Bill KochProvidence Journal
NEW YORK – Rhode Island basketball fans have waited eight long years for a night like Wednesday.
That’s the last time a player with local or college connections heard his name called in the NBA Draft. Kris Dunn (first round) and Ben Bentil (second round) carried the torch in 2016 while representing Providence College. Another star member of the Friars and a Cumberland native should be among the fortunate few this week.
Devin Carter and Tyler Kolek are on the short list of prospects taking center stage at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Wednesday’s national broadcast starts at 8 p.m., and the most recent mock drafts offered by ESPN and NBA.com suggest Carter won’t have long to sit backstage with friends and family. Kolek also holds a realistic chance of being selected on the opening night – he'd be a virtual lock to go early in the second round if forced to sleep on it until Thursday afternoon.
“I do it for the joy it brings me, the joy it brings other people,” Carter said in a June interview with The Ringer. “It’s just something I’ve been doing my whole life. It’s great.”
“I’m as ready as I can be,” Kolek said in a June interview with NBA TV. “My whole life I’ve been that kind of underdog. Gritty, toughness – that's my whole mentality. That’s who I am. That’s my makeup as a person.”
Carter and Kolek are the last two Big East Player of the Year winners – Carter in 2023-24, Kolek in 2022-23. They both rode breakout seasons in their respective backcourts to stardom in the league. Carter helped drive the Friarsto a 21-14 finish and an NIT bid in head coach Kim English’s sideline debut while Kolek was a catalyst for Marquette’s three most recent NCAA Tournament berths.
More: Providence Friars guard Devin Carter is the Big East Player of the Year
Providence has a decorated history in this event, but its current drought is the longest since the draft’s founding in 1947. Lenny Wilkens was the first Friar selected when he went sixth overall in 1960. Providence also waited seven years between 1997 and 2004 to have a player chosen – Austin Croshere and God Shammgod were already professional veterans by the time Marcus Douthit was tabbed late in the second round by the Los Angeles Lakers.
“A lot of people are going to school for money now,” Carter said. “They’re not even worried about basketball at this point. It never was that with me.”
Carter made some major jumps in key areas during his lone season under English, a former NBA guard himself after a strong college career at Missouri. Carter's 2-point shooting, 3-point shooting, assist rate and defensive rebounding rate all climbed considerably over 33 games last year. He hit for at least 20 points 15 times, collected 13 double-doubles and recorded at least three blocked shots or three steals in 12 games.
“Taking people to the post and playing off two feet – it literally changed my whole game,” Carter said. “A whole other level. It probably made me average six extra points just playing off two feet.”
Kolek was a star at his town high school with the Clippers and in the prep ranks at St. George’s before beginninghis college career with George Mason. He was the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year in a lone season with the Patriots and transferred to joinShaka Smart’s rebuild with the Golden Eagles. Kolek developed into the ideal trigger man for an offense that ranked among the nation’s most efficient in each of the last two years.
“I went through some struggles early on there,” Kolek said. “Kind of digging myself out of that hole and crawling back up to the top of the mountain in college basketball is something I’m really proud of.”
Kolek posted top-25 national assist rates in all three years at Marquette, finishing fourth in each of the last two seasons. His 2-point shooting and free-throw shooting were both career bests in 2023-24, and he’s posted his best two career 3-point shooting seasons in 2022-23 and 2023-24. Providence's David Duke Jr. and Portsmouth's Cole Swider are currently on two-way contracts with the San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat, respectively, but Kolek would be the first draft pick from the state since Providence native Ricky Ledo went 43rd overall to the Milwaukee Bucks in 2013.
“I wasn’t even so much thinking about the NBA,” Kolek said. “It was kind of a vast, vague dream in the future. I was at George Mason and I didn’t know any better – even my first year at Marquette.”
Carter will be a late lottery pick according to mock drafts posted this week. In addition to his combine performance and Los Angeles pro day, he has reportedly worked out privately for the Spurs, Lakers, Kings, Heat and Bulls. Kolek has been listed as a possible pick starting with the bottom third of the opening round, and his reported private workouts have included the Suns, Raptors, Bucks, Jazz and Heat. One other intriguing possibility for Kolek is that the new NBA champion Boston Celtics own the 30th overall selection and could close the first round by opting for some local backcourt depth.
bkoch@providencejournal.com
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