When Kim English came out and said, “We’re going to have 13 dudes next year”, everybody saw the writing on the wall that there would be roster turnover this offseason.
With the offseason a mere two days old, the first change to the roster has already transpired. Freshman blue chip recruit Garwey Dual, who averaged over 3 points in 19 minutes, has allegedly entered the transfer portal. There are conflicting reports about the finality of this all, so this could be a fluid process.
While the stats aren’t eye popping, the loss is felt by Providence supporters because of the immense amount of raw potential Dual has.
Dual may have been a victim of the hype machine coming into his freshman year. As one of the top freshman entering into the Big East, expectations continued to increase for the 4 star, Top 50 recruit. They reached a high point when Dual was slotted preseason as a potential dark horse lottery pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.
Dual was never able to live up to those expectations. In hindsight, it probably wasn’t fair to place those expectations upon him. Analysts saw his ridiculous wingspan, pro-style measurables and decided to overlook just how raw of a player Garwey is.
Could Dual be an NBA player? Absolutely. The issue is he needs more time to develop physically (he’s still very skinny), all while advancing his skill set. His jumper is still in its infancy, and his knowledge of how to play within the framework of a team still needs to improve.
We’ll analyze the impact of this potential transfer below, but this is a player who, in my humble opinion, is best served developing for 3 years in college and then trying to make the pro leap. In the age of NIL, it’s a shame he doesn’t want to be appear to stay patient at Providence, develop under Kim English, and then take the reins as a junior. This is the era of college basketball that we live in where instant gratification is the name of the game, and Garwey is likely going to look for a new home with more opportunity.
Analyzing His Game
Dual would do one or two things a game that would make you say, “He’s the only person on the court that can do what he just did”, but he’d then follow that up with bouts of reckless play that showcased how raw he is as a prospect.
If Dual can put his game together by avoiding turnovers, making a jumper more consistently, and not being fearful of attacking and finishing at the rim, scouts will salivate over the combination of his physical traits with a refined basketball skill set. Dual is still far away from reaching that point, and I was looking forward to seeing the sophomore year leap from him in Providence.
Dual – English Fit?
Knowing what we now know about Kim English and his offensive preferences, it would seem the Dual-English marriage was an odd one at best.
Let’s not forget that when English was hired, the walls were closing in on Providence. The Prodigal Son of Providence, Ed Cooley, just left for an in conference foe, and the national media was happily burying the Friar program as one that couldn’t win without Ed Cooley. Providence and Kim English needed some juice inserted back into the program ASAP.
Momentum is everything in life, and I think English went out to re-recruit Dual to generate some positive momentum, even if he wasn’t the perfect player for what Kim wanted to run. Mission accomplished.
Dual may never be a perfect fit for Kim English, but it was crucially important for English to get a perception win early in his tenure, and he did just that with the Dual re-commitment.
English wants his players to be shooters all across the court, and Dual just isn’t that right now. He is best served in a frenetic, slashing offense that allows him to free style a bit more. Dual is at his best when things break down, but English wants his players, especially his guards, to be threats from deep to open up the driving and passing lanes.
Impact to Providence
It doesn’t come as a surprise that Dual is likely to transfer. In an ideal world, Dual and Pierre bide their time, and English brings in a veteran grad transfer point guard to run the show for him in 2024-2025. Realistically, one of Pierre and Dual were always going to leave, especially if English brings in a transfer, which I anticipate him doing. Pierre and Dual were too inconsistent to cross your fingers and hope they make an offseason jump next year. If you want to be a Big East contender, you needed to improve the lead guard spot. You need to bring in somebody who has already proven they can be a lead point guard at a high major level.
If the trade off for Dual leaving is that Pierre decides to stay, I’ll take that trade 10/10 times. Pierre has shown flashes of brilliance as a lead guard, but he may be best suited next year as an off ball guard that threatens from deep and is a change of pace guard coming off the bench. Will he accept that role? To be determined.
There’s also a world where Pierre ascends and it all clicks for him as a junior. I absolutely am not ruling that possibility out. His last few games, turnovers aside, showed he can fill it up offensively.
Providence needs to hang on to Pierre because NCAA tournament teams are built on the backs of veteran guards like Jayden Pierre. He will be a junior next year, but this past year was his first year of getting serious playing time. The growing pains were always going to happen. Providence fans just need to hope he stays the course and continues to develop in Friartown. Pierre is MUCH more of a fit for English than Dual.
For Garwey, I hope he finds a home that allows him to do what he does best: play pesky defense, be creative on offense, and attack downhill. He may never become a consistent three point shooter, but that is okay. He can make a very good living being a plus sized guard that becomes a ball stopper on defense, gobbles up rebounds on both ends, and scores in double digits via floaters and finishes at the rim.
If Garwey Dual puts it all together, he has pro potential. I just hope he has the patience to see that development through in college.
Go Friars. Best of luck to Garwey.
If Pierre can cut way down on the turnovers it would be a big plus for him and the Friars. From what I saw last season he spends too many precious seconds on the dribble. I hope he stays. He has a lot of potential.
Note to BOC and/or Mike: how is Anton Bonke developing? He is exactly what we need beside
another solid, consistent 3 point shooter.
Note to BOC and /or Mike: agree with two things you said, Garway may never be a fit for English and English needs to bring in a veteran point guard to add leadership and to free up Jayden to play the off guard. From there you made no sense. Dual will never see the light of day in the NBA. He can’t shoot!!! Period. He’s a college student and not a middle schooler. You think he’s going to all of a sudden find the bottom of the hoop from deep???? His game with a little confidence will be going down hill and finishing at the rim. Period. Will be so happy if the portal brings PC the following. Power forward with experience and past success. Dynamic scoring threat at PG, shooting guard with unlimited range. English has a lot of work to do before next season starts or else if he’s got to work with more of the gang that can’t shoot strait it will be a long year for PC fans.