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Ed Cooley’s Upward Trend

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Our final “15 in 40” article takes a look back at the rapid rise of the Friars under Ed Cooley and how his teams have improved in every season he’s been a head coach.

The streak is now at eight. Ed Cooley has been a head coach for eight seasons (five at Fairfield, three at Providence) and in each of those seasons his team’s record improved over the previous year.

Ed Cooley at Fairfield:

2006-07: 13-19

2007-08: 14-16

2008-09: 17-15

2009-10: 23-11

2010-11: 25-8

Cooley at Providence:

2011-12: 15-17

2012-13: 19-15

2013-14: 23-12

Improving on last season’s run to a Big East title and a second round knockout in the NCAA Tournament won’t be easy in the post-Bryce Cotton era, but Cooley may have the talent at his disposal to do it again.

You know the names by now. LaDontae Henton should finish with at least 1800 points and well over 1000 rebounds, Carson Desrosiers and Tyler Harris both had big impacts in their first year of eligibility, Kris Dunn flashed brilliance at the end of his freshman season, and this freshman class is set to bring depth and versatility from the jump.

It’s truly Cooley’s roster now. All of these contributors are Cooley’s recruits (Cotton and Kadeem Batts were Keno Davis’ signees), and if there’s anything the charismatic Cooley is credited for most it’s his ability to bring in talent — nearly half of this roster was ranked in the top 100 nationally coming out of high school.

Yet, what’s so often lost with Cooley and this staff is how much his past two teams have improved amid nearly unfair adversity.

Two years ago it was now Dallas Maverick Ricky Ledo being deemed academically ineligible in the preseason, Dunn requiring shoulder surgery in the summer, starting point guard Vincent Council injuring his hamstring in the season opener and Cotton missing games with a knee injury. At one point those Friars took to the court with just four scholarship players.

That team looked to be in trouble in December, losing to Boston College and Brown before rallying to win 19 games.

Last season was more of the same. Dunn injured his shoulder again, while top 60 recruit Brandon Austin and teammate Rodney Bullock were suspended before the season started.

That team lost three in a row following the announcement of the Autin/Bullock suspension, capped by a 30 point blowout at Villanova.

Then they went out and won the Big East.

There’s a theme here.

Cooley’s teams have improved their record every year, and in each season at Providence his teams have gotten stronger as the season progressed — the opposite of how things went under the coaches who came before him.

The Friars will have to start fast this season. They kick off their season tonight against an Albany team many are fearful of after they gave Florida all they could handle in the NCAA Tournament last March, and by next weekend they’ll be gearing up for back to back games against a pair of ACC teams with legitimate NCAA aspirations. PC will already have five games under their belt come Sunday.

While a fast start is necessary with so many RPI swinging games on the non-conference schedule, the Friar team you’ll see in February will look drastically different than this one.

If history is any indicator, they’ll look a whole lot better.

Enjoy the banner raising tonight and the product on the floor — and recognize that under Cooley they’re just getting started.

 

Email: kevin.farrahar@friarbasketball.com

Twitter: Kevin_Farrahar

 

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