Jet lag? Who cares about jet lag?

One day last August after Providence coach Tim Welsh returned from taking his team on a 10-day, five-game tour of Spain, he was at the Friars’ basketball office. No day off?

“No,” he said. “I’m ready to go. We’ve got to get cooking.”

That’s because last year the Friars were fried by injuries. Five different players missed a combined 49 games, including starting forwards Romuald Augustin (hip/five games played) and Maris Laksa (foot/knee, 18 games played).

“It was very disheartening,” Welsh said. “You can never get into a flow as a team.”

If your roster is finally relatively healthy -- senior guard Abdul Mills didn’t play in Italy because he’s still recovering from surgery on a torn labrum -- you’d be just as anxious as Welsh to get to work. Providence’s M*A*S*H unit last year went 15-16, but welcomes 12 returnees, including four starters. Because of all the injuries last year, Welsh used several different lineups.

There was one constant, though, a player who was been Providence’s heart and soul for a few seasons, point guard John Linehan. The two-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year, a second-team all-conference selection last year, is the only major loss from last season. He closed his career as the NCAA's career leader in steals (385) and the Big East career (226) and single-season (77) steals leader. The honorable mention All-American, who averaged 12.5 points, 4.5 steals, 4.4 assists and just 2.3 turnovers, earned national defensive player-of-the-year honors from ESPN.com and the National Association of Basketball Coaches.

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Replacing his leadership and his ability to change a game with defensive quickness and savvy will be more difficult than his points.

“He brought so much to our team, on and off the court. He was the best at what he did in the country,” Welsh said. “Anytime you lose a guy like that, it’s a lot to lose.”

There is a lot coming back, though. Ten of the 12 returnees have started for Providence. In fact, eight players on the roster were on the NCAA tournament team two years ago. If going through last year’s bummer of a season after experiencing March Madness the season before doesn’t teach you to appreciate the good times, nothing will.

There was one silver lining amid all the injuries. It gave Providence’s younger players valuable minutes to learn.

“We showed improvement as the Big East season went on, and we were competitive,” said Welsh, whose club lost nine games by 10 points or fewer. “We were in a lot of games, led a lot of times with 10 or 12 minutes to go. We just didn’t have the experience to finish games.”

Mills will try to remedy that this season. A three-year starter and one of team’s tri-captains last year, the 6-foot-3 senior (14.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg, .366 FG, .332 3PT) led the team in scoring last year and connected for double figures in all but five games. Not bad considering he was bothered by his labrum (groin/hip) much of the season.

“It really hurt his game. He really didn’t practice the last two months, but he played through it. This year we just need more consistency. He’s got to shoot a higher percentage,” Welsh said of the smooth left-hander with a good jump shot.

Welsh also would like to see an assist-to-turnover ratio that is at the minimum the reverse of last year’s 2.6-to-3.0. Mills is quick enough to get his own shot, but a few wide-open looks after some dribble-drive penetration by someone else wouldn’t hurt.

Sheiku Kabba, a 6-2 junior, is one of two candidates to take over at the point. The other is 6-4 freshman Donnie McGrath, a top 100 recruit as rated by PrepStars.

Kabba (5.6 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.3 tpg) has been Linehan’s backup for two years. McGrath averaged 30.9 points, 7.6 assists and 6.5 rebounds at JFK Catholic in Westchester (N.Y.) County, not far from New York City. He scored more than 40 points three times as a senior, made a school-record 96 3-pointers and was also an All-Star at the adidas ABCD All-American Camp.

Welsh said a combination of Kabba and McGrath might work. Kareem Hayletts (0.6 ppg in 21 games), a 6-0 senior who is a strong defender, will be a capable replacement off the bench. The coaches were excited about his play in Spain. He averaged 6.8 points and 3.8 assists in 27 minutes per game.

“He proved he could make plays under pressure,” Friars assistant Bob Walsh wrote in his on-line diary of the trip. “It’ll be hard to keep him out of our rotation.”

Hayletts is in his fifth season. He regained a year of eligibility through a medical hardship waiver after a knee injury caused him to miss all but one game as a freshman.

The frontcourt should be plenty deep, and practices are expected to be competitive.

