Out with the old, in with the new. Unexpectedly, at least to Friar fans, Will McNair Jr. ended his time with the Providence Friars before it ever really got started.
But hey, at least he got a trip to Spain out of it. Apparently, if you want to believe the rumors, McNair decided that he wanted starter’s minutes after committing to Kim English and the Friars knowing full-well that his role was to be a back-up big to Josh Odoru. I guess when you are having your way with the finesse bigs around Spain, you start to get a big head about what type of player you actually are. Apparently, averaging 3 & 3 for your entire college career entitles you to start for a D1 program these days. Devin Carter, who was just fully cleared for basketball activities has the exact right…what’s the word for it again…oh yeah, Mindset, for the recent events surrounding the team.
Enter Eli DLaurier.
The incoming Freshman will reclassify to the 2023 class and forego his previously planned year at Overtime Elite to join Friartown for this upcoming season.
DeLaurier is a 6’9” frontcourt player that had offers from schools such as Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Texas A&M, Mississippi State, Old Dominion, & Radford. Playing grassroots ball for Team Loaded VA, it makes sense that the majority of his offers were from local schools. From looking at his highlights, he appears to play more outside-in than inside-out which makes sense with his wiry frame. I don’t know this for a fact, but he plays like a guy who had a late growth spurt and played the 3 for the last couple of years and now just happens to be able to block all your shots.
Essentially, instead of having McNair being a big to spell Oduro’s minutes, DeLaurier looks like he might spell Rafael Castro’s minutes. Castro has noticeably made a big leap in what we’ve been able to see from him this year and although we might not have the same girth or defensive “presence” down low, I’d much rather have a guy who is committed to the Team.
I don’t see McNair being able to get the minutes he wants from a High Major so I guess he’ll have to settle for whatever Mid Major has space for him. I’m not totally sure what his end-game is here, but I don’t think it’s going to work out the way he’s envisioning it in his head.
Welcome to Friartown Eli!
The Morning Hangover 