The Shark Strikes Again: Why Ryan Sabol is far more than a shooter, plus the defensive impact of Samson Aletan

Alright, let’s start with the obvious: Ryan Sabol is a shooter — a very, very dangerous shooter.

The Buffalo transfer committed to Providence on Wednesday and brings amazing credentials from beyond the arc. This season he averaged 18.8 points per game, while hitting a ridiculous 122 three-pointers at a 39.9% clip.

The 122 threes were good for seventh-most in the country and third on a per-game basis.

As a point of comparison, Providence’s record for 3-pointers made in a season is 98 (Bryce Cotton in 2012-13).

Sabol has already made 263 threes in his three-year career.

The Providence career mark? Donnie McGrath’s 274.

Perhaps most encouraging isn’t only the sheer numbers from beyond the arc, but the several ways in which the 6’3 Sabol can get buckets. He’s not just a shooter, but a scorer.

He put up a ton of production as a scorer out of the pick and roll. In 165 possessions as a PNR scorer, Sabol ranked in the 84th percentile in points per possession.

In isolation, he shot 13-21 from the field.

He ranked in the 94th percentile off screens (shooting 52%), made 42% of his catch-and-shoot attempts, hit 39% of his jumpers when being closely guarded, and connected on another 42% when taking jumpers off the dribble. Sabol was also an efficient midrange jump shooter.

In other words, this is a guard who beat teams in all sorts of ways for Buffalo this season.

In his career, he’s had two games of 30+ points, 25 of 20+ points, enjoyed a 10-assist night against UMass, and he has four contests in which he’s made seven 3-pointers.

Sabol isn’t a lockdown defender, with a steal percentage that ranked in the 10th percentile last year, but on sheer points per possession against, he held up fine at Buffalo — finishing in the 62nd percentile.

Providence certainly became more dangerous when they locked up Sabol on Wednesday.

Here’s a look at his scoring prowess from games late in the year:

Bryan Hodgson’s incredibly busy and fruitful two-week run in the portal continued on Wednesday night with the addition of Yale transfer Samson Aletan.

The 6’10 Aletan is a Dallas native who has played on very successful Bulldogs teams over the past three seasons. Yale has won at least 22 games in each of his three years and they reached the NCAA Tournament in 2024 and 2025. They won 24 games this season, but were upset in the Ivy League title game before falling by a point to UNC Wilmington in the first round of the NIT.

Aletan’s numbers don’t jump off the page (7.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks), but he’ll be counted on to provide a defensive presence on the interior. His 6.9% block percentage was good for the 88th percentile nationally, while his 11.8% offensive rebound percentage was 84th.

To date, his offensive game has looked similar to what Providence got out of Oswin Erhunmwunse. He took just ten shots outside of the paint all season, making three of them, but he shot nearly 70% at the rim.

Aletan really wasn’t used much as a roll man in Yale’s offense. He had nearly 100 possessions in the post, but he was rather inefficient (.802 points per possession, 35th percentile).

Here are some of his defensive highlights from this season:

With the additions of Sabol and Aletan, Providence continues to solidify its rotation, which is shaping up this way:

Ball Handlers: Devin Vanterpool, Ryan Sabol, Gavin Hightower

Breakdown: There’s certainly versatility here. Both Vanterpool (American Athletic Conference) and Sabol (MAC) were all-league performers last season. Vanterpool is a terrific shooter from the wings and projects as a two-way threat who can get you 20 on any given night, while defending at a high level.

Sabol is much better off the bounce than expected for a player who hit over 120 threes last year. He has a lot of offensive game. As noted above, he did a ton of damage and was a pretty high-usage pick and roll scorer this year.

Meanwhile, Hightower is a non-shooter, but brings quickness, defensive punch, and knowledge of Hodgson’s system.

Wings: Ryan Mela, Miles Byrd, Dink Pate

Breakdown: Friar fans know what Mela can do — a bit of everything. Hodgson said he thinks Mela can develop into an all-league player in the Big East. Meanwhile, Byrd is one of the best wing defenders in the country, while Pate will serve as one of the real mystery/X-factors heading into the Big East next year.

How high prognosticators are on Providence may hinge on how high they are on Pate, a 6’8 former top 30 prospect who put up a couple 30-point games in the G League this season.

Bigs: Samson Aletan

Breakdown: Aletan is a quick leaper who brings three years of experience playing for a very good program. Like Sabol, Vanterpool, and Byrd, he isn’t a player who has bounced around programs.

Hodgson very rarely gave his bigs post touches last year, so Aletan’s so-so numbers there shouldn’t impact much of what PC does offensively. It will be interesting to see how high Hodgson swings for his other big. The Friars could also benefit from having a physical four man as part of their rotation.

The rotation is coming into focus and Providence’s new staff has wasted little time in identifying and locking down players via the portal.