The Friars had a great Thursday when they landed arguably the best on ball defender in the portal in Miles Byrd from San Diego State, but The Shark wasn’t quite done. Bryan Hodgson tweeted out another shark gif at 8:34 in the evening, and the speculation was off to the races. Lucky for Friar fans they didn’t have to wait long as 27 minutes later it was reported by ESPN’s Jeff Borzello that Hodgson and staff landed a commitment from Dink Pate in a stunner of all stunners.
The 6’7/6’8 big body shooting guard/wing from Texas is a Friar. We recap the commitment below.
Recruitment Overview
The shooting guard from the Lone Star State was ranked by the 247Composite as the 29th overall player, 4 star, #2 shooting guard in nation, and #2 player in Texas. He was right on the cusp of being a five star.
He was ranked a few spots above Jeremy Fears, Coen Carr, Reed Sheppard, and Solo Ball, to name a few.
Player Overview
Dink Pate was a top-30 recruit out of high school in 2023 but passed on the college game to be on the G-League Ignite program. The G-League Ignite program folded in 2024, and Pate found himself in the G-League.
This past season he played for the Westchester Knicks, the affiliate of the New York Knicks. In 16 games this season he is averaging 17.3 PPG, 6.6 RPG, and 4.9 APG. He shot 30% from three on 6.7 attempts per game. While the percentage isn’t quite there, he shoots it with confidence, and he’s been able to get in the paint with ease where he can create for others or finish at the rim. Defensively he does need a little work, but he has the physical tools to be good on defense. Besides whom in the G-League is actually playing defense?
Pate’s size and attacking ability pop off the film, and he makes some nifty passes as well. He can however get a little sloppy with the ball, but if he can sure up his ball security and make an incremental improvement from three, he should be a star in college next season. If he can package that with improved defense as well, he will surely find himself drafted unlike in 2025 when he did not hear his name called. He certainly seems up for the challenge.
Impact on Providence Friar Program & Roster
From a fan perspective this certainly came out of left field, but if you actually think about it, perhaps it’s not that stunning. Bryan Hodgson was after Pate hard when he was on Nate Oats’ bench before Pate went the pro route. Hodgson would go his own route as well to Arkansas St and now three years later their paths cross again. Pate should excel in Bryan Hodgson’s system considering he plays in an up and down pace in the G-League.
Pate reminds me of a leaner Ricardo Ledo with better passing instincts (BOC comment: Mike nails this comp, wow!). As most reading this know, Ricardo Ledo was a Providence native who was a top-25 recruit and a high school All-American when he committed to Providence College in 2012. He would never play a single second in a Frair uniform, as he was ruled ineligible for the 2012-2013 season and then would declare for the NBA Draft. Back then once you did that there was no turning back.
My first reaction to the Pate news honestly gave me a little PTSD when thinking about how the Ledo situation turned out. However, in this case, Pate should certainly be eligible. He passed up an opportunity of a two-way deal with NBA franchises to preserve his eligibility and has never played college basketball. With the NCAA these days it seems as if they operate under no rules or just kind of make them up as they go. It will be something to monitor but it’s something to worry about another day.
Summary
Hodgson and staff are off to an amazing start to totally rebuilding this roster. With Pate and Byrd, the Friars have two guys who can play guard or wing with one being a defensive dynamo and the other being a bucket and playmaker. The college basketball world is taking notice of what the Friars are building and it should only have other players wanting to join this program even more.
It is always a good day when Providence can stuff Kentucky in a locker twice in one day. This tells me two things: Hodgson can recruit with the best of them, and the Providence NIL can compete with anybody nationally. This should be the aspect of this recruiting win most celebrated, in my opinion.
At the moment the Friars only have three players so they aren’t going to win many games that way but even so you have to feel excited that the Friars are on the precipice of having a monster offseason that could find them amongst the ranked college basketball programs early next season.
Go Friars!