Committed to Kim: Oswin Erhunmwunse
The good news Friartown has been waiting for all week is finally official. Consensus Top 25 recruit in the class of 2025, Oswin Erhunmwunse out of Putnam Science Academy (Putnam, CT) officially committed to Kim English and the Friars on Thursday afternoon. While there are rumors and strong suspicions that Oswin will reclassify to the class of 2024 and be joining the Friars next season, for now he remains the first Friar on the board for 2025. 3 star forward Ryan Mela remains Kim English’s sole committment for the class of 2024.
Oswin announced his decision via live stream on Thursday afternoon saying “…I'd like to announce for the next few years I will be staying home and playing for PC. I want to stay home and be a legend and I know I can do something special at Providence." Although Oswin originally hails from Nigeria, he goes to school less than 45 minutes from the campus of Providence College, and clearly has strong ties to the city.
It’s hard to overstate what this committment means to the program. Oswin is ranked 16th in the country (for class of 2025) by 247 sports and 19th via On3 Consensus. He possesses rare second jump athleticism, a natural shot blocking ability and NBA length. I won’t profess to know the ins-and-outs of his offense game but he has been described to me but someone who has seen him play frequently (and who recruited him at the college level) as ‘a more athletic Joel Soriano’. Well, I’d certainly take that. I do have a general rule of thumb that makes me cautious of any player reclassifying a year up, but we’ll cross that bridge if and when we get there. Today is a good day.
Beyond what Oswin can bring to Friartown on the court this committment speaks volumes about what Kim English is able to do off the court. I don’t need to tell you about the criticism we heard all offseason from other fanbases that ‘you just can’t recruit at an elite level at Providence College’, and that is why the former guy left. No. He couldn’t recruit at an elite level at Providence College. Big difference.
The Friars are in the mix with a plethora of other top 2025 recruits and while it’s unrealistic to expect Kim English to get them all, or have them all reclassify to 2024, it does bode well for the chances of another top recruit (Joson Sanon anyone?!) joining forces with the 6’10 big man in Friartown.
Rejoice Friartown, we needed some good news and we got it. This program is right on pace for big long term success and if we take care of Xavier on Saturday, the short term ain’t looking too bad either.