Providence is in the midst of a major re-set on their roster, with Providence currently only having 3 returning scholarship players (Oswin, Mela, Floyd Jr.), 2 pending (Barron and JAR), and two incoming freshman (Jones and Harrell). Definitely gone are frontcourt players Bryce Hopkins and Christ Essandoko, who departed to St. John’s and South Carolina, respectively. Anton Bonke and Eli DeLaurier also entered the portal, with the assumption they will not return to Providence.
Thus, the only frontcourt players are Oswin Erhunmwunse and Jamier Jones who can slide down to the 4. That is alarming given the numbers Providence had in the frontcourt entering into the 2024-2025 season. While shocking, this re-set may be necessary as the vast majority of those frontcourt players (outside Hopkins and Erhunmwunse) were not Big East caliber players as of this writing. The roster needed a turnover, and English has to restock the shelves with multiple 4’s and 5’s that can adequately compete at the Big East level.
Enter Cole Hargrove.
Cole Hargrove, the 6’8 250 pound Drexel transfer, visited Providence this past weekend. As we’ve discussed in other articles and podcasts, portal recruiting is different than high school recruiting. Portal recruitments are expedited, with a decision often quickly made. High school recruiting usually has a player take multiple visits to different schools with an elongated timeline. Hargrove making a trip so soon after entering the portal is a good sign for the Friars in their pursuit to add frontcourt depth.
Below, we detail Hargrove’s college career to date, what he would bring to the Friars in 2025, and how this helps Kim English build out a complete roster.
College Production
Hargrove had minimal production his first two years at Drexel. He didn’t start any games those first two years and averaged 4 minutes a game. Rather than transferring for more immediate playing time at a lower level, he diligently worked on his game and had a breakout junior season for the Dragons. Hargrove, as a junior, started all 33 games at center, averaged 33 minutes, scored 9.9 points/game, and 7.5 rebounds/game. Defensively, he averaged 1.8 blocks per game. He had 5 games where he recorded a double-double. What caught my eye was his 3 offensive rebounds/game.
In the Colonial this year, he was top 3 in the conference in blocks/game. For rebounding, he was sixth in the conference in rebounds/game.
He was 21% from 3, but averaged less than one 3 a game (29 3’s on the season versus 232 total attempts from the floor).
This was truly a breakout year for Hargrove and expectations in the Philly area were him being a potential first or second team all conference player in the Coastal Athletic Association in 2025-2026.
Analyzing His Game
You know what you are getting with Hargrove, and I mean that in the most complimentary of ways. Cole seems to know what he is good at: using his athleticism and physicality to finish through contact and above the rim. While only 6’8, he plays above the cylinder.
His Drexel teammates routinely found him off slip screens and pick and rolls (great designs by the head coach), and he used his strength and vertical to finish. He’s not the most flashy of players, and that is okay. He won’t be knocking down a ton of perimeter looks, so that caps his ceiling unless he rapidly improves on that this offseason to round out his game. He’s a foul-line in player at this juncture.
He has one or two back to the basket post moves. That’s something we saw sparingly with Oswin, but I anticipate we see more of next year. The most important thing is that he is comfortable operating in the post in the half court sets.
He is a very good passing big. The Drexel offense seems like a pain to guard, and he routinely found his teammates cutting to the hoop and back-door. He’s very skilled in that regards.
He’s a springy player, which you see on both offensive and defensive ends. He has some explosiveness to him. Not quite at the Oswin level, but he gets up off the floor. They’d be a nice pairing together, although admittedly limited offensively.
How He Fits With the Friars
Providence needs bodies in the frontcourt, and you can do a lot worse than a guy who was All-Defense in his respective conference and is heading into his senior season. Providence has a lot of young talent on its roster next year, so having some seniority with Hargrove and Floyd Jr. is imperative.
It is still too early to project, but I’d imagine English sees Hargrove as a “first off the bench” big that would ideally play the 4, but could also play the five in spot minutes due to his grit and toughness. He doesn’t have ideal size for the 5, but his build and attitude would appear to make up for that.
There also is the scenario where the light bulb finally came on for Hargrove as a junior, and he continues this rapid ascent in his senior year. Would it shock me if Hargrove became Providence’s starting 4? Slightly, yes, but this guy brings a lot to the table that Providence needs: toughness, experience at the collegiate level, rebounding, and defense. I know that English wants to play the 4 out offense and have Oswin be the sole screen and rim-rolling big, but it also wouldn’t hurt to play some bully ball with these two on the glass and then having two guys that are elite shotblockers protecting the rim on the defensive end.
