Providence Basketball: Analyzing Friars 2021 incoming recruiting class

Al Durham

2020-21: 11.3 ppg, 2.6 apg, 3.1 rpg

Durham is a 6’4 guard who transferred in after four years at Indiana. He will be the one new starter for the Friars this season and will be tasked with replacing one of the better players to come through the program in David Duke. Durham will provide much-needed shooting (38% 3pt), to a team that struggled to space the floor even with Duke.

Cooley’s offense isn’t predicated on three-pointers anyways, as his methodical flex offense will produce an abnormal amount of shots from inside the arc. It’s a good thing Durham has the ability to get to the rim as well. He may not be the overall scorer Duke was, but his ability to get to the free throw line and capitalize is impressive. He was top 10 in the Big Ten in free throws made last season while shooting 79%.

Justin Minaya

2020-21: 7.- ppg, 1.8 apg, 6.3 rpg

Minaya was a starter from day 1 with Frank Martin at South Carolina. He had a productive freshman season averaging 7.9 ppg and 4.2 rpg. His sophomore stint ended five games in with a hand injury that sidelined him for the remainder of the year. In his next two seasons, the 6’7 forward put up nearly identical stat lines of around 7.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per contest.

You know what you are going to get out of Minaya on the defensive end, as he is a plus rebounder and defender for his position. On the offensive end, you aren’t going to get much, as he has yet to shoot over 27% from the 3 point line since his freshman year along with struggling to reach 40% from the field.

Due to this, Cooley will most likely end up using him as his first forward off the bench to provide a defensive spark.