By KEVIN McNAMARA
One perhaps overlooked part of the hiring of Bryan Hodgson at Providence is that this is a coach whose connections run far and wide in the college basketball world.
That’s been shown in the addition of the first few players to PC’s roster for the 2026-27 season. The latest, freshman point guard Gavin Hightower, is another example. Hightower comes to PC from South Florida, via his home town of Los Angeles. He averaged just 4.1 points and 1.7 assists over 10 minutes per game but anyone watching the Bulls roll to the American Conference title into the NCAA Tournament could see a young player maturing by the game.
Hightower’s minutes increased to 18 per game in the final five contests of the year as he helped spark the Bulls to the NCAA’s. His upside peaked in the NCAA matchup with Louisville as he took advantage of 23 minutes to post 12 points, 4 steals and 3 assists in the Bulls’ 83-79 loss. The 23 minutes were a season-high and the 6-1, 170-pounder is looked at as a dogged defender and pure point guard at the Big East level.
Hightower joins 20-year old Dink Pate in PC’s backcourt mix. Pate is a long, 6-7 guard who creates offense with the ball in his hands. He can play alongside a ‘pure point guard’ or act as one himself. Hightower committed to join Hodgson at Providence just a few days after entering the transfer portal. He became the third Friar commitment of the week, joining Pate and San Diego State wing Miles Byrd. Those three join PC’s only declared holdover from this past season, forward Ryan Mela, in the mix for Hodgson’s first Providence team.
Hightower’s addition is interesting because the one guard off South Florida’s team that PC was instantly linked to was leading scorer (16.4 ppg) shooter Wes Enis. However the Friars will not be recruiting Enis out of the transfer portal, KevinMcSports has learned. Enis projects as an under-sized shooting guard at the Big East level and the guess here is Hodgson is looking for combo guards who can play the point and make 3-point shots more than strictly a 3-point bomber (107 threes) like Enis whose scoring numbers and maturity will certainly entertain a large financial commitment in the portal.
Hightower will need to dramatically improve his offensive game to mature into a high-level Big East guard. While already capable of defending and creating on the offensive end, Hightower was a non-threat from the 3-point line (1-of-5 for the season) but did convert 52 percent of his shots, most of which came in the lane on drives to the rim. His breakout game came in February when he scored 21 points on 8-for-8 shooting in a win over Texas San Antonio. The Bulls were struggling as he came on the court but Hightower injected energy early in the second half and instantly caught fire. “We don’t win the game today if Gavin’s not here,” Hodgson said afterwards.
Even at a young age, Hightower is already well-traveled. He left his Los Angeles-based high school to attend the high-profile prep power Sierra Canyon (Cal.) which has seen players like Marvin Bagley and Bronny James lead the way. Hightower committed to play at Iona for coach Tobin Anderson but when he was fired, he became a member of Hodgson’s staff at South Florida. That opened the door for Hightower’s introduction to Hodgson.
Hodgson’s recruiting roots helped land Pate, a Dallas native who was a priority recruit when the coach was working at Alabama. Pate chose to skip college and has played in the NBA’s G League for three years but now that college basketball is offering (some) players millions of dollars, talented players like Pate are coming to school. The same path is being followed by top young European players like PC’s Stefan Vaaks, for example. The path, by the way, has seen resistance by the NCAA and Pate’s quest for eligibility at Providence will be closely watched.
PC will continue shopping to fill out the bulk of its roster. Among the hottest names mentioned recently is Chance Westry, one of the more well-traveled players in the country. After starring in his hometown of Harrisburg, Pa., Westry journeyed to California and Sierra Canyon for his junior year and then to a school in Arizona for his final prep year. He picked Auburn for his freshman year, went to Syracuse for two years and then the 6-6 wing settled in this past season under Andy Kennedy at UAB where he averaged 15.5 points on 48% shooting, plus a team-high 5.5 assists. He scored 31 points against Cleveland State, set the school record with 15 assists against Charlotte and was named 2’nd team All-American Conference.
Westry has reportedly heard from the likes of Creighton, Xavier, SMU and Oklahoma. PC is also mentioned on a long list of suitors with guard Daeshun Ruffin, who was the nation’s fourth leading scorer at Jackson State this past season at 23.3ppg.
As for big men, the Friars are reportedly interested in Stephen F. Austin forward Jerald Colonel, a 6-9 athlete who was the Southland Conference’s Defensive Player of the Year after averaging 7.3 rebounds and 2.6 blocks a game. San Diego State, Kansas, Syracuse and Seton Hall are among a long list of interested schools.
