In their 5th game against low-major competition, the Friars finally put together a complete game for 40 minutes. PC raced out to an early lead, would take a 13-point lead into the half, and would cruise to a 78-48 victory Tuesday night at the AMP. Freshman big man Oswin Erhunmwunse would lead the Friars in scoring with 13 points, but it was a balanced scoring attack that saw ten dudes tally points. The Friars continued to show their stout defense holding Delaware St to no more than 25 points in each half.
It was a good close to the early part of their schedule before they head to the Battle For Atlantis.
The Friars were able to take care of business on Tuesday night against Hampton University, but they certainly didn’t make it easy on themselves or do themselves any favors with the metrics.
PC would start the game with a 8-0 run and then see their offense turn off with the Pirates taking advantage and closing the half of a 30-14 run to take an 8-point lead into the half. The Friars would come out of the break outscoring the Pirates 15-4 to retake the lead, but Ivan Thomas’ squad wouldn’t go away with a variety of timely three point shots. However with the score tied at 47 with 7 minutes to play, the Friars would lean on their defense and score some key buckets route to the 60-51 victory.
We detail what transpired last night and offer thoughts.
The Friars will be back in action on Tuesday night when they host the Hampton Pirates and a few familiar faces. Former PC assistant coach Ivan Thomas is the man in charge at Hampton this season, and he brought with him Friar standout guard Kyron Cartwright and student manager Jack Manning to his coaching staff.
This certainly wont have the same feel as the last time a former coach visited the AMP and really the focus is on the Friars building off of their 27-point win over Stonehill, as they continue to gain on court cohesion. Here’s some of the things we are looking for out of the Friars in game number three.
After the Friars squeaked out a win in the season opener against Central Connecticut Friar fans had their right to show a little concern. Well those concerns are quelled, at least for now, as the Friars defeated Stonehill 76-49 at the AMP on Saturday night. The Friars played with much better synergy compared to their opening victory that only saw them score 59 points and shoot 38% from the floor. One thing that remained consistent was their defense, holding the Seahawks to 32% shooting and a +21 advantage on the boards.
The Friars went into the season dealing with injuries and not a lot of practice time with the whole unit together. It certainly was apparent in the opener as the Friars were able to escape Central Connecticut State with a 59-55 victory Monday night at the AMP. PC trailed 11-10 with 12 minutes left in the first half and wouldn’t regain the lead until 6:16 left in the game and wound up holding on for a 4-point victory. For the Friars, it certainly wasn’t the opening game performance you were hoping for, but the Friars did escape with the win.
Eli DeLaurier’s freshman season with the Friars was cut short by 24 games. Suffering a foot injury early in the season, Eli was seen most of the year in street clothes with a walking boot. Given the injury DeLaurier was granted a medical redshirt and now returns to Friartown as a redshirt freshman.
When the 2023-2024 season wrapped for Providence on Selection Sunday, you’d probably figure DeLaurier would have a role with the graduation of Josh Oduro and Anton Bonke being the only other center on the roster.
Things certainly changed over the next few months with the addition of Christ Essandoko from St. Joe’s and Oswin Erhunmwunse reclassifying and enrolling this summer. Now all of the sudden, the Friars have quite the crowded frontcourt.
If you recall DeLaurier also came to Providence earlier than expected, with Kim English and staff looking for some assurances in the frontcourt after the departure of Will McNair. DeLaurier reclassified a year early, but was clearly not ready to play high level college basketball even when ready. At the time of his early enrollment Eli had offers from West Virginia, Virginia Tech and Miss St.
It would appear DeLaurier would be 4th on the depth chart for big men in 2024. So barring injury, it doesn’t appear that he will have a huge role this year. However, there’s reason to believe he can develop into a key rotation piece in the future. Eli more than doubled his scoring from his second to third year at The Miller School. While not a blue chip prospect, he was still ranked slightly outside of the top-100 for his class rankings. Regardless of his role this year, if he sticks with the program for the long term, he will certainly be a guy that has a role with the Friars. We just don’t expect it to be this year.
BOC: I’ve long said I don’t like a player reclassifying unless they are a Top 25 player in their class and they are fast tracking their entrance to the NBA. Corey Floyd Jr. and Eli DeLaurier are two examples of players who may have been better served staying in high school, improving at that level, and then coming into college. A high school senior playing against grown men in college can really hurt the confidence and psyche of a player.
I’m less optimistic on DeLaurier than The Crier, but I do think he could become a serviceable Big East player by his third or fourth year in college. If he sticks with Providence and waits his turn, I’ll applaud him for biding his time. There’s no reason he cannot become a poor man’s Noah Horchler as a stretch 4 as a junior.
The Friars were very active in the portal this offseason and perhaps you’ve forgotten about the incoming freshman from Massachusetts Ryan Mela. Before news that Oswin Erhunmwunse reclassified from 2025 to enroll this year at PC, the Friars only anticipated one incoming freshman on scholarship. That would be Ryan Mela.
Mela is from Natick, MA and played for The Newman School and the Middlesex Magic for his AAU career. He stands at 6-6 and is known for his ability to attack the basket and his shooting prowess (although he shot it at a lower percentage as a senior). Mela was only the 286th ranked prospect in 247’s composite rankings; however he can be a diamond in the rough for PC like many other Middlesex Magic players in the past were for other programs.
The question is does he have any role with a deep Friar’s team in his rookie campaign?
