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.
Recruiting Profile
While Abdur-Rahim’s production hasn’t jumped off the page in college like many recruitniks anticipated, he was considered a stellar high school prospect coming from The Garden State. Abdur-Rahim was ranked as the 38th overall player in his class (Class of 2020), which is about 10 spots away from being a coveted 5 star. This was one spot higher than where Bryce Hopkins was in his respective class, for what it is worth.
He was the 6th ranked Small Forward in his class, slotted right above Georgetown transfer Micah Peavy. He was the 2nd ranked overall player in New Jersey for his class, behind pro Jonathan Kuminga and in front of Lance Ware.
I state all this to show that this kid was highly coveted coming out of Blair Academy, signing with Tony Bennett at UVA. He was by definition a blue chip recruit. After one year at Virginia, he transferred to play at Georgia. He played there for three years.
Analyzing His Game
I made the comparison to Jalen Lindsey on the podcast, and I think that isn’t the worst comparison in the world if I’m being honest. A lot of his game fits alongside what Lindsey did. He has the ability to really burn the nets from the three point line, exemplified by his 30+ game this past year against Kentucky. He averaged 12 points a game for Georgia last year and made a little over 2 three pointers a game.
He is a bit better at taking it to the rack than Lindsey was, but his game is built to score from deep. You won’t see him scoring in the half court set off a dribble drive too frequently. He doesn’t really manufacture a lot of offense on his own, but he can create quality looks for himself running off screens. He has a quick release and is lethal in the transition game. He’s the type of player you have to identify on the court at all times because he will beat you soundly from the three point line.
Abdur-Rahim is well built at 6’8, 220. He has the body you’d expect of somebody who has spent four years in college strength and conditioning programs. This is also one of my frustrations when watching Abdur-Rahim, ironically. For his build and size, him averaging only 3.5 rebounds a game last year is a bit befuddling. I’m hopeful we see him attack the glass more and use his size to help PC gang rebound.
When I turned on the tape, I thought I’d see him get a bevy of his points in the similar way that Ticket Gaines did via loose balls and rebounds and finishing in traffic via putbacks. You don’t see that too much in his game, and I’m curious if that’s just who he is or if English can unlock him being more of a physical rather than finesse player.
Abdur-Rahim’s sharpshooting ability also gets him to the foul line due to late close outs and poor contests from the opposition. The great thing about him is that he is a career 84% free throw shooter. If he gets to the line, he makes his shots. For a team that shot 71.9% from the free throw line last year, his near automatic nature will be a welcome sight for Friar fans.
I haven’t seen enough of Abdur-Rahim’s defensive abilities, but I’ll trust Tony Bennett’s evaluation of a player when it comes to defense. He adds incredible size at the wing at 6’8 and will be, at a minimum, a physically well-built defender that will be tough to move off his spot. You won’t be able to play bully ball with Abdur-Rahim.
Fit With Providence
Providence has added three drastically different players, but they all do one thing well: shoot the deep ball. Abdur Rahim is a career 35.4% three point shooter, but did go 38.7% from deep the year prior to this past one. The trio of Joseph, Essandoko, and Abdur-Rahim on their career average 37.9%, 36.8%, and 35.4% from three. Do you think English has a type? Providence won’t be losing many more games because of a lack of shooters on the roster.
My co-host Mike thinks Abdur-Rahim is the starting 3 as of our recording, and I’m not quite ready to go there yet. I am absolutely fascinated by the competition between Floyd Jr., Fernandez, Barron, and Abdur-Rahim for that starting wing spot. For a basketball junkie, that competition in practice will be must see television.
I think, regardless of if he starts, Abdur-Rahim will be playing 20-25 minutes at a minimum at the 3 and 4 spots. Due to his size, he absolutely can play some of the 4 for Hopkins when he needs a breather. Heck, we had some game where Barron and Gaines were playing the 5. He absolutely can play the 4 in a pinch even if it isn’t his ideal position.
I am also a big fan of Providence adding two guys who are veterans. In this world of NIL and the Portal, it is good for a roster to be both old and experienced. Joseph and Abdur-Rahim have played a lot of college basketball and will be good mentors for the young guys on the roster.
Summary
English said he was going to bring in some dudes, and he wasn’t kidding. If you want to be in wait and see mode on all of these transfers, you at least have to acknowledge English has significantly improved the depth of this roster from top to bottom. While I don’t think we’ll see a repeat of what Devin Carter did last year from anybody on the 2024-2025 roster, I think the team is going to be so much more well rounded. The production and depth after Carter, Hopkins, and Oduro left a lot to be desired last year. That won’t be the case at all this year. This team is truly going to be a DEEP team.
