Providence Hands Out New Offers After Second Live Period

The second live evaluation period is in the rear view mirror and despite being short-handed on the recruiting trail this weekend the Friar staff managed to hand out some new offers to members of the classes of 2016 and 2017. Providence offered local New England prep players Hasahn French (Commonwealth Academy) and Samuel Japhet-Mathias (Vermont Academy), according to tweets from their high school and AAU coaches. Another offer that went out on Monday was to Oak Hill Academy big man Joe Hampton. Hampton tweeted about the offer Monday night. The other offers that were announced Tuesday were 2016 point guard Tony Carr and 2016 power forward Sedee Keita. Wednesday saw another offer to a member of the PSA Cardinals grassroots team with their Twitter account announcing that Providence was among a few schools to offer 2017 big man Mohammed Bamba.

There will be a full recap of the Friar recruits covered in the 2nd live period’s recruiting guide later in the week but for now let’s take a closer look at these recruits who received scholarship offers this week.

Tony Carr

• Class of 2016
• Roman Catholic
• Hometown: Philadelphia, PA
• Point Guard
• 6’4 180 lbs
• AAU Team: Team Final

Tony Carr is “a late blooming point guard who has not only continued to grow, but also developed his game at a rapid rate,” according to his ESPN scouting report. He runs with Team Final on the Nike EYBL circuit and plays for Roman Catholic High School in Philadelphia during the school year. Since the first live evaluation period in April he has received 9 offers, including the one he just got from Providence. Fellow Big East members Georgetown and Xavier are also among that group of new offers for Carr.

Carr is averaging 14.8 points/game, 5.1 rebounds/game and 3.4 assists/game through Team Final’s first 8 games on the EYBL circuit. The team has posted a 6-2 record through the first two sessions. Carr “is more of the traditional point guard who looks to pass first,” according to a scouting report from CityOfBasketballLove.com. Carr holds offers from Florida State, George Washington, Georgetown, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, La Salle, Maryland, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Providence, Rhode Island, SMU, Stanford, Temple, VCU, Virginia Tech and Xavier.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HlX6gCJOzY]

Joe Hampton

• Class of 2016
• Oak Hill Academy
• Hometown: Hyattsville, MD
• Power Forward
• 6’7 265 lbs
• AAU Team: DC Premier

Joe Hampton runs with the DC Premier on the Under Armour Association circuit and plays for the famed Oak Hill Academy. Prior to transferring to Oak Hill last summer Hampton played for DeMatha Catholic for two seasons. Hampton’s game is a mix between the two forward positions but he currently has the body of a power forward and the height of a small forward. Hampton committed to Penn State in early August 2014 but decommitted in early March 2015.

ESPN’s scouting report calls the lefty “a big, strong insider.” Some descriptors in the strengths section are “crafty” and “big body forward”. They go on to note that “conditioning will be an important part of his development.” Another positive is that “he plays extremely hard all the time.” He currently holds offers from DePaul, Providence, Rhode Island, Texas A&M, Virginia Tech and Xavier. Hampton is averaging a team high 12.4 points/game and 3rd best 3.9 rebounds/game in 7 UA Association games through the first two live periods. The DC Premier team is 5-3.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_-pDP-sKVM]

Sedee Keita

• Class of 2016
• 22 Feet Academy
• Hometown: Middleton, DE
• Power Forward
• 6’11 225 lbs
• AAU Team: WE R1

Sedee Keita has been on the Providence radar for awhile now as the 6’11 big man used to attend Vermont Academy. Frankly I’m surprised it took this long to officially offer but Keita is certainly worth the recruiting effort. Brian Blaney is the lead for Keita.

Keita has a fantastic body and above-average mobility. I’ve seen him play in person a few times and if he ever taps into the potential that he oozes he will be scary good. Even if he doesn’t get all the way there his physical tools alone are good enough to be a good high-level college player.

ESPN’s scouting report says “he’s not the type of guy who is going to dominate a high level high school game right now, but his tools and talent are obvious and so it’s only a matter of projecting him out a couple of years down the road.”

He currently has offers from Auburn, Fairfield, Iowa, Iowa State, Memphis, Mississippi State, Penn State, Rutgers, Seton Hall, South Carolina, Syracuse, Temple, Tennessee, Texas Tech, Tulsa, UMass, UNLV, USF, VCU, Villanova and Xavier.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHSGUD_8pVE]

Mohammed Bamba

• Class of 2017
• Westtown School
• Hometown: Harlem, NY
• Power Forward
• 6’11 205 lbs
• AAU Team: PSA Cardinals (2017 team)

Mohammed Bamba is a top player in the class of 2017. He has the potential to develop into a one-and-done level player by the time he reaches his senior season. Bamba is long and needs to put on more weight as is typical for young big men. His CityOfBasketballLove.com scouting report says Bamba is “blessed with almost unlimited upside.”

Bamba currently holds offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Connecticut, Florida State, Georgia Tech, James Madison, Kansas, Maryland, Penn State, Providence, Rice, Seton Hall, Syracuse, Temple, Texas, Villanova, Wake Forest, West Virginia and Yale.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59okCIPyplM]

Hasahn French

• Class of 2017
• Commonwealth Academy
• Hometown: Middletown, NY
• Small Forward
• 6’6 205 lbs
• AAU Team: PSA Cardinals (2017 team)

Hasahn French is part of a good young program at Commonwealth Academy. Corey Evans of HoopsIntel.com described French as “well-built with major athleticism and bounce at the bucket…is one of the strongest kids that you might find throughout the east coast within the sophomore ranks.” Evans continues in an article from August 2014:

“He is great on the face-up from 15-feet and can create for himself off the floor in using his frame and killer mentality to get where he wants within the half court. Not afraid to explode to the rim for power dunks, French is good for at least one, two-handed, violent rim rocking dunk in every game that he plays in. His jumper does need some work, yet the quality finisher can create for others near the bucket and makes good dump-offs around the tin where he can facilitate some on the go.”

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlUBhwOnrfM]

Samuel Japhet-Mathias

• Class of 2017
• Vermont Academy
• Hometown: Lewisham, United Kingdom
• Center
• 6’11 270 lbs
• AAU Team: PSA Cardinals (EYBL team)

Samuel Japhet-Mathias is fairly new to the United States having only come over from the UK in the summer of 2014. Japhet-Mathias enrolled at Vermont Academy and reclassified from 2016 to 2017 when he did that. He possesses a 7’4 wingspan and Vermont Academy coach Alex Popp thinks “he has a very high ceiling.” Popp continued, “he just started playing and he is only 16. I have coached a few McDonald’s All-Americans, and he is on par with them.”

Japhet-Mathias recently turned 17 in March 2015 but has not been able to play with the PSA Cardinals on the Nike EYBL circuit due to an NCAA rule not allowing international players to play until they have been in the US for at least 1 year. He will be eligible to compete beginning with the 3rd session of the EYBL being held in Houston from May 8th through May 10th. Japhet-Mathias currently holds offers from Clemson, Connecticut, Georgetown and Providence.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_T1hjzeHAU]

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Mike Hopkins

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