Following Oswin’s commitment to Creighton, it’s been a minute since we saw a former Friar commit to a new team for next season out of the transfer portal. So, of course it makes sense that they came flooding in all at the same time. We knew that Stefan Vaaks was going to most likely be able to go to a big time program with his offensive prowess on full display last year.
He’s still a complete liability on defense but if you can hide him on that side of the able alongside some premier defenders, then you have yourself a great player. Illinois is coming off of a Final Four appearance and looked to be in need of offense, especially if Freshman stud Keaton Wagler makes his way to the NBA. I wish I loved anything as much Brad Underwood likes signing Eastern European dudes.
Next up was our man Nil getting a legitimate chance at a large role by going to William & Mary. Nil deserves every bit of credit on working his way from a walk-on, to a scholarship player, to a guy who other teams want to have on their team in the transfer portal.
I could not be any happier for Nil than I am right now and I’m sure that all of Friartown is going to be rooting for him going forward. Another former Friar, Matteus Case, also transferred to W&M and played there for three seasons following his lone season in Providence. The Tribe had a good season last year, finishing with a record of 20-12 and a fifth place finish in the CAA.
Another former Friar committed to his fourth school in four seasons by heading to Syracuse.
Garwey first came to Providence as a Top-35 or so recruit, first committing to Ed Cooley and then re-committing to Kim English after he was hired as the head coach at PC. Following a disappointing Freshman season that saw him punch a dude in the face and then never really find his footing throughout the season. He eventually transferred to Seton Hall, then to McNeese State, and now to the Orange. His defense continues to be a strength and his offense continues to not be so much of one. So, he’s essentially the same player that we saw during his Freshman season in Providence. His passing has improved but his offensive shooting numbers are basically in-line over the past three seasons. However…I still wish him the best and hope that Gerry Mac can tap into that potential that we saw from Dual coming out of High School.
The Morning Hangover 