Providence got their 2019 recruiting class started with a bang on Friday as Ed Cooley landed a commitment from top-60 wing Greg Gantt. Gantt made the announcement via his social media pages while in Las Vegas for the final live recruiting period of the Summer. Providence assistant Jeff Battle was the lead assistant on Gantt’s recruitment. The Friars are looking to back up their 2018 recruiting haul that was ranked 20th overall and 2nd in the Big East by 247Sports composite national ranking and Gantt gets them off to a great start.

Both Cooley and Battle are expert at building relationships with players they recruit. Just how important was that relationship for Gantt? “Very critical,” he told pcbb1917.com. “I just felt like our bond and relationship was so strong that I didn’t feel the need to have to wait any longer. I felt more love from them than anyone else & Providence is a place I know I can play and make an impact.”

The Friars were the first high major program to offer the versatile 6’7 Fayetteville, NC native just over a year ago and Gantt has routinely mentioned that fact, along with how real and honest the Friar’s coaches were throughout the recruitment process. Gantt, who is currently ranked 53rd by 247Sports’ composite national ranking, cut his list down to a final 9 in early June. A couple weeks later he set official visits, including to Providence. His commitment comes more than a month before his scheduled visit to Friartown. Cooley got a similar commitment from Kris Monroe last year around this time with Monroe trusting in the staff and relationship enough to jump on board at Providence without ever seeing the campus. Others that Gantt was scheduled to visit were Florida and Texas. He attends Trinity Christian School and runs with Team Felton on the Under Armour Association circuit.

Gantt becomes the 7th player ranked in the top-60 nationally to commit to Providence since Cooley took over as head coach in the Spring of 2011. Three of the previous 6 are on the 2018-19 Providence roster — Makai Ashton-Langford, David Duke and AJ Reeves — and only one has made a major impact as a Friar: Kris Dunn.

All eyes now turn to Akok Akok, a player that performed at such a high level last week in the second live period of July that Evan Daniels and 247Sports jumped him nearly 80 spots to 25th and up to 5-star status. The Friars currently have 3 open scholarships with the departure of Dajour Dickens and Gantt fills one. That means Cooley has at least two more to play with for 2019.

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