The Friars roster rebuild is nearly complete. Coach Hodgson and staff have been busy this spring building the Friars roster from the ground up. Currently the Friars have ten players on the roster with the ability to add five more. With the additions that they’ve made thus far, they seem to be mainly guys who will be major contributors on next year’s team. Now the staff is tasked with filling out the rest of the roster. In steps UNLV forward Jacob Bannarbie, who per Kevin McNamara is completing a visit at Providence.
Bannarbie has had a bit on a unique path to collegiate basketball. He’s originally from Anchorage, Alaska before moving to California in middle school. Bannarbie found himself at Kanye West’s Donda Academy where he was teammates with Timberwolves guard Rob Dillingham and former first round pick AJ Johnson. When Donda Academy was shut down Johnson and Barnabie went to SoCal Academy. SoCal Academy should be familiar to Friar fans because it was where former Friars Garwey Dual, Drew Fielder, and Donovan Santoro all attended. Bannarbie then transferred to Hillcrest Academy in Phoenix, Arizona.
Out of high school Bannarbie was a three-star prospect choosing UNLV over offers from Washington St, Portland and San Francisco. It’s possible that his multiple schools in multiple states probably hindered his recruitment out of high school.
After redshirting his freshman year Bannarbie appeared in 19 games as a redshirt freshman averaging 1.6 PPG and 1.8 RPG in limited action under then head coach Kevin Kruger. UNLV would then part ways with Kruger and brought in former Georgia Tech coach Josh Pastner. Pastner retained Bannarbie and was rewarded as he appeared in 30 games this past season including 15 starts. In what was mainly a reserve role he averaged 5.4 PPG and 4.8 RPG for the Runnin’ Rebels.
Bannarbie checks in at around 6-8/6-9 and can play the power forward and center positions. He appears to be physically built for the Big East and shows good mobility for a big man. He can be useful in the pick and roll and has the ability to finish around the rim. He also is a solid passer for a big man as well. Last year he had a two-game stretch where he had 10 assists and no turnovers.
What’s most enticing about Bannarbie, which is probably why the Friars are hosting him, is that he plays a position where PC needs depth, and he has two years of eligibility. He definitely shows potential and if PC can land him, he likely wouldn’t be counted on being a main contributor right away. If he comes to Providence, we’d expect him to play spot minutes similarly to the way UNLV used him this past season. Then after playing a full season under Bryan Hodgson’s system, he could have a pivotal role with the Friars the following season.
What I like most about this potential addition is that it hedges against injury concerns. If one of Aletan or Page go down with injury, you are relying on the healthy alternative to man the 5 for 30-35 minutes, which isn’t a recipe for success. By adding Bannarbie you have 3 bodies you can realistically throw at the 4 and 5 position. It would make the roster, in my biased opinion, complete and without any holes.
My hope still remains that the shark and his staff are waiting for the June 1st recruiting period to land a late portal power forward/center and or bringing in a bona-fide 4 or 5 from overseas. I still don’t think we have enough talent at both positions to compete with the upper echelon of the Big East.