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Providence in the Final Five for PG Bensley Joseph

Ed Cooley 2-23-20

Bensley Joseph, a class of 2021 point guard out of Arlington, MA, released his list of five finalists on Tuesday, and Providence was included. The other four schools Joseph is considering are Boston College, Miami, Georgetown, and Marquette.

Providence offered Joseph a scholarship in May, shortly after Marquette offered. Georgetown offered in January, Miami did so in March, while Boston College offered just over a month ago.

Joseph is ranked #118 nationally on Rivals.com, and #136 by 247sports.com, but his highest ranking comes via ESPN which has him at #68 in the class of 2021.

He reclassified to the class of 2021 in the fall of 2018 when he transferred from Arlington High School to Cushing Academy. Cushing is a prep power that produced current Friar guard David Duke.

Joseph was impressive last summer with Expressions on the AAU circuit, playing alongside Kentucky commit Terrence Clarke and recent Memphis pledge Moussa Cisse. He was terrific at the EYBL finals, going for 12 points, 11 assists and five steals in a game, and following that up with a monster 25 point, nine assist, six rebound outing versus Boo Williams.

The 2019-20 season saw Cushing finish the regular season undefeated in league play in the competitive NEPSAC AA (they went 23-6 overall). Joseph had a number of big games against great competition:

  • 20 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists vs. Putnam Science Academy
  • 20 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists vs. Bradford Academy
  • 26 points vs. eventual NEPSAC AAA champion New Hampton
  • 23 points, 7 assists, 6 steals vs. CBD Montverde

Cushing was upset in a thriller against Kyle Filipowski and Wilbraham & Monson in the AA semifinals. Filipowski, the terrific 6’10 forward out of New York, buried a 3-pointer with no time left in regulation to send the game to overtime before they won it in the extra session.

Joseph has since transferred to Putnam Science Academy, where he will spend his final year of high school. Putnam Science is a juggernaut. In their 2020 class alone they have players headed to Texas A&M, LSU, Texas Tech, and a number of other Division 1 programs. They look to be equally loaded in 2021.

The New England Recruiting Report’s Adam Finkelstein repeatedly refers to defensive prowess and leadership ability when offering scouting reports about Joseph. He is a well-built left hander who plays with the toughness Ed Cooley values.

Getting a handle on which direction this recruitment is headed has been a challenge. Typically, when Providence lands a local target there is growing buzz regarding his ties to PC, but there hasn’t been much on Joseph of late. He was on a zoom call with Georgetown yesterday, while recent Boston College commit Gianni Thompson said he is pitching the Eagles to Joseph.

Providence is still searching for its first commitment in the class of 2021.

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