Committed to Kim: Jamier Jones
Friars land a cornerstone recruit in the class of 2025
Editor’s Note: All recruiting rankings reflect 247 Composite rankings as of 5/14/25
There were many things that bothered me about the way in which Ed Cooley left Providence, but at the very top of the list were the way his assistant coaches spoke about the Program on the way out. In a now infamous interview Thomas ripped Providence’s ceiling as a program, and had numerous quotes that cut right at the core of what it means to be a die-hard fan of Friars hoops. Thomas said this of the roster building and player development during his time at PC: “When we were at Providence, here’s the thing, we didn’t get five-star guys. We got three-star guys, but by the time they left Coach Blaney, they left Coach (Jeff) Battle, in terms of putting time in the gym, we built tough guys that could compete with anybody, with the five stars.” That quote, regardless of whether it’s true or not, stung myself and many amongst the Friar Faithful. Fast forward 8 months and Kim English has put that notion entirely to rest with the committment of 5 star wing, Jamier Jones.
Jones made it official on Sunday evening as Providence edged out LSU, South Carolina, Houston and Kansas for the 6’6 Florida native. Jones is the #22 ranked player in the class of 2025 and while he won’t be getting to campus until next summer, his talent is tantalizing and his praise of Kim English was effusive. “Like I said, the loyalty. [Kim English] hasn’t switched up yet. He’s still been the same dude during the whole recruiting process” Jones mentioned in his official recruitment committment with Joe Tipton, “From FaceTime calls before games, to coaching me through games, before I was even thinking about committing. It’s really not too much else you can ask for in a head coach like that.”
It’s always a bit difficult (at least for me) to predict how a high school kid is going to translate to the college ranks, and recruiting rankings should generally be taken with a grain of salt in terms of what it means for collegiate production (see Garwey Dual and Rich Barron). However, the way in which Jones plays gives me great confidence that he’ll be a fantastic offensive player at the next level. He has the length to shoot over defenders, he is constantly moving off the ball and has an efficient, repeatable shooting motion. Those are 3 characteristics that an overwhelming majority of high level offensive players possess, and Jones is no exception. There’ll be plenty of time to dissect Jones’ game, but safe to say there hasn’t been a player with this much raw talent to step foot on the Providence College campus in quite some time.
As for what this committment means for the Program, there are a few points that deserve to be highlighted. First, in an era of NIL payments, I think there has been some reasonable uneasiness within the fanbase about how little ole Providence College was supposed to compete for top recruits with deep pocketed, significantly larger schools. At least for today, that concern was been laid to rest. Second, there were some who wondered whether Kim English himself would be able to land priority recruits at Providence. Realistically the guy had no previous ties to the school, and was taking a big jump up in general competition from the Atlantic 10 to the Big East. I never felt that argument held much weight (he got Justyn Fernandez to commit to George Mason for Christ Sake), but after the committment of Oswin Erhunmwunse and Jamier Jones, it’s clear that the Friars head man can secure talent effectively from both the transfer portal and the high school ranks. He’s just got the special sauce man.
Last but certainly not least, a formal rebuke of Ivan Thomas’ comments. As fans we always knew that there was significant untapped potential within the Providence Basketball Program. I mean hell, it’s the reason I started this blog in the first place! We always knew that if the Program was firing on all cylinders - fan engagement, donor support, in game experience, quality of scheduling, WINNING - that we had a program that could attract any recruit in the world, no matter how highly rated. A Program that could run out a more talented team night after night on the way to winning championships. What stung to our core was the realization that the previous regime, in their heart of hearts, didn’t share that same belief. The current regime, led by Kim English, certainly is made up of a bunch of believers, and they keep proving the limitless potential of Friartown time and time again.