A third member of the 2023-24 Friars entered the portal on Monday when Rafael Castro announced that he’d be departing Friartown.
A third member of the 2023-24 Friars entered the transfer portal on Monday when Rafael Castro announced that he’d be departing Friartown.
Garwey Dual and Donovan Santoro entered the portal at the end of the previous week and Castro joined the duo on Monday. A 6’11, 220-pound frontcourt player, Castro had struggled to earn consistent playing time over the previous two seasons. A member of the recruiting class of 2021, Castro redshirted during the 2021-22 season to sharpen his skills and add strength.
Nicknamed “Slim” for his slight build, Castro debuted in the 2022-23 season and played little. He scored 12 points and grabbed ten rebounds against Albany but made little impact beyond that performance. Although he appeared in 26 games, he averaged just six minutes per game and 1.8 points on the season.
Hopes for more playing time rose with Kim English’s arrival and the opportunity seemed to be there. Castro performed well on the trip to Spain in August and when Will McNair left the program during the first week of September, Castro was the lone player on the roster capable of spelling Josh Oduro in the post.
Castro had his moments during the 2023-24 season but was not able to establish any consistency in his performances. He scored 13 points in the season opener against Columbia and recorded 12 points in a career-high 23 minutes at DePaul in mid-January. He played solidly in 12 minutes at Butler in a game that Oduro missed and scored eight points in 16 minutes on 4-4 shooting against Boston College in the NIT.
Castro’s biggest issues were lack of strength and a struggle to catch the ball. Despite three years in the program under the direction of two different strength and conditioning programs, Castro lacked the bulk to hold his position down low and play through contact. Unreliable hands caused numerous fumbled passes and lost rebounds. Billed as a rim protector due to his height, length, and athleticism, Castro recorded just four blocks in 20 Big East games, and he struggled from the free throw line, shooting just 42 percent. Where he excelled was converting close to the basket when he did catch the ball cleanly. He hit .678 for the season on his field goal attempts, sinking 40-59.
With the portal entries of Castro, Dual, and Santoro, and the assumed departure of Devin Carter for the NBA, Providence now has four scholarships to fill with portal transfers. Kim English and staff will be deliberate and judicious with who they target and want. The Friars have several obvious needs. With Dual gone, PC needs and experienced point guard and ballhandler to play with Jayden Pierre. Pierre battled through injuries and illnesses this past season and English won’t want to get caught short at the point guard position again.
With Oduro gone, the Friars will need to bring in an experienced, productive post player who can play both facing and back to the basket and also provide defense down low. The Friars have Oswin and Anton Bonke, but both are young and inexperienced and neither figure to be ready for heavy minutes next season. Bryce Hopkins will be returning from an ACL tear and another big body who can man that position and face the basket and score would be ideal. That would allow Hopkins to ease back into the scheme of things and provide insurance and depth in then frontcourt. A fourth need would be a sweet shooting three-point threat at the wing. Each of the four additions needs to be able to shoot to fit English’s offense and if the staff can fill those holes, Providence would bring an interesting roster to play in 2024-25.
Already, more than 800 players have entered the portal and Providence has been active. The Friars have reportedly reached out to Dion Brown, a 6’3 guard from UMBC, Sam Alexis, a 6’8 PF from Chattanooga, Jordan Sears, a 5’11 guard from UT-Martin, Gibson Jimerson, a 6’5 wing from St. Louis, Tarris Reid, a 6’10 big from Michigan, Jalen Leach, a6’4 guard from Fairfield, Jason Rivera-Torres, a 6’6 guard from Vanderbilt, Jerry Deng, a 6’9 big from Hampton, and Bensley Joseph, a 6’1 point from Miami. Expect more names to surface.