We’ll hear a multitude of religious puns over the next 3 years regarding 7 foot big man Christ Essandoko. While the one liners will likely never get old, they may overshadow that Kim English and Staff just filled the most glaring gap on their roster with a TRUE five man. The Frenchman is every bit of 7 foot and has the size required to compete with the beasts of the Big East frontcourt.
Nothing is ever a certainty, but Providence now has their starting 5 man for 2024-2025. The best part? He has 3 years of eligibility and is still developing.
Below, we break down his skill set, what this means for other frontcourt recruits, and how Essandoko fits with the Friar roster.
Recruiting Profile
Essandoko was ranked 223 nationally and a 3 star coming out of high school. He originally hails from France, but played his high school basketball in North Carolina at Winston-Salem Prep.
Providence originally secured his commitment, but Essandoko ended up going to St. Joe’s for a year where he redshirted.
In the portal, there were apparently a few Big East schools vying for his services. This is a testament to what coaching staffs think about his potential.
Freshman Year Stats
Essandoko only started 14 games, but played 25 total. He averaged on the season only 21 minutes a game, but still managed to put up 8 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block a game. He seemed to get the most playing time midway through the season, and I know he was hampered by lingering injuries throughout the season. That put a ceiling on a breakout redshirt freshman campaign.
In the final game of the season against Seton Hall, he put up 14 points and 8 rebounds. Other highlights include a 21 and 12 showing against Duquesne and 9 and 9 against Kentucky.
Analyzing His Game
Essandoko is by every definition a 5 man. He has the height (7 foot) and weight (275+ pounds) that Providence desperately lacked last year. When Will McNair abruptly departed, I think English probably knew just how razor thin the margin for error was in his frontcourt. With the Hopkins injury, it amplified the frontcourt issues.
Think about the Butler road game where Oduro wasn’t playing due to the birth of his child. We sometimes had in that game Ticket or Barron as the 5 because the team couldn’t rely on Castro. It’s a miracle that the staff was able to keep this season afloat given all the holes and missing pieces, but I digress…
Essandoko has a wide array of post moves. For somebody his size, he has really light and quick feet, illustrated by him using the spin move to his advantage throughout the season. The nice complement to that is that he also can lower his shoulder and use his physicality to back his defender down. It is what makes him such a threat on the offensive end.
Essandoko doesn’t have great leaping ability, but you can get away with that when you are 7 feet tall. He takes up a lot of space in the paint and will average 6+ boards a game just through his frame and size alone. I believe English will work on cutting some of the baby fat and getting him in better shape, and we should see that development as he progresses in Providence. Again, the great thing about this transfer is English has him for 3 years to develop. This isn’t a one year rental.
Essandoko is a very good passer for his size and skill set. He finds his cutting teammates with ease and can get them the ball even if there is only a sliver of space. I’m certain English and staff showed Oduro highlights to Essandoko to emphasize how they utilize their bigs.
Because he can hit the three ball consistently, he drags his defender out of the paint which allows his teammates to have wide open lanes for drives. Essandoko shot 36.8% from deep last year. He only shot the three ball 38 times, and I’d expect that number to double next year. For a man of his size, he has a really fluid and pretty stroke. This goes back to prior podcasts and articles where Mike and I talk about how English wants 5 players on the court who can all shoot. Essandoko is that 5 man.
Essandoko is a solid enough defender, and his size is an impediment to the opposing team trying to score. English will work on the conditioning and getting him in better shape. You want him to maintain his size, but I think some refinements to his body can be made to make him that much more of an asset on both ends of the floor. There’s absolutely a world where a more in shape Essandoko becomes explosive and more of an athlete.
Role Expectations – 2024 Season
In 2024, I expect him to start for Providence and play 25 minutes. I actually anticipate his stats to be similar to his freshman year at St. Joe’s: somewhere in the range of 8-10 points a game, 6-8 rebounds.
The best thing about this commitment is that it doesn’t rush Bonke and Oswin onto the court before they are ready for the rigors of the Big East. It allows them to continue to gradually develop at their own pace. We won’t be stuck with a situation similar to last year where players weren’t capable contributors but were forced to play due to necessity.
Impact of Commitment
The tallest player actively playing last year was 6’9 Josh Oduro. With Essandoko’s commitment, the frontcourt consists of 7 footers Anton Bonke and Essandoko. What a breath of fresh air that is to have size. English replenished the frontcourt with more height and overall size. This doesn’t even account for the potential reclassification of Oswin, who is smaller than the two, but unquestionably the best athlete of the bunch. I wrote an article last year about how the week time frame of Bonke and Oswin committing replenished the frontcourt. That frontcourt is now a strength for years to come.
I love this commitment because it provides continuity in the frontcourt for the next 3 years with Bonke and Essandoko. They will battle against each other, with the adage “iron sharpens iron” ringing true.
Whenever Oswin enrolls, we may have the ability to go really big with two of Oswin, Bonke, and Essandoko manning the 4 and 5 spots. That’ll help PC on the defensive end and own the glass.
Even though Essandoko and Bonke are still both very raw and not yet a finished product, you can count on them to protect the rim, rebound, and score in the paint. That’s a heck of a place to be when you look at the floor of this frontcourt.
Summary
Providence had a massive hole at the 5, and English just filled that gap. Providence will go from one of the smallest teams in the Big East last year to arguably having the tallest frontcourt in the Big East.
PC had three main needs when entering this offseason: another lead guard alongside Pierre, a starting five man to replace Oduro, and an ace shooter. They’ve filled 2 of those 3 needs with flying colors with Bensley Joseph and Christ Essandoko. I would anticipate both are Day 1 starters in Providence.
The last puzzle piece is wing scorers and shooters. Providence may take 1 or 2 of these players contingent on fit. I’d expect this player to have the ability to slide down to the 4 when Hopkins is on the bench. Griffiths would be that fit, but he is currently taking a visit to Nebraska.
English and Staff are now 2 for 2 in the Portal.
Once a Friar, always a Friar. Christ returns to Friartown.
Providence Recruiting Articles
Crier Recruiting Corner – Introducing Chattanooga Forward Sam Alexis – https://theprovidencecrier.com/2024/04/05/crier-recruiting-corner-introducing-chattanooga-big-sam-alexis/
Crier Recruiting Corner – Introducing Miami Guard Bensley Joseph – https://theprovidencecrier.com/2024/04/02/crier-portal-guide-spotlight-miami-guard-bensley-joseph/
Crier Recruiting Corner – Introducing Gavin Griffiths – https://theprovidencecrier.com/2024/04/02/crier-recruiting-corner-introducing-rutgers-freshman-wing-gavin-griffiths/
2024 Portal Guide – https://theprovidencecrier.com/2024/03/26/providence-crier-portal-guide/
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/
Very insightful! Thank you.