Providence ousted from Big East Tournament, expected to fire coach Kim English

NEW YORK (AP) — It appears Kim English's three-year tenure at Providence is over.

With the 37-year-old coach expected to be fired soon, the Friars (15-18) were eliminated from the Big East Tournament when they lost 85-72 to No. 13 St. John's in the quarterfinals Thursday at Madison Square Garden.

“I’m not a very emotional person. I don’t want anyone’s sympathy. Like, I don’t like anyone’s pity,” English said. “I never have been more proud standing in the locker room than I was after this season.”

No announcement had been made, but multiple reports citing anonymous sources last week indicated the school informed English he will be dismissed after the season.

“I think he handled it great. He had great character about the situation,” said Providence guard Jaylin Sellers, the Big East scoring champion. “He talked to us about it. His biggest thing was, don't worry about him. Don't worry about the media.

“He’s the best coach I ever had.”

Providence made the NCAA Tournament seven times in 12 years under Ed Cooley, including a trip to the 2022 Sweet 16, before he made an acrimonious departure for Georgetown in 2023. English replaced him, fresh off a 20-win season at George Mason.

The Friars have never reached March Madness or finished with a winning record in Big East play under English, who is 48-52 overall at the school. After beating three ranked teams in his first season, Providence is 0-10 against them since.

“As a young coach figuring it out in a league with whales, giants, college basketball royalty, you know, I’m figuring it out. I didn’t get to figure it out in the Northeast Conference,” English said.

Zuby Ejiofor, Bryce Hopkins and top-seeded St. John's (26-6) outrebounded the ninth-seeded Friars 51-30 and outscored them 30-4 in bench points.

Stefan Vaaks scored 19 of his 23 points in the second half for the Friars, who handed the Johnnies their only Big East home loss this season on Jan. 3 at MSG. Sellers had 21 points and Ryan Mela added 16.

Providence guard Jason Edwards, the team’s second-leading scorer at 16.5 points per game, missed his second consecutive game with a right foot injury. Without him, the Friars beat Butler 91-81 in the first round Wednesday after trailing by 16 early, making it their biggest comeback this season.

“Kim’s a young coach and he’s a very good coach. He communicates well with his team,” said Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino of St. John's. “What happened to them was they lost so many close games the beginning of the year that it went the other way for them. Unfortunately, that happens. It happens in this game. You see it all the time.”

It was the first meeting between the Big East charter members since a nasty game on Valentine’s Day, when a raucous crowd in Providence tore into Hopkins, who transferred to St. John’s for his final college season after a three-year stint with the Friars that was abbreviated by injury.

Providence reserve Duncan Powell clobbered Hopkins with a clothesline across the face on a fast break, sparking a fight in a Red Storm victory that included seven ejections, including Powell.

At one point, English was left shaking his head with a hand over his face.

A suspended Powell was banned three games by the Big East. He did not play in the conference tournament.

“It’s a hard foul,” English said Wednesday. “There’s no beef between us and St. John’s.”

“I think it got completely blown out of proportion,” he added. “I don’t think it was that bad.”

A player at Missouri and second-round NBA draft pick by the Pistons in 2012, English played in 41 games for Detroit during one season before spending two years overseas. He bounced around three schools over six seasons as an assistant coach before he was hired at George Mason.

Two years later, he was professing his love for Providence and hoping to stay a long time.

“He's going to have a long career,” Pitino said. “Everyone in this league is a good coach, but he’s a very good basketball coach. He gets his teams to play hard, they like him a lot. So I wish nothing but the best regardless of how it turns out.”

The Friars reached No. 23 in the AP Top 25 during English's first season before Hopkins tore his ACL in January. They went 21-14 and 10-10 in conference play — their third straight 20-win season. They reached the Big East semifinals, but missed out on an NCAA Tournament berth.

Last season, the Friars fell to 12-20, tying the most losses in program history, a record English called “pitiful, embarrassing.” This season's team lost nine of its first 11 Big East games.

“I would say we ended up being a younger team than we anticipated,” English said.

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AP Sports Writer Jimmy Golen in Boston contributed to this report.

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