In Kim English’s short time as Providence College head coach, he has brought in a plethora of highly talented players on official and unofficial visits. There may not be any bigger recruit (literally and figuratively) than Oswin Erhunmwunse.
Oswin is a 2025 lefty Center from Nigeria that has been on campus a handful of times already. Oswin is, by every metric, an elite blue chip recruit. The 6’9 Center plays at prestigious Putnam Science Academy, which has a history of producing high level college talent. He plays AAU ball for BABC, which is a program that all Friars fans should be very familiar with.
While Erhunmwunse has a bevy of suitors, Providence has to feel great with where they stand in this recruitment given the frequency of visits that Oswin has made to Friartown. Additionally, Kim English can sell the path to early playing time the moment he steps on campus.
Below, we break down Oswin’s game, his recruitment, and how he’d fit on the Friar roster.
Oswin Erhunmwunse Recruiting Profile
https://247sports.com/player/oswin-erhunmwunse-46137867/
247 lists him as 40 overall in the Class of 2025, and the 4th overall center in 2025. Great, right? Well, 247 is the lowest on him out of most recruiting services.
The 247 Composite Ranking (which averages the rankings from 3 different services) has him as 26 overall and the number ONE overall center for his class. I guess English knows how to identify elite talent?
Since I began avidly following Providence in 2007, this would be the highest ranked frontcourt player to commit to Providence. Shout out to contender Pascal Chukwu.
Oswin Erhunmwunse Recruiting Visits
Oswin was recently on campus for an official visit to Providence this past weekend. The weekend before that he was unofficially on campus as well.
Oswin is visiting Oklahoma this upcoming week (who do the Sooners play again?). Clearly, he has seen a lot of the Friars, which is a great sign for the outcome of this recruitment.
Creighton and Georgia Tech are two other heavy contenders.
Analyzing Oswin’s Game
Oswin is a superb athlete as a 6’9 Center. He moves with a fluidity of an individual that isn’t playing the 5 position. Somebody his size shouldn’t be able to move on the court as gracefully as he does. Couple with that his motor, and you have a player that fits in any playing style.
Oswin is a modern big that can rim run, play above the rim, and use his athleticism to be a plus shot blocker. He doesn’t have the size and girth of a traditional five, but he can use his quickness and leaping ability to offset that. He’ll also naturally put on size and muscle as he progresses through a college strength and conditioning program.
Oswin is out with an injury until January, and we should see more of his development in 2024 as he returns back from injury.
If I had to make a college comp, Oso Ighodaro jumps out to me after watching his game. Both are great jumpers and move around in a way that doesn’t match their body type. They aren’t too much of perimeter threats, but they can knock down shots if left open. They also don’t need to rely on perimeter shooting because of their ability to roll to the rim and finish.
Providence Program Fit
PC has a dire need for frontcourt players. After this year, the only “big” on the roster is Rafael Castro. There is a very clear path to playing time for 2024 and 2025 bigs.
That leads me to my next point. English has really made an effort to bring in elite 2025 recruits, and I am curious if he is working on getting some of these stud recruits to reclassify so they can enroll after this season. The below link hints at Oswin (and potentially two other recruits of interest in Sanon and Fears) being reclassification options.
If that transpires, Oswin has a very good chance to be PC’s starting 4 or 5 on opening day 2024. While he’ll need to learn the nuances of playing college basketball, players with his size and athleticism don’t just grow on trees. He’s a rare talent that would be playing Day 1.
SUMMARY
This recruitment has large ramifications for many reasons. The most obvious one is that Providence desperately needs bodies in the frontcourt. Big Oswin obviously helps there. If he were to reclassify and you pair him with a ready college transfer, the outlook in the frontcourt is dramatically more positive heading into future Friar seasons.
Additionally, elite recruits want to play alongside elite recruits. If Oswin were to commit to the Friars, it could have an impact on the decisions of other elite recruits that have visited Providence, like Joson Sanon, Jaylen Harrell, Efeosa Oliogu, etc. Local recruits may be more inclined to stay closer to home and play for PC if they can sell building an elite 2025 recruiting class with players they are familiar with from AAU and Prep ball.
There is no decision timeline set yet, but I have a feeling we should hear something more concrete after his Oklahoma visit. He has taken a lot of visits of recent, and that leads me to believe a decision is coming sooner rather than later.
If Providence somehow lands Erhunmwunse, the floodgates may open for other elite recruits. Even if no others follow, English landing a borderline five star center is a feather in his cap. Time will tell, but the work English is putting in on this recruitment is paying off.
Providence Crier Recruiting Articles
Recruiting Rankings Matter, Part 1: https://theprovidencecrier.com/2023/11/29/the-providence-crier-recruiting-feature-recruiting-rankings-matter-part-1/
Rankings Do Matter: Analyzing the Final Four Rosters by Recruiting Rankings – https://theprovidencecrier.com/2021/04/03/stars-in-fact-do-matter-analyzing-the-final-4-rosters-relative-to-recruiting-rankings/
2025 Recruiting Primer, Version 3.0 – https://theprovidencecrier.com/2023/04/30/2025-providence-college-high-school-recruiting-primer-version-1-0/
2024 Recruiting Primer, Version 8.0 – https://theprovidencecrier.com/2023/03/27/providence-college-basketball-recruiting-class-of-2024/
2024 Luke Bamgboye – https://theprovidencecrier.com/2023/09/18/crier-recruiting-corner-introducing-2024-big-man-luke-bamgboye/
Eli DeLaurier Commits to Providence & Reclassifies – https://theprovidencecrier.com/2023/09/06/eli-delaurier-reclassifies-and-joins-friars-for-upcoming-season/
Ryan Mela Commits to Providence – https://theprovidencecrier.com/2023/08/01/friars-add-3-star-wing-ryan-mela-to-2024-recruiting-class/
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