With the Kim English era upon us in Friartown, English has to hit the ground running at turbo speed. The transfer portal is both an amazing asset and a potential death knell to a new coach taking over a program. English not only needs to re-recruit the Friars that were on the roster last year after Ed Cooley departed for Georgetown, but he also needs to fill the gaps from those that departed the Friar team due to graduation and/or transferring. In total, Providence is definitely losing the following players: Ed Croswell, Clifton Moore, Noah Locke, and Jared Bynum. The first three are out of eligibility while Bynum is choosing to transfer.
It is also foolish to think English retains all of Bryce Hopkins, Devin Carter, Corey Floyd Jr., Alyn Breed, Rafael Castro, and Jayden Pierre, the players who have eligibility beyond this past season. That’s the nature of college basketball these days with the rosters fluctuating so frequently due to the transfer portal. The likelihood of a roster turnover further increases after a coaching change.
English is working on re-recruiting the high school commits from the 2023 class in Garwey Dual, Drew Fielder, and Donovan Santoro. As of this writing, he is currently out West meeting with each of these players. For this exercise, let’s assume English doesn’t get any of these three back in the fold (I think he will get some of them back, but I digress).
I lay that groundwork to say that Kim English has a lot of work to do in the transfer portal. I personally believe English will bring in, at a minimum, 3 players from the portal with 4 or 5 transfer portal players likely. English needs to bring in high caliber talent to replenish the roster, along with players that fit the mold of what English is trying to build culturally.
Enter Josh Oduro.
Oduro, a senior with one year of eligibility remaining, hails from the Virginia area. Oduro is a 6’9 forward from Paul VI (a DMV hotbed) who averaged 15.6 points/game, 7.9 rebounds/game, and 2.6 assists/game. Oduro is the best of the best in the A10, as he is two time First Team All-A10 selection. His junior year actually was a bit more impressive statistically, as he averaged 17.7 and 7.5. Oduro has been with George Mason his entire career. Stating the obvious, he has been with Kim English for both of his years coaching George Mason.
Below, we’ll break down Oduro’s game, what he would bring to the team he transfers to, and how he would fit with the current iteration of the PC basketball program.
Continue reading “Transfer Portal Spotlight – George Mason Forward Josh Oduro”