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Providence Crier Recruiting Primer: Transfer Portal Edition

The Providence Friars have found great players in the transfer portal over the years. Al Durham, Justin Minaya, Noah Horchler, Jared Bynum and Ed Croswell all played vital roles in Providence’s Sweet 16 run. With Matteus Case entering the transfer portal, Justin Minaya forgoing his final year of eligibility, and Christ Essandoko’s request to be released from NLI, the Friars now have 4 open scholarships. While we still await the decision from AJ Reeves, there’s no doubt Cooley will look towards the portal again to replenish his roster.

To be clear, the transfer portal is 1000+ players deep and there’d be way too many players to evaluate on being potential Friars. So we decided to put together a list of guys that we feel can fill needs for the Friars and those who actually become linked to the Friar program. Our primer will be changing throughout the offseason, and we will provide updates periodically. So without further ado here is The Providence Crier Recruiting Primer: Transfer Portal Edition.

How One Offseason Has Laid the Groundwork for a Final Four Run

Everybody has heard the slight murmurs in the background:

“This was a fluke season by Providence”

“Flash in the pan”

“Everybody is gone. I hope Friar fans enjoyed this lucky run”

Let everybody enjoy making these comments. With what Ed Cooley did this past season and into the offseason, the trajectory of this program has been completely altered. Providence is about to enter into a level of consistency and performance we have not yet seen under Ed Cooley, and I cannot wait.

Bryce Hopkins Transfers to Providence – Analyzing the Impact

Former Top 50 4 Star recruit Bryce Hopkins from Chicago decided to depart the Kentucky Wildcats and transfer to Providence College. Like Locke and Floyd Jr., Hopkins considered Providence out of high school, but ultimately enrolled elsewhere. After playing spot minutes on a loaded Kentucky squad this past year, the big bodied 3/undersized 4 will now be donning the Black and White.

Below, we analyze the impact of Hopkins enrolling at Providence and what it means for the immediate and long term.

Friars Add Former Husky and PC Legacy- Corey Floyd Jr

Last June, the Big East conference got rid of the 20+ year rule of disallowing intra-conference transfers. The Friars are the first school to take advantage, as former UConn guard Corey Floyd Jr announced he’d be transferring to Providence Sunday afternoon.

The theme of this offseason appears to be transfers seeing the light and turning back to choosing Providence as their college destination after initially choosing a different school for a variety of reasons. Much like Noah Locke (and potentially another recruit to be named later), Floyd Jr. has decided to transfer to Providence.

Friars Strike Again in The Portal- Land Devin Carter & Clifton Moore

It’s been a great Easter weekend for Friar fans. After landing Louisville transfer Noah Locke on Friday, Cooley and staff got two more pledges to Friartown on Sunday. Both Clifton Moore and Devin Carter visited campus this weekend and both announced their intentions to play for Providence.

Portal Spotlight- LaSalle’s Clifton Moore

While Friar fans were anticipating the visit of South Carolina guard Devin Carter, there was another portal target on campus this weekend, Clifton Moore. Clifton Moore is a 6-11 big man who original played at Indiana for two years before transferring and playing at LaSalle the past two seasons. Last year he averaged 12.9 ppg , 6.1 rpg, and 2.8 bpg for the Explorers.

Third Time is the Charm – Friars Land Their Shooter in Noah Locke

This one was a pleasant Friday surprise. We’ve heard and written a lot about Devin Carter (https://theprovidencecrier.com/2022/04/12/introducing-friar-fans-to-devin-carter-potential-transfer/#more-4900) and Bryce Hopkins (https://theprovidencecrier.com/2022/04/13/portal-spotlight-bryce-hopkins/#more-4909), but the talk was relatively quiet around Locke. Make no mistake, however. With Reeves and Horchler leaving, the Friars desperately needed deep ball shooters. Insert Locke.

Below, we break down Locke’s college career to date, what he brings to the Friars, and what comes next on the transfer portal front.

Re-Introducing Friar Fans to Bryce Hopkins – Portal Spotlight

Yesterday, we posted a detailed breakdown of South Carolina transfer Devin Carter (https://theprovidencecrier.com/2022/04/12/introducing-friar-fans-to-devin-carter-potential-transfer/#more-4900). Today, we extend our focus to another interested portal candidate: Kentucky wing Bryce Hopkins.

If you follow the Providence recruiting trail, Bryce Hopkins should be a familiar name. PC heavily recruited Hopkins out of Fenwick High School in Chicago before he ultimately committed to Kentucky. We wrote about his recruitment coming out of high school here (https://theprovidencecrier.com/2020/10/13/bryce-hopkins-close-to-deciding-do-the-friars-pull-off-recruiting-upset/). Now a year later he’s looking for a new opportunity and it could reside in Friartown.

Introducing Friar Fans to Devin Carter- Portal Spotlight

Frank Martin may be the gift that keeps on giving for Friar fans. He introduced us to cult hero and defensive stalwart Justin Minaya for one memorable year. Now, history is trending towards repeating itself with South Carolina freshman guard Devin Carter visiting Providence this upcoming weekend after putting PC in his Final 6.

Below, we break down Carter’s game and what he would bring to future Friar squads.

Providence College Basketball Recruiting – Class of 2024

With the 2022 class all but wrapped up and Coach Cooley setting his sights on landing a nationally ranked Class of 2023 recruiting class and high level transfer class, we thought it’d be a good idea to inform folks of who Providence is targeting in the Class of 2024. While many years away, the recruiting landscape is making it difficult to land top tier classes unless you start recruiting kids at an early age. The list below will by no means be as robust as the list of offers and interest for the Class of 2023, but it helps ascertain who Cooley and staff are prioritizing.

One common theme I’ve noticed with these early offers is that the majority of them are “local” offers that understand the appeal of Providence and the Big East. I’ve been calling for this pivot to a recruiting strategy, so I’m pleased to see this transpire. I’m sure as more AAU tape comes out, Battle will extend some offers to North Carolina prep players, but I’d prefer the early offers come from areas where playing in the Big East is a big deal.