How the Transfer Portal Is Devastating PC and URI — A New Cruel Reality
GoLocalProv Sports Team
How the Transfer Portal Is Devastating PC and URI — A New Cruel Reality
The transfer portal for college basketball officially opened on Monday.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTTo date, more than 600 players have entered, and that number is expected to rise. Last year, about 1,400 men's college basketball players entered the portal.
Two Division I teams in Rhode Island have been among the hardest hit in college basketball. The portal remains open until April 22.
To start, let us review some of the economics of college basketball today.
Presently, there are a little more than 5,600 Division I basketball players playing on 352 teams.
The revenue in college basketball generates an estimated $2 billion annually from broadcast rights, ticket sales, and merchandising.
Players in Focus
On average, men's basketball players in the NCAA earn about $65,853 annually through NIL deals as of July 2024.
However, this figure can vary significantly based on the player's profile and the conference they play in. Duke All-American Cooper Flagg reportedly made upwards of $5 million this year and that number is climbing with additional endorsement deals.
If every player made an average of $100,000, it would only total $560 million. It is important to know that NIL payments are not paid out of the revenue the NCAA and the colleges and universities receive. NIL monies are payments to players from third parties — alumni and sponsors.
NIL dollars come in big and little payments. As Kevin Stacom recently highlighted, Rick Pitino’s St. John’s roster is funded primarily by one donor — billionaire Mike Repole. For Repole, donating $5 million or so in NIL monies is far cheaper than trying to buy the Knicks.
For two of the local teams — PC and URI — the portal is causing significant chaos.
For PC, the value of the men's basketball team is inextricably linked to the college.
Nearly every home game is a sell-out and the school claims it is big business. A report commissioned by PC and released this year highlights the effect of men's basketball, which the school claims is responsible for $24 million annually in local economic impact.
Meanwhile, Bryant and Brown Universities have yet to be impacted by mass defections of players to the portal.
Bryant’s situation may change as its coach, Phil Martelli, Jr., is leaving. He has accepted the top job at Virginia Commonwealth University, and often, players follow coaches.
One Brown player has entered the portal, and he has exhausted his Ivy League eligibility—SEE BELOW.
In this past season’s Providence College team photo, sixteen players posed for the photographer.
Five of the players have exhausted theor eligibility. It is not known how many will graduate with diplomas.
Those five players are Bensley Joseph, Jabri Abdur-Rahim, Wesley Cardet, Jr., and walk-ons Luke Fonts and Kieran O'Haire.
Then, six players have entered the transfer portal: Jayden Pierre, Bryce Hopkins, Anton Bonke, Eli DeLaurier, Christ Essandoko, and Justyn Fernandez.
Of the 16 Friars, just five are scheduled to return—Ryan Mela, Rich Barron, Oswin Erhunmwunse, Nilavan Jotham Daniels, and Corey Floyd, Jr.
However, the Friars do have two talented 4-star recruits enrolling in the fall of 2025.
Jaylen Harrell and Jamier Jones are expected for the fall.
Lots of Holes to Fill
The Friars have a half-dozen slots to fill and massive scoring gaps. Of the Friars returning, the leading scorer was Floyd at 9.2 ppg. Moreover, the scoring of all the returning players is just 29 ppg.
Rams Only Have Two Experienced Players Returning with Any Experience
The news in Kingston is more dire, as the Rams have not seen the postseason since 2017-18.
URI has only gone to the NCAA Tournament twice in the past 20 years (both times under then-coach Dan Hurley). In the 20 years before that, the Rams went five times.
Now, the proverbial cupboard has never been more bare.
First, the Rams graduated 71% of their scoring, and then were hit with four additional players announcing they are entering the portal.
The Rams that have announced their entrance to the portal are Cam Estevez, Tyronne Farrell, David Fuchs, and Always Wright.
The first is that he only has two players with any functional game experience —Jamarques Lawrence, who averaged 9.9 ppg, and Drissa Traore, who averaged 2.8 ppg.
The next most experienced returning player is freshman walk-on Jaymien Aponte, who played five minutes and scored no points.
READ ABOUT THE RAM WALK-ONS HERE.
For PC and URI, the immediate future looks uncertain at best.
But, in the new world order, just one major donor can turn the lowest of mid-majors and turn them into a formidable program.
