How have things gone since then? Let's take a look at the response to two of the five challenges.
Find another recruiter. This is an obvious one and should be the top priority. Does losing Skerry mean that Providence has to start over again with New England stars like Ricky Ledo, Khem Birch, and Nerlins Noel? Perhaps, and it would be disappointing to see Providence fall by the wayside with talented players who were seriously considering the Friars, but the job of the next guy is to try to pick up where Skerry left there and start building towards other leads. There is a lot of talent to be had and Providence needs someone as tenacious as Skerry to replace him.
On paper, Chris Driscoll looks to be a solid replacement for Skerry, but it is going to take time before we can truly see what Driscoll can bring to this staff recruiting-wise. The BABC connection may take a few years to pay off as the program, currently playing as well as any AAU program in New England, is filled with youngsters who are a few years away from college.
For all of the solid work Skerry did on the recruiting trail it is easy to forget that it took time to land his top recruits. Antoine Allen was the staff's first commitment in August, followed by Duke Mondy, James Still, and Kadeem Batts early that fall. PC didn't land Vincent Council until the second semester and the first top 100 player, Gerard Coleman, followed a few months after that. It was almost another full year later when Naadir Tharpe committed and Khem Birch was quoted as saying PC was his leader.
The one advantage the entire staff had back then was a more patient fanbase coming off of the disappointing Tim Welsh era. Providence fans aren't nearly as patient as they were two seasons ago, and if Driscoll works at the same pace that Skerry did then it will be at least another year before we learn more about what type of recruiter he is.
The one benefit Driscoll has is that inroads have already been made with some of the top talent in New England, and rather than having to start from scratch with many of these kids his role will be to grab the torch with talented players who have been on campus multiple times.
Keep an eye on kids who end up at Tilton, the New Hampshire prep school with a constant stream of BABC kids entering their program of late. Of course, PC fans have followed them because of Gerard Coleman, while UConn sophomores Jamal Coombs-McDaniel and Alex Oriakhi were both BABC and Tilton stars. Now, Nerlins Noel is heading north to play for Marcus O'neil, along with fellow BABC/Tilton products Georges Niang, Goodluck Okonoboh, and Domonique Bull. Add Ryan Canty, a non-BABC kid, into the mix and you've got plenty of reason to pay attention to Tilton over the next 2-3 years and a true BABC feel there.
Get Naadir Tharpe on the phone. The talented point guard would add to an already deep backcourt group if Young and Coleman pan out and equally important, add a sense of stability and continuity. A committed Tharpe sends a message to Friar fans and recruits across New England that Providence is still a forced to be reckoned with.
Clearly, this was written prior to the Young fiasco. Following the recruitment of Tharpe should serve as a lesson to never take too literally the preferences of a 17 year old. At the time of his commitment two of the things Tharpe noted he liked about Providence were the location and the class size. Fast forward just three months and Indiana and Rutgers are popping up on his list. And I wouldn't sleep on either.
Attempting to project where a recruit might land is a losing game, but I can say that I heard somewhat encouraging news on the Tharpe front two weeks ago from one source, and far less encouraging reports from another this week.