The 6-7 Augustin (9.2 ppg, 2.6 rpg as a sophomore), who hails from Montreal, enters his fourth season at the small forward spot. He is the defensive stopper up front and that’s usually a tall task in the Big East. A starter in more than 60 games as a freshman and sophomore, he was awarded a medical redshirt last year, so he has two more years of eligibility.

“To lose him was a big blow because he can play the two or the three and he can defend both. We missed a lot of different parts of his game and in Italy it was evident how great it was to have him back,” Welsh said.

The forward that will be Providence’s go-to player in the post is 6-7 forward/center Ryan Gomes (13.8 ppg, 7.8 rpg, .559 FG, .613 FT), the first Providence player ever selected unanimously to the Big East’s All-Rookie team. You won’t find many big men with more moves and Welsh said Gomes has improved his shooting range. Gomes had a career day against Miami last year with 31 points and 12 rebounds.

“He just has a knack for putting the ball in the basket. He’s old school. He uses his body well, he plays the angles,” Welsh said.

Walsh also raved about Gomes’ performance in Italy.

“He wants to be great. He is very confident in his ability on the floor and wants to dominate games,” he wrote. “He has a bit of a different step to him now that he isn’t a freshman. He knows we are going to be looking for him all the time.”

Marcus Douthit (5.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.8 bpg), a 6-10 center, also was a force overseas, averaging 13.8 points and 4.8 rebounds. He will be key. If Douthit can man the middle, Gomes will be able to stay in his natural position. Another junior, 6-8 forward Leland Anderson (3.6 ppg, 2.1 rpg) also should help down low. He transferred from Michigan, and sat out 2000-01 but was slowed by a knee operation last January.

Laksa and fellow junior forward Chris Anrin, a native of Sweden, provide a different but potentially productive look in the frontcourt. At 6-9 and 6-7, respectively, both are good shooters and tall enough to shoot over small opponents. Laksa (.276 3PT) averaged 9.6 points and 5.1 rebounds in the 18 games he played last year. He’ll need to keep working on rebounding, but he did have a 14-board night against Rutgers.

The Friars wanted Anrin (6.1 ppg, .352 3PT) to get quicker so he can be a better defender and is more able to get his shot off. He responded by losing 10 pounds (down to 220). He started 21 times last year.

“He’s one of the best pure shooters we’ve ever coached,” Welsh said.

Rob Sanders (5.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg), a 6-7 sophomore, and 6-9 sophomore Tuukka Kotti, who is from Finland, are other frontcourt returnees. Sanders has the springs to turn in some highlight reel dunks and Welsh thinks the New London, Conn., native could be a force. He got plenty of minutes last year because of Augustin’s injury. Kottie (1.8 ppg, 1.3 rpg) played in 24 and should lend depth.

Freshman Herbert Hill, from Kinston, N.C., is the only rookie in the frontcourt. The 6-9, 205-pound forward, who averaged 14 points, nine rebounds and six blocks last year, probably won’t see much quality time with Providence’s bevy of bodies up front.

If you’re looking for a Big East sleeper, the Friars are it. Then again, can you call a team with 12 players back from a near-.500 club a sleeper?

If Providence can stay healthy -- knock on wood somewhere, Friars fans -- it might have enough to sneak up on some people and even slip into the NCAA tournament. Of course, all bets are off if Kabba and McGrath can’t handle the point. Then it will end up in Mills’ hands, and that will hinder his production. In Mills and Gomes, Providence has two solid scorers. Welsh will probably have several bodies to throw at opponents in the frontcourt. From Augustin and Sanders to Laksa and Anrin, the Friars forwards can hurt you in different ways.

Another key position is at center with Douthit. He and the forwards must hit the boards harder. Douthit has the size (a few extra pounds wouldn’t hurt) and seemingly the game to at least to hold his own with some of the Big East’s best centers, but that hasn't happened yet. If it does, don’t be surprised if Providence breaks back through to the other side of .500 -- and then some.

“If we can keep our core guys out there -- McGrath and Kabba, Mills, Augustin, Laksa, Gomes and Douthit -- we’ve got enough good players to compete," said Welsh. "I think all of our guys have shown they can play at this level. Now, hopefully, they’ll show they can win at this level.”