Providence has developed a recruiting pipeline in Philly highlighted by Ed Croswell and Jared Bynum

Providence associate head basketball coach Jeff Battle says he talks plenty of Philadelphia sports with senior forward Ed Croswell, since both men grew up here.

“[Croswell] is all over me now with this [James] Harden stuff. I told him, ‘I’ve got to continue to watch. I’m not all-in yet.’ ... But I’m Philly to the max — Sixers, Phillies, Eagles, the whole deal. ... We both love our Philly teams, for sure. Fly, Eagles, fly.”

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Battle, 60, graduated from Dobbins Technical High School (now Murrell Dobbins Career and Technical Education), which happens to be located right down the street from where Croswell was raised. When Croswell was weighing a transfer from La Salle, which he attended for two years after graduating from St. Joseph’s Prep, Battle was the connection that led Croswell to Providence.

“It was pretty easy to connect for me and Coach Battle. He was one of the first coaches that called me when I transferred out of La Salle,” said Croswell. “He knew a lot about me — that I was an inner-city kid. He knew my father, too.”

When the Friars take on South Dakota State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday in Buffalo (12:40 p.m., TruTV), there will be a heavy dose of Philadelphia DNA infused in the Providence team. In addition to Battle and Croswell having Philly roots, junior guard Jared Bynum is a transfer from St. Joseph’s. And Providence freshman guard Matteus Case is a Penn transfer, even though he never played for the Quakers nor set foot on Penn’s campus last year due to the pandemic.

Battle said the three players bring different strengths to the Friars, though he was not as involved with the recruiting of Bynum and Case. With Croswell, Battle, who joined Ed Cooley’s coaching staff in 2014, first noticed his physicality.

“[Croswell] rebounded at a very high clip, especially on the offensive end. I thought he had a Big East-ready body, and that, physically, he could come in and compete right away. Through my contacts that were close to him, once I had a chance to speak with him, I fell in love with the person as well. I thought he would be a pretty good fit for our culture and the way we do things at Providence.”

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Historically, Providence is known for its physical play and tenacious defense. Croswell, who averages 5.4 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, said that identity was a huge draw.

“The most appealing thing was, I wanted to go somewhere that was going to match my game, my physicality,” said the 6-foot-8 Croswell. “I wanted to go to a physical team, a tough team, and a team that actually throws the ball inside to bigs. Coach Cooley was the icing on the cake.”

Bynum’s lone year at St. Joe’s — 2018-19 — unfolded during a tumultuous time as coach Phil Martelli was fired at the end of that season after 24 years.

“I would say, it was kind of tough, because I made some good connections in Philly,” said Bynum. “My [St. Joe’s] teammates, we bonded really well. I had some good friends on the team that I still talk to. ... It definitely wasn’t an easy decision. But I just felt like it was the right thing to do.”

It was an even more difficult transition for Croswell to leave Philly.

“Oh, it was tough. La Salle’s like home,” he said. “It’s right down the street from my house. Very close. All of my family’s there. It was really hard leaving. I was really emotionally connected. It took me, like, a month to get used to not being home, not being with my mom, not being able to go see my brothers every day — simple things that I took for granted, that I couldn’t do as much when I got to Providence. But not being home helped me mature and grow as a young man.”

Another challenge for Croswell coming to Rhode Island was finding a good cheesesteak joint. That search did not get off to a good start.

“They don’t call them cheesesteaks up here. They call them ‘steak and cheese.’ That bothered me,” he said with a laugh. “I was like, ‘What? What is that?’ It was crazy. I thought they were going to give me a cooked steak with cheese on top. But they told me it was a cheesesteak. I was like, ‘Oh, OK.’”

Meanwhile, Battle said that Bynum, who is third on the team in scoring (12.7-point average) and leads the Friars in assists (4.2), has been “terrific” for since he came aboard.

“I have a saying, ‘Input equals output.’ Jared’s put in so much work on his game, as a coach, when you see the results benefiting from the work, it makes you proud,” said Battle. “Once we got to league play, he kind of took off. He brings playmaking, he brings speed, he plays with pace. He’s a problem [for opponents].”

Croswell said he will have plenty of Philly-area supporters cheering him on Thursday.

“My dad and brother are coming to the game, but I have a lot of people back home that are going to be watching,” said Croswell. “My high school, St. Joe’s Prep, turns on the TV in the middle of the day. At lunchtime they have the games on. I can remember myself watching the NCAA Tournament. Now I’m going to be playing in front of everybody. It’s a blessing, honestly, and a dream come true.”

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Providence’s biggest challenge Thursday, Battle said, is making sure South Dakota State doesn’t get open looks.

“They’re a very good team; we have a lot of respect for them,” said Battle. “When you get to this part of the year, this tournament, everybody’s good. You’ve got to bring your A-game. One bad game, one bad shooting night, and you’re done. We’re going to lock in and prepare. That’s what we do. And hope for the best.”