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Providence Crier 2024 Portal Guide

In the age of NIL and not having as many restrictions on player movement, NCAA has essentially become the Wild West. The transfer portal should expect to see over a thousand entries with players looking for new homes this upcoming season.

The Friars figure to be very active in the portal looking to replace athletes like Josh Oduro, Ticket Gaines, and most likely Devin Carter. PC has also seen players of their own enter the portal with junior Rafael Castro, and freshman Garwey Dual and Donovan Santoro submitting their names.

We will take a look at a bevy of players the Friars are involved with or someone we think could be great fits on the team.

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The Providence Crier 2026 Recruiting Primer – Version 1.0

It is never too early to get a jump on future classes with recruiting. This won’t have the meat and potatoes like other primers since we are still 2+ years out from this class enrolling in college; however, it is important for Providence fans to get to know these recruits. The staff has done a fantastic job of being “early” on these 2026 recruits.

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Portal Hauls: Looking at the Friar’s Last Few Portal Classes

Transfers in collegiate athletics is nothing new. Former Friar coach Ed Cooley was one of the early adopters of the transfer portal. He added Tyler Harris in 2012 and Carson Derosiers in 2013. Both of them would be major pieces for the Friars 2014 Big East Tournament championship squad. It was Chris Beard who made it fashionable by taking a Texas Tech squad mainly comprised of transfers to the national title game in 2019.

Now in the era of NIL and looser restrictions for players changing schools, the transfer portal has become all the rage. Last season around 1800 players entered the portal. They’ve already passed that mark this year. With the portal closing on May 1st, it seems likely that the number could surpass 2000 players. This has caused high school recruiting services to take their talents to ranking players in the portal and the teams with the best hauls in the transfer portal. As you’ll see below, the accuracy of these rankings leaves a lot to be desired. This goes along with the premise I’ll make that a player fit is more important than their overall ranking or perceived impact. For most teams, transfer portal adds are filling a gap on the roster rather than simply accumulating talent. The latter certainly happens (see Musselman), but most transfer adds plug a hole.

We will evaluate below how the industry perceived the transfer portal classes of the Friars, showing that the transfer portal rankings are much more hit and miss than the high school recruiting rankings.

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Wesley Cardet Jr. Commits to Providence: Friars Get Their Scoring Guard

We have talked all offseason about how important it is for Kim English to add a true scoring guard to attempt to replace the production of Devin Carter. That’s no small task, but Providence needed to find somebody to create offense off the dribble and threaten the defense from the perimeter, midrange, and at the rim. Wesley Cardet Jr., the 6’6 wing transfer from Chicago State, appears to be that guy.

The senior from Florida averaged 18.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.6 assists last year. We’ll dive to it in more detail below, but his athleticism and ability to finish in traffic really stands out to me. I’m also incredibly intrigued by the length and size he brings to the 2/3 position as a two way player.

With his addition, the Providence staff has hit their mark on all of the needs they had to address this offseason: another lead guard alongside Pierre, a five man to replace Oduro, a shooting wing that can slide to the 4, and a true scoring guard. With this addition, Providence should be all set with additions in the transfer portal, and we now have a complete view of what the 2024-2025 roster is comprised of. We’re awaiting one final decision on a roster spot, but we should have more clarity on that in the coming months.

Below, we break down Cardet Jr.’s game and how he fits with the Providence Friars.

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Wing Jabri Abdur Rahim Joins the Friar Family – Analyzing the Impact

As has been discussed, portal recruiting is a lot like speed dating. The long and drawn out recruitments, a la Hunter Dickinson last year, are complete outliers. These recruitments are very professional, buttoned up, and on an accelerated timeline. The normal occurrences for transfer recruiting are a visit to the school of the prospect’s choosing and decision shortly thereafter. It is a really simplified recruiting process, which I appreciate. Sometimes, a transfer will commit to a school without a visit or without much knowledge from the fanbase about pursuit of a player in the Portal.

This was Jabri Abdur-Rahim. The Georgia wing/small forward was a surprise commitment to most Friar fans. We hadn’t heard much about PC’s pursuit of JAR, but it was a pleasant surprise nonetheless. We’ll get into the details in more detail below, but Abdur Rahim satisfies three needs: size on the perimeter, depth at the 3 or 4 position, and an ability to fill it up from deep.

