Last Year: 21-14; 10-10 in the Big East Conference, lost in the first round of the NIT
Head Coach: Kim English (Second Year)
Projected Starting Lineup
PG Jayden Pierre – 6’2″, 185 Junior
G Wesley Cardet – 6’6″, 210 Senior
W Jabri Abdur-Rahim – 6’8″, 220 5th-year Senior
F Bryce Hopkins – 6’7″, 220 Senior
C Christ Essandoko – 7’0″, 290 Sophomore
Experienced Reserves
G Bensley Joseph – 6’2″, 188 Senior
G Corey Floyd, Jr – 6’4″, 210 Junior
G Justyn Fernandez – 6’5″, 205 Sophomore
W Rich Barron – 6’5″, 220 Sophomore
C Anton Bonke – 7’2″, 270 Sophomore
Freshmen
F Eli DeLaurier – 6’10”, 225 (Redshirt)
F/C Oswin Erhunmwunse – 6’10”, 220
Friar.
Friar.
Friar.
There’s a bunch of new guys in Providence who are hyped to be Friars. Kim English had a good time in the transfer portal this spring, regardless of the ‘type shii’ other coaches may or may not have been up to. The new Friars who are coming aboard will give his team a few different looks, and one of the team’s favorites is coming back from injury to lead the way.
After the ups and downs of last winter, PC is ready for it all. There’s renewed confidence around the Divine City these days, and English’s dynamism has a lot to do with it. After losing longtime coach Ed Cooley to Georgetown, English kept the Friars steady last season. Providence wasn’t able to snag an NCAA Tournament bid, though, and that stings because the team had to say goodbye to a pair of true stars this spring.
It’s also why the Friar faithful are so pleased by the serious amount of talent that English has hauled in lately. PC is very much his program now, and the genial, charismatic English appears to building something special by connecting to recruits, fans, and everybody who sees him on social media.
The next stage of positive growth is generating cold, hard, on-court results, and that is no easy feat in the Big East Conference. Despite pounding on Marquette in mid-December, knocking off Creighton in the conference tournament, and beating Cooley’s Hoyas three times in the same season, Providence was left out of the NCAA Tournament. The goal this season is a spot in the Big Dance, and finding the best fits for all of English’s new standouts along the way will be the journey.
The most important thing about this year’s adventure will be health, as a major injury knocked the Friars off course in their first game of the year 2024. That’s when Bryce Hopkins crumpled to the floor with what turned out to be an ACL tear, and PC was never quite the same. A first-team All-Big East pick two years ago, Hopkins is a tremendously versatile forward whose rebounding prowess, shooting range, and willingness to attack when he’s got an advantage make him a genuine star. Hopkins was named to the Wooden Award preseason watchlist last fall, and he had been putting up big numbers at the time of his injury. Hopkins is not entirely certain when he will be a full-go again as the Friars’ focal point, but with the effort he’s put in rehabbing, that day shouldn’t be too far off.
“I’ve been making progress. I just started running and jumping not too long ago. I’m doing some landing stuff,” Hopkins mused late this summer, saying that head athletic trainer Chris Hagemann “hasn’t given me a specific timetable, but I look to be back next year…It’s a long process. But being out and getting hurt, you’ve got to take positives away from the situation. That’s what I’m trying to do.” English has intimated that Hopkins will return to action in a home game, and PC opens up with a few contests at the AMP this fall, so if all goes well, he should be back in action before the new season is very old.
Once he’s able to lead the PC offense once more, Hopkins should give the team a go-to scorer who can cause problems both around the basket and with his jumper. With the strength and quick feet to turn bigger post players into pylons and soft, dexterous hands, Hopkins is a very effective scorer around the painted area. He threw down 19 dunks in the 14 games he played a year ago, and Hopkins has made 49.1% of his two-point shot attempts since transferring from Kentucky following his freshman year. Up until he got hurt, Hopkins had been uncharacteristically poor from the land of trey, though, and his jumper has been fairly streaky at PC. If he can come back healthy and consistent, Hopkins will give English and his staff a mighty pillar to build around.
The Friars had a few different playmakers last year, and among them, the most traditional point guard was Jayden Pierre. After English convinced him to remain a Friar by playing and beating him one-on-one last spring, Pierre took hold of a starting job and learned throughout the course of his sophomore campaign. He played some of his best ball and did some of his best shooting late in the year, and Pierre’s most impressive stretch came over PC’s final four games – their postseason contests. He averaged 11.9 points over the team’s final nine games, and Pierre solidified himself as a budding deep threat. He’s best when he strikes a steady balance between coordinating the Friars’ attack and taking the shots that come to him, and Pierre is learning to make the right play consistently. There’s a lot to like about his approach, and now Pierre will be more directly responsible for keeping the Friars’ offense flowing without Devin Carter’s playmaking on his side.
