Richard Barron Commits to Providence – Analyzing the Impact

Richard “Bull” Barron has followed Kim English to Providence. Barron, originally a George Mason commitment, got out of his National Letter of Intent and made his intentions clear on playing at PC shortly thereafter. Barron joins Donovan Santoro in the 2023 recruiting class.

What is the Providence program getting in Barron? We discuss his game and how he fits within the Friar program.

FRIARTOWN!🖤 #Mindset pic.twitter.com/c8I6GiMM0v
— Rich Barron (@richardbarron_) April 3, 2023

Player Background

Kim English and Staff believe they found a diamond in the rough with Barron. Barron is an unranked wing standing at 6’5 215 according to Rivals. Barron hails from St. Ignatius in Chicago and had other offers from DePaul, Arizona State, and Loyola (Chicago). Barron was first team all state and one of the best players coming out of Illinois in the 2023 class.

Game Overview

Kim English said he wanted shooters on his team, and Barron fits that to a tee. He is a knockdown shooter with an effortless stroke. That is by far his best skillset at this point in his career. He’ll be a perennial threat from the three point line and seems to have the size and body type that fit well within the Big East.

Barron is more than just a shooter though. He does have the ability to use his size and physicality to finish when driving to the rim. When he gets downhill, he uses his weight to shield off defenders and put them on their heels. He surprisingly has a nice handle for somebody his size. He does need to tighten up that handle, but you can see the mold for how Barron becomes an effective player in the Big East.

This is a Ken White project if I’ve ever seen one. Barron already has a college ready body with his size, but White can make him a truly physically imposing guard. This is the type of recruit that spends 2 years in a strength and conditioning program and then imposes his will on his defender as an upperclassmen in the Big East. The fans of the opposing team then are left wondering how the heck PC found another under the radar junkyard dog. Putting on muscle won’t be an issue for Barron.

Providence Program Fit

What I love about Kim English is that he trusts his evaluations. He doesn’t care what Barron’s ranking is or how many stars he has next to his name. If English believes in a player, he is going to bring him into the fold. English and Tomlinson were enamored with his game during an AAU tournament and jumped all over his recruitment before any other big names got into the fold. That’s trusting your eval.

I see Barron as being a long term project for Providence. Anybody expecting him to contribute his freshman year will likely be disappointed. PC fans will need some patience here, in my opinion, and that is more than okay.

Barron should start by re-shaping his body in the weight-room. His build and body type will allow for him to carry 230+ easy, but he just needs that to be a good 230. Once he takes care of that aspect of his game, he can become a versatile threat by bullying his opponent when driving while still attaining the three point shooting ability. The phrase “bully ball” comes to mind when thinking about what he can be long term.

Ideally, Barron becomes a regular contributor by his third year in the program and becomes like a Kris Jenkins type that was a killer from deep, but had the size to contribute in the mid-range.