Kim English drew the proverbial line in the sand after the UConn beat down at home when he stated his roster moving forward would have “13 dudes”. From that point on, it was apparent that English was going to turn this roster over and put his fingerprints all over it. While the roster was left in a healthy position post Cooley’s departure, in large part due to Kim English’s recruiting ability to get players to stay in Providence, the roster doesn’t currently fit what English wants to do as a coach.
We previewed in our Transfer Portal Needs article what Providence needs in the portal this offseason: a capable lead point guard, shooters, a grad transfer 5, and somebody who could provide bench minutes for Bryce Hopkins at the 4 (and occasionally 3).
Insert Gavin Griffiths.
The blue chip recruit from Connecticut came into Rutgers as one of their higher ranked recruits in some time. He only started 3 games, averaging 18 minutes and 6 points/game. Curiously, he was billed as one of the best shooters in his class, but was only 28% from deep his freshman year.
He had a hot start at Rutgers, scoring 25 points in his second career game, before tailing off mid season. His conclusion to the season gave optimism to Scarlet Knight fans. From 2/22 on, he was 38.4% from deep and had 16 in the season finale against Maryland.
While his stats from his freshman year won’t necessarily wow, Griffiths does one thing incredibly well: shoot the basketball. Griffiths was labeled a sharpshooter from the wing coming out of high school and he’d be a perfect fit for what English wants to do.
Below, we break down Griffith’s game, his freshman year at Rutgers, and how he’d fit with the Friar roster in 2024 and beyond.
Gavin Griffiths Recruiting Profile
Don’t let the lanky kid with goggles look fool you. Griffiths was a bona fide elite recruit. 247 Composite had him as the 44 overall player in his class. If he were to join Providence’s roster, there’d only be one player who was ranked higher coming out of high school: Mr. Bryce Hopkins at 39 overall. Anybody who knows me know I want to stack highly rated prep talent on this roster to raise the team ceiling. Griffiths does this.
Let’s not forget that Hopkins his freshman year averaged 6 minutes and 2 points. Griffiths, while admittedly on a worse team than that Kentucky squad, played triple the minutes and tripled his scoring output.
There’s a chance a change of scenery allows Griffiths to explode his sophomore year and fulfill his potential.
Analyzing Griffith’s Freshman Year
I love Steve Pikell the head coach, but he’s not exactly known as an offensive savant. His teams are honestly close replicas of Cooley’s squads in that they are gritty teams that are hard nosed and defense first.
Griffiths did not have eye popping numbers, and I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for a variety of reasons. For one, he was a freshman in the Big 10. That’s a tall ask in and of itself to produce as a true freshman in this conference. Especially with the COVID year, these freshman were often playing against seniors or fifth years. That is the literal definition of boys playing against men. Not exactly easy.
Secondly, I don’t think Rutgers had the roster to accentuate his skill set. He needs to play in a more wide open offense that has ball handlers that can create offense for Griffiths. Griffiths being asked to manufacture his own offense is not setting him up for success as an underclassmen. I’m not complaining because Providence may be the beneficiary, but I’d imagine if he stayed at Rutgers for his second year his numbers would have exponentially increased due to playing alongside more advanced playmakers coming in in Harper and Bailey that could get him easier touches and looks.
If Griffiths can play alongside players who can put him in a position for success, we could see the high school player who poured it in from deep consistently and was widely considered one of the best shooters in his class.
Griffiths Fit with Providence
Where he will potentially excel if he chooses Providence is his ability to come off screens and beat his defender from deep. As defenders aggressively close out to prevent the deep ball, he can then use the pump fake to attack the rim. At 6’6-6’7, he has the prototypical size that you want at the wing. It’s why he was thought of so highly in high school because he was more than “just a shooter”.
Providence fans need to be patient with Griffiths if he commits to the Friars. Much like Dual, Gavin needs time to understand the nuances of the college game and develop physically. He’ll get onto the court immediately because he is elite at one skill that Providence desperately lacks, but he needs to round out his game to become a constant starter for the Friars.