On the surface, it doesnt appear Mela would crack the rotation and could be in for a redshirt year. With portal adds like Wesley Cardet and Jabri Abdur-Rahim plus returnees Richard Barron, Corey Floyd Jr, and Justyn Fernandez, there could be no room at the inn. The wing is arguably the deepest position on the PC roster in 2024-2025.
What Mela has going for him is the fact that, like Richard Barron, he may be unheralded but Kim English and staff clearly see something in him that would fit with what they are trying to do on the court. Going into last year when we wrote player previews, we were unsure if Barron would have a role with the Friars. The injury to Bryce Hopkins would open the door for Barron to get good minutes throughout the season, leading him to a first-team all-freshman honor in the Big East.
When you watch tape on Mela you can tell he is a crafty finisher at the rim and plays with a high basketball IQ. His AAU program, the Middlesex Magic, are known for having guys like Pat Connaughton, Tyler Kolek, Cormac Ryan, and Duncan Robinson who know how to play. Mela’s skillset could lend him to some minutes in his freshman season but even if he doesnt have much of a role in year one, Friar fans should be excited with what he can bring to the program in the years to come.
BOC: Mela reminds me of those tough Nova guards who are fundamentally sound, super gritty, and produce despite sometimes being overlooked on the high school recruiting trail. If Mela stays patient and develops, he could become a nuisance in the Big East as an upperclassman.
It was a good night to be a Friar fan and a fan of the Big East Conference. Devin Carter would hear his name called by Commissioner Adam Silver as he was selected by the Sacramento Kings with the 13th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. Carter, alongside his dad Anthony and Coach Kim English, got to enjoy the moment as Devin became the first Friar since Kris Dunn taken in the lottery.
This was a culmination of a great year of basketball for Devin Carter. After a Big East Player of the Year campaign from DC, he saw his stock continue to rise as the draft process went underway. There was reportedly a lottery promise for Devin Carter heading into draft night and sure enough he became a lottery pick at #13.
Crier certainly understands that there are college hoops fans that don’t follow the NBA. There were probably non-New England based Friar fans that didn’t care about my Celtics tweets on their way to Banner 18. However, Friar fans will certainly want to tune into this upcoming NBA Draft on Wednesday night in Brooklyn.
Devin Carter has been invited to the green room (alongside Kim English) and is set to walk across the stage at Barclays Center and shake commissioner Adam Silver’s hand when he’s drafted. Carter wasn’t on a ton of draft boards going into this past season, but after an incredible year earning Big East Player of the Year he’s skyrocketed up boards and is expected to be the Friars first lottery pick since Kris Dunn was drafted 5th overall in 2016.
Devin Carter on the reaction he received from PC head coach Kim English when the NBA draft prospect asked his college coach to join him in the green room tomorrow night. #pcbb#friarspic.twitter.com/7KDl1r3FSB
So, I decided to take some time to look closer at Devin’s prospects and potential landing spots ahead of the draft. DC won’t be the only draft pick coming from the Big East either.
Providence's Devin Carter wants Stephon Castle and Donovan Clingan to go as high as possible in the upcoming NBA Draft
The league could have the most draft picks since the conference realigned with 3 players potentially being selected in the lottery and a possible of 9 players overall. Recently the Big East hasn’t had a ton of players earn early draft selections but with the development of guys like Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo, and Josh Hart, plus the way the draft class has shaken out, that should change on Wednesday. So, we will also take a look at some familiar foes that could hear their name called during the NBA’s first ever 2-day draft event.
Transfers in collegiate athletics is nothing new. Former Friar coach Ed Cooley was one of the early adopters of the transfer portal. He added Tyler Harris in 2012 and Carson Derosiers in 2013. Both of them would be major pieces for the Friars 2014 Big East Tournament championship squad. It was Chris Beard who made it fashionable by taking a Texas Tech squad mainly comprised of transfers to the national title game in 2019.
Now in the era of NIL and looser restrictions for players changing schools, the transfer portal has become all the rage. Last season around 1800 players entered the portal. They’ve already passed that mark this year. With the portal closing on May 1st, it seems likely that the number could surpass 2000 players. This has caused high school recruiting services to take their talents to ranking players in the portal and the teams with the best hauls in the transfer portal. As you’ll see below, the accuracy of these rankings leaves a lot to be desired. This goes along with the premise I’ll make that a player fit is more important than their overall ranking or perceived impact. For most teams, transfer portal adds are filling a gap on the roster rather than simply accumulating talent. The latter certainly happens (see Musselman), but most transfer adds plug a hole.
We will evaluate below how the industry perceived the transfer portal classes of the Friars, showing that the transfer portal rankings are much more hit and miss than the high school recruiting rankings.
With the Friars already landing a big man and a guard via the portal, they still have more work to do to fill out the roster. Kim English and staff are still looking for a wing player that could replace production from Ticket Gaines. It seemed as if the Friars would’ve added that first after a good visit from Rutgers freshman Gavin Griffiths; however, he still remains uncommitted and is visiting the University of Nebraska this weekend.
There are two other names that are starting to emerge as potential fits on the wing for the Friars. They would be UW-Milwaukee’s BJ Freeman and Campbell’s Anthony Dell’Orso. We take a closer look at each of their games.
If you’ve following along the recruiting articles from the blog the past several years, Bensley Joseph is a name you should remember. The former Putnam Science and Cushing Academy guard had the Friars in his final 5 back in 2021. He ultimately chose to play for the Miami Hurricanes, where he has spent the past three seasons prior to entering his name in the transfer portal this past March.
Miami transfer guard Bensley Joseph is visiting Providence today, a source tells @On3sports.
