by Flagg Taylor ’27 on October 2, 2025

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Rich Barron ’27 is entering his third year of college basketball, and during the past two transitional and challenging seasons for the Friars, he has remained loyal to the team and head coach Kim English. With last season being one of the worst seasons the team has faced in recent history, fans are eager to put it in the past, especially with the assistance of several new and exciting faces being added to the team. It is great to see excitement and support for new transfers and incoming freshmen, but it’s important to recognize and appreciate players like Barron who have shown dedication to the program over many seasons in this new dynamic NIL landscape.

Barron joined the Friars for the 2023–24 season. He was one of English’s first recruits, originally committing to play for George Mason University, English’s previous school, before decommitting and following English to Providence. Barron was born on March 5, 2005, and grew up in Chicago, IL, with his parents Richard and Cory and sister Dylan. He played for St. Ignatius College Prep in Chicago, graduating in 2023. In his senior season, Barron averaged 16.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, and three assists per game. He received first-team all-state honors in the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association 3A division, as well as first-team in the Chicago Catholic League. The 6’5”, 220-pound forward will be entering his junior year season still boasting the No. 10.

In the 2024–25 season, like the team as a whole, Barron experienced some struggles. Before the season began, he had shoulder surgery for a nagging injury from the previous 2023–24 season. This likely affected his game at the beginning of the season. Throughout the 2024–25 season, Barron also struggled with concussions and a groin injury, leading to rocky and inconsistent play for the sophomore. Although it was generally a disappointing season for Barron, on Feb. 8, he lit up Hinkle Arena with seven three-pointers and 23 points in a heartbreaking one-point loss at Butler. This game proved he still had the potential he had shown during his freshman season.

With all these exciting new players joining the team, it is easy to forget about the improvements returning players will be making. Barron has been grinding during the off-season, and coming into this season healthy, fans will see improvements and performances like his freshman-year potential alluded to. In Barron’s freshman season, he shot three-pointers at 42.9 percent and scored eight or more points on nine different occasions for the Friars, providing an important offensive spark off the bench. Barron was named Big East Freshman of the Week on Jan. 22, 2024, after lighting up DePaul with four three-pointers. In my opinion, his best performance as a Friar came in the 2024 Big East Tournament against Creighton. Taking a bigger role after Bryce Hopkins ’25 injury, he stepped up when needed that season.

The Friars needed to start the second half off strong and keep the momentum, which Barron did, draining back-to-back threes, sparking a scoring run and creating a ton of momentum. Barron also hit an impressive swooping reverse layup against the four-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year, Ryan Kalkbrenner. The Friars won this game, and Barron was a huge part of the momentum. Last season, plagued by injuries, Barron could not showcase his potential. This year, with a new and improved team around him, a more confident coach, and a refreshed coaching staff, Barron will be able to continue improving and put his talents on display at the Amica Mutual Pavilion. I’m certainly excited to watch guys like third-team All-SEC Jason Edwards ’26G take the court as promising transfers, but I’ll always be most excited to watch loyal Friars like Barron get back on the court, giving it their all for the hope of going dancing in March with a Providence jersey on.

by Connor Whalen ‘28 on October 2, 2025

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Kim English’s recruiting ability has proven to be elite over his three years at Providence, each year seeming increasingly impressive. In his first year, Garwey Dual—initially recruited by former head coach Ed Cooley—chose to recommit to Providence College, ultimately deciding to play for English despite the abrupt coaching change. Dual’s tenure at Providence was short-lived and certainly disappointing, averaging a meager 3.3 points per game, which resulted in his transferring out after his freshman year. Dual was, however, the third-highest rated commit in Providence’s history, behind only Ricky Ledo (a top-ten national recruit in 2011 who never actually played due to academic ineligibility) and Kris Dunn ’16, a name Friars fans are more than familiar with. In 2024, English made another big splash with the recruitment of Oswin Erhunmwumse ’28, ranking just outside the top ten in Friars history. He also recruited Ryan Mela ’28, a three-star forward who was unranked nationally and has impressively carved out a role for himself in the upcoming season. English’s increased aggressiveness in the transfer portal was also evident, despite a few of the transfers posting underwhelming seasons. This past offseason showed exponential improvement in English’s recruitment; he landed Jamier Jones ’29, ranked ninth in his position, and another top 100 recruit in Jaylen Harrell ’29. The transfer portal also brought in proven talents like Jason Edwards ’G26, Jaylin Sellers ’G26, and Duncan Powell ’G26, showing even further improvement from last year’s portal.

