College basketball is a global sport these days, and the roster of Providence exemplifies that. No longer are college coaches relegated to finding talent in US high school gyms. Additionally, NIL has made college basketball enticing for international prospects who may make more playing NCAA basketball than they would going pro after high school in international professional leagues. The Friars added two international players this offseason in Vaaks and Pinnis.
We already covered Stefan Vaaks in our player preview series, but he wasn’t the only overseas import Kim English and staff added this offseason. In steps Peteris Pinnis, the 7-foot 260 pound center from Latvia. Vaaks is getting the most hype of the two and for good reason but Pinnis is an underrated get, especially for what the Friars may need in the frontcourt.
We break down below his game and role in 2025 and beyond.
The big man played in the same professional league as Stefan Vaaks but for VEF Riga where he averaged 7.2 ppg and 5.5 rpg this past season. Although he is listed as a freshman Peteris is actually 21 years old and has played professionally for the past three years.
On the surface it would appear that Pinnis might be a project like Anton Bonke, the former Friar big man who transferred to Charlotte this past offseason. However, Pinnis is a much more seasoned and experienced big man. Pinnis isn’t flashy, but he appears to be a sound big who can rebound, set good screens, clog the paint on defense and can get you some points in the paint.
If you’ve been following along the pod this offseason you’ve probably heard BOC say he’s a “break in case of emergency” player for the Friars this upcoming season. BOC might be correct here, but the Friars are already a little thin in the front court. Pinnis could provide you something the Friars sorely lacked last season and that’s a backup big man. It will be interesting to see Day 1 who the primary back-up 5 is when Oswin subs out.
BOC’s Keys to a Successful Season
- You want him on the roster next year – Simple as that. While I wanted Bonke to return to see if he could continue to develop and tap into that raw potential, I also understand the folks who said we need more frontcourt players who are ready to play Big East minutes TODAY. I’m hoping Pinnis shows us enough where we can confidently say, “He can give us Big East minutes and be a rotational piece at worst”. If we head into the offseason with those sentiments, Pinnis has exceeded expectations.
- Not another need for wholesale changes to the frontcourt – I’m a big believer in roster continuity, and I thought heading into last year our frontcourt was set for the next 3 years with Oswin, Essandoko, and Bonke. How wrong I was. I’m hopeful that after this year, we don’t need to add 2-3 frontcourt pieces because we feel confident in the frontcourt pieces we have with Oswin, Jamier, and Pinnis. We’ll still probably look to add 1-2 more pieces to the frontcourt via high school and the portal, but it’d be refreshing to not have to rely on 3-4 new faces like we are this year and the past two years under English.
Summary
For his club team, Pinnis basically played the role of backup center and did a pretty solid job. Despite the difference in leagues, who’s to say he can’t provide that for the Friars this season? The Friars seemingly have a deep team and there’s probably a good chance Pinnis doesn’t see a ton of time, especially early this season. However, he could be an underrated pick up for the Friars and carve out a role this year.
Providence Crier Player Previews
Jamier Jones – https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/10/14/providence-crier-player-preview-jamier-jones-the-next-kim-english-all-big-east-freshman/
Oswin Erhunmwunse – https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/10/06/oswin-erhunmwunse-is-his-ceiling-defensive-player-of-the-year/
Stefan Vaaks – https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/10/08/providence-crier-player-preview-series-its-a-matter-of-when-not-if-for-stefan-vaaks/
Cole Hargrove – https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/10/02/providence-crier-player-preview-cole-hargrove-the-solution-to-pcs-frontcourt-depth-woes/
Ryan Mela – https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/09/27/providence-crier-player-preview-ryan-mela-season-2-encore/
Daquan Davis – https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/09/29/providence-crier-player-preview-daquan-davis-the-defensive-dynamo/
Jason Edwards – https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/10/01/providence-crier-player-preview-series-second-time-is-a-charm-for-jason-edwards-and-the-friars/