To help out as a second playmaking guard, English has added Bensley Joseph from Miami (FL). In three years playing against ACC competition, Joseph went to an Elite Eight and a Final Four with the Canes, and he’s coming off of his best and most productive year. He does more than just distribute the ball, too. Joseph is a quality outside shooter as well, and he showed off some of the best defensive skills of any Hurricane as things took a downturn in Coral Gables. A strong man defender with the awareness and audacity to hunt the passing lanes, Joseph is also a terrific shot blocker for his 6’1″ stature. The next step for him is to become more effective inside the arc offensively. When Joseph drives, he’s often looking to dish to someone closer to the basket. If he can make defenders more concerned about his ability to score in and around the lane, Joseph could take over as the 1-A between English’s point guards.
A strong man defender with the awareness and audacity to hunt the passing lanes, Joseph is also a terrific shot blocker for his 6’1″ stature
Georgia transfer Jabri Abdur-Rahim made his most consistent impact last winter, and the Friars are hoping to see his ascent continue in a new league. Abdur-Rahim’s progress with the Dawgs was rather slow, given that he had been rated a 4-star prospect out of high school. Where he had been almost exclusively a reserve deep threat for years, though, last season Abdur-Rahim stepped into a starting role and became a more complete scorer. He’ll always be a three-point shooter first, but Abdur-Rahim focused his efforts inside the arc like never before last winter. He cut assertively to the goal, turned defenders inside out with shot fakes, and for a guy who likes to bomb away from the outside, Abdur-Rahim did a great job of earning foul shots last season. That last bit is particularly helpful to any offense, because Abdur-Rahim’s pure shooting translates to the charity stripe – he cashed in 88.7% of his freebies a year ago. English wants to surround his post players with shooters this winter, and veterans like Joseph and Abdur-Rahim fit that brief.
So does Wesley Cardet, Jr, who is coming aboard after two outstanding seasons at Chicago State. The 6’6″ scoring star has playmaking skills of his own, and while Cardet isn’t quite as accomplished from the land of trey as his experienced counterparts, he gets buckets from all over the floor. For the Cougars, Cardet was a true go-to guy, and he scored at volume. Last season, Cardet went for 20+ points 14 times in 31 games played, and he saved some of his best performances for the better teams on CSU’s schedule. He put 29 on ASUN tourney champ Stetson, went for 30 and then 25 in Chicago State’s two CBI contests, and Cardet dropped another 30-piece on Northwestern in a program-defining win. The big thing for Cardet going forward will be whether he can score more efficiently at a higher level of competition.
Looking for a breakout in his third year with the Friars is Corey Floyd, Jr. As a freshman, he shot the ball very well in a small role, but last winter Floyd couldn’t get it going the same way from game to game. His overall field goal percentage dropped from 44.6% to 34.1%, and Floyd fell off sharply from the outside. He hit 13 triples at a 41.9% rate in his debut, but despite more than doubling his playing time last year, Floyd made just 20 shots from the land of trey, and he dropped to a 24.7% mark. English believes in Floyd’s talent, and wants to see him tighten up his routine defensively and regain his touch from distance. This summer, Floyd got a boost of confidence from playing – along with Anton Bonke, who joined the Friars back in midwinter from the junior college ranks – for the USA East Coast Men’s Basketball Select Team in Europe. Competing against some of the best young teams in Greece, Floyd scored assertively and even leaned into his passing skills. If he can build upon those performances and give the Friars another shooter who can operate out of ball screens.
Sturdily-built wing Rich Barron was pressed into a larger role than he might have been had Hopkins stayed healthy, but the rookie held up fairly well last year. The Chicago product ended up starting 10 games and knocking down 36 triples at a 42.9% rate, and at season’s end, Barron was named to the Big East’s All-Freshman squad. With a jumper and functional range that were ready to go upon arrival, Barron can build the rest of his game out from the perimeter. His physical strength is an advantage on the outside, and Barron has some explosiveness when he works close to the goal. Now that he’s established himself as a threat to hit from long range, Barron must take advantage of aggressive closeouts and shake defenders by cutting purposefully to the cup.
One of the original guys who transferred from George Mason to Providence to continue playing for English, Justyn Fernandez took a redshirt last year as he recovered from surgery on his knee last summer. A high-flying perimeter player who was rated a 4-star prospect by some outlets, Fernandez should now get his chance to show all the polish he’s put on his game since debuting for the Patriots. He started 13 games at GMU as a rookie, but Fernandez saw inconsistent minutes overall and didn’t exactly scorch the nets with efficient shooting. When healthy, he’s shown off a solid jumper and three-point range plus plenty of willingness to attack the basket. If all goes well for Fernandez in the trainer’s room this year, he should add some explosiveness and scoring off of PC’s bench.
