The Friars got on the board with the first big man addition to the team yesterday with Samson Aletan, but the staff is not done. Insert Arrinten Page, who was spotted on campus today, the 6-11 big man from Northwestern. Page had previous stops at USC and Cincinnati before finally breaking out for the Wildcats this past season. He started 16-of-29 games and averaged 10.2 PPG (54.6% FG), 4.5 RPG, 1.8 APG, and 1.2 BPG.
We preview his game below.
Page has great size and moves very well given his stature. He can be a lob threat, but also can be a front facing postman. An underrated element of his game is his passing, he makes some great passes from the paint very similar to Josh Oduro in that sense. He is super effective in the pick and roll as well. On top of all that he’s starting to develop a three point jumper although he only converted on 25% of his attempts this past season.
Despite how we can come off in some of these things, it’s not all roses and rainbows. Page isn’t the best rebounder given his size, and you’d probably expect more rim protection out of someone this big and athletic, albeit he certainly does provide some. You hear chatter from Northwestern fans on social media question his toughness and motivation. Is he a guy who needs more of a fire lit under his ass or is this sour grapes from a fan base that lost a talented late bloomer?
In terms of a fit though Page could be an excellent addition. When we wrote about Samson Aletan we talked about how the Friars could potentially pair him with a big man with a similar skillset. Page would provide that in terms of archetype but where Aletan is more polished defensively, Page has a much higher floor and ceiling offensively.
We will continue to monitor his recruitment and continue with The Providence Crier for all your offseason updates!