Providence hosts a pair of talented big men in Kansas transfer Zach Clemence and Somto Cyril of Overtime Elite

Kim English and his staff at Providence are showing no signs of slowing down on the recruiting trail, offering talent from up-and-down the Eastern Seaboard and hosting two very talented big men in Somto Cyril and Zach Clemence this week.

Cyril’s visit came first. The feeling in Providence is that it went incredibly well and the young center loved his time in Friartown. The 6’10, 250 pound center hails from Nigeria, but spent the past season playing for Overtime Elite’s Cold Hearts, a talented club that includes five star prospects in Robert Dillingham and Naasir Cunningham. Cold Hearts is one of six teams that play under the Overtime Elite (OTE) banner, and they just so happen to be coached by PC’s all-time leading scorer in Ryan Gomes. In a program including some of the top prep talent in the country, Cyril was named OTE Defensive Player of the Year after averaging 3.4 blocks per game.

Cyril is a class of 2024 prospect, who could potentially reclassify to 2023. His pure physical measurements are unlike anything Providence has seen since the turn of the century — 6’10, 250 pounds with a 40-inch vertical leap. His composite national ranking, according to On3.com is 30th in the class of 2024.

Nicknamed “Baby Shaq,” Cyril is “Probably the most physically dominant big man in the country” according to 247 Sports’ Adam Finkelstein after watching him last summer.

He is still developing offensively, but would be in line for minutes at Providence next season thanks to his defensive and rebounding upside. He had seven blocks when playing against UConn commit Youssouf Singare in OTE action in the fall.

Shortly after Cyril’s visit ended, Providence welcomed Zach Clemence, a 6’10 stretch big man from San Antonio who is transferring from Kansas. Clemence was ranked 34th in the country by ESPN coming out of high school, 35th by Rivals, and 40th by 247 Sports.

He played sparingly as a freshman behind David McCormack and Mitch Lightfoot on Kansas’s national title team in 2022, and was expected to step into bigger minutes as a sophomore.

“Zach’s arguably as good a prospect we have returning, period,” Bill Self said prior to this past season. “And it includes Jalen (Wilson). When you talk about prospects — 6-foot-10 almost, he can really shoot, he’s going to get stronger, he’s tough, he’s got a great attitude. So, his best ball is well down the road. But, to me, he’s one of those guys that you could look up and a year from now you’d be saying, ‘Wow, he’s an all-league type talent.’ And I do think he has that in him. I do.”

That opportunity didn’t come this past season, however. Clemence played in 44 games across his two season at Kansas, suffering a head/nose injury that caused him to miss time in November, and later injuring his knee in early February. Upon returning from the knee, Clemence played in just three games.

He shot 47% from three during his final season at Sunrise Christian Academy, where he was teammates with future Kansas star freshman Gradey Dick.

Self reflected on Clemence when he wasn’t receiving much playing time midseason: “He’s a great kid… The expectations for him, in my mind, were pretty high going into the year. It hasn’t worked out to this date in terms of what the expectations (were). I thought it’d be a 50-50 coin flip whether or not he’d start for us this year.”

“Zach wants to play. He wants to help us. He loves KU. He wants us to win,” Self said. “But let’s call it like it is. We are not going to change how we play to fit him. He knows that. He is not expecting that. If we said we are going to play two bigs regardless or we’re going to play zone, that would benefit Zach. That’s not what we’re going to do. He understands that. It’s nobody’s fault.”

The PC staff is very high on Clemence’s game. Whether he or Cyril end up in a Friar uniform will be a matter of timing. They play drastically different styles, but with Josh Oduro and Bryce Hopkins set to see significant time in the frontcourt, there may only be room for one of the two prospects who visited this week.