With Hopkins set to resume his role as a conduit between the post and Providence’s perimeter crew, English has extensively renovated the frontcourt around him. There is a lot of size in the middle of Providence’s depth chart these days, and some enticing skills to be developed. Nothing compares, though, to the second coming of Christ.
| Five Stats Which Tell The Tale (with national ranks) |
| 45.5% – Opponent 2FG Percentage (16th) |
| 32.5% – Team 3FG Percentage (247th |
| 4.6 – Blocks Per Game (37th) |
| 75.7% – Defensive Rebounding Rate (71st) |
| 25.2% – Offensive Rebounding Rate (229th) |
St. Joseph’s transfer Christ Essandoko is a wide-bodied, country-strong seven-footer with oodles of potential and the makings of a pro-style game. Three years ago, Essandoko had committed to Cooley’s Friars, but the youngster from Paris, France didn’t sign with PC at the time due to some transcript issues. Following a redshirt season on Hawk Hill, Essandoko (whose first name is pronounced ‘Kreest’) debuted last fall to rave reviews. His irresistible size is an advantage against plenty of opponents inside, and Essandoko has improved his conditioning in anticipation of playing a larger role and, hopefully, staying healthy all year.
Some young bigs are not useful in every situation, but Essandoko’s feel, ballhandling, and vision are advanced for his age and unusually keen for a player so large. He passes smoothly and creatively, and Essandoko can feed precise kickoffs and skip the rock from one block to the opposite wing even as double teams close in. With 14 three-point hits as a rookie, Essandoko showed dangerous face-up aptitude as well, and as he develops further, Essandoko will be able to invert the Friars’ offense on one possession and then overwhelm people inside and finish at the rim the next minute. Defensively, he can move with impressive quickness to block and deter shots. He’s strong on the glass, and Essandoko can contest plays late at or above the rim even when it seems too late. As he becomes quicker and more sleek, Essandoko will only become more intimidating on that end of the floor. With his combination of talent and stature, Essandoko’s ceiling is as high as any young post in the Big East.
One of the more highly-rated big men in the class of 2025, Oswin Erhunmwunse will be joining the Friars this fall after reclassifying. Rangy and highly mobile, the 6’10” Erhunmwunse could have accepted his offers from Alabama, Creighton, or Marquette, but literally couldn’t wait to be a Friar. He’ll need to prove his strength against the sorts of veteran big guys that litter Big East rosters, but Erhunmwunse’s motor, reach, and willingness to play a physical game will serve him well. He’s considerably less refined offensively than Essandoko, but Erhunmwunse gets from end to end in a hurry, fights for offensive rebounds and outback stabs, and he’ll score effort buckets until he establishes a couple of go-to moves. As a rim protector, Erhunmwunse is ready to help immediately, and gives the Friars’ coaches a special project to focus on.
| Five Out-of-Conference Games to Keep an Eye on |
| N Arizona/Davidson – November 29 |
| N BYU – December 3 |
| N Oklahoma – November 27 |
| @ DePaul – December 10 |
| @ Rhode Island – December 7 |
A pair of fairly different big guys will also be seeing their first action as Friars. Both of them redshirted in Providence last year, but Eli DeLaurier and Anton Bonke took remarkably different paths to their Friar debuts. Bonke is a hulking pivot who was born in the Netherlands but grew up in Oceania, with most of his childhood being spent among the islands of Vanuatu. He’s still fairly raw, but Bonke showed tremendous potential in junior college up until January, when he signed with PC and spent the rest of the year developing. With his elite size, fairly soft touch, and quick feet, Bonke has genuine attributes to refine. Meanwhile, DeLaurier is the brother of former Duke standout Javin DeLaurier, and was advanced enough to reclassify and join the Friars last winter. He’s a stretch big with a solid handle and slick jumper, and with added strength, DeLaurier should be able to show those skills quickly.
Over the past decade, Providence has often been quite good. They’ve even beaten some of the best programs in the country. Their 27-6 effort three years ago, however, is the only Sweet Sixteen appearance the Friars have made in almost 30 years. English has clearly established that he will bring in talent. Can he go a step further than his predecessor and translate that talent into March success?
This team will look different in that it doesn’t have the type of obvious ball screen threat who can finish creatively through traffic like Devin Carter last year. What they do have is shooting at every spot on the floor. The screens set this season will focus on bombing away more regularly than the Friars did last year, and if that transition goes smoothly, PC will give opponents fits. Providence will have a chance to come together in November, as they won’t be facing a particularly difficult early schedule. If they can get Hopkins back to 100% and rolling by the new year, this should be a very dangerous team.
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