URI, PC, Brown and Bryant — Who Is In the Transfer Portal
Daquan Davis
Florida St. ➡️ Providence College
PC has landed rising sophomore point guard Daquan Davis — a transfer from Florida St.
He had previously committed to PC and then decommitted in 2023.
He is 6’1 “ and is a native of Baltimore.
He averaged 8.8 ppg and had 77 assists for the Seminoles this past season.
Career Highs;
PTS: 19 vs. Western Carolina (11-26-24)
REBS: 5 vs. Temple (11-22-24), vs. UMass (11-24-24)
STLS: 4 vs. Winthrop (12-17-24)
BLKS: 2 vs. Northern Kentucky (11-4-24)
ASTS: 10 at Miami (1-8-25)
“He (Daquan Davis) brought all the juice, competes at an intense level, encouraged his teammates and refused to let his energy die on his watch. He’s a tough lead guard who plays low to the ground, has burst and is a shout maker who keeps defenders honest,” said Eric Bossi of 247sports.
Jaylin Sellers
University of Central Florida ➡️ Providence College
Jaylin Sellers — a 6-5, 205-pound guard, who has one season of eligibility remaining is one of the latest Friars.
He comes to Providence from the University of Central Florida. Providence will be his third school. He played his freshman and sophomore seasons at Ball St.
Due to an injury, he only played three games in 2024-25. In 2023-24, Sellers led UCF in scoring (524/15.9 ppg) as he scored in double-digits in 29 of the team's 33 games. His 15.9 points per game average ranked fourth in the Big 12.
Jason Edwards
Vanderbilt University ➡️ Providence College
On Friday, it was announced that Vanderbilt point guard Jason Edwards will be joining the Friars.
He is a 6’1” player from Atlanta, Georgia.
Edwards was the leading scorer for the Commodores at 17 ppg. And, he shot 35% from behind the 3-point line.
He had a negative assist-to-turnover ratio, however. Edwards had 44 assists and 53 turnovers.
Vandy was 20-13 this past season.
According to his bio, PC will be his fifth school.
Cole Hargrove
Drexel University ➡️ Providence College
The Providence College men’s basketball team has landed Drexel University’s big man, Cole Hargrove.
The 6’8” forward comes to Providence after averaging 9.9 ppg. and 7.5 rebounds.
Drexel plays in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) and was 18-15 on the season and 9-9 in conference.
Eli DeLaurier
Providence College ➡️ East Carolina
The 6-10 redshirt freshman showed moments of strong play but had injury issues and never seemed to gain Coach Kim English’s confidence.
He could shoot the 3-pointer but only averaged 1.2 ppg. and 1.1 rebounds in his limited play.
He played one game in the 2023-24 season before being redshirted.
DeLaurier spent three years at the Miller School in Charlottesville, Va. (2021-23)and helped lead his team to a 20-13 mark in 2023.
Justyn Fernandez
Providence College ➡️ University of Delaware
Justyn Fernandez showed some brilliance this past season for the Providence College team.
Now, Fernandez has entered the transfer portal. He came to PC with coach Kim English from George Mason two years ago.
The redshirt sophomore who, when he played, scored. In 26 minutes against Villanova, Fernandez scored 17 points, and in 31 minutes against Xavier had 15 points. He often looked like the best athlete on the court. His block against Georgetown made highlight films.
Inexplicably, Fernandez played just three minutes in the Big East tournament loss to Butler.
His entrance to the portal was first reported by 24/7.
Anton Bonke
Providence College
Anton Bonke, the 7-2 center.
The freshman was one of the Friars with the most intriguing stories.
Read Kevin Stacom’s feature on Bonke here.
He averaged 1.2 ppg and 1.1 rebounds a game.
Jayden Pierre
Providence College ➡️ TCU
Pierre, a starting guard for coach Kim English this past year, entered the portal and is transferring to Texas Christian University.
He was the Friars' second-leading scorer this season, averaging 13.2 ppg, second only to Bensley Joseph, who is graduating. He also tied for the most assists with Joseph at 101.
Pierre was the only Friar to start all 32 games this season..
Previously, 24/7 Sports had reported he had signed with Seattle.
Jabri Abdur-Rahim
Providence College
Jabri Abdur-Rahim, the Providence College senior, has entered the transfer portal.
If successful in finding a new college, it will be his fourth school over six seasons of college basketball.
