Now that’s more like it.
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In a state with no major league professional sports, college basketball is king. College hoops attracts the largest crowds, draws the most national notoriety. Sure, Ed Cooley returning with his Georgetown team is big. So are visits to the Amica Mutual Pavilion from Dan Hurley’s National Championship wagon at Connecticut. But there is no more emotionally charged game than when PC battles URI, especially when the ball is tossed up at the Ryan Center in Kingston.
Thomas, a quick-on-quick senior who grew up in Providence and is now the sparkplug for Rhody, gets all that. So do most URI fans. Their hatred for all things Friar runs deep. Getting a chance at hosting the PC game every other year in Kingston is a delicious treat and one that brings out all kinds. The annual lineup always includes politicians (Governor Dan McKee is planning on attending on Saturday), business leaders, former star players from both schools, and assorted South County legends.
As for Providence’s fans? They usually can’t score the best seats in the sold out, 7,600-seat arena and choose to stay away from the electric fray.
University of Rhode Island men’s basketball coach Ryan “Archie” Miller.Alan Hubbard/PhotoByFriday LLC
“I’ve been a fan of URI for 50 years and wouldn’t miss it,” said Tom Ryan, the ex-CVS chief executive whose name sits on the 22-year-old Rams arena. “Short of winning the Atlantic-10 or playing in the NCAAs, it’s the biggest game of the year. It’s great for our state. People treat it the right way, we compete, and then have fun afterwards with friends from both sides.”
In truth, the game is more for the fans than the players and coaches. Like Thomas said, bragging rights are at stake. After this game, the Rams head off to their Atlantic-10 conference schedule and the Friars turn towards the Big East.
A generation ago the two schools played twice a season. That ended in 1980 with the creation of the Big East. Now, they play just once. For many years URI’s home game in the series was actually played at the Amica Mutual Pavilion (then known as the Providence Civic Center) but when the Ryan Center opened, PC agreed to return to Kingston for the first time since 1972.
“I always thought it was the right thing to do for college basketball in the state,” said Tim Welsh, the PC head coach who brought the Friars to the Ryan Center in 2003. “It’s about basketball, not some coach’s win/loss record. But after one game, I remember driving home thinking, ‘What did I just do.’’’
URI won the first four PC games at the Ryan Center. The Friars won their first in 2011 under then-new coach Ed Cooley. Rhode Island owns a 6-4 record vs. PC in their on-campus arena.
So what do we expect on the court in 2024? Predictions are for a close game. After two rebuilding seasons, URI coach Archie Miller has his best team and the Rams are off to a surprising 8-0 start, the best for the program in 77 years. Miller chuckled when told that the coach of the Rams back in the 1947-1948 season was the legendary Frank Keaney.
New Providence men’s basketball coach Kim English (left) had plenty to do this offseason, starting with keeping All-Big East forward Bryce Hopkins in town.Keith Nordstrom/Courtesy of Providence Athletics/KEITH NORDSTROM
“When you’re in that type of game, as a player you cherish those moments,” Miller said. “As a coach you cherish those moments where you can put a group out there in a great environment, playing against a rival, an in-state deal here with PC. It’s a big deal for our school. It always is.”
Miller owns a 0-2 record versus Providence, including an 88-74 defeat in 2022 at the Ryan Center. But he knows all about the emotion and electricity of a rivalry game. He was a star guard at North Carolina State (1998-2002) and nothing is bigger on Tobacco Road than games against North Carolina and Duke.
“It seems like I’ve been involved in these rivalry games my whole life,” Miller said. “My freshman year we went over to North Carolina and they were ranked number one in the country with Vince Carter and Antawn(cq) Jamison and we beat them. My Senior Night, we beat ‘em again.’’
As a coach at Dayton nothing was bigger for Miller than rivalry games against Xavier. The same thing when he led his Indiana teams against Purdue. Now it’s URI-PC, a rivalry Miller calls “one of the more under-rated games that people (nationally) don’t talk about.”
“You have to be in it to know that it’s a big-time game,” he said. T”here’s a lot of intensity.”
Providence coach Kim English played in heated rivalry games as a collegian at Missouri. The Tigers’ yearly battle against Illinois is so intense it’s played on a neutral court in St. Louis. He’s coached a team at the Ryan Center before, but that’s when he was leading George Mason. He knows this first trip to South County with the Friars is a different deal.
“There will be more fans than when the Patriots rolled in there a few years ago,” English said with a laugh. “I remember watching the Providence-URI game on TV when I was at other schools. It’s great. We have quotes posted around our facility the week of this game talking about their history in the game. We’re excited to play a really, really good team.”
Kevin McNamara is a Rhode Island-based sports writer who spent more than 30 years covering Providence College basketball, the Celtics, the Patriots, the Red Sox and more. He writes at Kevin McSports.com and hosts KevinMcSports Hour on WPRO and 790TheScore.