Rodney Bullock, Providence’s leading scorer from a year ago, will return for to school for the 2017-18 season.
Kevin McNamara of the Providence Journal reported the news on Monday afternoon.
Bullock led the Friars in scoring and rebounding averaging 15.7 points and 6.4 boards per game. He announced that he would entry the NBA Draft but would not hire an agent, allowing for him the option to return to school. That decision perhaps ended when he was not among those invited to this month’s NBA Draft combine in Chicago.
The return of Bullock not only puts the Friars in a good position to reach the NCAA Tournament for the fifth consecutive season, it means Providence should contend for one of the top spots in the Big East Conference. Villanova will undoubtedly be the preseason favorite but aside from the Ryan Fazekas, who transferred to Valaparsio, the Friars bring back everyone from their rotation -- including Bullock and Kyron Cartwright, two surefire preseason all-conference picks -- that won 20 games and finished tied for third in the league standings.
“I am excited about returning to Providence College next season,” Bullock said, according to the Providence Journal. “With a deep roster and the addition of some talented freshmen, I think we will have a good team again.”