Friars Flip Duncan Powell from Georgetown to Friartown

English lands Georgia Tech transfer to round out starting 5

Don’t say I didn’t warn ya! As dedicated readers read on Monday morning, I outlined that Providence had little reason to worry after missing out on Alvaro Folgueiras and Jamichael Stillwell given the plethora of big man talent still available in the portal. Monday’s article outlines two big men, Duncan Powell and Sam Alexis, that I thought Providence would be involved in this week as Kim English tries to add frontcourt reinforcements to a talented-but-undersized roster. Turns out, a week was too conservative! Providence got to work early this week and by lunch time had officially flipped Georgia Tech transfer, and one time Georgia commit, Duncan Powell to Providence for his 5th and final collegiate season.

As I mentioned yesterday, Powell provides exactly what the Friars were looking for. A player with versatility at both ends of the floor, enough to size and strength to defend multiple positions, while also being a proven scorer at all 3 levels on the offensive end.

The 3 point efficiency and his performance against top competition should excite you the most. In Georgia Tech’s two matchups against Duke (the most talented team in the country last season) Powell averaged 18.5 points (40% FG, 41.2% 3PT, 85.7% FT), 5.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 32 minutes per game. Not half bad! Now, Powell’s team did lose both matchups against the Blue Devils by an average score of 17 points, but work with me here. I will always prefer a transfer who has proven he can do it against the best competition. Forgive me for being more than a bit skeptical of any mid major big man transitioning to the Big East and immediately finding success after what we saw from Christ Essandoko last season.

Plotted against the entire ACC last season, it’s self evident that Powell was one of the better offensive options. There were only 7 players in the entire conference that were above average 3 point shooters AND offensive rebounders, Powell was one of them. Friartown hasn’t had a player with that skillset the long blonde locks of Noah Horchler were flowing up and down the court.

Now as we all know, no player is perfect. There are certainly causes for concern with a player of Powell’s profile, namely the fact that he’s played for 3 different teams in 3 seasons (not as big of a concern as it once would have been), his teams have never finished the season with a winning record (not ideal but circumstantial) and for a big man he’s actually a below average finisher around the rim (less of a concern if he’ll be paired with Oswin Erhunmwunse). Every player has flaws and Powell is no different, but he was the best option of the realistically available players at this point in the offseason, and he fills a massive need for the Friars. And yes, stealing him out from under Ed Cooley’s nose does make this all a bit sweeter.

It’s a bit early to be playing the guess-the-starting-lineup game but I cannot see a world, barring injuries, in which Powell isn’t starting alongside Erhunmwunse on opening night. If you round out that starting 5 with Jason Edwards, Jaylin Sellers (or eventually Stefan Vaaks / Jamier Jones / Ryan Mela) and Corey Floyd Jr., all of a sudden that’s starting to look and feel like a team that has the talent to be able to compete near the top of the Big East.

After their worst season for the Program in a generation, the Providence Friars needed a complete teardown and rebuilt. In 5 weeks, that’s exactly what Kim English has delivered. It’s all for naught if it doesn’t result in wins come November, but for now things are trending in the right direction.