Providence lands commitment from former NBA G League player originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
On Thursday night, the Providence Friars landed a commitment from Dink Pate of the Westchester Knicks of the NBA G League. The affiliate team for the New York Knicks.
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Pate was a part of the 2023 recruiting cycle with players such as Stephon Castle of the San Antonio Spurs, Jared McCain from the Oklahoma City Thunder, and Matas Buzelis of the Chicago Bulls.
Although Pate was a top-30 recruit in the class and had over 30 scholarship offers from schools like Alabama, Arizona, and Kansas, he opted to play for the NBA G League Ignite. Following his time with the Ignite, he found himself bouncing around the G League to the Mexico City Capitanes and now the Westchester Knicks.
In order to retain his college eligibility, Pate turned down several 10-day contracts and two-way opportunities from NBA teams. This season with the Knicks’ affiliate team, he’s averaging 17.3 ppg, 6.6 rpg, and 4.9 apg.
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Pate is now the second big-time commitment for Bryan Hodgson in under a month of being named the Friars’ head coach after leaving South Florida. He also landed a 4-star commitment from Miles Byrd out of San Diego State, who averaged 10.4 ppg and 4.7 rpg last season.
More: Michael Malone joins list of NBA coaches to turn to college
Providence had eight players enter the transfer portal following the 2025-26 season, including three of their top four scorers.
James Nnaji (Baylor), Charles Bediako (Alabama), Thierry Darlan (Santa Clara), and London Johnson (Louisville) are all former G League players who were on a college roster this season.
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