Abdur-Rahim could end up being the sleeper commit where expectations aren’t too high, and he vastly exceeds them. He shoots the ball well, has prototypical wing size, and comes from NBA lineage. He wants to win in his final year and should be a great addition to the locker room.
Kim English continues to have success in the portal.
Providence Crier Recruiting Articles
Crier Recruiting Corner – Introducing BJ Freeman & Anthony Dell’Orso – https://theprovidencecrier.com/2024/04/11/crier-portal-spotlight-closer-look-at-wings-bj-freeman-anthony-dellorso/
Analyzing the Impact of Chris Essandoko – https://theprovidencecrier.com/2024/04/10/the-return-of-christ-one-time-friar-commit-transfers-to-providence/
Crier Recruiting Corner – Introducing Chattanooga Forward Sam Alexis – https://theprovidencecrier.com/2024/04/05/crier-recruiting-corner-introducing-chattanooga-big-sam-alexis/
Crier Recruiting Corner – Introducing Miami Guard Bensley Joseph – https://theprovidencecrier.com/2024/04/02/crier-portal-guide-spotlight-miami-guard-bensley-joseph/
Crier Recruiting Corner – Introducing Gavin Griffiths – https://theprovidencecrier.com/2024/04/02/crier-recruiting-corner-introducing-rutgers-freshman-wing-gavin-griffiths/
2024 Portal Guide – https://theprovidencecrier.com/2024/03/26/providence-crier-portal-guide/
2024 Portal Needs – https://theprovidencecrier.com/2024/03/24/2024-providence-crier-portal-needs/
Garwey Dual Transfers – https://theprovidencecrier.com/2024/03/22/garwey-dual-reportedly-enters-transfer-portal-analyzing-the-impact/
Crier Recruiting Corner, Introducing Jaylen Harrell – https://theprovidencecrier.com/2024/02/20/crier-recruiting-corner-introducing-2025-wing-jaylen-harrell/
Crier Recruiting Corner – Introducing Jamier Jones – https://theprovidencecrier.com/2024/02/19/crier-recruiting-corner-taking-a-look-at-oak-ridges-jamier-jones-25/
The Week of the Frontcourt – Turning a Weakness into a Strength – https://theprovidencecrier.com/2024/01/14/the-week-of-the-frontcourt-turning-a-weakness-into-a-strength/
Providence Lands 2025 Big Oswin Erhunmwunse – https://theprovidencecrier.com/2024/01/11/providence-lands-elite-big-man-oswin-erhunmwunse-analyzing-the-commitment/
Introducing 7’2 JuCo Recruit Anton Bonke –https://theprovidencecrier.com/2023/12/19/crier-recruiting-corner-introducing-72-center-anton-bonke/
Recruiting Rankings Matter, Part 2: https://theprovidencecrier.com/2023/12/06/recruiting-rankings-matter-part-2-how-far-is-the-roster-talent-from-championship-quality/
Recruiting Rankings Matter, Part 1: https://theprovidencecrier.com/2023/11/29/the-providence-crier-recruiting-feature-recruiting-rankings-matter-part-1/
Rankings Do Matter: Analyzing the Final Four Rosters by Recruiting Rankings – https://theprovidencecrier.com/2021/04/03/stars-in-fact-do-matter-analyzing-the-final-4-rosters-relative-to-recruiting-rankings/
2025 Recruiting Primer, Version 3.0 – https://theprovidencecrier.com/2023/04/30/2025-providence-college-high-school-recruiting-primer-version-1-0/
2024 Recruiting Primer, Version 8.0 – https://theprovidencecrier.com/2023/03/27/providence-college-basketball-recruiting-class-of-2024/
2024 Luke Bamgboye – https://theprovidencecrier.com/2023/09/18/crier-recruiting-corner-introducing-2024-big-man-luke-bamgboye/
Eli DeLaurier Commits to Providence & Reclassifies – https://theprovidencecrier.com/2023/09/06/eli-delaurier-reclassifies-and-joins-friars-for-upcoming-season/
Ryan Mela Commits to Providence –https://theprovidencecrier.com/2023/08/01/friars-add-3-star-wing-ryan-mela-to-2024-recruiting-class/
Great write-up, and congratulations to English, his staff, the AD department, the president, the board, and others, not just for this recruit but also for where the college and program are to date. Of course, there is still work to be done!
The early signs (in-game coaching, recruiting, and implementing VCP; Vision, Capital, People) are very telling that English will be a top coach very soon. If I were Providence, I’d already be thinking about how to keep English around for the long haul!