Providence Grabs Knicks G-Leaguer Dink Pate in a Shocking Thursday Night Move

Hours after Providence made their first portal splash in the form of San Diego State transfer Myles Bird, the Friars took the college basketball world by storm on Thursday night. Sasha “Dink” Pate, a 6’8”, 210-pound wing with the Westchester Knicks (G League affiliate of the New York Knicks), is joining the team’s 2026-27 roster, as confirmed by ESPN’s Jeff Borzello.

The move is undoubtedly one of the more shocking developments in Providence’s portal history and is emblematic of the times.

A little about Pate: born March 10th, 2006, the Dallas, Texas native was rated as a five-star prospect and a top-30 recruit per 247Sports and ESPN, playing a largely on-ball role at L. G. Pinkston High School (West Dallas, Texas). Initially a class of 2024 recruit, he graduated from Pinkston a year early, completing all his coursework for both his junior and senior years during one academic calendar period in 2022-23. His final list of suitors after high school included Memphis, Auburn, Alabama, Arkansas, TCU, and Georgetown (prior to the firing of Patrick Ewing).

“The top two were most definitely Alabama and Arkansas, so it for sure would’ve been out of those two schools, just based on my relationship with coach Nate Oats and coach Eric Musselman. So basically, I was either going to be Roll Tide or Woo Pig,” Pate said, while noting that he was “leaning towards Alabama.”

And yet, in spite of it all, he made a historic decision, joining the G League Ignite program in April of 2023 (roughly a month after his 17th birthday) and became the youngest known professional basketball player in U.S. history (beating Scoot Henderson by five weeks, who followed a similar path in 2021).

“The whole idea of why I started playing basketball was to be a pro,” he told ESPN’s Jonathan Givony in an interview after joining the G League ranks, “…I’m going to keep working to the best of my ability to prove that I can play in the NBA.”

G League Impact

Pate appeared in 31 games for the Ignite in 2023-24 (starting 20), averaging 8 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game on 34.8% shooting (21.4% from three).

He played alongside several familiar names, including 2024 NBA Draft picks in Ron Holland (5th overall to Detroit), Matas Buzelis (11th to Chicago), and Tyler Smith (33rd to Milwaukee), and players such as Thierry Darlan and London Johnson — both of whom paved the way for professional athletes gaining NCAA eligibility after their commitments to Santa Clara and Louisville last offseason.

Because he didn’t turn 19 until the calendar turned to 2025, NBA Draft rules prohibited Pate from entering his name any sooner — even after the association folded the G League Ignite in March of 2024 (a decision made in large part due to college basketball’s evolving landscape thanks to the rise of financial incentives for athletes falling under the premise of “name, image, and likeness”).

He then spent the 2024-25 season with the Mexico City Capitanes of the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional (LNBP), starting all 34 games and bumping his per-game averages to 10.1 points and 5.1 rebounds while improving his shooting to 40.7% from the field and 25.8% from three.

He entered the 2025 NBA Draft, then joined the Knicks’ G League affiliate after going undrafted.

This year with the Westchester Knicks, Pate’s five-star talent has been on full display, with an offensive profile reflective of such: 16 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game this year on good shooting splits (41.7% from the field; 5.7 makes on 13.7 attempts per game, and 36.8% from three; 2.9 conversions on 7.8 tries a contest).

He’s stuffed the stat sheet on multiple occasions, highlighted by a 37-point, 11-rebound, 13-assist triple-double versus the College Park Skyhawks on December 3rd, 2025.

That was the first of two 30-plus-point performances with the Knicks this season. He also dropped 31 against the Stockton Kings on January 9th, going 8-of-14 from deep — the second time this year he knocked down 8 threes in a game.

In addition to improving nearly all facets of his box score efficiencies year over year, he is a freak athlete — as evident by his dunk reel from this season:

Digging deeper into the numbers: although Pate’s points per possession mark of .838 is below average (ranking in the 25th percentile in the G League), he’s a spot-up extraordinaire, recording 1.070 points per possession on 40.9% shooting.

As in years past, the staff at Friarbasketball.com aims to give you a complete picture of a player when pulling together video. With that said, here is an unfiltered three-minute clip of an assortment of makes, misses, and turnovers from recent games this season:

Ultimately, Pate’s decision to join the collegiate ranks should come as no surprise given he declined multiple NBA opportunities — two-way deals and ten-day contracts — in favor of maintaining his college eligibility (as confirmed by his agent, Sam Permut of Roc Nation Sports).

Per NCAA policy, athletes who are within five years of their high school graduation year and have not signed a professional contract are permitted to play. Pate’s eligibility seemingly served Kentucky the most benefit: Wildcats head coach Mark Pope had traveled to watch Pate play in person on at least two occasions last month, held a Zoom call with the prized recruit on Tuesday, and seemed to hold the upper hand over numerous other high-major programs vying for his services.

In the end, Pate chose Providence, and, for as out of left field as it may seem, there are some dots to connect here. New Friars head coach Bryan Hodgson (appropriately dubbed the “shark” for his relentless recruiting philosophy) served as the lead recruiter for Pate during his time as an assistant under Nate Oats at Alabama. The Crimson Tide offered Pate a scholarship in July 2022, and held him for an unofficial visit in September 2022.

For the Friars, Pate’s addition marks uncharted territory, and a now-20-year-old with years of real professional seasoning in the U.S. offers Hodgson a unique dynamic as he begins his first season. For Pate, the calculus is equally clear: Big East basketball offers the spotlight, structure, and draft exposure that his prior professional stints never quite could.

If Pate can replicate his success in Westchester when he plays for Providence next season, he won’t call the Amica Mutual Pavilion home for long. But no matter how long his stint may be, there’s no denying this: the Friars have once again become must-watch basketball.