Huge news struck PC’s campus this month when 5-star high school prospect Caleb Holt went on an official visit to Friartown. Holt is a top-five national prospect, a legitimate one-and-done college player, and on track to be an early 2027 NBA first-round pick. This is absolutely groundbreaking news for Friars basketball, and by no means does Holt even have to commit to the Friars to make it so. To put this into perspective: imagine Jaylen Brown visiting PC a decade ago, or Jayson Tatum in 2016, or VJ Edgecombe or Dylan Harper a year ago. Providence’s basketball program is certainly storied and prestigious, but not of the caliber to attract immense talent like this. It has been speculated that Providence is among a select few schools that Holt is considering for a decision. Now, some of the other schools in that group are powerhouses like Alabama, Kentucky, and Auburn, meaning it is probably not likely that he commits to PC, but the very fact that Providence is on the list with top-tier programs like those is massive news. 

In August, coach English and his staff also hosted Abdou Toure, a top 40 national prospect from Connecticut. Toure recently announced he is down to his final three schools: UConn, Arkansas, and Providence. Another massive offer for the Friars, Toure would be the highest-rated freshman to ever play for PC outside of Dunn. English joins elite company in making Toure’s final list among Arkansas’ John Calipari and UConn’s Dan Hurley, two of the most well-respected coaches in college basketball. Toure’s decision announcement will come this Friday, Oct. 3. If Toure were to commit to PC, the 2026 season would start to look even more exciting for Friars fans. 

Whether Holt and/or Toure commit to PC—and realistically, they very well may not—the fact that English is drawing massive talent to Providence, and also the fact that they are truly considering his offers, shows huge potential for this program with him at the helm. While the results have yet to be seen, it takes time to build a program as a new and largely unproven head coach, and the future, starting with this season, looks very bright in Friartown.

by Connor Whalen ‘28 on September 25, 2025

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On top of adding dynamic scorers in Jason Edwards ’G26 and Jaylin Sellers ’G26, Kim English further bolstered his squad with the additions of forward Duncan Powell ’26 from Georgia Tech and guard Daquan Davis ’28 from Florida State University. One lacking component of last year’s team was their energy; the team seemed to lose their momentum—their offense often stalling and displaying an apparent lack of intensity on the defensive end. Powell and Davis are two key additions that should help the Friars immensely this year on both ends of the floor, both of whom are giving the Friars that desperately needed intensity. 

Powell, also known as “The Shagman” (a nickname given to him for his unusual haircut), is a 6’8” power forward known to use emotion on the court and provides the Friars with a tertiary scoring option behind Edwards and Sellers. Powell’s commitment to North Carolina A&T made him the highest recruit in NCAA history ever to commit to an HBCU before transferring to Sacramento State, where he caught the eyes of Georgia Tech’s head coach and accepted his transfer offer. The Friars desperately needed wing shooters with the losses of Wesley Cardet Jr. ’25, Jabri Abdur Rahim ’G25, and Bensley Joseph ’25—and Powell gives the Friars just that. A catch-and-shoot hazard and corner specialist, Powell is not only a threat from behind the arc, but he also possesses solid post work to round out his offensive game. The addition of Powell gives English more versatility, as Powell has enough size to play as a stretch big man, giving the Friars the option to spread the floor more and play with five players behind the arc. Adding Powell to this year’s team makes the Friars more dangerous offensively and gives the team an energetic, aggressive player on the defensive end.

Davis, another key addition to PC’s squad this year, is a 6’1” point guard. Incorporating Davis adds another playmaker to the Friars’ rotation, posting 2.5 assists and showcasing his passing ability in his freshman year at FSU. He also proved to be a great on-ball defender, always a threat to pick an opponent’s pocket and play with an unmatched level of energy. On the offensive side of the ball, Davis’ explosiveness makes him a threat to beat defenders to the rim, and his unselfishness allows him to pick out open shooters and locate big men for a lob. His downfall last year was his shooting, only converting 27.9 percent of his threes and struggling on mid-range attempts. I strongly believe Davis can turn this around; he posted an impressive 82.6 percent free-throw percentage, indicating a solid shooting stroke, and shot 46 percent from behind the arc in high school at Overtime Elite. As a freshman, essentially thrown right into Florida State’s starting point guard role in a competitive Atlantic Coast Conference, low shooting figures and some initial all-around struggle should not come as a surprise. Davis has plenty of time to develop—and he will—with three years of eligibility remaining, potentially providing the Friars with a long-term backcourt solution. 

