“He’s an incredible leader in every facet... there have been a few that I coached who are just that special.” Josh Oduro Readies for the Big East Battles
Two years ago, Josh Oduro and his George Mason teammates had a heavy decision in front of them. Head coach Dave Paulsen was, somewhat surprisingly, let go after his sixth season at Mason. The Patriots were coming off of a 2021-22 campaign in which they finished 8-6 in the Atlantic-10, and had a core of young players that was better than virtually anyone across the country understood at the time.
As soon as news broke of Paulsen’s firing, The Washington Post reported that most of the team’s core was expected to enter the transfer portal.
And that’s just what happened. The team’s top four scorers — Jordan Miller, Javon Greene, Tyler Kolek, and Josh Oduro — all entered their names into the portal.
Miller took his talents to Miami, where he keyed an Elite Eight run in 2022, and reached the Final Four the following season. He’s now a Los Angeles Clipper.
Kolek, coming off of being named A-10 Rookie of the Year in 2021, became a star in the Big East last season, winning the league’s Most Outstanding Player award.
Greene took his 11.5 points per game to South Florida.
Then there was Josh Oduro, the 6’9 post player who averaged 10 points and six rebounds in his last season playing for Paulsen.
To hear Oduro tell it now, George Mason didn’t have any advantage because they were his current school. Kim English (the new head man at Mason at the ripe age of 33) and every other coach calling him were on a level playing field.
“When Kim got hired, I had an opportunity to talk to him, and I treated him just like I treated everyone else,” Oduro said on The Friar Podcast in September. “I approached it like it was a brand new opportunity, and I really took the time to learn about Coach Kim English.”
“He was more involved in my recruiting process than anyone else was. I could really see that he was someone who cared, but more importantly, he was someone who had a plan and vision for the future – not only for the team, but for me individually and as a basketball player.”
English’s vision was enough for Oduro to return to George Mason for his junior year, and the center flourished learning from his new coach.
Oduro was named 1st Team All Atlantic 10 after leading the league in scoring at 17.7 points per game. There were some monster nights along the way: 21/9 against Washington on a neutral court in November, 20/11 in a win at Georgia, and a pair of games against St. Joe’s in which he scored a combined 64 points. There was a 32-point explosion at St. Louis, a 22-point/14-rebound/5-assist outburst against an NCAA Tournament team in Richmond, and a 27-point, 14-rebound effort versus George Washington.
Rather than jump to a higher level for his senior season, Oduro stayed at Mason with English and earned first team all conference honors again.
Oduro was a post-up terror over the past two seasons at Mason. He averaged 11.2 points in the paint per game last season (99th percentile nationally) and 3.1 second chance points (97th). He shot 77% at the rim and drew over five fouls per game — which also ranked among the highest rates in 2022-23. Ken Pomeroy had Oduro 44th in the nation in fouls drawn per 40 minutes.
While Oduro put up consistently big numbers throughout last season, his game really took off in January. He started hitting a post fadeaway with more consistency, and the harassing double teams opponents threw at him earlier in the year turned into great looks for his teammates by season’s end. Oduro’s name was built on his ability to score in the post, but what makes him so tough is his passing ability (80+ assists last year).
“I flourished in his system and his emphasis on player development,” Oduro said of English.
English noted that Oduro’s growth was impacted prior to last season due to a concussion that cost him much of the summer of 2022. Oduro spent this past summer “fine-tuning” elements of his game, including his jump shot (last season Oduro made 29.7% of his jumpers).
After English left Mason for Providence last spring, Oduro had another decision to make. He heard from Miami, Florida, Syracuse, Notre Dame, Virginia, and Cincinnati once he announced he was entering the transfer portal. But after hearing the mutual praise between Oduro and English, it sounds like his decision to come to PC was a no-brainer.
“Kim is more than just a coach to me. He’s like an uncle to me, like part of the family. He’s really taken the time to get to know me, get to know my family,” Oduro shared. “He always pushes me to get better not only in basketball, but in life.”
The stoic English’s eyes widen a bit when asked of Oduro. “He’s an incredible leader in every facet,” English said in an interview with us this summer. “There’s a few guys you get to coach over your career that might make you choke up on Senior Night, he’s going to be one of them. There have been a few that I coached who are just that special.”
Providence is going to need Oduro to be special this season. He’s stepping into a significant void left behind by Ed Croswell, an insatiable rebounder whose toughness, charisma, and improvement forever endeared him to all of Friartown.
The Big East may have its best collection of big men since the league realigned in 2013, headlined by All American favorites Ryan Kalkbrenner of Creighton and UConn’s Donovan Clingan. Shooting percentages at the rim plummet against those two.
Oduro will combat the sheer size and power of the Big East’s largest players with skill — great footwork around the rim, the ability to make plays off the bounce, and above average passing ability.
Will his game translate from the A-10 to the Big East? English has little doubt. “He’s back-to-back First Team All Atlantic 10,” English said an interview with The Vault this summer. “I couldn’t care less about what any media member says, or about any questions that may arise. We don’t have those questions. When we built this roster, we were not listening to that commentary. I’m very excited to see Josh mesh with this group, and I think he’s going to do very well.”
More from Friar Basketball:
We are almost two weeks away from the season opener, and Bill Ricci shares his thoughts on a number of topics surrounding the Friars as we count down the days.
In our News and Notes column for this week, I push back on former Providence assistant coach Ivan Thomas’ assertion that the previous coaching staff accomplished all they did over the past decade without the benefit of four- or five-star talent.
Over the past week, we also published a feature on Jayden Pierre, the results of our fan survey, and hosted a podcast previewing the season.
Thank you for reading!