NCAA Basketball: 10 early big winners from 2022 offseason

Providence Friars

The Friars ended up being one of the biggest winners in the last offseason after getting Nate Watson for one more year and landing key transfer pickup Justin Minaya. Both guys are gone but the team was able to land not only replacements for them but for the rest of the roster.

The first pickup for the team was Devin Carter, who averaged 9.0 ppg in 18 mpg as a freshman at South Carolina. Joining him in the backcourt is Noah Locke, a double-digit scoring shooter from Louisville and Florida. And there’s also former top-100 guard Corey Floyd Jr., who will be staying in the Big East after transferring from UConn to Providence.

In the frontcourt, the Friars got Bryce Hopkins, a former top-40 prospect who transferred from Kentucky. He’s the kind of project that could break out in a big way for the team to replace Noah Horchler at the four-spot. And at center is Clifton Moore, a 6’10 center from La Salle that averaged 12.9 ppg, 6.1 rpg, and nearly three blocks a game this past season.

It’s been as good a transfer haul as Providence can ask for and with guards, AJ Reeves and Jared Bynum set to return, this team is set to be a contender in the Big East once again and prove that last year was not about luck.