Kevin Stacom: Scouting Report on PC’s Portal Signings
Kevin Stacom, Sports Analyst
Kevin Stacom: Scouting Report on PC’s Portal Signings
Providence College is no exception. Shortly after the portal opened on March 22nd, six players from PC submitted their names - Jayden Pierre, Christ Essandoko, Justyn Fernandez, Anton Bonke, Eli DeLaurier, and Bryce Hopkins. After you include graduating seniors Wesley Cardet Jr,, Bensley Joseph, the only definite returnees at this point are Oswin Erhunmwunse, Ryan Mela, Rich Barron, and Nilavan Daniels.
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Jabri Abdur-Rahim is awaiting an NCAA hardship waiver for a possible additional year of eligibility. Two very highly rated freshmen are still scheduled to join the roster for next season - Jamier Jones and Jaylen Harrell.
As the tide went out to the portal, so too has it quickly returned. In the last couple of weeks, Coach Kim English and his staff have secured four new commitments from players who recently entered the said portal.
Here is a quick look at the scouting report on those four players:
Junior, Atlanta, GA
Last year’s statistics at Vanderbilt
33 games, 25.2 minutes/game
44% FG; 35% 3’s; 83% FT’s; 2 Rebs; 44 assists/53 TO’s; 1steal; 17 points/game
Jason is emblematic of the nature of what is going on right now in college basketball. He’s definitely in the “you can’t blame him” category in that he’s improved his situation for himself every year in terms of ascending up the food chain of exposure and economic opportunity since he left high school. If you count his one year at Dodge City CC, where he earned 1st team NJCAA All-American honors, and led his team to a conference title, and quarterfinals of the NJCAA, PC will be his fifth stop in four years.
After two different junior colleges, he jumped up to Division 1 North Texas, where he led his team in scoring with 19.1/game and made 1st team all-conference in the AAC. From North Texas, Edwards made the jump up to the formidable SEC where he led Vanderbilt in scoring at 17 points/game and making 3rd team all-SEC.
Not having the benefit of watching him in person, what game film was available on the internet was my primary source for evaluating Edward’s game.
As long as you don’t get hung up on positional size he appears to fill a need that was sorely lacking on last year’s team - the avoiding of long periods of scoring droughts due to a lack of players able to generate offense off the bounce. He definitely has a scorers’ mentality with a quick 1st step, hesitation, crossovers moves, the ability to get all the way to the hoop and finish through contact, getting in the creases and pulling up for a very good midrange game off the dribble; has a very good catch and shoot game enabled by a very quick release, for those of you old enough to remember, reminiscent of Bob McAdoo where his hands appear to almost snap off the ball upon release. Just about 45% of his FGAs are 3’s, which indicates he has confidence in taking them, and with the volume he attempts per game (5.6), a 35% success rate is respectable. His best analytical marker, which is confirmed by film, is his efficiency in the execution of pic and rolls, which should help in the continued development of Oswin being the lob target in those situations.
Of course, at his size, you would prefer a better assist-to-turnover ratio (Edwards is 1.3 assists/1.6 TOs), but if you can steer him towards his strengths (scoring 17/game in 25 minutes), he should be a major contributor next season. A good comparable for his game, given his size, quickness off the bounce, and skill level, might be a Bryce Cotton minus the assist numbers.
I’m sure the leading scorer on a SEC and NCAA qualifying team was very sought after in the portal, so this was definitely a good get for Kim English and his staff.
Last year’s statistics at Florida State
31 games; 25.6 minutes/game
36% FG’s; 28% 3’s; 83% FT’s; 2.3 Rebs; 77 assists; 51 TO’s; 34 steals; 8.8 points/game
Davis had originally committed to Providence College in 2024 before then-head Coach Leonard Hamilton swooped in and stole him away to Florida State.
Before analyzing his game, I think it’s worth noting that DaQuan’s statistics for his freshman year at Florida State can be a bit deceiving in that coach Hamilton’s methodology in coaching does not include cutting a lot of slack to freshmen in terms of playing time and freedom to launch. A prime example is current Toronto Raptors player Scottie Barnes, who all of us as NBA personnel people knew was most likely an NBA top Lottery pick.
Even so, I remember scouting him at the ACC Conference tournament, and he was still not in the starting lineup at that point in the season. It got to the point where you’re sitting there saying to yourself, “Do I have this wrong? This kid is a top 5 pick, and he can’t even start on his college team?” When he finally got into the game, he usually quickly dispelled such doubts, but also, no matter what he did or how well he played, he would come out of the game at a certain pre-prescribed time. His talent was so obvious, however, it didn’t hurt his draft status as he still managed to be picked 4th in the 2021 draft; same with Jonathan Isaac who went 6th a few years earlier in the 2017 NBA draft-in and out of games as part of constant mass substitutions. Both guys mentioned averaged more points per game in the NBA than they ever did in college - Hamilton’s rosters were usually stacked with a lot of NBA-level talent and I’m sure his system reflected an attempt to keep as many players as happy as possible with what minutes were available to divvy up effectively.
I mention that in relation to DaQuan Davis’ freshman statistics because traditionally, in that program, being third on the team in minutes played (25.6), and as modest as his scoring numbers are, to be third in scoring also at 8.8/game probably indicates more of an accomplishment compared to most programs.
Looking at Davis on film, a few things jump out at you. He, like his aforementioned portal acquisition Jason Edwards, has very good quickness off the bounce. Neither at this point seem to be pure points, although Davis’ game appears to skew more in that direction, given the fact that he at least had a very positive assist-to-turnover ratio (77 assists/51 TO’s).
