PROVIDENCE — Throughout the last four weeks of practice, two common themes have permeated Keno Davis’ workouts in his second year of coaching the Providence College Friars.

The first is work ethic. After the first week or so, Davis was privately thrilled with the energy and vigor of his players. Consistency, however, has been a major issue, so much that the coach recently halted a scrimmage after just five minutes to lace into his team after witnessing a series of mental mistakes.

The other is patience. With eight Friars set to make their collegiate debuts this weekend, Davis knows that this season will truly be a marathon and not a sprint. His team may not be ready for prime time now, but the goal is to get there by the first week of January, or the start of the Big East season. Even more important is to be a tough out by the time March and the postseason comes into view.

“There are not many teams on the schedule that are guaranteed wins for us,” said Davis, “so we have to understand that if we don’t come out and give great effort and energy, we can come out on the wrong end of things. If we do give great effort and we lose, I can live with it.”

Teaching effort and patience is a tricky combination. Over the course of a long season, a young team is bound to struggle through weak practices and bad games. Getting through those tough times and keeping goals like steady improvement in focus can be a challenge for a coach. Davis says what is exciting him and his staff is his players’ talent level, even if much of it is largely unpolished.

“I don’t think there’s any doubt that we have enough talent. It’s just so young,” he said. “These guys have to learn on the fly all of the things that it takes to win. Last year’s team, for all the positive and negative things that were said about them, they really learned how to win in tight situations. That’s why we’ve tried to put this team into a lot of scrimmage situations, game-like situations these last few weeks. Some things you can only learn by doing.”

Davis is set to throw his team right into the season this weekend. PC will host the World Vision Invitational and play three games in three days, beginning with a date with Bryant University on Friday. A trip to Southeastern Conference power Alabama awaits the following Friday.

In order to work up to speed quickly, Davis will lean heavily on the few returnees on his roster. The keys will be fifth-year senior point guard Sharaud Curry, junior wing Marshon Brooks and Jamine Peterson, a redshirt sophomore. Curry shook off his foot troubles and emerged as a major force by the end of last season. He’ll need to be an even more dynamic scorer/passer this season, and Davis has the luxury of moving the senior from Georgia off the ball at times to conserve his energy.

Brooks, a wiry and still-growing 6-foot-6 scorer, is playing with lots of confidence. He has the green light from Davis to score both with his jump shot and off the drive. Peterson sat out last season and has returned in good shape and with better shooting and ball skills. He remains a strong rebounder and eye-popping leaper.

Another veteran is Brian McKenzie, a senior from Brooklyn. If his outside shot becomes consistent he’ll become very valuable. If not, he’ll be pushed by several newcomers for time.

The last time a PC team entered the Big East wars looking like this one, the results weren’t pretty. The 2005-06 team featured a senior guard like Curry (Donnie McGrath), two young big men with a little experience like Peterson (Randall Hanke, Herbert Hill) and two freshmen starters in Curry and Geoff McDermott. That team matured as the season progressed but never really beat anyone of consequence, finishing 12-15 overall and 5-11 in conference play.

That was also, coincidently, the first season of the 16-team Big East. Gone were annual repeat games against Seton Hall and St. John’s. In their place were matchups with the likes of Louisville and Marquette. That league’s expansion may have saved PC’s place in the Big East, but it has doomed the Friars to also-ran status. In the four seasons since the league grew to mammoth size, Providence is 29-39 (.426) with two trips to the National Invitation Tournament.

Davis is hoping an injection of new blood can change those numbers. Up front, the Friars are very green. Peterson leads the way and is joined by Bilal Dixon, another redshirt from last year. He looms as the starter at center. Junior college recruit Russ Permenter and freshmen James Still and Kadeem Batts are also battling for time, and Davis hasn’t ruled out a mid-season return by 6-11 senior Ray Hall. Either Still or Batts are likely redshirt candidates.

Davis now owns several interesting options for time alongside Curry, Brooks and McKenzie. Freshman Vincent Council has shown nice poise at point guard and speedy Johnnie Lacy pushes the pace well. Duke Mondy has shot the 3-pointer well in practice and junior college recruit Kyle Wright brings some nice size to the wing.

How Davis blends these players will be a challenge.

“For the most part, we’ve done a good job on working hard and practicing hard, and that’s paramount for this team,” Davis said. “I can live with mistakes, but it’s the effort things that frustrate you as a coach. We have to learn how to bring that intensity every day.”

kmcnamar@projo.com