2023-24 Providence College Hoops: Out on a Limb with Kim
- Thread starter CouchsideSteve
- Start date
One more. Need Marquette to help out by beating Nova. PC never survives the bubble. That was a good job, though. Excellent D down the stretch.
ESPN just updated and has them in the first four out, and they’ve been comparatively bullish on the Friars.
Won’t feel comfortable without a W tonight. Doable if Kolek is out for Marquette snd Oduro stays out of foul trouble.
I don't know if it was something Xfinity-related or something related to Fox Sports- but that telecast last night was downright ugly- something like a cross between low and high def.
Court looked too narrow and it accentuated all the bodies flying around.
I switched to other channels to see if I had accidentally messed up the picture ratio, and things on other stations were just fine.
Court looked too narrow and it accentuated all the bodies flying around.
I switched to other channels to see if I had accidentally messed up the picture ratio, and things on other stations were just fine.
The only two players I can come up with as a similar comp of a guy to play his way into the first round out of nowhere in their final year are MarShon Brooks and Eric Murdock.
With so many bid-stealers this past weekend, the Friars weren’t even in the first four out for NCAA Tournament consideration. You can read the recriminations anywhere you look. Personally, I don’t have a problem with Providence missing out, given relatively soft KenPom and Net ratings. But I do have a few gripes:
Friars accepted an NIT bid and will host Boston College next Tue night. But more importantly, it’s now officially portal season.
I’ll post a retrospective on this team later in the spring.
- FAU coasting off last year’s Final Four reputation, with some terrible losses
- Virginia… just inexplicable
- 6 Mountain West (!) and 5 ACC bids, relative to only 3 from the Big East—particularly with the Big East rating as the second best conference by most advanced metrics
Friars accepted an NIT bid and will host Boston College next Tue night. But more importantly, it’s now officially portal season.
I’ll post a retrospective on this team later in the spring.
His game suits the NBA better but his skillset and strength isn’t close to being at that level. Classic two-way candidate but if he’s not careful he’s Ricky Ledo. With the NIL in place this kid really should find a school that plays an uptempo game.
Yo, come on, Friartown of SoSH, where's the freakin' excitement?
While replacing Devin Carter and Josh Oduro is no small task, the return of Bryce Hopkins, Jaden Pierre, Corey Floyd, and Rich Barren, combined with several key transfer portal additions, has Providence looking Top-3-ish in the conference.
Justyn Fernandez (injury) and Anton Bonke (JC transfer) will also be in the mix for minutes.
While replacing Devin Carter and Josh Oduro is no small task, the return of Bryce Hopkins, Jaden Pierre, Corey Floyd, and Rich Barren, combined with several key transfer portal additions, has Providence looking Top-3-ish in the conference.
Justyn Fernandez (injury) and Anton Bonke (JC transfer) will also be in the mix for minutes.
And, of course, we can't forget about the 2 MAJOR commitments, one occurring today:
How's everyone feeling?!
How's everyone feeling?!
Rank your All-Time Best Providence recruiting classes: (I didn’t include one of the most successful ones as they weren’t a highly ranked class coming in…Donovan, Kipfer, Duda and the late Ernie “Pop” Lewis)
1. Jimmy Walker/Dexter Westbrook/Mike Riordan
2. Marvin Barnes/Kevin Stacom
3. Soup Campbell/Bill Eason/Bob Misevicius
4. Michael Smith/Dickey Simpkins/Rob Phelps/Troy Brown
5. Kris Dunn/Ricky Ledo/Josh Fortune
6. Jamier Jones/Oswin Erhunmwunse/?
1. Jimmy Walker/Dexter Westbrook/Mike Riordan
2. Marvin Barnes/Kevin Stacom
3. Soup Campbell/Bill Eason/Bob Misevicius
4. Michael Smith/Dickey Simpkins/Rob Phelps/Troy Brown
5. Kris Dunn/Ricky Ledo/Josh Fortune
6. Jamier Jones/Oswin Erhunmwunse/?
Thought I would pop in with a mini review/preview in light of the Jamier Jones commitment yesterday, which was massive.
2023-2024 Season in Review
This will be more abbreviated than how I've recapped seasons in the past, because everything changed with the Bryce Hopkins injury on Jan 3rd against Seton Hall. The team fought hard from there, and Devin Carter absolutely shined, but it wasn't an especially interesting team beyond the intrigue of an exciting new coach and a superstar player. The Friars mostly won the games they should have; and other than laying eggs against Villanova both times out, they played hard and lost the games you would have expected. But to probe a bit deeper:
The Good
We say goodbye to Devin Carter (NBA); Oduro and Gaines (graduation); plus Rafael Castro, Donovan Santoro, and Garway Dual to transfer. In the portal era, this counts as a well-managed and predictable wave of departures. Excitingly, the incoming group includes:
Now, you can't talk about 2024-2025 without mentioning the two incoming 5* recruits for 2025-2026: The abovementioned Jamier Jones and 6'10 stretch big Erhunmwunse Oswin, who committed to the the Friars over Alabama, Marquette and Oklahoma, among many other high major offers. It was previously believed that Oswin might reclassify to join the squad this fall, but I wonder if that is now less likely because: (a) The pairing with Jones; and (b) The 4/5 rotation is already pretty stout with Hopkins, Abdur-Rahim, Christ, and Bonke. Then again, Hopkins likely won't be ready for the start of the season; Abdur-Rahim is more of a wing; and Bonke is really raw.