Like a lot of guys from that area (Baltimore), he seems to play with a bit of an edge and aggressiveness on both sides of the ball. Being able to keep guys in front of you and out of the lane is paramount to just about every defensive scheme imaginable. He appears to be able to do that. PC really got hurt this past year on pick and roll defenses and he should be able to provide some relief in that regard. His mechanics seem very sound and provide some optimism in term of improving on the 28% from 3 he shot his freshman year at FSU. Another source for optimism with regard to his chances to be able to improve in that area is a very good 83% from the FT line. Typically, in the analytics realm, a high FT% indicates solid mechanics and the basic aptitude to shoot the ball well, assuming the individual is willing to put the work in to improve through the proper amount of repetitions.
DaQuan looks to have the ability to put a lot of pressure on defenses with his speed in pushing the ball up on the break and in the open court. He appeared to have a good feel for the timing of feeding bigs for alley oop passes for dunks off penetration and from a distance which would add another player who could aid in the development of Oswin. He also showed an ability to get in the elbow area for midrange off the dribble, take it all the way to the hoop challenging the bigs, and also comfortable on the catch and shoot. He seems to be a player with an upside that has not yet been tapped. A solid two-way player with three years of eligibility remaining
Senior, UCF (University of Central Florida)
Sustained a season-ending back injury at the beginning of his senior year at UCF, so the last meaningful statistics are from his junior year at UCF:
33 games; 31 minutes/game
42% FGA’s; 30% 3’s; 83% FT’s; 1.1 assists/1.3 TO’s; 1.1 steals/game; 15.9 points/game
Jaylin spent 2 years at Ball State, which is in the MAC conference, before transferring to UCF, now a Big 12 member, for his junior and senior year. He will be a senior at PC since, as mentioned, he only played three games his senior year at UCF due to a back injury.
He appears to have come into his own his sophomore year at Ball State (2022-2023), where he showed much better shooting numbers than he did at UCF his junior year:
49% FG’s; 45% 3’s; 76% FT’s; 13.5 points/game
Watching him on film, he seems to play with a high level of intensity and athleticism. He looks like one of those lefty shooters with very efficient tight mechanics and a solid release. At 6’4”, 205lbs, and athletic, he should be able to provide depth at the guard and wing positions. He looked comfortable attacking the rim on the break from the wing where he could easily elevate to emphatically finish with a series of dunks at the rim. He exhibited a step back Harden-like jumper from the elbows and also from 3-point range. With his size, strength, and athleticism he should be able to be a versatile defender on the perimeter. Another encouraging part of his game was his ability to get to the rim off a series of spin moves finishing with his right hand, something a lot of lefties typically have trouble with since the majority of them tend to be very left hand dominant and will do anything to get back to their left hand to finish.
So it appears that Sellers is another player that Coach English has obtained from the portal which addresses some of the shortcomings of last year’s team. He is another shooting, scoring threat, with an athletic, strong body able to guard a few positions.
It also means now PC has in the fold 3 new players with Jason Edwards, DaQuan Davis, and Jaylin Sellers, who have big-time experience in the SEC, ACC, and Big 12, respectively. The move to the intensity of the Big East and the atmosphere in the AMP will not be that much of a shock to their systems.
Junior, Drexel
Junior year statistics at Drexel (2024-2025)
33 games; 32.6 minutes/game
59% FG’s; 21% 3’s; 67% FT’s; 7.5 rebounds; 57 assists/ 37 TO’s; 61 blocks (1.8/game); 22 steals; 9.9 points/game
When you first take a look at his dimensions on paper, 6’8” and 250 pounds, and you see that he’s competed in the mid-major Colonial Conference putting up respectable rebounding and shot blocking numbers - 7.5 rebounds, 1.8 blocks, you assume he might be just bullying generally smaller not as strong guys in that conference. But as you begin to watch some film on him, you realize that that’s not the case at all. You start to see he actually has a good amount of bounce to his game, finishing at the rim, dunking, and easily exploding off 2 feet. His hands appear to be very solid, and his post up game, although it seems to be a work in progress, his footwork looks very good.
So for evaluating big guys, he checks the first two boxes - feet and hands. Another encouraging thing offensively although the 3 pointer so far is not a factor in his game (6 makes on 29 attempts for the season) his shooting form does not seem broken at all, his FT % is not horrible at all at 68%, and on film he was able to connect on a few midrange jumpers.
When you drill down a little deeper into his statistics, you find out that he hardly played at all his 1st 2 years at Drexel, playing a total of 68 and 67 minutes each for his entire freshman and sophomore seasons. He went from that to averaging 32.5 minutes a game and leading his team in rebounding and blocked shots. What that naturally implies is that he most likely worked his tail off and persevered to be able to show such a dramatic improvement in his junior year. Big guys typically take longer to develop but such a meteoric rise is not that typical and is a good indicator of a well-earned maturity.
Another part of his game that came as a welcomed surprise was seeing that he was a willing and very good passer. He was not rushed when he received the ball but took his time in letting the play develop and having a feel for delivering the ball with the proper speed and placement (a 1 and a 1/2 to 1 assist to turnover ratio for a big is very positive).
So it just might be that English and staff have acquired a very serviceable complimentary piece with a 6’8” 250lb frame to be able to compliment the more svelte Oswin at the 4 or even be able to fill in at the 5 in the right situations and against certain matchups.
A good functioning roster requires solid role players who know their limitations and are satisfied effectively playing within them.
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.
