Friar Basketball Newsletter: Taking a closer look at Wesley Cardet Jr., Xavier and Georgetown making portal moves, PC transfers and spotting up, and more
1. Chicago State transfer Wesley Cardet Jr. had just entered the portal before it was reported by both Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports and On3.com’s Joe Tipton that he was visiting Providence this weekend.
Cardet averaged 18.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.6 assists this past season, while hitting threes at a 34% clip and making over 140 free throws in each of the past two years. He has one year of eligibility remaining.
After watching tape of Cardet Jr., it was hard not to think of Seton Hall star Kadary Richmond taking opponents off the bounce. At 6’6, 205 pounds, he’s not quite as physically imposing as Richmond, but he has the same wiggle off the dribble, finishes through traffic with strength, and scores consistently with his left hand.
The Providence staff believes he is an excellent defensive player (which the advanced metrics back up — 90th percentile in man defense), one that benefits from a seven-foot wingspan.
He has not committed as of Sunday morning.
Here are some clips I pulled together last night:
2. Cardet Jr. is relatively average in spot up opportunities (35th percentile this year and 44th a season ago), but it’s become apparent that the staff has looked to improve in this regard for next season.
The Friars ranked in the 45th percentile in the country in spot up shooting, a number that was strongly boosted by the efforts of Rich Barron (91st percentile), Jayden Pierre (83rd), and Devin Carter (70th).
All three transfer portal commitments this spring have good spot up numbers:
Christ Essandoko: 91st percentile on 39 possessions
Jabri Abduri-Rahim: 82nd percentile on 119 possessions
Bensley Joseph: 87th percentile on 104 possessions