My guess is the opening night lineup features Jayden Pierre and Bensley Joseph at guard, Abdur-Rahim and Cardet on the wings, with Christ at center. Corey Floyd, Justyn Fernandez, and Rich Barron are first off the bench. Hopkins will be back in time for Big East play, bumping Joseph to a 6th man role, with Cardet becoming more of a traditional shooting guard. But we'll know a lot more by September, when I'll start a new thread and outline a full preview.
Go Friars!
2023-2024 Season in Review
This will be more abbreviated than how I've recapped seasons in the past, because everything changed with the Bryce Hopkins injury on Jan 3rd against Seton Hall. The team fought hard from there, and Devin Carter absolutely shined, but it wasn't an especially interesting team beyond the intrigue of an exciting new coach and a superstar player. The Friars mostly won the games they should have; and other than laying eggs against Villanova both times out, they played hard and lost the games you would have expected. But to probe a bit deeper:
The Good
- Devin Carter: Developed a a 3-point shot while maintaining the same high level of defensive intensity, vaulting himself to Big East POY and into the NBA draft lottery. Great for the kid, great for the Providence College basketball brand.
- Josh Oduro was excellent overall: Very creative on offense with elite footwork around the basket. Was able to hang tough on defense against the larger bigs like Clingan and Kalk, more so than I predicted. A shame he could only spend one year in Friartown, but bodes well for Kim's talent evaluation that he saw the fit.
- Rich Barron: Looks can be deceiving. When you think of a prototypical wing body, you imagine a guy who is long-armed and lean. Rich Barron is not that. But man, he can shoot. Also competes defensively. Great recruiting find for Kim English on a guy who wasn't even ranked by the major scouting services.
- Defensive cohesion: For a squad that was thin and undersized, they played really good defense. For the season, 18th nationally according to KenPom's Adj. Efficiency metrics; that declined during conference play after the Hopkins injury, but even isolating to Big East competition, the Friars forced a lot of turnovers and held opponents to thin shooting percentages from the floor. You can credit Carter for a lot of that, but the coaching staff also deserves major kudos.
- Garway Dual: Not the kid himself, of course, but the outcome. Tough to have a guy who was mocked by some analysts as a one-and-done NBA prospect struggle to make an impact on the floor, then promptly enter the portal.
- 3-point shooting: A carryover from Cooley squads of the recent past. For as well as Kim did making chicken salad with the roster last spring, their highest volume shooter (transfer Ticket Gaines) was very inefficient. Corey Floyd also had a disappointing season. The performance of Rich Barron and improvement from Jayden Pierre are greenshoots, but collectively the Friars are still *miles behind* the elite Big East offenses (even if you exempt UConn as an outlier).
We say goodbye to Devin Carter (NBA); Oduro and Gaines (graduation); plus Rafael Castro, Donovan Santoro, and Garway Dual to transfer. In the portal era, this counts as a well-managed and predictable wave of departures. Excitingly, the incoming group includes:
- Jabri Abdur-Rahim: A 6'8 graduate transfer from Georgia (and son of NBA all-star Sharif Abdur Rahim) who can be expected to plug in as a starting wing, adding length, shooting and veteran presence
- Wesley Cardet: A 6'6 senior from Chicago State, who should also start. While it's fair to question how he levels-up to Big East competition, it's important to note that he was playing for his uncle at Chicago State and could have joined a larger program earlier in his collegiate career. Also notable that Chicago State played common opponents Kansas State and DePaul this past season, so Kim English & staff surely liked what they saw on tape.
- Christ Essandoko: A nearly 7-foot, 260lb bruiser of a big man who will feature prominently at center after spending his Freshman season at St. Joe's. Piques my interest that he shot 14 for 38 from beyond the arc last season (37%), so this is not strictly your father's back-to-the-basket center.
- Bensley Joseph: A 6'2 combo guard from Miami who joins as a graduate transfer to pair in the backcourt with Jayden Pierre. Joseph was part of deep tournament runs at Miami and should see 25+ mpg, whether he starts or not.
Now, you can't talk about 2024-2025 without mentioning the two incoming 5* recruits for 2025-2026: The abovementioned Jamier Jones and 6'10 stretch big Erhunmwunse Oswin, who committed to the the Friars over Alabama, Marquette and Oklahoma, among many other high major offers. It was previously believed that Oswin might reclassify to join the squad this fall, but I wonder if that is now less likely because: (a) The pairing with Jones; and (b) The 4/5 rotation is already pretty stout with Hopkins, Abdur-Rahim, Christ, and Bonke. Then again, Hopkins likely won't be ready for the start of the season; Abdur-Rahim is more of a wing; and Bonke is really raw.
My guess is the opening night lineup features Jayden Pierre and Bensley Joseph at guard, Abdur-Rahim and Cardet on the wings, with Christ at center. Corey Floyd, Justyn Fernandez, and Rich Barron are first off the bench. Hopkins will be back in time for Big East play, bumping Joseph to a 6th man role, with Cardet becoming more of a traditional shooting guard. But we'll know a lot more by September, when I'll start a new thread and outline a full preview.
Go Friars!