Davis and Powell are two further reasons for Friar fans to be amped about the upcoming season, as they render the Friars an even hungrier, more fiery squad. Last year’s team felt like it had too many pure shooters and not enough pure athletes—Cardet and Abdur-Rahim being prime examples—especially proving costly on the defensive end. At the bare minimum, this year’s team will play a far more exciting brand of basketball. Should this team reach its full potential, the Friars could pose a genuine threat to the Big East.

by Flagg Taylor ‘27 and Chris Sama ’27 on September 25, 2025

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Providence College Investigates: NBA

Nuggets: Flagg Taylor

For the past decade, the Western Conference has been stacked with all-star talent, and this year is no different. However, the team that had the best offseason didn’t go out and get stars; their front office added much-needed depth and versatility to both ends of the floor. The Denver Nuggets made smart moves to continue to build around their star, Nikola Jokić. Jokić has proven in 2023 that with the right players around him, he can dominate the league and bring championships to Denver. By no means were the Nuggets a bad team last season, but they were certainly not at the standard of their championship team in 2023. The Nuggets’ signings this summer completely refreshed their roster, making them stand out among last season’s successful teams. The Houston Rockets, who finished No. 2 in regular season standings last season, made a blockbuster trade for Kevin Durant. The Oklahoma City Thunder, the current defending champs, retained their squad.  I believe we will see another historical season from Jokić with all the roles around him filled, and therefore great success from the Denver Nuggets. 

The first key signing for the Nuggets was the acquisition of Bruce Brown, who was a member of the 2023 championship squad. Brown will bring back championship experience— he has guaranteed chemistry and acts as a great glue guy. He is a gritty defender, shoots the ball well, and is a smart player: the perfect guy to come off the bench to provide energy and experience. 

The most important moves this offseason for the Nuggets were two key trades. The first was a one-player swap with the Sacramento Kings, trading away Dario Šarič and acquiring Jonas Valančiūnas. Valančiūnas is an underrated veteran big and will be the perfect backup for Jokič, a role that was completely unfulfilled last season. Valančiūnas will allow Jokič to rest and still provide a big presence down low. The second trade—the Nuggets’ best acquisition—was getting Cameron Johnson from the Nets. The Nuggets gave up Michael Porter, Jr. and an unprotected first-round pick in 2032. Johnson will be an immediate upgrade from Porter. He can shoot the ball just as well, but provides a much bigger presence on defense. Johnson is one of the best “three and D” players in the NBA. 

The Nuggets’ offseason was extremely intentional, and they succeeded in building a highly versatile roster around Jokic while retaining key guys like Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon. It will be a tight race for first in the West between the Nuggets and the Thunder. 

Knicks: Chris Sama

The Knicks improved greatly this offseason and solved some key problems that could lead them to a championship. Their new head coach, Mike Brown, is a good replacement for the former head coach, Tom Thibodeau. Brown revived the Kings—after they faced 16 years with no playoff appearances—by developing their best players, like De’Aaron Fox, into stars and establishing a solid offense. Brown is best known for his defense with prior teams he coached, most notably leading the Cavaliers in 2007 to the finals against the Spurs. Although LeBron was the only star on this roster, Brown was able to get this team to the finals by emphasizing paint protection and prioritizing help defense. Brown fits perfectly with the Knicks, alongside stars like Karl Anthony Towns, who Brown could develop into a great rim protector. Although the Knicks have had relatively consistent depth, with key role players on the bench in the past seasons, such as Miles “Deuce” McBride and Josh Hart—who later became a starter—Thibodeau did not utilize his bench as much. Last season, the Knicks were last in both points off the bench, with 21.7 per game, and bench minutes, with 63.5 per game. Brown is known for developing players to have greater roles, which will give the starters more time to rest and be healthy for the remainder of the season, especially when it matters for the playoffs. Although Thibodeau was a great coach who brought the Knicks to the playoffs four of his five seasons coaching them, Brown has an established track record with playoff performance as a veteran coach, and he fits well into the Knicks’ culture. The Knicks also signed some key players this offseason, namely Jordan Clarkson, who has averaged roughly 17.1 points per game in the 2024-25 season. Veteran guard Malcom Brogdon provides depth for Jalen Brunson and Clarkson, and is a reliable playmaker, averaging 4.1 assists per game. In short, Brown becoming the new head coach of the Knicks, as well as picking up important role-players to give the Knicks even more depth, is why they have had the best offseason this year. The Knicks needed a more well-rounded team as they were overly relying on starters such as Brunson, who faced a series of minor injuries last season, and Mitchell Robinson, who injured his ankle. Less pressure on the starters, developing players into becoming better defenders, and a more consistent bench could definitely lead the Knicks to a championship.