The Providence Crier

Providence Crier Player Preview Series: Is Ticket Gaines the Friars Glue Guy?

On the August 30th episode of the Providence Crier Podcast BOC & The Crier drafted PC’s roster for our player preview series. We take a look at each player and what fans may expect this upcoming season.

Ticket Gaines has been closely associated with Kim English throughout his entire college basketball career. In April 2019, Kim English became an assistant coach at the University of Tennessee, replacing Rob Lanier, who had initially recruited Gaines to Knoxville. However, after two seasons at Tennessee, Gaines decided to transfer likely due to a decrease in playing time from his freshman to sophomore year. He followed Kim English to George Mason, where English took on his first head coaching role. Now, with English as the head coach at Providence College, Gaines has once again chosen to join him, much to the delight of Friar fans.

Providence Crier Player Preview Series: Could Garwey Dual Be One-and-Done?

Garwey Dual committed to Providence back in June of 2022 before his stock skyrocketed, and he became one of the top prospects in the 2023 class. Despite not signing in the spring period, he remained committed until our former coach left town, which prompted him to reopen his commitment. Recognizing Dual’s unique talent, Kim English and his staff knew they had to do whatever it took to get him to recommit to the Friars. That he did, and Providence has a unicorn freshman on its roster.

Providence Crier Player Preview: Corey Floyd Jr. – This Year is the Year

Corey Floyd Jr. has bided his time in college for two years. The wait is over, and it is time for Corey Floyd Jr. to be a key cog in the Providence rotation. An insertion into the starting line-up is not out of the question, and I wouldn’t fault the fans for presuming he’d be the starting 2 or 3 alongside Devin Carter.

At the Providence Crier, I’d argue we have pegged CFJr. as the guy most ready to make the proverbial “leap” from role player to prominent contributor for the Friars. Pierre may have something to say about that, but Floyd Jr. is likely the odds-on favorite for me.

Providence Crier Player Preview Series: Jayden Pierre Drawing Comparisons to McKinley Wright IV

One of the best storylines of the Friar offseason was when Kim English challenged Jayden Pierre to a game of 1-on-1. The stakes were simple. If Jayden Pierre won he could remain in the portal; however, if Coach English won JP would have to take his name out. Kim would walk away with the victory and keep a key member of the team in the process.

Providence Crier Player Series Spotlight – Will Justyn Fernandez Redshirt?

Justyn Fernandez was brought to Providence from George Mason alongside Ticket Gaines and Josh Oduro. Fernandez was quite the coup for Kim English when he was at George Mason, as 4 star Top 150 players don’t routinely enroll at Atlantic 10 programs. Fernandez was arguably one of the top recruits to ever enroll at George Mason, but he did not play as much as one would anticipate a player of his stature to play, averaging only 14 minutes.

The path to playing time was always going to be difficult for Fernandez at Providence in 2023-2024. The leap from high school to A-10 proved to be a steep learning curve for Fernandez, and one would naturally expect a similar learning curve from the A-10 to the gauntlet that is the Big East.

Providence Crier Player Preview Series: Is Rafael Castro’s PC’s Biggest Unknown?

Rafael Castro came to PC in 2021 viewed as a potential project. Castro was ranked as a 3-star prospect coming in at #142 in his class per 247sports. Head of scouting for 247sports Jerry Meyer projected Castro as a Power-5 Starter and raved about his frame and athletic ability.

Providence Crier Player Preview Series: Can Donovan Santoro’s Shooting Ability Carve Him Out a Role This Season?

Expectations: From all that we have seen and heard, Santoro will be a reserve for the Providence Friars this year. This is not an indictment on Santoro’s talent by any means, but more so a testament to how deep Providence is on the wing. If there are areas on the Friars that are particularly stacked, I would first point to the backcourt and wing as areas of strength.

Nice fall day for a dip in the pool!

PC lands the third commitment of the 2023 class in Donovan Santoro@ProvidenceCrier breaks down the commitment and impact to Friar programhttps://t.co/H5Kc2AEfMM
— BOC Friars (@BOCallday) October 14, 2022

Crier Recruiting Corner – Introducing 2024 Big Man Luke Bamgboye

The need for frontcourt help is obvious in Providence. Josh Oduro is in his final year of college, and Will McNair Jr. recently departed from the program after seemingly being a Friar for all of 10 days. After this year, the only true bigs on the roster are Rafael Castro, who hasn’t shown he can contribute at the Big East level consistently, and Eli DeLaurier, a promising prospect who reclassified and appears to be a few years away from being Big East ready. While the rest of the roster is flush with talent, there are clear warning signs about the frontcourt that need to be addressed in both quantity and quality.

It is almost a certainty that English will look after this year to replenish the roster with a transfer big in the portal that can play Day 1 while also landing a 2024 big man to develop for the future alongside DeLaurier.

Enter Bamgboye. The 6’10 post player from Compass Prep in Arizona is coming off a visit to Friartown this past weekend, with Kim English likely making clear the path to early playing time in the post.

Below, we break down the recruitment of Bamgboye, how he would fit in the Kim English system, and where PC stands with landing the bouncy frontcourt player.

https://x.com/griffgreenberg/status/1702129564401680673?s=46&t=jxSpiAPB3PvC74snCH-rvQ

Eli DeLaurier Reclassifies and Joins Friars for Upcoming Season

Well…that was quick. Less than 24 hours after learning that Mississippi State transfer big man Will McNair Jr. was leaving PC (https://theprovidencecrier.com/2023/09/05/will-mcnair-jr-re-enters-transfer-portal/), Kim English and staff have potentially found a frontcourt replacement. Eli DeLaurier of Overtime Elite announced today that he will be reclassifying to the class of 2023 and joining the Friars roster for the upcoming season. DeLaurier’s decision was broken by Joe Tipton of On3.

🎙Eli Delaurier has committed to Providence @DelaurierEli. He will reclassify to 2023. Immediate response from Kim English after void left from McNair. @PCFriarsmbb
pic.twitter.com/1WviXkCIJD
— Rhody Vault (@RhodyVault) September 6, 2023

Will McNair Jr. Re-enters Transfer Portal

The transfer portal never sleeps apparently. Despite the school year having started and official practice right around the corner, we learned that Mississippi State transfer Will McNair Jr. won’t be suiting up for the Friars this season after all. Per Jamie Shaw and On3 the 6-11 265 lb center decided that he will re-enter the transfer portal and leave the PC program.

Former Mississippi State center, and previous Providence commit Will McNair has re-entered the transfer portal @On3sports has learned

The 6-11 grad transfer avg. 3.3 points and 3.3 boards last season for the Bulldogs. He spent 3 years at New Mexico Statehttps://t.co/7UJJfGbaT5 pic.twitter.com/bEnJDHaktI
— Jamie Shaw (@JamieShaw5) September 5, 2023