I spoke with a few Rutgers season ticket holders who are bright hoops minds who said that they expect Griffiths to be a better shooter than he advertised his freshman year, but not to expect a massive year his sophomore year like Bryce did after transferring from Kentucky.
Expectations shouldn’t be through the roof for his sophomore year. This same person said he believes Griffiths will become a dominant college player by the time he is a junior because he needs time to develop. He was sad to see Griffiths depart because he thinks Gavin will become a force as an upperclassman, enough so to be an All-Conference type player.
As an aside, this same person also said a year ago that Cam Spencer was one of the smartest players that he has ever watched live and that he would thrive at UConn. Clearly, he knows Rutgers basketball, so I trust his opinion of Griffiths.
Griffiths being added to Providence’s roster would solve one of the most pressing needs from this past season: more shooters. He would immediately challenge Dicky Barron as the best shooter on the team, and that is a fantastic development. If English can have four capable shooters on the court, alongside a rim running big, we’ll see the offense take a massive step forward. Too many times this past year Providence fell apart offensively because our roster couldn’t put the ball in the hoop, even when these looks were uncontested.
If Griffiths wants to force his next coach’s hand, he has to round out his defensive game a bit more. That held him back from getting more minutes at Rutgers, especially under Pikell.
For 2024-2025, here are my expectations of Griffiths if he were to choose PC. I’d expect Griffiths to be first off the bench from the wing spot and play most of his time at the 3/4. He’ll still get 20 minutes of playing time due to the need for shooting. Most important, he can spell Hopkins at the 4 in spurts.
There is a world where Griffiths finds his groove at a new home and takes the starting 2 or 3 spot from Floyd Jr., Fernandez, or Barron. That’s not at all out of the realm of possibility.
Beyond next season, you are looking at Griffiths as the starting 3 or 4 for the remainder of his career in Friartown. That’s the most exciting part about this recruitment because it’s not as if Griffiths is a one year rental. Providence could theoretically have him for 3 more years.
If Providence is to add Gavin Griffiths, English knocked his first transfer of the offseason out of the park with a grand slam. For one, bet on elite talent finding their footing. Griffiths is that. Secondly, English identified what this roster needs in shooters. Griffiths was labeled as arguably the best wing shooter in his class. This would fill one of the biggest needs of the offseason and allows English to shift his focus to other roster needs.
Providence 2024 Recruiting Articles
Crier Recruiting Corner – Introducing Bensley Joseph – https://theprovidencecrier.com/2024/04/02/crier-portal-guide-spotlight-miami-guard-bensley-joseph/
2024 Portal Needs – https://theprovidencecrier.com/2024/03/24/2024-providence-crier-portal-needs/
Garwey Dual Transfers – https://theprovidencecrier.com/2024/03/22/garwey-dual-reportedly-enters-transfer-portal-analyzing-the-impact/
Crier Recruiting Corner, Introducing Jaylen Harrell – https://theprovidencecrier.com/2024/02/20/crier-recruiting-corner-introducing-2025-wing-jaylen-harrell/
Crier Recruiting Corner – Introducing Jamier Jones – https://theprovidencecrier.com/2024/02/19/crier-recruiting-corner-taking-a-look-at-oak-ridges-jamier-jones-25/
The Week of the Frontcourt – Turning a Weakness into a Strength – https://theprovidencecrier.com/2024/01/14/the-week-of-the-frontcourt-turning-a-weakness-into-a-strength/
Providence Lands 2025 Big Oswin Erhunmwunse – https://theprovidencecrier.com/2024/01/11/providence-lands-elite-big-man-oswin-erhunmwunse-analyzing-the-commitment/
Introducing 7’2 JuCo Recruit Anton Bonke –https://theprovidencecrier.com/2023/12/19/crier-recruiting-corner-introducing-72-center-anton-bonke/
Recruiting Rankings Matter, Part 2: https://theprovidencecrier.com/2023/12/06/recruiting-rankings-matter-part-2-how-far-is-the-roster-talent-from-championship-quality/
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/
4 thoughts on “Crier Recruiting Corner – Introducing Rutgers Freshman Wing Gavin Griffiths”