Transfer Justin Minaya has been pivotal for Providence men's basketball
Justin Minaya, son of former Mets general manager Omar Minaya, is making mark for Providence. Credit: AP/Mary Schwalm
In speaking of his favorite team on Tuesday, Omar Minaya summed things up simply: "I like what I am seeing, but there is a long way to go."
If it sounds like Minaya is talking about the Mets and all their pre-lockout moves, please understand that he isn’t. The former general manager and current ‘Baseball Ambassador’ for the Mets was talking about the 15th-ranked Providence Friars men’s basketball team. And as much as any Red Storm fan might have been looking forward to Tuesday night’s late game against Providence at Carnesecca Arena, so too was Minaya.
Justin Minaya, a 6-7 forward and one of Omar Minaya’s two sons, has emerged as a pivotal player for the Friars this season as they rolled into Queens 18-2 overall and 9-1 in the Big East for the first time in program history.
Justin transferred last April from South Carolina after graduating to join a very experienced group of returning players. Though he was a starter in almost every game for the Gamecocks, he arrived in Providence with no assurances. Soon enough — in December — he became a starter and he has played all 40 minutes in three of the past five games, all Friar victories.
"Our family was very happy when he decided to play at Providence because it meant we’d be able to go to so many of his games," Minaya said. "And he came in with the right attitude. He knew that he was joining a team with established players and that he needed to respect the guys who were already there.
"He’s never really been about scoring and shooting — he’s more about doing all the other things that make a team good. He plays defense and rebounds and makes the extra pass. Sometimes it shows up in the box score and sometimes it doesn’t. Basketball people tell me guys like him are called ‘glue guys.’ In baseball we might have called a guy like him a ‘difference-maker.’ "
Justin Minaya came into the St. John’s game averaging 6.6 points and 5.9 rebounds in 31 minutes per game. But the reason coach Ed Cooley has kept hin on the floor is that he is always assigned to cover the opponents’ leading scorer.
When the decision was made to transfer to Providence, Justin was hoping for this kind of season, one that seems destined to land it in the NCAA Tournament.
"We hope that it does happen," Omar Minaya said. "When you go to college, you want to experience that. He wanted to play in the Big East, to play at Madison Square Garden and have the opportunity to go to the NCAA Tournament. It would be great to have him experience Selection Sunday."
Omar Minaya was GM of both the Expos and the Mets and so Justin spent considerable time in baseball clubhouses and around professional athletes. Omar believes those were good influences on Justin.
"He got to see and hear players talking about the work they put in — getting to park at 2 p.m. to put in the work before a game — and I don’t see how it didn’t rub off on him or bring something out in him," Omar Minaya said. "Most important he got to see that athletes go through ups and downs but need to be consistent. He didn’t start at the beginning of the season, but it never got him down. He put in the work and earned his place."
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
