Conference. For the third straight season, the team finished with a 4–14 conference record, while amassing a 15–17 record overall.

Replacing Keno Davis, who was fired following the 2010–11 season, Providence native Ed Cooley took over as head coach and his first season with the Friars would come without departing seniors Marshon Brooks, who was a first-round selection in the 2011 NBA Draft after leading the Big East in scoring in 2010–11, and reserve center Ray Hall. In addition, sophomore guard Duke Mondy, freshman guard Dre Evans, and redshirt freshman guard Xavier Davis all did not return to the team or transferred, while incoming freshman guard Kiwi Gardner was deemed ineligible to play in the 2011–12 season by the NCAA.

With just nine scholarship players available, the Friars had three players in the top five in the conference for minutes played per game, including freshman forward LaDontae Henton (37.2 minutes per game), who was named the Big East All-Rookie Team, and sophomore guard Bryce Cotton (38.6 minutes per game). Leading the conference in both minutes per game (38.7) and assists per game (7.5) was junior guard Vincent Council, who was selected to the All-Big East Third Team.

The Friars managed four conference wins, but defeated #14 Louisville at home, 90–59, on January 10. The Friars did not receive votes in either the AP Poll or Coaches' Poll at any point in the season. They finished 15th in the conference and were defeated by Seton Hall in the first round of the 2012 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament.

Roster

2011–12 Providence Friars men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year High school/previous college Home town F -- Sidiki Johnson (I) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr Wadleigh High School Bronx, New York G 1 Gerard Coleman 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Tilton School Boston, Massachusetts F 10 Kadeem Batts 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (113 kg) RS So McEachern High School Powder Springs, Georgia G 11 Bryce Cotton 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 165 lb (75 kg) So Palo Verde High School Tucson, Arizona F 13 Brice Kofane 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS Fr The Miller School Yaoundé, Cameroon F 21 Lee Goldsbrough 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So Loreto College Newcastle, England F 23 LaDontae Henton 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr Eastern High School Lansing, Michigan G 31 Anthony Muhammad (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Hope High School Providence, Rhode Island G 32 Vincent Council 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr The Patterson School Brooklyn, New York G 33 Kiwi Gardner (I) 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Fr Westwind Preparatory Academy Oakland, California F 34 Ron Giplaye 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 230 lb (104 kg) So Notre Dame Prep Lowell, Massachusetts G 35 Maurice Grant (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Bergen Catholic High School Saddle River, New Jersey G 41 Chris Carter (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS Sr Shepherd Hill Regional High School Worcester, Massachusetts F/C 42 Bilal Dixon 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 245 lb (111 kg) RS Jr Queen of Peace High School Jersey City, New Jersey G 51 Ted Bancroft (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 187 lb (85 kg) So Bishop Stang High School Marion, Massachusetts G 53 Mike Murray (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 188 lb (85 kg) So La Salle Institute Troy, New York	Head coach Ed Cooley Assistant coach(es) Andre LaFleur Bob Simon Brian Blaney Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: 2012-02-22

Depth chart

Pos.	Starting 5	Bench 1	Bench 2	Bench 3
F/C	Kadeem Batts	Brice Kofane Bilal Dixon Ron Giplaye	Lee Goldsbrough
F	LaDontae Henton
G/F	Gerard Coleman		Chris Carter (W)	Anthony Muhammad (W)
G	Bryce Cotton		Ted Bancroft (W)	Mike Murray (W)
PG	Vincent Council			Maurice Grant (W)

Incoming recruits

Name	Home town	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Kiwi Gardner PG	Manteca, CA	Westwind Preparatory Academy	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	155 lb (70 kg)	Apr 21, 2011
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 88
LaDontae Henton SF	Lansing, MI	Eastern HS	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	May 5, 2011
	Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 89
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources:

