News and Notes: Challenging Ivan Thomas on recruiting at Providence, Bryce Hopkins with All American honors, a new contract for Justin Minaya, and a potential breakout guard at Columbia
1. Former Providence assistants Ivan Thomas and Brian Blaney caught the attention of some in Friartown this week when they appeared on the “Hoya Locker Room” podcast with Gene Smith and Markhus Stansbury Jr.
Now seven months into his tenure as a Georgetown assistant coach, Blaney took what could be perceived as a thinly veiled shot at Providence when speaking about recruiting at his new gig.
“It’s a national brand,” Blaney said of Georgetown. “You can go to Ohio, California, anywhere, Arizona, anywhere on the East Coast — you walk into a gym with a Georgetown shirt on (and) you’re probably going to be in the door with the kid. Some other places that we’ve been that hadn’t been the case. You had to explain where you are, where you’re from, where the school is. There’s little explanation when you walk in with a Georgetown shirt on.”
Meanwhile, Thomas said this of the roster building and player development during his time at PC: “When we were at Providence, here’s the thing, we didn’t get five-star guys. We got three-star guys, but by the time they left Coach Blaney, they left Coach (Jeff) Battle, in terms of putting time in the gym, we built tough guys that could compete with anybody, with the five stars.”
“We put time in the gym with our guys, and I don’t know if other programs do as much as we did (at Providence),” said Thomas, who was hired as an assistant in 2015 after a 13-year stint as a high school coach in Virginia.
There’s no question that players developed under the previous staff. Three Friars were named Big East Most Improved Player during Ed Cooley’s time as head coach (Kadeem Batts in 2013, Ben Bentil in 2016, Kyron Cartwright in 2017), and PC benefitted from the terrific gains players like Ed Croswell made.
Still, Thomas’ thoughts simply aren’t fact. In reality, Providence brought in 14 four- or five-star players from the high school ranks from 2012-2019 (according to 247 Sports). High school recruiting certainly saw a dip from 2020-2022, with zero four- or five-star prep players committing to PC, but prior to leaving last spring the Friars had a pair of four-star players in the class of 2023 lined up, and another in 2024. The total above doesn’t include the likes of former four-star transfers like Carson Desrosiers and Tyler Harris who came to PC after starting their careers elsewhere.
What’s more, the transfer portal really changed team-building the past two years, specifically in terms of bringing in higher-end talent. The spring of 2022 alone saw Providence grab four 4-star transfers in Bryce Hopkins, Devin Carter, Noah Locke, and Corey Floyd Jr — all of whom were essential in PC returning to the NCAA Tournament in 2023.
PC reached the NCAA Tournament seven times under Cooley — in three instances as an 11 seed, once as a 10, and as a single digit seed three times. They were a six seed in 2015, a nine in 2016, and a four in 2022. The makeup of those rosters?
2015: Five players that were considered four-star recruits by 247 Sports, and a sixth that was a McDonald’s All American in Kris Dunn.
2016: Three of the top four scorers were four- or five-star recruits, with PC leaning heavily on Dunn (16.4 points, 6.2 assists) and Ben Bentil (21.1 points per game).
2022: Three four-star players on the roster
The 2019-20 Friars were set to be a single seed before the season was called due to the pandemic. That group had six players that 247 Sports listed as four-star recruits coming out of high school.
Providence cracked the AP Top 25 in four seasons under Cooley — in three of the NCAA Tournament years listed above, and last season after the aforementioned four 4-star recruits transferred in the spring prior to the season.
It’s understood that when a new staff is hired they have the freedom to create their own narrative, one that the fanbase of their new program eagerly accepts as gospel. But Thomas’ claims stretched the truth far enough to strike a chord — especially considering how significantly former four-star recruits factored into Providence’s success in its best seasons over the past decade.
2. Former assistant coach Jeff Battle also appeared on the podcast with Thomas and Blaney, and, unsurprisingly, the veteran coach kept it positive throughout. He didn’t take the bait when one of the hosts scoffed at living in Rhode Island versus DC, and kept his comments understated and forward-looking throughout.
3. CBS Sports came out with its Preseason All American team, and Providence forward Bryce Hopkins was named to their Third Team.
4. Justin Minaya, a key player in Providence’s Sweet 16 run of 2022, signed a two-way contract with the Portland Trail Blazers this week. Minaya played most of last season in the G League before seeing time in four games for Portland late in the year.
Here’s a look back on his terrific graduate season at Providence:
5. One player to watch in Providence’s season opener against Columbia? How about sophomore guard Avery Brown. The 6’4 sophomore point guard out of Connecticut started 29 games last season and was twice named Ivy League Freshman of the Week in a year in which he averaged 9.7 points per game.
Brown may be a familiar name to Friar fans, as Providence was recruiting him at one point during his prep career at Northfield Mount Hermon. Former NMH head coach John Carroll sent nearly 50 students to Ivy League schools during his great run there.