NEW YORK — Kim English does not have a Tinder account. This became necessary to discern after the Providence coach, told by a reporter he was trending on Black Twitter, was asked about his marital status and whether he was filing his taxes single or head of household, because “the girls asked me to ask you.’’
After puzzling over the question while his players laughed into their elbows on the news conference dais, English opted not to answer. It was the only answer English and Providence didn’t provide on Thursday night. The Friars took it at Creighton in the Big East tournament quarterfinal, winning a game they had to win to keep their NCAA Tournament chances alive by doing the only thing they could do: outwork the Bluejays. Creighton, the 10th-most efficient offense per KenPom, got pushed off the arc from which it loves to live, and challenged on the glass upon which it does not love to live; the Bluejays were beaten in the paint despite the presence of 7-footer Ryan Kalkbrenner and got turned away when they threatened to make a run, owning the lead for only eight minutes of the game before losing, 78-73.
Hard work and toughness long have been the calling cards for Providence, the team taking on the persona of the blue-collar grit of the city they represent. This year, after losing Bryce Hopkins to a torn ACL in January, those traits have become their necessity as well as their identity.
It has, understandably, ebbed and flowed under a first-year head coach down a star player in a difficult league. The Friars torpedoed through a five-game losing skid after Hopkins went down, starting a yo-yo season that has left them on the precarious bubble. They are 62nd in the NET, with five Quad 1 wins but three Quad 2 losses.
None of that, English challenged his team on Thursday evening, mattered any longer. English is a man who can cite Rudyard Kipling’s “If” by memory, so he’s a big believer in finding words of wisdom to spread. He turned to a different kind of poet before the Creighton game, relating to his team what retired UConn coach Jim Calhoun told him the day earlier. “We got 40 minutes,’’ he said. “Ups and downs, adverse conditions, less than ideal. Mindset and moments, bad shots, bad plays, bad turnovers, bad responses. We got 40 minutes to be our most locked-in selves.’’
The response came in many forms — in Providence flashing on a 25-10 run after English nearly lost his mind and earned a technical when Carter was whistled for a foul; in Josh Oduro scoring 17 points and yanking nine rebounds despite getting hit with his fourth foul with 6:19 to play; with Jayden Pierre scoring seven consecutive points after the Bluejays cut the lead to one; but most tellingly, when generously listed 6-3 Devin Carter rose to block a Kalkbrenner shot.
If there is a player who exemplifies who Providence wants to be, it is Carter. He transferred to the school two years ago from South Carolina and opted to stick around even after his old coach, Ed Cooley, ditched the Friars for Georgetown. Earlier this week he was named Big East Player of the Year, and plenty of people in and around the league — particularly those in Connecticut — had some thoughts about the selection. Carter’s answer came via 22 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, two steals and not a single second of rest in the game.
“I looked over at Baylor Scheierman and Ryan Kalkbrenner and they weren’t coming out, so I decided I can do that as well,’’ he said. “It was a must-win game, so I wasn’t coming out.’’
Providence hasn’t played for a Big East tournament title in five years. It will take a run at it on Friday evening.
No doubt the girls will be watching.
(Photo of Providence’s Devin Carter and Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner and Trey Alexander: Robert Deutsch / USA Today)
