Friar Basketball Newsletter: A Closer Look at a Primary Recruiting Target, Previews of Butler and UConn, Supporting Friars' via NIL, Carson Desrosiers From Our Upcoming Podcast Series, and More
Over the past two weeks we have begun recording interviews for our upcoming podcast series on the 2013-14 Big East Champion Providence Friars. Billy Ricci and I have been very excited with the insight we have gained from those we have interviewed to date.
One of those interviews was with the starting center on that team, Carson Desrosiers. Carson was part of a talent influx that committed to Providence in the six months that followed the Ed Cooley hiring. It was a group that included LaDontae Henton, Kris Dunn, Ricky Ledo, and ACC transfers Tyler Harris and Desrosiers. In this three-minute snippet from our conversation with Carson, he talks about his recruitment to Providence under the prior staff and his impressions of the school following the hiring of Cooley. Subscribers can watch the video here.
Also available this week is a re-publishing of a long-form article from Friar Basketball on the 2014 team which features interviews with starters Bryce Cotton and Kadeem Batts.
In two weeks, Providence will receive a visit from a talented small forward recruit from Michigan in Curtis Williams Jr. The Friars made up a lot of ground in the top 75 player’s recruitment this summer, and Craig Leighton has a Closer Look article on Williams’ game and recruitment.
We also have detailed previews of Butler and UConn for the upcoming season. Dan Hurley is entering his fifth year in Connecticut and landed a few important transfers following significant roster turnover in the spring. Their best transfer is 6’5 point guard Tristen Newton, and we have highlights of his strong outing against Cincinnati here.
Subscribers can check out our detailed UConn preview here.
Butler has brought back Thad Matta to lead their program after half a decade away from the college game. Matta was the coach of the year in three different leagues (at Butler, Xavier, and Ohio State), has won 74% of his games as a head coach, and reached a pair of Final Fours. Here’s a look at who he has coming back, and how he rebuilt the Bulldogs’ frontcourt this offseason.
Butler also brought in an intriguing scorer in Ali Ali, a 6’8 forward from Akron. Highlights of Ali can be seen here.
With each of our Big East team previews we will aim to include highlights of a featured transfer that you can’t find anywhere else.
Finally, Providence’s Athletic Department announced late last week how anyone looking to book PC athletes for NIL opportunities can do so via the Advantage Friar Marketplace platform. Profiles for Providence athletes can be found on this platform, with a variety of marketing opportunities.
We hope you enjoy this week’s newsletter!