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Crier Portal Spotlight: Closer Look at Wings BJ Freeman & Anthony Dell’Orso

With the Friars already landing a big man and a guard via the portal, they still have more work to do to fill out the roster. Kim English and staff are still looking for a wing player that could replace production from Ticket Gaines. It seemed as if the Friars would’ve added that first after a good visit from Rutgers freshman Gavin Griffiths; however, he still remains uncommitted and is visiting the University of Nebraska this weekend.

There are two other names that are starting to emerge as potential fits on the wing for the Friars. They would be UW-Milwaukee’s BJ Freeman and Campbell’s Anthony Dell’Orso. We take a closer look at each of their games.

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The Return of Christ: One Time Friar Commit Transfers to Providence

We’ll hear a multitude of religious puns over the next 3 years regarding 7 foot big man Christ Essandoko. While the one liners will likely never get old, they may overshadow that Kim English and Staff just filled the most glaring gap on their roster with a TRUE five man. The Frenchman is every bit of 7 foot and has the size required to compete with the beasts of the Big East frontcourt.

Nothing is ever a certainty, but Providence now has their starting 5 man for 2024-2025. The best part? He has 3 years of eligibility and is still developing.

Below, we break down his skill set, what this means for other frontcourt recruits, and how Essandoko fits with the Friar roster.

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Crier Recruiting Corner – Introducing Chattanooga Big Sam Alexis

As the offseason winds on, Providence is faced with a glaring need to fill the starting five spot left vacant by the graduation of All-Conference big man Josh Oduro. One could argue that this is the most immediate need coming out of the portal.

The irony is that, post 2024-2025, the frontcourt appears to be in a very healthy spot from both a talent and depth perspective. The frontcourt has the following players manning it: Anton Bonke, Oswin Erhunmwunse, Eli DeLaurier. I personally believe Bonke and Oswin will be the future of the PC frontcourt and serve as one of the better frontcourt in all of the Big East for years to come. The issue is that, right now, they are both young, inexperienced, and likely not ready to take the starting 5 spot. Thus, there is a need to have a veteran big man with college experience step in and take the starting 5 spot immediately.

Insert Sam Alexis.

Alexis, the 6’9 Chattanooga big man from Apopka, Florida, recently cut his list to five final schools with a heavy SEC lean unsurprisingly. PC made the cut alongside home school Florida. Alexis has also set a visit to Providence in mid-April. Providence is trending very nicely, but it may be tough to beat out the local school in UF.

Below, we break down his game and how he’d fit with the Providence Friars.

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Crier Portal Guide Spotlight- Miami Guard Bensley Joseph

If you’ve following along the recruiting articles from the blog the past several years, Bensley Joseph is a name you should remember. The former Putnam Science and Cushing Academy guard had the Friars in his final 5 back in 2021. He ultimately chose to play for the Miami Hurricanes, where he has spent the past three seasons prior to entering his name in the transfer portal this past March.

Below, we break down his college career to date and what he would bring to the Friars.

2024 Providence Crier Portal Needs
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Crier Recruiting Corner – Introducing Rutgers Freshman Wing Gavin Griffiths

Kim English drew the proverbial line in the sand after the UConn beat down at home when he stated his roster moving forward would have “13 dudes”. From that point on, it was apparent that English was going to turn this roster over and put his fingerprints all over it. While the roster was left in a healthy position post Cooley’s departure, in large part due to Kim English’s recruiting ability to get players to stay in Providence, the roster doesn’t currently fit what English wants to do as a coach.

We previewed in our Transfer Portal Needs article what Providence needs in the portal this offseason: a capable lead point guard, shooters, a grad transfer 5, and somebody who could provide bench minutes for Bryce Hopkins at the 4 (and occasionally 3).

Insert Gavin Griffiths.

The blue chip recruit from Connecticut came into Rutgers as one of their higher ranked recruits in some time. He only started 3 games, averaging 18 minutes and 6 points/game. Curiously, he was billed as one of the best shooters in his class, but was only 28% from deep his freshman year.

He had a hot start at Rutgers, scoring 25 points in his second career game, before tailing off mid season. His conclusion to the season gave optimism to Scarlet Knight fans. From 2/22 on, he was 38.4% from deep and had 16 in the season finale against Maryland.

While his stats from his freshman year won’t necessarily wow, Griffiths does one thing incredibly well: shoot the basketball. Griffiths was labeled a sharpshooter from the wing coming out of high school and he’d be a perfect fit for what English wants to do.

Below, we break down Griffith’s game, his freshman year at Rutgers, and how he’d fit with the Friar roster in 2024 and beyond.

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