Ed Cooley

Ed Cooley (born September 10, 1969) is an American college basketball coach and the current head coach of the Providence College Friars men's basketball team. Previously, Cooley had held the same position at Fairfield University from 2006–2011. He received the inaugural 2010 Ben Jobe National Coach of the Year Award, presented annually to the top minority men's college basketball coach in the nation.^[1]

Early years

Cooley was born on September 10, 1969 in Providence, Rhode Island to Jane Cooley and Edward Smith.^[2] He was one of nine children by his mother in a family on welfare, living in the low-income South Providence neighborhood.^[3] However, he would later be taken in by neighbors Gloria and Eddie Searight, who provided Cooley with meals and a place to sleep.^[2]

At Providence's Central High School, Cooley played basketball and twice earned Rhode Island Player of the Year honors. After graduating in 1988, Cooley attended the New Hampton School in New Hampton, New Hampshire for a post-graduate year in 1988–1989. Matriculating to Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts, Cooley was required to take the SATs four times before the NCAA allowed him to play basketball there. He did not score high enough on his first two attempts, scored a 900 but was accused of cheating on his third test, and finally scored a 1390 on his fourth, supervised test.^[3]

Cooley was a three-year team captain at Stonehill, and was named to the Northeast-10 Conference academic honor roll. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in history from Stonehill in 1994.

Coaching career

Following college, Cooley taught history at Bridgewater-Raynham Regional High School in Massachusetts from 1994–1996. Meanwhile, Cooley began his coaching career at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, spending the 1994–1995 season as an assistant men's basketball coach before returning to Stonehill as an assistant coach in 1995–1996.

In 1996, Cooley joined Al Skinner's staff as an assistant coach for URI, before following Skinner to Boston College in 1997. In nine seasons as an assistant at BC, Cooley helped the Eagles post a 175–108 overall record, which included five 20-win seasons. The team captured the 2000–01 Big East Conference championship, five NCAA tournament berths, and one National Invitation Tournament, giving the team six post-season berths in nine seasons.

Fairfield University (2006–2011)

Cooley earned his first head coaching position in 2006 for Fairfield University of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. In five seasons, Cooley's teams posted a 92–69 overall record and 58–32 conference record. In 2009–10, with a 23–11 record, Fairfield advanced to postseason play, setting an NCAA Division I postseason record by overcoming a 27-point halftime deficit to win in overtime over George Mason in the 2010 CollegeInsider.com Tournament. The Stags were defeated in the quarterfinals of the tournament by Creighton. In 2010–11, Cooley's Fairfield squad captured the MAAC regular season championship before falling in the semifinals of the 2011 MAAC Men's Basketball Tournament. They were defeated by Kent State in the second round of the 2011 NIT, finishing with a school-record 25–8 record. Cooley was named MAAC Men's Basketball Coach of the Year and was the USBWA District 1 Coach of the Year.

Providence College (2011–present)

On March 22, 2011, Cooley returned to his hometown and the Big East, replacing Keno Davis as head coach at Providence College,^[4] becoming the 15th head coach in program history. Cooley began to reinvigorate the program by recruiting six consensus Top 100 recruits in his first three years.

2011–12 Season

In his first season at Providence, Cooley led the Friars to a 15-17 mark overall, posting an 11-3 mark (8-0 at home) in non-conference action and going 4-14 in the Big East. That season, point guard Vincent Council was named third-team All-Big East and forward LaDontae Henton earned Big East All-Rookie Team accolades.

2012–13 Season

In his second season, Cooley led the Friars to a 19-15 record overall and a 9-9 mark in league play. Included in the 9-9 Big East record in 2012-13 was a 7-2 mark over the last nine games of the conference season, marking the second best turnaround over second half of the season in Big East history. The Friars played the season with a short roster with transfers Carson Desrosiers and Tyler Harris having to sit out the year per NCAA transfer rules, five star Freshman shooting guard and Providence native Ricky Ledo sitting our per NCAA eligibility issues, and five star freshman point guard Kris Dunn sitting out the first semester with a shoulder injury. Friars freshman guard Josh Fortune, was the only incoming player in 2012-2013 season eligible to compete. Cooley guided the Friars to the NIT where the squad posted a 2-1 record, beating Charlotte and Robert Morris before losing in the quarterfinals to eventual NIT Champion Baylor. That season, combo guard Bryce Cotton was named first-team All-Big East and Kadeem Batts was recognized as a co-winner of the league's Most Improved Award and earned All-Big East Honorable Mention accolades. After spending one year at Providence without being able to play, Ricky Ledo declared for the 2013 NBA draft and was selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves, eventually being traded to the Dallas Mavericks.

2013–14 Season

In his third season at Providence and first season in the reconfigured Big East Conference, Cooley led the Friars to a 10-8 mark in the Big East Conference and finished tied for 3rd with Xavier and St. John's. Transfers Carson Desrosiers and sophomore forward Tyler Harris, were eligible to play their first season in black and white, having sat out the NCAA enforced one year period. However, in addition to former point guard Vincent Council's graduation and Ricky Ledo entering the draft, Sophomore point guard Kris Dunn faced another shoulder injury and had to sit out almost the entire year as a medical redshirt, Cleveland State transfer sophomore guard Junior Lamomba had to sit out the NCAA enforced one year period, and incoming Freshmen Brandon Austin and Rodney Bullock were suspended for the entire season due to an unspecified violation of team rules. The Friars finished the season at 23-12 mark overall, the most wins in a season since 1996-1997. Two players received regular season honors, Senior point guard Bryce Cotton was named first-team All-Big East and Senior forward Kadeem Batts earned second-team All-Big East accolades. Entering the Big East Tournament, the Friars played as the fourth seed due to losing the tie-breaker with Xavier. They defeated St. John's in the quarterfinals, Seton Hall in the semifinals, and Creighton in the thrilling final at Madison Square Garden, claiming PC's second tournament title in Big East history. By winning the Big East Tournament the team earned an automatic bid, removing any "bubble" fears. On their way to making history as the first tournament champion of the reconfigured league, Junior forward Ladonte Henton was named to the All-Tournament Team and Senior guard Bryce Cotton was named the tournaments Most Outstanding Player. On selection Sunday, the Friars were given the 11th seed in the 2014 NCAA Tournament East Regional and faced North Carolina. The Friars lost 79-77, but in defeat, Bryce Cotton scored a career high 36 points, making him the fourth all-time leading scorer in Providence College basketball history. Despite the loss, the season marked yet another major step forward by Cooley's in rebuilding the PC basketball program.

Head coaching record

Former Players in the NBA

• Ricky Ledo, Providence College '12-'13, Reno Bighorns
• Bryce Cotton, Providence College `11-`14, Free Agent
• Kris Dunn, Providence College '12-'16, Minnesota Timberwolves

References

External links

• Providence Friars bio
• Boston College Eagles bio