Abdur-Rahim began his college play career at the University of Virginia in the 2020-21 academic year.
He appealed for another year of eligibility for medical reasons. He has already played at Virginia for one year, the University of Georgia for three years, and Providence College this past season.
Christ Essandoko
Providence College ➡️ South Carolina
He came to Providence via the portal after playing at St. Joseph's University. A native of France, he averaged 4.3 ppg. and 3.9 rebounds.
He is a 7-0 and was expected to be a major impact player, but weight issues and injuries diminished his success.
Bryce Hopkins
Providence College ➡️ St. John's University
In the ever-changing world of college basketball, Providence College forward Bryce Hopkins has officially announced he is entering the transfer portal.
Going into this season, Hopkins was a pre-season Big East first-team selection, but he played in just three games for the Friars.
He averaged 17 points a game. The Friars won two games and lost one—beating BYU and DePaul and losing to URI.
Previous Season
An ACL injury knocked him out for the previous season, the 2023-2024 campaign.
He was averaging 15.5 ppg and 8.6 rpg when he was injured.
In the 2022-2023 season, his first year with the Friars, he averaged 15.8 ppg and 8.5 rpg.
Hopkins had ACL surgery in January of 2024.
He transferred to Providence after a year at Kentucky.
Keyshawn Mitchell
Bryant University
The 6'11" rising junior.
America East All-Tournament Team.
He appeared in all 35 games, starting 34 in his second season.
Posted seven double-doubles on the year, including in the America East Semifinals and Championship.
Averaged 8.5 ppg, 6.8 rpg, and 0.7 bpg. Averaged 2.7 off. Reb. Per Game (1st in the America East).
He made his first career start in the opener vs Dean and finished with his first career double-double (11p, 12r).
Recorded a 16p-13r double-double in a win over Tenn. State.
Barry Evans
Bryant University ➡️ VCU
2024-25 (Junior at Bryant)
America East Newcomer of the Year ... Second Team All-America East ... America East All-Tournament Team.
Averaged 13.3 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 2.7 apg, and 1.3 spg.
Shot 47 percent from the field, 37 percent from three and 65 percent from the line.
Scored in double figures in 28 of the 33 games he appeared in.
Nana Owusu-Anane
Brown University ➡️ Southern Methodist University
Brown senior Nana Owusu-Anane, who suffered a shoulder injury this past season, has entered the portal and committed to SMU.
He was an All-Ivy selection in the 2023-2024 season and entered the portal last year and then decided to return to Brown.
He has completed his eligibility at Brown.
Tyronne Farrell
University of Rhode Island
Tyrone Farrell, a 6-6 sophomore forward who averaged 5.2 ppg, has also announced he intends to enter the portal.
Cam Estevez
University of Rhode Island ➡️ Fairfield University
Cam Estevez, a sophomore URI guard who averaged 4.5 points per game, has announced he is entering the portal.
”After talking to my close circle and family, I have decided to enter the transfer portal #AGTG,” he posted on social media.
David Fuchs
University of Rhode Island ➡️ San Francisco
The 6-9, 245 lbs. Fuchs came on in his sophomore season to be a rebounding force.
He appeared in 29 games for the Rams and averaged 7.4 ppg and 7.5 rebounds per game.
Fuchs led the team with 218 total rebounds and became a major scoring threat on the pick-and-roll.
The native of Austria leaving the program would be a major blow.
Always Wright
University of Rhode Island
Redshirt junior, Always Wright, also announced he was entering the transfer portal.
As a sophomore, he appeared in 24 games, with four starts.
Wright averaged 2.2 points and 1.4 rebounds per game in 2023-24.
Jamarques Lawrence
University of Rhode Island ➡️ University of Nebraska
Jamarques Lawrence, who averaged 9.9 ppg this past season for the Rams, entered the transfer portal on March 31.
He came to URI after two seasons at the University of Nebraska.
Keeyan Itejere
Northern Kentucky ➡️ University of Rhode Island
Keeyan Itejere of the Northern Kentucky Norse is headed to Kingston.
The 6’9” forward has hops and recorded a team-leading 53 blocks.
As a scored, he averaged 7.3 ppg and 5.5 rebounds.
His commitment to Rhode Island was first reported by On3.com.
The Norse were 17-16 last year and 11-9 in the Horizon League. He played for Marquette prior to Northern Kentucky.
