Friars lose center Dickens
Seven-footer is leaving Providence after one season
PROVIDENCE – Dajour Dickens was viewed as a project upon committing to the Providence Friars during his junior year of high school.
After a freshman season where the seven-foot Dickens played sparingly for PC, the game-plan has changed significantly.
In a surprising announcement, Providence College announced Thursday – two days before the calendar flips to July – that Dickens has left the men’s basketball pro- gram.
The accompanying press release listed Dickens as a sophomore center and stated that he’s departing “to pursue other opportunities.” In his lone campaign with PC, he appeared in just three games with none of them coming after November 17. In those three games, he logged 10 total minutes and averaged two points and one rebound.
In the media notes, it stated that Dickens injured his back and that’s why he sat of the final 31 games of the 2017-18 season. That could have been PC’s way of trying to recoup a fourth year down the line.
PC head coach Ed Cooley was asked about Dickens’ progress when he met with the media last Friday and the coach spoke about the youngster in glowing terms. Dickens had been taking classes as part of the first summer session at Providence.
“Dajour is coming along. We’re going to need him to help us,” Cooley said last week. “He’s athletic and guards the rim. He’s able to step outside and he’s really worked on his perimeter game. He’s going to be a runner, a screener, and a roller … an alley-oop guy.”
When Cooley was asked about the progress of Dickens during the Friars’ end-of-season banquet in April, the coach at the time said, “Dajour continues to make progress and get better, but this is an ongoing deal.”
Within the PC camp, there was concern about whether Dickens could add to his 220-pound frame that in turn would prevent him from getting pushed around during Big East play.
Dickens was the first member of PC’s Class of 2017 to supply a verbal commitment, doing so in February 2016. At that time, he was seen as a rising talent on the recruiting trail with several websites pegging him as a four-star talent.
With 6-foot-10 Nate Watson heading into his sophomore year at PC and 6-foot-9 Kalif Young now a junior, it appeared Dickens faced an uphill climb as it relates to meaningful minutes. A Hampton, Va. native, Dickens took in a game at Virginia Tech and visited Virginia and Old Dominion before committing to the Friars.
With Dickens no longer in PC’s fold, Cooley and his staff have an open scholarship that can be applied to next season’s roster.