Sunday Notebook: Digging into portal decisions on The Friar Podcast, USF transfers hit the market
Happy Easter, Friartown. We hope all who celebrate have a terrific holiday.
As we wait to see if UConn can win a third national championship in four years tomorrow night, there is plenty of news to break down regarding Providence’s roster for next season.
Bill and I did just that on the latest episode of The Friar Podcast. We look into what Ryan Mela returning means for the program, and then turn our attention to Jamier Jones, Oswin Erhunmwunse, and Nilavan Daniels — each of whom hit the portal this week. To close out the pod, we touch on Bryan Hodgson’s analytical approach and the insights he shared on the Slappin’ Glass podcast last fall.
You can hear the podcast on Apple, Spotify, or SoundCloud.
In the podcast we also mention a few USF players who have entered the transfer portal. It would be a surprise if the Bulls’ leading scorer from a season ago, Wes Enis, does not follow Hodgson to Providence.
The 6’2 guard out of Ohio (and son of former NFL running back Curtis Enis) averaged 16.4 points per game, while making 107 threes last season. He spent the first two years of his college career at the Division II level, but wasted little time making an impact in the American Athletic Conference. Enis is an outstanding spot-up shooter with good capability off the bounce.
Another player to keep an eye on (and one that had not hit the portal when Bill and I recorded) is point guard CJ Brown. He’s a sophomore who put up 10.9 points, 4.7 assists, and 3.9 rebounds per game for Hodgson last year.
Both Brown (38.1%) and Enis (39.1%) were sub-40% shooters from the field, which isn’t overly surprising from Enis, considering he took nearly ten 3-pointers a game.
Brown looks to be a non-shooter, making 25% of his threes, but this is a prime example of why it’s important to dig into the tape. For Friar fans longing for a pure point guard, Brown would be a welcome addition. He’s a blur with the ball in his hands, takes it into the paint with aggression, and gets teammates great looks.
These clips I pulled together from games against George Washington, Oklahoma State, and VCU give a good feel for his game:
South Florida has had a number of players hit the portal, but three Canadian freshmen from last year’s team are intriguing.
Last summer, Canada played a loaded USA team in the FIBA U19 World Cup — an American group that included Koa Peat, AJ Dybantsa, Mikel Brown Jr., Caleb Holt, Jordan Smith Jr., Tyran Stokes, and Morez Johnson — and the two teams battled to the wire before the United States took a 108-102 victory.
Three key contributors on that Canadian team suited up for Hodgson this season.
Wing Tristan Beckford was terrific against the US, finishing with 16 points (6-9 shooting), six rebounds, and four assists, while 6’5 point guard Adriel Nyorha (13 points, six assists, five rebounds), and 6’9 Onyx Nnani (8 points, 1-1 from three) were also top contributors.
Only Nnani has entered the portal.
Hodgson has mentioned how he believes Canadian players are undervalued, so this trio will be worth monitoring.