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Putting Ed Cooley in Perspective

Cooley Arms Raised

How Ed Cooley keeps answering questions and raising the bar at Providence. Our latest “15 in 40” article examines just how far the Friars have come under Cooley. 

Year five of the Ed Cooley Experience is upon us and for a program with back-to-back NCAA Tournaments under its belt, and quite possibly the best player in the country leading the team, there is considerable unrest among segments of the fan base.

When the offseason conversations turn away from the brilliance of Kris Dunn, the questions come flooding in: Why has the staff struggled to lock down its top recruiting targets? How did Paschal Chukwu get away? Can the Friars win with an undersized and inexperienced frontcourt?

All legitimate concerns (with the departure of a program cornerstone in Chukwu the most troubling), yet in just over two weeks Cooley will answer those questions the best way he knows how — on the court.

How has Cooley most changed the culture in Providence? Despite the questions the assumption is that he’ll pull it all together once again this year. Take a look at the resume he’s building:

If the Friars make the NCAA Tournament this March, it will mark just the third time PC has danced for three consecutive seasons. It’s been over 40 years since they last did so (the 1972-74 seasons).

Over the last three seasons, only 22 teams nationally have reached the NCAA Tournament three years in a row. It’s a list that doesn’t include Kentucky, Maryland or Virginia.

How many Big East teams have a chance to go for a third straight this year? Three: PC, Villanova and Xavier.

Providence has won 19 or more games in three consecutive seasons. The last time PC won 19 games three years in a row? 1976-78.

Prior to Cooley’s arrival PC had won 22 games just twice since the inception of the Big East. They’ve won 23 and 22 the past two seasons.

The Friars finished .500 or better in Big East play over each of the last three seasons — the first time ever in school history.

What’s life like without Cooley? Take a look at how things have gone for Fairfield since he left and how it was before he arrived.

The four men who came before him finished with coaching records of 45-68, 72-103, 86-111, and 112-120. Cooley led Fairfield to a 92-69 mark while he was there.

The Stags have gone 14-49 over the last two seasons.

When asked why Providence hasn’t been hotter on the recruiting trail, I don’t have an answer. When asked how Chukwu got away, it’s tough to make a pro-PC argument beyond they were blindsided (which isn’t much of an argument, ultimately). And when asked how they’ll make this frontcourt work, I come back with spreading the floor and pace but don’t realistically know how they’ll pull it all together.

There’s confidence that it will all come together, however, because that’s what Cooley has largely done since coming back home. He’s found a way.

At this time a year ago most questioned how they could muster enough offense after the departure of Bryce Cotton. They weren’t supposed to recover from losing Dunn to injury two years ago (in the wake of the Rodney Bullock and Brandon Austin suspensions), and the year prior it took Dunn and senior point guard Vincent Council nearly half the season before they rounded into form and helped a PC team whose record was 10-11 on Jan. 31 finish with 19 wins on the season.

Cooley just keeps finding a way.

2015-16 presents a different set of challenges. A fan base that had waited a decade before returning to the NCAA Tournament in 2014 is now wondering how much higher Cooley can take them.

Has he surrounded a once-in-a-generation talent with enough of a supporting cast to make this year special? Has he brought in enough shooters and ball handlers to effectively play at the faster pace we’ve been promised? Who brings the edginess that LaDontae Henton brought to Cooley’s PC clubs?

Cooley told CoxHub on Big East Media Day, “Every year somebody comes out of Providence and they say, ‘Who the hell is that?’ That’s coming once again. Don’t sleep on the Friars.”

Cooley’s played this card before, but he won’t be able to much longer. A third straight tournament appearance and the Friars are in rarified air — both in the program’s history and nationally. No longer a sleeper, the expectation is Providence plays its way into March for the third year in a row.

Cooley keeps figuring it out.

Twitter: @Kevin_Farrahar

Email: kevin.farrahar@friarbasketball.com

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2015-16 “15 in 40″ season preview articles:

15. Finding the Range from Deep: http://friarbasketball.com/2015/08/19/15-in-40-finding-the-range-from-deep/

14. Where Are They Now? http://friarbasketball.com/2015/09/11/15-in-40-where-are-they-now/

13. Rodney Bullock’s Day Approaching: http://friarbasketball.com/2015/09/12/rodney-bullocks-day-approaching/

12. Learning More About the Freshmen: http://friarbasketball.com/2015/09/18/learning-more-about-the-freshmen/

11. Season Preview: Jalen Lindsey: http://friarbasketball.com/2015/09/20/season-preview-jalen-lindsey/

10. Season Preview: Ben Bentil: http://friarbasketball.com/2015/09/23/season-preview-ben-bentil/

9: Not Dunn Yet: Video on Kris Dunn’s Career: http://friarbasketball.com/2015/09/25/new-video-not-dunn-yet/

8. Season Preview: The Backcourt: http://friarbasketball.com/2015/09/27/season-preview-the-backcourt/

7. Season Preview: The Frontcourt: http://friarbasketball.com/2015/09/30/season-preview-the-frontcourt/

6. Big East Media Day Podcast: http://friarbasketball.com/2015/10/15/provcast-be-media-day/

5. 2015-16 Video Trailer: http://friarbasketball.com/2015/10/16/video-2015-16-trailer/

4. New England Prep Preview: http://friarbasketball.com/2015/10/19/new-england-prep-preview/

 

 

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