At the end of summer media gathering, Coach Bryan Hodgson spoke about a multitude of different subjects. One comment that slipped under the radar, but now has massive ramifications due to the NCAA ruling on an extra year of eligibility for the Class of 2022, is that his former player Joseph Pinion has been practicing with the Friars. Additionally, they were seeking a waiver for his eligibility to play this year. With the court ruling yesterday, Pinion should have an extra year to play collegiate basketball. It would appear the Friars have the inside track on landing the 6’5 sharpshooting guard.
We provide a breakdown of his game below.
College Production to Date
Pinion was a highly touted recruit coming out of high school, ranking as the 106th overall player in his class, a 4 star, and #4 overall player from Arkansas. Pinion decided to stay in-state for college, enrolling at Arkansas over offers from Baylor, Kansas, and Oklahoma.
Pinion’s first two years of collegiate basketball were at Arkansas where he played, albeit sparingly, at just under 6 minutes per game. Pinion stayed in-state, transferring down a few levels to Arkansas State as a junior where he blossomed. Pinion averaged 12 points and 4 rebounds on 36% from three and 89% from the free throw line. He followed Hodgson to USF where his game continued to grow. As a 4th year senior, he averaged 14.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.7 steals. He was 37.8% from deep on 3.3 makes per game and 78.7% from the charity stripe.
In his final game last year against Louisville in the NCAA tournament loss, he did a bit of everything to try to get the win for the Bulls, finishing with 27 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 steals. That 27 was a game high for either team.
Pinion holds the USF record for most three pointers in a season at 111 and was third team All-American conference last year.
Analyzing His Game & Fit With Providence
From what I can see from crunching the tape, this is another pure shooter that Hodgson is looking to add to his arsenal. His best trait is his shooting ability, no question, and I do think Hodgson probably sees that Providence could level up offensively with more knock down shooters. Pinion can knock down the three ball in a variety of ways: trailing in transition, coming off screens, or spotting up. He does a great job of squaring himself to the hoop.
Right now, Sabol is the one guy that truly scares you from deep, with others like Mack, Vanterpool, Pate, Mela, and Byrd having the ability to go off, but are admittedly streaky. If Pinion were to enroll, he likely enters the locker room as the best shooter on the squad or at least is competitive with Sabol on that front. Stretching the defense and forcing them to guard the entirety of the half court will do wonders for slashers like Mack, Vanterpool, Byrd, and Pate. Packing the paint is not an option when you have a Pinion lurking on the perimeter.
Pinion does a couple of things really well on the perimeter that allow him to be an elite three point shooter. For one, he is never stagnant. He is always moving without the basketball and is trying to find the soft spot in the defense so that his teammates can find him for an open look. Watch his tape and see he never is standing still. He is always probing.
Secondly, he has an incredibly quick release. From the point of catching the ball to shooting, he is incredibly efficient and gets the ball out quickly.
Defensively, he is an advantageous defender and will get your team a handful of steals each game by jumping the passing lanes and intercepting lazy passes on the perimeter. He led the USF Bulls in steals at 1.7/game and 59 overall on the season. For a Providence team that already has a few elite defenders, this addition would only bolster their defensive profile further.
Pinion’s offensive game outside the three ball is limited, admittedly. He only shot 39.3% from the floor as a whole, which is telling because he shot 37.8% from deep. It shows his mid-range and finishing at the rim could use some improvement. I don’t anticipate Hodgson using him within the three point arc much, as that doesn’t highlight the best attributes of his game.
Summary
At this stage in his career, I’d expect Pinion to be brought in as somebody who can instill the culture of Hodgson even more alongside Hightower and whose job will be to provide offense and a steady motor both ways for the Friars. He is somewhat of a one-trick pony offensively, and that is okay. His one trick is very good.
I’m not sure if he will start for Providence or come off the bench and be instant offense as a 6th man. That will be determined in preseason practices in the fall.
If Providence is to land Pinion, this is an unforeseen gift by the NCAA and gives a Providence team that lacks pure shooting outside of one or two players a true sniper from deep. Sign me up.