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Providence PF Emmitt Holt to take leave of absence

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during the First Four game in the 2017 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at UD Arena on March 15, 2017 in Dayton, Ohio.

Joe Robbins

Considered by many to be one of the teams capable of challenging Villanova in the Big East, Providence has won five of its first six games without a key member of the rotation. Senior power forward Emmitt Holt has been out of the lineup due to an abdominal injury that required surgery, and a timetable for his return had yet to be finalized.

On Wednesday it was announced that Holt is taking a leave of absence from school that will run until the end of the semester, with the expectation being that he will rejoin the team in January. However, he will not play as it was also announced that Holt will sit out this season as a medical redshirt with the goal being for him to return to the Providence lineup next season.

“Emmitt is one of our team’s most consistent and experienced players, but more importantly, he is an outstanding person,” Providence head coach Ed Cooley said in the release. “We look forward to his return.”

In his first season at Providence, Holt averaged 12.5 points and 5.4 rebounds in 27.5 minutes per game, starting 28 of the 32 games in which he played. Holt began his career at Indiana, playing one season before being dismissed from the program. He would then play a season at Indian Hills CC before signing with the Providence program in April 2016.

Holt was expected to be a key part of the Providence front court rotation, along with fellow senior Rodney Bullock and underclassmen Alpha Diallo, Kalif Young and Nate Watson.

That quartet has performed well thus far, but the loss of Holt leaves the Friars short an option to deal with possible issues such as foul trouble or injury. Providence also has 7-foot freshman Dajour Dickens, who after appearing in three of the team’s first four games did not see action against either Belmont or Boston College.