NKU BIO 2023-24
-Played in 21 games, making 19 starts, averaged 25.1 minutes
- Shot a blistering 69.4% from the floor
- Averaged 8.0 points and 4.9 rebounds per game
- Season-high 19 points vs. Youngstown State (1/4/24)
-13 point, 10 rebound double-double vs. Oakland (2/8/24)
RJ Johnson
Charleston Southern ➡️ University of Rhode Island
The Rams have inked RJ Johnson, a guard from Charleston Southern. He is a redshirt junior.
Last season, he averaged 13.8 ppg and delivered 130 assists against 81 turnovers. He started 24 of 29 games. Johnson has some local roots as he started his career at Holy Cross.
The team was 10-22 in the season and 6-10 in the conference.
URI lost 94% of their scoring from last season between graduation and transfers.
BIO ACCORDING:
2023-2024 at Charleston Southern: Big South All-Conference Honorable Mention … Averaged the most minutes per game in the conference at 33.5 overall and 35.0 in Big South play ... Led the conference in free throw percentage at 88.5 which was good enough for 29th in the nation and sat at .910 in league play ... Finished the regular season as 5th in the conference for scoring at 5th with 14.8 and 13th in Big South play at 14.1 ... Ranked 2nd in the conference for assist-to-turnover ratio in league play at 2.0 and was 3rd in assists per game in league action at 3.6 ... Had eight games with 20 or more points including a career-high 31 in the team’s first conference win of the year at Gardner-Webb (1/10) going 6-6 from deep.
2022-2023 at Charleston Southern: Served as the team’s point guard for the season playing and starting in 25 games for 25.6 minutes per outing … Led the Big South in assist/turnover ratio in conference play at 2.16 … Also in conference action, he ranked 7th in the league in assists at 3.18 and 9th in steals at 1.12 … Scored a career-high 15 points against Bethune-Cookman (11/21) and finished in double digits nine times total … Dished a career-best seven assists vs High Point (1/21) … Averaged 7.4 points per game and 2.4 rebounds per game.
2021-2022 at Holy Cross: Played in seven games on the year, starting five times … Missed most of the season due to injury, redshirting the season … Averaged 6.7 points, 1.7 assists, 1.6 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game … Led the team in assists three times, steals twice and scoring once … Was a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
2020-2021 at Holy Cross: Selected to the Patriot League All-Rookie team … Named the GEICO Patriot League Rookie of the Week on Jan. 12 … Selected as the Crusader of the Week on Feb. 1 … Started all 16 games on the season, averaging 30.9 minutes played … Averaged 8.5 points and a team-best 4.3 assists per contest … Posted a 1.73-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio … Connected on 89.5 percent of his free throws and 34.1 percent of his three-pointers … Led the team in assists 11 times and in steals once … Scored in double figures six times on the year … Ranked second in the Patriot League in assists, fifth in free throw percentage, sixth in assist-to-turnover ratio and 16th in minutes played … Finished the year 93rd in the nation in assists and 159th in assist-to-turnover ratio … Recorded 17 points and eight assists against Lehigh on Jan. 23 … Totaled 12 points, six assists and three steals in the Feb. 17 game with Boston University.
Alex Crawford
Fresno St. ➡️ University of Rhode Island
The University of Rhode Island men's basketball program's rebuilding effort got a hopeful boost with the transfer signing of Alex Crawford.
He comes to Kingston via Fresno State University.
The 6’8” forward averaged 11.5 ppg. and 4.3 rebounds. He started 23 of 30 games.
With Rams power forward David Fuchs in the transfer portal and not expected to return, coach Archie Miller is scrambling to sign some big men.
BIO ACCORDING TO FRESNO ST:
PRIOR TO FRESNO STATE: 2023-24 (SAN DIEGO CITY COLLEGE): Averaged 15.6 points and 6.3 rebounds per game ... shot 65.7% from the field and 42.9% from 3-point range ... posted eight 20-point games, including a season-high 26 on Feb. 9 against Imperial Valley ... six of those performances came in his final 10 games ... along with the Knights winning the PCAC title and finishing 26-5, 15-1 in the league, helped them to the C2A state championship quarterfinals for the first time since 2018 ... was named to the PCAC first team and CCCMBCA All-State team ... 2022-23 (STETSON): Began his career at Stetson where he played in 24 games, scoring double figures in three.