Here are a few of my concerns. For one, he did absolutely nothing his first two years at Drexel. What’s the deal with that? I’d drill into that more to see if last year was an anomaly or if there was a reason for his slow start.
Additionally, I am concerned about the jump from the CAA to Big East. He seems physically able to play in the Big East based off his build and conditioning, but I do have concerns about the jump in athleticism and general player quality that exists in the Big East. My scars from last year are showing where Essandoko and Cardet couldn’t adapt to playing in the Big East (sans a few games from Wes), and it took JAR almost the entire season to finally play quality basketball. Given that I don’t believe we’ll ask a whole lot of Hargrove, this may be a moot point, but it is a point I’ll probably hammer home with every mid-major player we are targeting. Again, scars from last year.
Player Comp
The natural player comp is going to be Ed Croswell. Croswell was a Pennsylvania native as well from another Philly school and became a fan favorite of the Friars due to his work ethic, willingness to learn and improve, and general toughness. Croswell set the tone every time he stepped out on the court. He quite honestly didn’t have a lot of high end basketball skills, but made up for it with his unrelenting motor. He was a joy to support.
I do see a lot of similarities between these two as undersized frontcourt players who are lunch pail types and know their role. Croswell took a few years to re-shape his body at Providence, but I think the senior year Croswell we saw could be a good blueprint for a successful senior season for Hargrove. Both are well-built, and Hargrove won’t get pushed around in the paint. Hargrove may honestly be more athletic than Croswell, but I don’t expect Hargrove to come close to the 13 and 8 that Croswell put up his final year at Providence. It took Croswell a few years to adapt to the Big East. Unfortunately, Hargrove doesn’t have that luxury with only a year remaining of eligibility.
Summary
I’d expect English to add two point guards (ball handlers) and two frontcourt players in this portal class. Hargrove being the first domino to fall would raise the floor for this team, as you know what you are going to get from him in terms of scoring, rebounding, and shot blocking. Most important, he sets a tone in the frontcourt that was lacking last year. There’s just a toughness to his game that you see explode off the screen. It’s tough to describe, but you know it when you see it.
If Providence is to land him, Kim can then decide to go for a stretch 4 that provides multiple dimensions to the frontcourt or he can lean into the “defense first” attitude of the 2025-2026 frontcourt and add another big body alongside Oswin and Hargrove. I’m not opposed to either approach.
Cynical fans will see Bryce Hopkins depart and then be replaced by Hargrove and critique the staff, but it is just as important for English to land guys that are good culture fits, and Hargrove strikes me as such. The attitude and culture in the locker room needs to change, and I think Hargrove is a step in that positive direction.
Providence Crier Recruiting Articles
2025 Portal Primer: https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/03/24/the-providence-crier-2025-portal-primer-1-0/
Retention Attention: https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/03/22/retention-attention-whos-in-whos-out-in-providence/
What Went Wrong: https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/03/12/what-went-wrong-this-season/
Amir Jenkins: https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/03/04/crier-recruiting-corner-introducing-2026-pg-amir-jenkins/
Crier Recruiting Corner: Abdou Toure: https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/03/03/crier-recruiting-corner-introducing-2026-connecticut-wing-abdou-toure/
Crier Recruiting Corner: Marcis Ponder: https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/02/26/crier-recruiting-corner-introducing-2026-center-marcis-big-show-ponder/
2026 Recruiting Primer:https://theprovidencecrier.com/2024/05/08/the-providence-crier-2026-recruiting-primer-version-1-0/
Yikes! For the first time, I’m not in agreement at all. Those numbers at Drexel???? Another mid-major (Cardet)?? Sorry, Kim and his staff don’t get off that easy with me and a whole load of PC fans. This pick isn’t that dumb motto “two feet in” but more like dipping your toes in. No, first I want to see PC go after players that we watched last year and appreciated the way they moved, cut and for God’s sake shot the ball. Look no further than portal players exiting teams like BYU and Davidson where they played in a pro-style offense!!!! Now I know that they may not fit into the prototypical player this staff seems fixated on but, I would offer Noah Horchler as a prime example. Drew Fielder adds toughness and attitude and has proven he can hang with BE bigs and is also a rim runner. Probably would like nothing better than stick it to sleazy eddie. How about Blake Buchanon from VA. who is a big man with multiple years left at 6′ 11″ or Bobby Durkin 6′ 7″ small forward who can shoot lights from Davidson. C’mon man! We can do better than mid-major players with maybe some upside after two years of being a bench warmer. Even you can’t sell that to Friar fans. Geez! Let’s gooooo!!!