Ed Cooley and Providence got great news on April 10th when Makai Ashton-Langford called the Friar head coach from his dorm room at Brewster Academy to commit after getting his release from UConn nearly two weeks prior. Ashton-Langford cannot sign a second National Letter of Intent because NLI rules prohibit an athlete from signing more than one per calendar year. Instead, Ashton-Langford signed a grant-in-aid package with Providence. Brewster Academy head coach Jason Smith tweeted that Ashton-Langford signed his scholarship paperwork on Wednesday making his commitment to Providence official.
Providence lost out on Makai Ashton-Langford the first go-round when the Worcester native committed to UConn and Kevin Ollie in September. This time Ed Cooley closed the deal and got a commitment from Ashton-Langford shortly after he was on campus for an official visit. Cooley built up a great relationship with both the player and the parents when chasing the Mass Rivals point guard the last several years and it appears that relationship was the key to Providence securing the services of the top-35 player. Ashton-Langford took an official visit starting April 7th after Cooley went up to Brewster Academy to meet with him on the first day coaches could be back on the road recruiting after the Final Four dead period.
It’s been less than a week since the news broke that 2017 point guard Makai Ashton-Langford was re-opening his recruitment after comitting to UConn in September. Thursday was the first day coaches could hit the road and visit with recruits after the dead period that it put up around the Final Four and, predictably, Ed Cooley trekked up to Brewster Academy to visit with the top-35 point guard. Many Friar fans were getting manic over the fact that no news was coming out about a player who had Providence in his final two schools before choosing UConn but, Cooley left Brewster with an official visit date set for the Worcester native to come see the Providence campus. Adam Finkelstein tweeted out that Ashton-Langford will be on the Providence campus this weekend to take that official visit. Finkelstein also broke the news of Ashton-Langford requesting his release from UConn last week.
The rumor mill had been buzzing that 2017 point guard Makai Ashton-Langford was considering re-opening his recruitment after signing a binding National Letter of Intent with UConn in November. On Friday, it became a reality. ESPN.com’s Adam Finkelstein reportedthat the top-40 recruit out of Brewster Academy was in fact asking UConn to be released from his NLI. The rumor mill began it’s buzzing after Glen Miller, longtime assistant coach and lead recruiter for Ashton-Langford for the Huskies, left the program last week. A reportby Gavin Keefe of The Day indicated Miller was asked to leave. UConn is now looking at the possibility of losing one of their prized 2017 recruits in Ashton-Langford and two current players, Vance Jackson and Steven Enoch, to transfer since the news of Miller’s departure.
Camp Errol was founded by Calvin Jones and named in honor of Errol Clinton who was killed at the age of 15 by a random act of violence in the city of Providence. E.R.R.O.L. stands for Education, Respect, Responsibility, Opportunity and Leadership. This Saturday Camp Errol will be hosting an All-Star game at CCRI Warwick and there will be several Providence recruits playing, including top local targets in the Class of 2018.
The updated player rankings from Scout.com continue and this week they updated their Class of 2018 rankings. Providence has a host of players on this list ranging from a local Providence native to a Canadian player attending school in Florida, not to mention some other local talent attending NEPSAC schools. The coaching staff at Providence has a clear connection in the mid-atlantic with Jeff Battle and Ivan Thomas spearheading connections there with both Boo Williams players and other area programs. Brian Blaney continues to canvass the New England prep basketball scene and Ed Cooley is everywhere. Here are players Providence is involved with on Scout’s latest Class of 2018 Top 100:
Providence is in the midst of a tough stretch on the court after falling at the hands of St. John’s at home on Wednesday night to fall to 3-6 in Big East play. A stark contrast in guard talent was on display with the Red Storm getting 48 of their 91 points from their starting backcourt of freshmen Marcus LoVett and Shamorie Ponds. Providence coveted Ponds in the 2016 class and the decision ultimately came down to the Friars or Red Storm. Ed Cooley and his staff have certainly shown an eye for identifying talent and the next few days provide yet another opportunity in Providence’s backyard to catch some top prep talent at the National Prep School Invitational being played Thursday through Sunday at Rhode Island College. Here are some of Providence’s targets that will be in action at RIC over the next few days:
pcbb1917.com - Providence College Basketball 