Providence is looking to replenish the frontcourt after the graduation of Cole Hargrove, departure of Oswin Erhunmwunse to Creighton, and presumed transfer of Peteris Pinnis. Hodgson is likely going to have to nab 3 frontcourt bodies to fill out the 4/5 position on the roster, and word has come that there is a Zoom meeting being set up with SFA frontcourt player Jerald Colonel early this week.
The Providence Crier will detail his game below and how he’d fit into the plans for the 2026-2027 Friars.
Player Overview
Colonel won the Southland Conference DPOY award. He was tied for THIRD nationally in blocks per game at 2.6, tied with some names college basketball fans may be familiar with: Flory Bidunga and Aday Mara. That’s elite company. What’s even more impressive is he is doing that at the listed 6’9 while also committing only 2.1 fouls a game. Tallying those block numbers at 6’9 is impressive. Staying out of foul trouble while doing so is even more impressive.
When watching the tape, I love his ability to quickly ascend off the floor. He is jackrabbit and gets off the floor in a hurry, which surprises his opponents and leads to all these altered and blocked shots. His quickness is an asset when supporting his teammates with helpside defense.
His offensive numbers are pedestrian, but Hodgson wouldn’t be bringing him for scoring. He averaged 5 points on only 4 attempts per game. Most of his scoring is done via lobs, put backs, and dunks. He doesn’t shoot the three ball and doesn’t even pretend to have that in his arsenal, illustrated by only one three attempt all last year.
Colonel knows what he is offensively, and that self-awareness is a good thing.
Fit With Providence
Let me preface by saying I want to accumulate as many DPOY portal guys as humanly possible. Colonel would be welcomed by me with open arms, and I know I’d love everything he brings to the court.
With all that said, if Hodgson wants to add Colonel, I’d prefer it be in a first off the bench/frontcourt utility role. I say that for a couple of reasons.
For one, it is really difficult to be a 5 man in the Big East at 6’9 no matter how athletic or physical you are. I don’t know if his frame at 6’9 200lb could hold up playing 20-25 minutes per game at the Big East level. The Big East is still a backyard brawl, tough league, and I have trouble seeing him man the 5 spot with consistency. His frame resembles that of a 3/4 more than a true 5.
If Hodgson wants to slide him to the 4, that makes a bit more sense to me, and you’d need to ensure you add a 5 man that can be the person you call upon to guard the 6’11-7 foot 240 pounders in this league. He’s a defensive chess piece in the frontcourt in that regard, and I can see the vision there a bit more clearly, but you have to have a plan for him.
He could theoretically play the 5 if you are going against a team that lacks size, but he’d still be giving up a lot of weight and size in that match-up. He can’t just be your “5” option or you are setting both him and your team up for failure.
The other concern I have is acclimation period. The Big East is a tough league, especially for frontcourt players. We’ve seen that the jump from a low major or even mid major for a transfer big is a shock to the system. Look at Hargrove, Bonke, Essandoko of recent. They all had their reasons for not meeting expectations, but the reality is they leveled up a few levels in play when coming to Providence from their prior school, and they had a lot of trouble acclimating to playing against Big East level competition. It’s easier said than done, but I’d like to see our transfer bigs be ones who come from a Power 5 level moving forward. We’ve been burnt too many times of recent with the transfer coming from a lower level of conference.
Think about fan favorite Ed Croswell. He was an absolute force his final year in Friartown, but his first two years were ones to forget: 7 minutes per game year 1, 14 minutes year 2. 2.3 points per game year one, 5.3 points year 2. 1.9 rebounds per game year one, 4.7 rebounds per game year 2.
We all remember Croswell being some dominant force (and he certainly was his last year to the tune of 13 points and 8 rebounds), but it took him almost 2 years to acclimate to playing Big East basketball. It’s a very tough league to thrive in, and it would be asking Colonel a lot to be an instant impact player his first year at Providence. Unfortunately, he only has eligibility for one year, so you are banking on an instant hit. Based off past production from former Friars, that’s a risky gamble.
Summary
Hodgson was brought in with the assumption by the fans that he’d be running a similar style to Nate Oats: a lot of 3’s, quick possessions, up tempo pace, etc. That is all likely going to be true, but I find it absolutely fascinating that Hodgson’s early pursuits seem to have a common theme: elite defenders. We’ve sung the defensive praises of Byrd and Hightower in our write-ups on them, and Colonel would be another addition that would fit the bill of an elite defensive player whose best attributes come on that side of the ball.
If Hodgson wants to pursue Colonel, sign me up, as I’d imagine his NIL requests wouldn’t be that hefty. I just insist that you cannot count on this guy as the starting 5 or somebody who is going to give you more than 20 minutes at the 5 position. Have a plan for him and make sure you ease Colonel into the Big East gradually.
Go Friars!