NCAA Basketball: 10 best players from state of Rhode Island of last decade

5. Cole Swider – Villanova / Syracuse

A top 40 recruit back in 2018, the last four seasons have featured a ton of growth for Swider. A 6’9 forward from Providence, he originally committed to Jay Wright and Villanova, spending three seasons with the Wildcats, playing mostly off the bench. His final collegiate season was spent at Syracuse, becoming a full-time starting forward for Jim Boeheim and the Orange across an impressive campaign.

Swider’s opportunities with Villanova came sparingly early in his career, though he was certainly utilized as a long-range shooter. By his final season at Villanova, he was hitting more than 40% of his 3-pointers, and had a 26-point outing in a win over Middle Tennessee. That final year at Syracuse was a big step forward, as Swider averaged 13.9 points and 6.8 rebounds a game while hitting 81 3-pointers for the Orange. He also starred with a career-high 36 points in a late-season overtime loss to North Carolina.

Swider was a solid bench piece at Villanova but developed into an important option with the Orange. He was among the ACC leaders in a number of categories, while also playing considerably more minutes in that season at Syracuse than earlier in his career. Syracuse had a down year but it was no fault of Swider. After the season, he signed a contract with the Los Angeles Lakers after going undrafted and likely has several years of professional play ahead of him.