Friar Basketball Newsletter: Providence continues to round out the roster with Davonte Gaines and Richard Barron, Desrosiers and Bancroft on The Friar Podcast, Dunn/Minaya/Duke Jr. making NBA waves
The spring of 2023 continued to be a busy one in Friartown over the past week, with a pair of commitments, a trio of former Friars making NBA news, an elite transfer guard including Providence in his final four schools, and much more.
Let’s start with the two individuals who committed to PC this week. Kim English added another former George Mason player in 6’7 graduate transfer Davonte “Ticket” Gaines. Gaines began his career at Tennessee, followed English to Mason, and will use his final year of eligibility at Providence. He is eligible to play next season.
The Buffalo, NY native had his best season in 2021-22, when he averaged 10.2 points and 8.1 rebounds per game, while playing as an undersized power forward (6’7, 180 pounds). He also shot over 40% from 3-point range that season. Gaines missed time with a wrist injury last year, and Mason went 4-6 in his absence. A game after he returned, Mason ripped off seven consecutive victories late in the season. Gaines ranked in the 82nd percentile in the country in spot up opportunities last year, and made nearly 48% of his open catch and shoot attempts.
Subscribers can read all about Gaines and his fit at PC here.
English also grabbed a commitment from class of 2023 wing Richard Barron out of Chicago. Barron is a strong wing with range beyond the 3-point arc. He was committed to English at George Mason, and will now follow him to Providence. Subscribers can read more about Barron, and how the coaching staff thought he was the perfect fit for English’s system when they discovered him on the Nike EYBL circuit.
English and his staff aren’t done rebuilding this roster just yet. It was announced on Friday that PC is among the final four schools for one of the best available guards on the transfer market in Australia native Taran Armstrong. The 6’5 Armstrong starred for two years as a point guard at Cal Baptist, dazzling with his creative passing ability. Gonzaga, Creighton, and Xavier are also among his finalists. You can read all about Armstrong here. He was the WAC Freshman of the Year and finished his freshman season in the top five nationally in assists.
Providence is also due to get a visit from Graham Ike, a Wyoming transfer who averaged over 19 points and nine boards a game in his last healthy season in 2021-22. Anyone looking to learn more about his game can watch this reel we put together from when he faced Trayce Jackson-Davis and Indiana in the 2022 NCAA Tournament. It was a physical battle.
If you haven’t heard it yet, our podcast interview with Ted Bancroft and Carson Desrosiers in well worth a listen. They shared their thoughts on Ed Cooley’s departure, including how it felt to see their former coach go to Georgetown, and what their approach would have been if they were current members of the team at PC. Subscribe to The Friar Podcast today if you enjoy this content!
If that weren’t enough, we also have two other articles for you to enjoy. Billy Ricci is back with his latest article on all of the comings and goings in Friartown, including the roster building process under Kim English and the strong leadership of Steve Napolillo through trying times.
We also have a News and Notes column which details Justin Minaya’s NBA debut in Portland, Kris Dunn closing out the year strong in Utah, and David Duke Jr. getting a standard contract in Brooklyn. This article also looks into the positive impression Garwey Dual made at the Nike Hoops Summit practices last week, the introduction of assistant coaches Dennis Felton and Nate Tomlinson, and PC’s spotty success with redshirts in recent seasons.
Thank you for reading Friar Basketball! We have more great content ahead!