RECRUITING Friars get commitment from 6-3 SG Daniels
The Providence College men’s basketball team started its final weekend of the regular season with a commitment.
Nilavan Daniels, a St. Louis shooting guard nearing the end of a prep year, pledged to the Friars via his social media accounts.
Per online recruiting service Verbal Commits, Daniels selected Providence ahead of offers from Navy and Maryville (Mo.). The 6-foot-3 prospect is closing the 2023-24 season with Link Year Prep, a Missouri power that recently played at the National Prep Championship in Worcester. Daniels is a four-year graduate of city power Chaminade, the alma mater of notable athletes such as current Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum.
“What’s up Friartown!” Daniels posted on X late Friday night. He was pictured in a white No. 12 jersey with both the school’s and the Big East’s official logo at the top of the page. Daniels played on the Under Armour grassroots circuit with Gateway Knights. He appeared for the program as late as May of the 2022– 23 season looking to draw additional interest.
Daniels played a pair of strong games for Link Year in this week’s three-day event, which was hosted by Clark University. He totaled 19 points and six rebounds while shooting 5-for-8 from 3point range in a victory over Fork Union. Daniels added five points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals in a 64-58 loss to Putnam Science and potential future teammate Oswin Erhunmwunse.
Providence had multiple staff members in attendance while scheduling around its Tuesday road win at Georgetown. The Friars have spent the rest of the week at home preparing for a regular-season finale with Connecticut on Saturday night. They’ve already secured a verbal commitment from Erhunmwunse in the 2025 class and will add Daniels to incoming small forward Ryan Mela and center Anton Bonke, who’s enrolled and practicing with the current roster.
Daniels was a standout at Chaminade, averaging 18.8 points and seven rebounds as a senior while earning Player of the Year honors in the Metro Catholic Conference. He finished with more than 1,100 career points and program records in 3-pointers in a single game, 3-pointers in a single season and career 3-point shooting. Daniels connected at 52.9% from deep over his four years, including an even 50% as a senior.
The Friars have been in steady search of help on the perimeter. They’re shooting 33.3% from deep through 30 games, which ranks 211th nationally. Providence attempts 43.8% of its field goals from beyond the arc — even a couple of ticks higher in terms of efficiency would unlock what has been an occasionally stagnant offense in head coach Kim English’s debut season.
The Friars expect to welcome at least a pair of prospects to Amica Mutual Pavilion for their matchup with the Huskies. Jaylen Harrell is on his official visit, a 2025 wing guard from Massachusetts who lists Providence, Rutgers, Wake Forest, Alabama, Virginia Tech and Big East rival Xavier in his final six. The Friars will also leave tickets for Tee Bartlett, a 2025 center from Nevada who claims offers from Arizona State, Kansas State, Mississippi State, USC and the Musketeers. bkoch@providencejournal.com
On X: @BillKoch25