Today begins a new era in college sports, as a plethora of new rules regarding eligibility, roster sizes, and revenue sharing has begun. My suspicion is that this new era will lead to even more disparities between the haves and the have nots, even within conferences. Providence has been fortunate in the NIL and now revenue sharing models, thanks to the leadership of Fr. Sicard, Steve Napolillo, and Kim English. Nap’s experience in fundraising has allowed the Friars to compete above what should be expected, as their NIL budget for next year’s team is near the top of the Big East. This is also a reflection of the commitment of the Friartown fan base, and the faith shown in Nap and Coach English. It will be interesting to see how the revenue sharing models affect the major non-football schools going forward.
Read more: Brian Reddy: Beyond the Box Score – A New Era in College Basketball
For now, I am going to focus on the benefits of the NIL fundraising from the portal. My last article at the end of April discussed the returning players, and how I applauded Coach English for being able to prioritize the right returning players and his willingness to make the difficult decisions that were needed to allow us to bring in the talent necessary to compete in the Big East and nationally. I have held off on writing this because I wanted to allow the initial wave of excitement to wear off, but I am more bullish on this team now than I was two months ago. The players, the resumes, and the apparent camaraderie seems to indicate that this team is ready to put last year behind them.
If we look at the players that were brought in last year through the portal, each one had significant questions that needed to be answered in a positive manner for the Friars to reach their goals. Two of the players (Jabri Abdur-Rahim and Bensley Joseph) came from the ACC, but both were expected to handle more important roles compared to their previous levels. They actually put up numbers similar to their career averages in shooting percentages, rebounding, assists, etc. Jabri had been inconsistent at Georgia and was inconsistent here. Bensley was a hard worker who was adequate defensively, a decent 3-point shooter, and a bit turnover prone, and that’s what we got last year. Wesley Cardet put up huge numbers at a low level and had to make significant adjustments. He was a solid player early until he first got injured in early January, and it appeared that he and Kim struggled to find a way to best utilize his skills. The biggest problem involved St. Joe’s transfer Christ Essandoko. He showed real promise in his first year, and the coaching staff was aware of him from the day he scored 20 against the Friars in an October (2023) exhibition game. Injuries and conditioning appeared to be a season-long concern, and other than occasional glimpses, he was unable to play even at the level he showed as a freshman. The talent is still enticing as he’s now at South Carolina in the SEC.
The team last year was also counting on Bryce Hopkins returning to pre-injury form and apparently built the offense around him and his return. We also needed Jayden Pierre to become a leader on the team and a strong Big East level point guard without the presence of Big East Player of the Year Devin Carter. In retrospect, this was unreasonable and unfair to Jayden. As it turned out, this did not happen and the absence of Hopkins added to the problems for the team, resulting in a 12-20 season, only the second Friar season with 20 losses in school history (1984-85).
This year, the Friars brought in five players from the portal, with four of them coming from other power conferences. Daquan Davis (ACC), Duncan Powell (ACC), Jason Edwards (SEC), and Jaylin Sellers (Big 12) have all shown they can play at the highest levels of college basketball. The fifth new player, Cole Hargrove, has a game focused on working close to the basket and defense that should be easily transferrable for the minutes he’s expected to play. He was also one of four players on his Drexel team that made the jump to a major conference.
Jason Edwards was an all-SEC player, and Powell and Sellers (23-24) showed that can consistently score in double figures at this level. Daquan Davis, who committed to Providence in high school before switching to Florida State, had a strong freshman season in the ACC, with his conference stats actually being better than the non-conference. While we always hope for improvement from year to year, it is a good thing to know that these players have shown that they belong at this level.
The other thing that has me excited about the 2025-26 edition of the Friars is that there seems to be a connection among the players reminiscent of the 2021-22 Friars that reached the Sweet 16 and nearly toppled national champion Kansas. The new players have bought into the coaching staff, the team, the fan base, and the Friartown community. The returning players already had a close bond and have welcomed their new teammates. The team has acknowledged Corey Floyd as the team leader, a role he appears to be taking very seriously. Assuming good health, this team has talent, experience, work ethic, and the motivation to make last year seem like an aberration. The new season is less than 18 weeks away, and I am convinced it will be a memorable one.
Go Friars!
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