Commits: PF Nate Watson (No. 76), C Dajour Dickens (No. 110).

Overview: Ed Cooley and the Friars have landed themselves a nice interior duo that should play well off of each other. Watson is an under-the-rim, but skilled and crafty, power forward with touch and scoring ability. Dickens is raw offensively, but he’s big, has great length and is an athlete who can run the floor.

Providence was one of five Big East schools in the top 35, and PC currently stands one spot ahead of Michigan. Not surprisingly, Kentucky has the top class in the country.

Here is how the rest of the Big East fared in the top 35.

  • #8 Xavier
  • #21 Villanova
  • #24 Creighton
  • #32 Butler

The Friars could find their way into the top 25 if they can find a way to land point guard Makai Ashton-Langford, who de-committed from UConn last week and had Providence in his final three last September.

Corey Evans of Rivals believes Ashton-Langford could end up a Friar:

Makai Ashton-Langford, a high four-star guard out of the New England region, backed off his commitment to UConn, asking the Huskies’ staff for his release.

Now back on the market, Ashton-Langford becomes one of the top available prospects in the 2017 class. Before Ashton-Langford committed to UConn in the fall, others such as Syracuse, Kansas and Louisville were in the hunt. Each has landed a guard since then, though KU has remained in pursuit of point guards this spring; it would likely ramp attention back up with the Brewster Academy guard. Syracuse could do just the same, and Duke could follow suit.

However, for the Providence fans out there, it would seem like Ed Cooley’s program might be the likely landing spot for Ashton-Langford. The Friars were in his final two the first time around, and given that they would absolutely love to add a point guard this spring and already developed rapport with Ashton-Langford and his camp, it looks like they are in strong position here for the top-50 guard.

 

Twitter: @Kevin_Farrahar

Email: kevin.farrahar@friarbasketball.com