Providence Recruiting Update: Time to Turn Attention to 2016

With NC State forward transfer Kyle Washington committing to Mick Cronin and the Cincinnati Bearcats on Wednesday its time for the Friar staff to turn their attention to the class of 2016 and beyond. The likelihood that there is still a player available that could contribute next season is almost nonexistent. The only scenario out there right now is probably a darkhorse international player but that is in the “massive longshot” category.

The first July live evaluation period is rapidly approaching and the Providence staff needs to be focused on players from the class of 2016 with an eye towards players in 2017. Some Big East compatriots have already gotten off to good starts in 2016 with Butler landing a pair of 4 star recruits in Joey Brunk and Howard Washington, Villanova picking up consensus top 20 recruit Omari Spellman and Xavier dipping into the New England Prep ranks to grab top 125 forward Tyrique Jones.

Recruiting, like a lot of things in sports, is largely about momentum. If you want to see how momentum can build on the recruiting front just look at the 18 hour period Cincinnati had from Tuesday afternoon to Wednesday morning. Ed Cooley had momentum going his way early in his time at Providence. After grabbing Dayton decommit LaDontae Henton in his first class at Providence in 2011, Cooley was able to lock up Kris Dunn, Ricky Ledo and Josh Fortune for his second class in 2012. Ledo would obviously never see the floor for the Friars but that was offset somewhat by top-50 recruit Brandon Austin coming in the fold, along with top-150 forward Rodney Bullock in the 2013 class. Momentum kept on rolling.

Austin would never see the floor for anything beyond an exhibition game before being suspended for a sexual assault allegation and leaving the school in December of 2013. But the class of 2014 was arguably Cooley’s best overall class. Friar fans weren’t worried. Two top-75 recruits in Paschal Chukwu and Jalen Lindsey were joined by top-100 man-child Ben Bentil, Spring commitment Kyron Cartwright and Labor Day weekend addition Tyree Chambers from Germany. Bullock would be back after serving his year-long suspension and all was right with the world.

Fortune — starting at being the starting shooting guard as a junior on a team that just won the Big East Tournament — announced his intention to leave Providence in late May 2014. Fans and media members were left scratching their heads and Cooley and his staff were left scrambling to fill the void at shooting guard with no success that Spring and Summer. Then Bullock tore up his knee during the first week of practice in October 2014.

The class of 2015 is Cooley’s “worst” at Providence in his 4 year tenure at the school. But it was viewed by many early on as a solid class that plugged holes with good, 4-year players. I still believe guys like Ryan Fazekas, Ricky Council, Drew Edwards and Quadree Smith have more potential than some are giving them credit for because of their rankings.

Fast-forward to May 18, 2015. Paschal Chukwu now pulls a Josh Fortune and again fans and media members were left scratching their heads. This time some of them are pulling out their hair.  Why would a rising sophomore in line for major minutes and a starting role on a team with Dunn at the helm want to leave? A change of scenery was the early reason but some now have doubts about that being the real or only thing going on with the 7’2 Fairfield Prep graduate.

The consensus among fans is that Cooley has lost his mojo on the recruiting front. While that may be true to some extent, the degree of concern is still pretty varied, depending on who you talk to. There are a lot of reasons that players choose to go to schools. Chief among them these days seem to be 1(a) playing time and 1(b) ability to get to the NBA. Providence may have playing time at some positions but because of the impressive recruiting hauls in recent years there isn’t as much as there might have been in 2012, 2013 and 2014. The Friars don’t have a lot of recent success getting players to the NBA outside of the grinders like Ryan Gomes and Bryce Cotton. Sometimes a little perspective goes a long way. I have my own concerns about the lack of recruiting wins of late but I’m still not ready to hit the panic button and declare a state of emergency in Friartown.

The class of 2016. That’s where the momentum and the mojo can be turned back on and where the focus needs to be. Who Providence coaches are tracking next week and during the other 2 live evaluation periods of July will give a good clue as to what players they are targeting. All it takes is 1 commitment and the worm can turn. Today is July 1st. These next 30 days are critical to the future of Providence basketball. Buckle up and try to enjoy the ride, Friar fans. The next commitment could turn everything around.

Follow me on Twitter @pcbb1917

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Mike Hopkins

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