Friars hit the big time with 2025 star Jamier Jones

By KEVIN McNAMARA

Basketball coaches of old used to say that recruiting should be like shaving. If you take a day off, someone will notice.

Kim English and his staff at Providence College clearly don’t take many – if any – days off. Just a few days after pulling the final pieces of the 2024-2025 roster out of the transfer portal, the Friar staff welcomed high school student Jamier Jones to a campus visit in recent days. On Sunday, Jones announced a commitment to enroll at Providence via Instagram Live in the fall of 2025. Jones said he purposely chose Mother’s Day for his college unveiling.

“It’s just the loyalty that Providence has shown me,” Jones said. “Coach (Kim) English coached me before I even got there.”

Jones chose the Friars over a finalist list of South Carolina, LSU, Ohio St., Kansas and Houston.

“I just thank my mother for everything she has done. She made so many sacrifices for me that no one would ever understand,” Jones said.

Jones is ranked as the 22nd best prospect in the class of 2025 in the 247sports Composite rankings. The Friars also own a verbal commitment from 6-10 center Erhunmwunse Oswin, who is ranked 24th in the same 247Sports rankings. Jones (16th) and Oswin (31) also star in the ESPN Top 100 in the class of 2025.

While there is a possibility that Oswin will reclassify and enroll at Providence this fall, Jones still has one year of high school to complete. The 6-5 wing with a strong, athletic body was a first-team All-Stater at Florida this past season after leading his Oak Ridge Pioneers (27-4) to the Class 7A state championship game. Oak Ridge they lost to fellow nationally rated 2025 stars Cameron and Cayden Boozer of Miami Columbus. Jones averaged 19.2 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game while shooting 68 percent from the field. His team finished the season ranked No. 7 in the final MaxPreps Top 25 and Jones was a 2nd team All-American among all prep juniors.

The 6-foot-4 junior shooting guard scored 30 points twice early in the season against Evans and Windermere Prep, a Class 3A finalist. In the state championship game, Jones scored 16 points and grabbed four rebounds in the loss to Columbus.

Jones wears No. 1 for Oak Ridge. His athleticism dominates most high school opponents, but he has also had strong performances on the Nike EYBL circuit with his Florida team for several seasons.