Fiery Friar: Bryan Hodgson Brings Much-Needed Intensity to Providence

Kim English didn’t really connect for whatever reason in his three seasons. The donor class wanted him out and got their wish. 

Ed Cooley was a native son. And he was beloved until he wasn’t when he bolted for Georgetown. 

Forget the three years of Keno Davis. Most Friars fans can’t remember if the Davis era amounted to much.

But from 1955 to 1998 the run of head coaches was quite remarkable with Joe Mullaney, Dave Gavitt, Gary Walters, Rick Pitino, Gordie Chiesa, Rick Barnes and Pete Gillen. 

Tim Welsh had plenty of highs during his 10 years on the job, as well.

Throughout it all the Friar faithful remained vigilant that the program must remain a Big East/NCAA Tournament competitor. 

Enter Hodgson. He’s got an edge. He doesn’t mince words. He’s direct. And he is all in with how PC wants its coach to behave. 

“This is no knock on anywhere I’ve been before because I’ve been in some great places,’’ said Hodgson, who led South Florida to the American title last March and an NCAA Tournament bid in his third season. He led Arkansas State for two seasons prior to South Florida and won a Sun Belt regular-season title. “But we could be playing a lesser, much lesser opponent in the nonconference on paper and we’re going to sell out the Amp. That’s special. That’s not happening in many places. The edge that this place has, I feel like I have a similar edge. I feel like we understand each other a little bit.’’

Hodgson said he had multiple opportunities after the Bulls NCAA Tournament berth. But doing his research on the success at PC and the history of coaches as well as the consistent, loyal support drew him to PC. It didn’t hurt that the Friars are all in with NIL money and he was familiar with the landscape, being that he was raised in western New York state. 

“Some people would probably run away from the expectations here and the craziness of the fan base,’’ said Hodgson. “But I love it. I want to be at a place that cares that much about their basketball team. I’m really looking forward to it.

“And after living here for a few months, I feel like these are our people, our kind of people,’’ said Hodgson. “I grew up in western New York and when I’m rolling around Rhode Island, I feel like I’m back home in western New York.’’

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Hodgson has navigated the job correctly, thus far. He has reached out to the Friar alumni — former coaches and players. Famed former Friar Ernie DiGregorio has come by practice. When I was at practice last week, former Friar David Duke was sitting courtside. 

“All those people built this place,’’ said Hodgson of the former Friars coaches and players. “I made sure I reached out to as many as I could in the first few months on the job and I will continue to do so. I got on a zoom with 90 men’s basketball alumni a few weeks ago and told them that they have an open-door policy. This is their facility. Their program. I want the players who are still playing to work out here. That’s special for our guys to see.’’

Hodgson also made sure that he got with the donor class, which is a smaller group like most Catholic schools that rely on boosters. Providence is a provincial place. The few who donate millions want to be invested in the program. They want to feel like they are a part of what is happening. Their influence ushered English out the door, but also that meant they had to be hit up for more money to ensure the 2026-27 roster was filled with talented enough players. 

Hodgson retained one player from English’s team: Ryan Mela. He brought one player with him from South Florida — Gavin Hightower. And then he went strong into the portal to land Miles Byrd (San Diego State), Malik Mack (Georgetown), Arrinten Page (Northwestern), Samson Aletan (Yale), Ryan Sabol (Buffalo) and Devin Vanterpool (FAU) and dipped into the G League to grab Dink Pate, who still needs to gain a waiver for eligibility. 

A Boston Globe report has the Friars roster estimated around $13-15 million. The English buyout number isn’t official but is reported to be as much as $9 million. Hodgson’s contract isn’t also commonly known (PC is a private school and doesn’t have to report the salary figures) but is estimated to be at least more than the $1.5 million he made at USF.

All of these figures flying around means Hodgson has to engage with the donor class. 

“I’m treating this position like I’m the CEO of a corporation,’’ said Hodgson. “We have investors and one of the biggest roles you have is investor relations. You have to make them feel like they’re a part of what is going on.’’

Hodgson said he put together a 45-minute presentation earlier in the spring showing the donors about the Friars’ spending. He said he compared it to national averages. 

“When someone writes a check, I don’t care how much money, that’s a big deal,’’ said Hodgson. “I want to make sure they know we are being good stewards of the resources that we have here. We’re going to continue to do that and make them feel like they are part of the process.’’

Watching this team there is plenty of potential for shooting from Mack, Mela, Sabol and Hightower. Byrd is the best overall two-way talent coming from a defensive program like the Aztecs. Page is the enigma. He’s got size, reach, and physicality but he can go absent during games, which was the case when he was at Northwestern last season. 

Hodgson wants to play fast. He wants to be a high possession team that runs, and runs, and runs. 

“Lot of coaches get up on the podium and say they are going to play fast but then none of them do,’’ said Hodgson. “We’ve done that for three years in a row. We’ve played extremely fast. That’s what we recruit to. I’m a believer in it. But I’m a believer there should be no give and take in playing fast offensively and what you do defensively. You can do both. We’re teaching them this summer how to play fast but also be a demanding defensive team. It’s how you coach it. You have to be disciplined. We’ll get there.’’

Hodgson has players who are either on their last stop, haven’t played in the NCAA Tournament or are trying to play college basketball for the first time (Pate). 

“It’s a bunch of hungry guys,’’ said Hodgson. “That’s what we wanted to recruit. And I think we’ve got it.’’