Corey Floyd Jr. Commits to UCONN – Who are Next Targets?

Corey Floyd Jr., a 4 star combo guard out of New Jersey, chose the UCONN Huskies over Providence and a slew of other schools. If you recall from an article written earlier (https://theprovidencecrier.com/2020/07/20/corey-floyd-jr-offer-a-familiar-name/#more-2407), Floyd Jr. is a legacy recruit from when his father played for the Friars in the early 90’s.

Commitment Impact

Providence made his final list of schools, but could not ultimately win the recruitment. It is tough to see the Friars lose out to a recruit whose father played at Providence. Floyd Jr. has also been quoted saying the Huskies were recruiting him the hardest, which is never what any supporter of the Providence program wants to hear. Providence had a lot to sell beyond the family connections, specifically early playing time and need for top tier talent in the backcourt. It is a tough miss, no matter which way you look at it.

Folks talk about the recruiting impact of UCONN in the Big East. Well, here is the outcome. Providence will need to increase its recruiting tenacity in the Northeast with the Huskies now back in the Big East. Previously, Providence may have won this recruitment with PC being in the Big East and UCONN in AAC. They don’t have that advantage moving forward. There will be plenty more head to head battles in 2022 (Donovan Clingan, for one).

Who Do Friars Target Next?

We broke down the 2022 targets in a prior article, but will focus on the backcourt below.

With Floyd Jr. off the board, the Friars will set their sights on a few other primary ball handlers and backcourt pieces. The primary targets are as follows:

Jayden Epps – https://247sports.com/player/jayden-epps-46099452/

Epps is a Top 100 Guard that should be the heir apparent to David Duke Jr. Hailing from the DMV area, Epps has been a focal point of the 2022 class for the Friars for quite some time.

Leland Walker – https://247sports.com/player/leland-walker-46096727/

Walker is a 3 star combo guard out of Indiana. He was teammates with another Friar target, 2/3 recruit Reggie Bass.

Conclusion

Even if David Duke Jr. decides to come back for his senior year, they eventually need to get more quality pieces in the backcourt. This is why it is imperative they land one of Epps or Walker.

If Duke leaves for the pros after this year, the backcourt is going to need a serious infusion of talent. With Floyd Jr. off the board, landing one or two of Epps and Walker becomes that much more of a priority.