Providence Recruiting Update 5/14/15

With Providence still holding one open scholarship for next season the coaching staff has been actively involved in both the class of 2015 and the transfer market. Recruiting in the classes of 2016 and 2017 has continued as well. Here are some updates on the recruiting front for the Friars.

Jeff Battle

The best recruiting jobs that Ed Cooley has done so far this offseason haven’t been with members of the class of 2015 or 2016. Kris Dunn’s return to Friartown was massively important for Providence’s chances of returning to the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive year. It also keeps the program on the upswing instead of what would have likely been a “growing” year. The other big-time recruit that Cooley landed was his close friend Jeff Battle. Losing Bob Simon was a blow because he was a relentless recruiter and a solid X & O coach. Replacing Simon with Battle is an absolute home run. Simon was the initial contact on a lot of names Providence fans have heard on the recruiting trail so prepare yourselves to see some of those names change with Simon at Alabama. Having said that, Battle has his own recruiting successes under his belt and being the associate head coach at Wake Forest for 13 seasons also means he has a ton of valuable experience to bring to the bench in-game.

Lorne Currie

One 2015 target that recently committed elsewhere is Lorne Currie. Currie committed to Long Beach State on May 11th. Providence’s interest in Currie likely dwindled once Kris Dunn announced he was returning for the 2015-16 season. The focus since that announcement has shifted the focus more on the transfer market with the Friars being mentioned with both graduate transfers as well as regular 4 year transfers. The focus has also shifted to big men instead of guards.

Alonzo Nelson-Ododa

One of those graduate transfer mentioned above is Alonzo Nelson-Ododa. Nelson-Ododa will graduate from Richmond and be eligible immediately at his new school. So far an official list hasn’t come out from Nelson-Ododa but ESPN’s Jeff Borzello reported on Twitter that Providence was one of more than 15 schools to reach out to Nelson-Ododa since he announced his intention to transfer.

A player like Nelson-Ododa is exactly what the 2015-16 Friars need. Paschal Chukwu is not yet ready to take on major minutes at the center position. Chukwu is still probably a year away from being physically strong enough for that kind of assignment. A nice progression for him would be to play around 25 minutes/game and put up similar numbers to his classmate Ben Bentil. If no big men are added to the current roster it means Bentil would be asked to slide over to the center position for most of the other 15 minutes/game which is not where he will be most successful. Bentil will likely see his minutes increase from just over 20 minutes/game to approaching 35 but he would be a lot more productive in those minutes if he can continue to play power forward.

Nelson-Ododa averaged 6.6 points/game, 5.1 rebounds/game and 1.7 blocks/game in 23.1 minutes/game for Richmond a season ago. If he were to come to Providence and put up similar numbers it would be a big help to this young front line.

Kyle Washington

Another name on the transfer market that Providence has expressed interest in is NC State transfer Kyle Washington. Washington is leaving NC State after two seasons and will have to sit out the 2015-16 season, per NCAA rules. He would have two years of eligibility remaining after that. He recently released a list of schools: Arizona State, Butler, Cincinnati, Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas, Marquette, Providence, West Virginia and Xavier. A source close to Washington told me that the plan is to cut this list down to 5 to schedule official visits. Washington averaged 5.8 points/game and 4.0 rebounds/game in 70 games over his two years at NC State. Prior to NC State he player his senior year at Brewster Academy after transferring from Hotchkiss. A native of Champlin, Minnesota, Washington ran with Howard Pulley on the grassroots circuit. He had a 247sports composite national ranking of 82 in the class of 2013.

Alex Owens

I have gotten a lot of emails and messages asking about the status of Alex Owens. Owens suffered a left knee injury during a game in mid-February. After trying to play on it in the next game he was shut down and evaluated. The MRI revealed a torn ACL in that left knee and he would have surgery on March 6th. Owens had a set back and had a second surgery on April 15th. In addition to the physical issues, Owens still does not have a qualifying ACT score. The final ACT exam that can be taken is on June 13th. Even if Owens does get the score he needs it doesn’t seem likely that he will be able to contribute in a major way next season as he would only be about 6 months removed from the second surgery by the time Late Night Madness rolls around.

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2 responses to “Providence Recruiting Update 5/14/15”

  1. […] ICYMI – Providence Recruiting Update 5/14/15 […]

  2. […] Tyrique Jones, Sedee Keita and Kassoum Yakwe. The Friars have also made NC State power forward Kyle Washington’s list of 10 schools. Washington would have to sit out the 2015-16 season, per NCAA transfer […]

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