Schedule

Date Time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site City, State
Exhibition games
October 25* 7:00 PM		Assumption (D-II)	W 64–51		Alumni Hall  Providence, RI
November 5* 7:00 PM		UMass Lowell (D-II)	W 76–75		Dunkin' Donuts Center  Providence, RI
Non-conference games
November 12* 2:00 PM		Fairleigh Dickinson	W 72–61	1–0	Dunkin' Donuts Center  Providence, RI
November 14* 7:30 PM, Cox Sports		at Fairfield	W 80–72	2–0	Webster Bank Arena  Bridgeport, CT
November 19* 4:00 PM		Florida A&M South Padre Island Invitational	W 87–65	3–0	Dunkin' Donuts Center  Providence, RI
November 22* 7:00 PM		Southern South Padre Island Invitational	W 59–53	4–0	Dunkin' Donuts Center  Providence, RI
November 25* 8:30 PM		vs. Iowa State South Padre Island Invitational	L 54–64	4–1	South Padre Island Convention Centre  South Padre Island, TX
November 26* 10:00 PM, CBS Sports Network		vs. Northern Iowa South Padre Island Invitational	L 62–79	4–2	South Padre Island Convention Centre  South Padre Island, TX
November 29* 7:00 PM		Holy Cross	W 82–77	5–2	Dunkin' Donuts Center  Providence, RI
December 1* 7:00 PM, ESPNU		at South Carolina SEC–Big East Challenge	W 76–67	6–2	Colonial Life Arena  Columbia, SC
December 5* 7:00 PM, Cox Sports		Brown	W 80–49	7–2	Dunkin' Donuts Center  Providence, RI
December 8* 7:00 PM, ESPN3		Boston College	W 64–57	8–2	Dunkin' Donuts Center  Providence, RI
December 10* 12:00 PM, Cox Sports		Bryant	W 72–61	9–2	Dunkin' Donuts Center  Providence, RI
December 20* 7:00 PM, Cox Sports		New Hampshire	W 67–52	10–2	Dunkin' Donuts Center  Providence, RI
December 23* 7:00 PM, Cox Sports		at Rhode Island	W 80–61	11–2	Ryan Center  Kingston, RI
Big East regular season
December 27 7:00 PM, Cox Sports		at St. John's	L 67–91	11–3 (0–1)	Carnesecca Arena  Queens, NY
December 31 2:00 PM, ESPN2		at #12 Georgetown	L 40–49	11–4 (0–2)	Verizon Center  Washington, D.C.
January 4 9:00 PM, Cox Sports		#1 Syracuse	L 73–87	11–5 (0–3)	Dunkin' Donuts Center  Providence, RI
January 7 6:00 PM, Cox Sports		Seton Hall	L 57–66	11–6 (0–4)	Dunkin' Donuts Center  Providence, RI
January 10 7:00 PM, ESPN2		#14 Louisville	W 90–59	12–6 (1–4)	Dunkin' Donuts Center  Providence, RI
January 14 6:00 PM, Cox Sports		at #1 Syracuse	L 55–78	12–7 (1–5)	Carrier Dome  Syracuse, NY
January 21 7:00 PM, Cox Sports		#21 Marquette	L 72–79	12–8 (1–6)	Dunkin' Donuts Center  Providence, RI
January 25 7:00 PM, Cox Sports		at Pittsburgh	L 74–86	12–9 (1–7)	Petersen Events Center  Pittsburgh, PA
January 29 2:00 PM, ESPN3		at South Florida	L 78–81	12–10 (1–8)	Tampa Bay Times Forum  Tampa, FL
February 1 7:00 PM, ESPNU		Rutgers	W 78–67	13–10 (2–8)	Dunkin' Donuts Center  Providence, RI
February 5 12:00 PM, Cox Sports		West Virginia	L 84–87 OT	13–11 (2–9)	Dunkin' Donuts Center  Providence, RI
February 7 8:00 PM, Cox Sports		at Villanova	L 72–74	13–12 (2–10)	The Pavilion  Villanova, PA
February 11 4:00 PM, ESPN3		South Florida	L 48–55	13–13 (2–11)	Dunkin' Donuts Center  Providence, RI
February 15 9:00 PM, ESPNU		at Cincinnati	L 66–81	13–14 (2–12)	Fifth Third Arena  Cincinnati, OH
February 18 7:00 PM, Cox Sports		#10 Georgetown	L 53–63	13–15 (2–13)	Dunkin' Donuts Center  Providence, RI
February 25 2:00 PM, ESPN3		at DePaul	W 73–71	14–15 (3–13)	Allstate Arena  Rosemont, IL
February 28 7:00 PM, Cox Sports		Connecticut	W 72–70	15–15 (4–13)	Dunkin' Donuts Center  Providence, RI
March 2 7:00 PM, Cox Sports		at #20 Notre Dame	L 69–75	15–16 (4–14)	Edmund P. Joyce Center  Notre Dame, IN
Big East Tournament
March 6 7:00 PM, ESPNU		vs. Seton Hall First Round	L 47–79	15–17 (4–14)	Madison Square Garden  New York, NY
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time .

Awards and honors

Recipient	Award(s)
Ted Bancroft	2012 John Zannini Coaches' Award
Bryce Cotton	2012 Ryan Gomes Most Improved Player Award
Vincent Council	2012 All-Big East Third Team 2012 USBWA All-District 1 2012 Jimmy Walker Most Valuable Player Award
Lee Goldsbrough	2012 Lenny Wilkens Hustle Award
LaDontae Henton	2012 Big East All-Rookie Team 2012 Coca-Cola Most Promising Prospect Award March 5: Big East Rookie of the Week December 12: Big East Rookie of the Week December 5: Big East Rookie of the Week
Brice Kofane	2012 Marvin Barnes Defensive Player Award
Mike Murray	2012 Thomas Ramos Academic Award

External links

• 2011–12 Providence Friars men's basketball media guide