Friar Basketball Newsletter: Taking a Closer Look at a pair of 2024 visitors, video of Josh Oduro going for 32 points vs. St. Louis, Billy Ricci on Kim English's early impact, and more
The past two weeks have been somewhat quiet in Providence, which is to be expected for this time of year. Typically, May can be a slower month news-wise, and with the Friars looking to fill just one more scholarship for the 2023-24 roster the focus is starting to turn to the class of 2024 (and beyond).
Kim English and his staff recently hosted a pair of top-100 2024 prospects from the DMV area in big man Pat Ngongba and point guard Daquan Davis. We have detailed breakdowns of both players in our latest “Closer Look” features, which include what intrigues the coaching staff most about each of them. Both articles are available to subscribers of Friar Basketball.
A Closer Look at Daquan Davis:
Additionally, this week we have a pair of videos for all readers of the site. First, we break down a game between George Mason and St. Louis that went into double overtime before Billikens’ star Yuri Collins scored at the buzzer to seal a 92-90 win.
This game featured a pair of big-time efforts from Mason-to-Providence transfers Josh Oduro and Davonte Gaines. Oduro scored 32 points, including a game-tying 3-pointer with under ten seconds left in the second overtime session, while Gaines grabbed 17 rebounds.
You can also enjoy our highlight reel of Devin Carter’s exciting sophomore season at PC.
Billy Ricci is back this week with some terrific content as well. His latest podcast features John Hope, the former in-house MC at the AMP. Hope explains how he went from a kid who worked on his game at Providence’s Alumni Hall and became the voice of the Dunk/AMP experience for a decade.
Billy also writes at length on a variety of topics about the Friar program, including how Kim English continues to win with social media, the exciting potential of next year’s backcourt, and much more.
It will be fascinating to see how English and his new staff fair on the recruiting trail in their first summer at Providence. If history is any indicator, a commitment may not be far off. PC received commits in the past two Junes (Quante Berry and Garwey Dual), and we will be tracking Providence’s recruits and closely watching them on the different sneaker circuits throughout this summer.
We are really excited to cover recruiting this summer, while also providing content on the current Friars and the rest of the Big East.